Can someone help me with which motherboard to buy?

[nkatz565]

I'm a beginner at building computers, and I am completely lost as to which motherboard I need. The CPU I am purchasing is an AMD Sempron 145, and the graphics cards I am buying are 2x AMD Radeon HD 7870.

Can someone help me choose a board which can use that processor, and also fit both of these GPUs? Will this one work? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058HUQJ0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0058HUQJ0&linkCode=as2&tag=cptbr-20

My only concern with that on is its a bit expensive, but If I must pay it I will.

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

Yes it will work on that board. In the future just look for the socket type under specifications. If the socket type on the cpu matches the one on the motherboard they will work together.

 

[nkatz565]

Yes it will work on that board. In the future just look for the socket type under specifications. If the socket type on the cpu matches the one on the motherboard they will work together.

How do I know if the GPUs will fit? Also, I am getting a different version of the same GPU, the main difference being two fans on the chip.

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

Almost all current GPU's go in the PCIe slot on your motherboard. The PCIe slots run at different speed (1.0, 2.0, and 3.0) if you have a PCIe 3.0 card and your motherboard says it is PCIe 2.0 the GPU will still work with it, but it can run slower if it is a powerful card. In your case you should make sure the motherboard you pick has a PCIe 3.0 slot.

 

[nkatz565]

I have a new problem, the motherboard is now out of stock (should have bought yesterday). Is there some sort of online tool to help you pick one? I have no idea where to start looking for a new one of these.

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

I always just shop on newegg!.com, but you can use pcpartspicker. Its a pretty good website to help you pick components.

 

[nkatz565]

Its not looking good. I can't find a single motherboard that supports the AM3 chipset that the Sempron uses, that also supports a pci 3.0 port. Will I encounter large performance problems with doing this?

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

The sempron CPU is pretty slow by gaming standards anyway. Try a CPU with 3.0 or more GHz

 

[nkatz565]

I always just shop on newegg!.com, but you can use pcpartspicker. Its a pretty good website to help you pick components.

Alright, from looking around online, it seems rare to find an AMD motherboard with a PCI 3.0 slot. But I also found out that it really won't make a difference with the cards I'm using, so I think I'll end up getting this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637&clickid=3cJRV0VUESuhRCNUBWyrKTFlUkT3Ye3lI2vjw00&iradid=97618&ircid=2106&irpid=79301&nm_mc=AFC-IR&cm_mmc=AFC-IR-_-na-_-na-_-na

Its got 2 PCI 2.0 slots, which is exactly what I need. And its also fairly cheap.

 

[DonnyTechMaster]

Looks like you are good to go!