Best motherboard for i3 - 3220

lotr_freak

Honorable
Aug 30, 2012
19
0
10,510
I'm buildling a computer for a friend, mainly used for internet and playing music and light gaming. Trying to stay under $750. I think I'm gonna go with the Intel i3 - 3220 for my CPU, but am not sure what motherboard would be best for it. Any suggestions?
 
Solution
ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157302

ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303

ECS H77H2-M3(1.0) LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135306

These are the only H-77 boards that they had and for the price difference it might be better to go with a Z-77 board since the features will be there in case they are ever needed.
You can look at the B-75 boards .

ASRock B75M-GL LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0...

lotr_freak

Honorable
Aug 30, 2012
19
0
10,510
Thanks for the reply. I myself built a computer with the i5 - 3570k and Asus P8Z77 - V Pro and I love it but I just am not sure if I need to go with the Z77 chipset for my friend, he won't really use it and it's more expensive. Any suggestions for H77 or other chipsets?

 
ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157302

ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303

ECS H77H2-M3(1.0) LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135306

These are the only H-77 boards that they had and for the price difference it might be better to go with a Z-77 board since the features will be there in case they are ever needed.
You can look at the B-75 boards .

ASRock B75M-GL LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157326

MSI B75MA-E33 LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
$59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130654

GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128555
 
Solution

lotr_freak

Honorable
Aug 30, 2012
19
0
10,510
Ya you have a good point, the price difference is so small I might as well go with Z77. I do prefer ATX to Micro ATX though, what do you think about this one?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128547&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
 
when purchasing Mobos, its really what you want on them. the more you pay, you tend to get:

ability to overclock
more 6 gb/s sata ports
better sound drivers
built in wifi
more ram slots
more pci-e slots
more fan pins
thunderbolt port

just to name a few.

since the i3-3220 cannot overclock outside of slight BLCK changing, if you were budget minimal, you will only need a B75 motherboard, a Z75 or H77. You can use a Z77 mobo, but one would be essentially paying extra for overclocking.


base your motherboard decision on your needs, a common gamer choice would be answering the folloring questions:

1. Am i overclocking
2. Do i plan to crossfire/sli
3. How many sata 6gb/s ports do i need
4. do i need more fan pins(if one doesnt want to purchase fan controllers or use molex connectors)