[SOLVED] Good mobo for 3570k+r9 390/390x

Hi,i currently have i3-3240,r9 380 4gb,16gb of ram,lenovo ih61m mobo,700w psu.
In June im looking to buy i5-3570k and a ssd.
After that i will replace 380 with 390/390x (still havent decided whether i will go for x or non-x version)
If you could give me a good mobo for the 3570k and 390/390x cuz i dont think the lenovo ih61m will be a stable board for both 3570k and 390/390x.The 3570k will be fine im just sceptical about it when i put the 390/390x.The mobo i would want is something like this:
-doesnt need to have 2 pci-e x16 slots,1 is ok
-i would like to have 4 DIMM slots,instead of 2 which im stuck with currently
-doesnt need to be crazy expensive (around 50-100 euros,cuz i live in Balkan)
-at least 3 sata ports
-doesnt need to be something special im just looking for a stable board

so if you can find me a mobo that fits the description that would be awesome,or maybe i dont need to change the mobo?

Tell me what u think.
 
Solution
The 3570k only has equitable gaming performance to lightly threaded games such as LOL or CSGO. For anything heavier threaded like GTA5 or Battlefield series, the 3770 will eat the 3570k for lunch.

380/390 about the same thing, no real benefit of one over the other with that i5, you'll be cpu capped long before being gpu limited.

80€ might be mad cheap, but it's because 4c/4t cpus are about obsolete for gaming purposes, seeing upto 100% usage and 'bottlenecking' the pants off any decent sized gpu.

The other issue being you have a Lenovo and your windows license is tied to the motherboard. Change motherboards and you'll need to buy a new license.
This all sounds like a waste of money.

Buy a i7-3770 (non-k) for cheap since it will likely be supported by your current mobo.

Don't bother with the R9-390/390x
Yes it supports the 3770,but i found a good deal for 3570k,unused scythe mugen cooler and a brand new thetmal paste for 80€ which is mad cheap.The cheapest 3770 i can find is 120€.Considering the 3570k has similar gaming performance to 3770,do you still think i should go for 3770 for 120€,or the full package for 80€.I would save 40€ for something like a ssd.Also what gpu would you recommend for me,or should i stay with the r9 380?
 

Karadjgne

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The 3570k only has equitable gaming performance to lightly threaded games such as LOL or CSGO. For anything heavier threaded like GTA5 or Battlefield series, the 3770 will eat the 3570k for lunch.

380/390 about the same thing, no real benefit of one over the other with that i5, you'll be cpu capped long before being gpu limited.

80€ might be mad cheap, but it's because 4c/4t cpus are about obsolete for gaming purposes, seeing upto 100% usage and 'bottlenecking' the pants off any decent sized gpu.

The other issue being you have a Lenovo and your windows license is tied to the motherboard. Change motherboards and you'll need to buy a new license.
 
Solution
The 3570k only has equitable gaming performance to lightly threaded games such as LOL or CSGO. For anything heavier threaded like GTA5 or Battlefield series, the 3770 will eat the 3570k for lunch.

380/390 about the same thing, no real benefit of one over the other with that i5, you'll be cpu capped long before being gpu limited.

80€ might be mad cheap, but it's because 4c/4t cpus are about obsolete for gaming purposes, seeing upto 100% usage and 'bottlenecking' the pants off any decent sized gpu.

The other issue being you have a Lenovo and your windows license is tied to the motherboard. Change motherboards and you'll need to buy a new license.
Ok thanks.My mobo supports 3770k so do i go with 3770 or 3770k?
 
Hey i found a 3770 for 65€ which is amazing considering that last week the cheapest one was 120€.So for the cooler,should i use the same one i am using for 3240,or do i buy a new one?
Im considering asking the guy that sels the 3570k bundle to sell me a cooler and paste for 20€.He said for the 3570k is 60€,for scyhte mugen and paste additional 20€,which makes the total of 80€.So do i need a new cooler or no?
 
The 3770k is 120€,so is there a noticable difference between 3770 and 3770k,since i dont want to spend 60€ more on something that doesnt matter that much.Im sorry that i type all this information without any order.Its 4am (in my country) and my phone is on 1% so im in a hurry to see what u recommend
 
Grab that Mugen for €20, that's about half price from a store. It's a really good cooler and you'll need one since the cooler on your current cpu is nowhere near capable of cooling a gamed i7.
Ok so at the end is the i7-3770 and scythe mugen for 85€ total.Thank you so much for your time and advice,also what gpu do yout think will be a good pair wih 3770,is the 380 a good pair,or something more powerful?
I went to bottleneck calculator and paired 3770 with 380 and it said that the gpu is weak for this cpu.When i paired 3770 with 390 it worked perfectly.So i mean if i have spare money i feel like the 390 will be a noticable difference in games since it has double more capacity (4gb to 8gb) and higher clock speeds.
 
Last edited:

Karadjgne

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Back then, amd 4Gb was about the same as nvidia 3Gb, 8Gb about equivalent to a 6Gb card. Just that move alone is good for the more intense graphics games at 1080p or 1440p. The clock speeds are negligible differences.

Don't trust bottleneck calculators, they aren't worth the web page they are printed on. My 3770k runs with a gtx970, goes head to head with that 380 and does just fine for single player games, it's only in the more intense 16man teams it bogs down and that's all on the AI from the other players. The 390/x will do better, but aren't worth the price usually, that being exaggerated by mining usage. You'd be better off with something like a nvidia 1660/ti which will run just fine on your current psu and not require air-conditioning to keep room temps stable. The 390/x can fry eggs from 3 feet away.
 
Back then, amd 4Gb was about the same as nvidia 3Gb, 8Gb about equivalent to a 6Gb card. Just that move alone is good for the more intense graphics games at 1080p or 1440p. The clock speeds are negligible differences.

Don't trust bottleneck calculators, they aren't worth the web page they are printed on. My 3770k runs with a gtx970, goes head to head with that 380 and does just fine for single player games, it's only in the more intense 16man teams it bogs down and that's all on the AI from the other players. The 390/x will do better, but aren't worth the price usually, that being exaggerated by mining usage. You'd be better off with something like a nvidia 1660/ti which will run just fine on your current psu and not require air-conditioning to keep room temps stable. The 390/x can fry eggs from 3 feet away.
Hahahahahah,ok.Do i need to change the mobo for the 1660?Its pcie 3.0 gen so its compatible with my mobo,i just think my mobo is weak for that gpu.Also when like on the manufacturers site says that mobo is compatible with the cpu/gpu or whatever,does that mean its only capable of barelly running the cpu/gpu or does it mean it will be strong and stable with that cpu/gpu?
I was supprised and sceptical and didnt think that will be good for my mobo when i saw that my mobo can handle 3770k,thats why i would have gone for 3570k,cuz it seemed more balanced,but now that i have a confirmation from you that it will run perfectly on my mobo,im glad to hear that.Also do i need a bios update for 3770?If i do when i tried to update my bios for no reason a few months ago i saw it is only compatible with windows 8.1 and that was max windows that is supported.Since im running windows 10 pro 64-bit,will i be able to update to the latest bios which is for windows 8.1?
 

Karadjgne

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The gpu is pcie x16. It'll work on any mobo thats pcie x16. It won't work on older AGP x8 or on even older pci boards. Your mobo isn't weak at all, the gtx1660 is only strong enough to soak up @ half of pcie 3.0 x8, which is the same amount as half of pcie 2.0 x16. You have all kinds of bandwidth left.

Don't worry about windows. Win 10 did not exist the last time that webpage was decently updated. I'm running win10 x64 pro on a Z77, there's people running win10 on sandy bridge and even some I know on old lga775...

According to data sheets, the ih61m only supports i7-3770 or i7-3770S, no mention of the i7-3770K, which is not unusual for a proprietary bios like Lenovo. So double check that, it's not an aftermarket bios. (you don't want the i7-3770S, it's an eco chip, gutless wonder)
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/pd024645
 
The gpu is pcie x16. It'll work on any mobo thats pcie x16. It won't work on older AGP x8 or on even older pci boards. Your mobo isn't weak at all, the gtx1660 is only strong enough to soak up @ half of pcie 3.0 x8, which is the same amount as half of pcie 2.0 x16. You have all kinds of bandwidth left.

Don't worry about windows. Win 10 did not exist the last time that webpage was decently updated. I'm running win10 x64 pro on a Z77, there's people running win10 on sandy bridge and even some I know on old lga775...

According to data sheets, the ih61m only supports i7-3770 or i7-3770S, no mention of the i7-3770K, which is not unusual for a proprietary bios like Lenovo. So double check that, it's not an aftermarket bios. (you don't want the i7-3770S, it's an eco chip, gutless wonder)
https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/pd024645
Interesting,when i go to "ih61m best cpus"it shows that its supports both 3570k and 3770k.I trust lenovos site more so im still going with the 3770.Also if i have to update bios,i just go to the bios for windows 8.1 or what?
 
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Karadjgne

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Slight difference. The h61 chipset itself can support any 3rd gen cpu. And on an aftermarket motherboard, they do as that's a selling point, universal fit. But Lenovo, Dell, HP, Sony and the other 3rd party OEMs aren't selling the h61 chipset, they sell a complete pc. And the bios for that pc model line is restricted to only a few cpus. So if you wanted the 3770k you'd need to buy the more expensive model pc. Some models didn't even accept the core i5, only cpu available was the core i3, if you wanted a quad, buy the more expensive model.

It's a way of making sure people only bought a certain limit, couldn't just buy the cheapest and throw in an upgrade. You'll find very few full size ATX or full tower designs, most are mATX with a micro tower at best, just to make it semi-impossible to make a full gaming platform with giant gpu/cpu on the cheapest models. Because HP, Lenovo, Dell etc DO sell gaming platforms, like Dell XPS, or HP Omen, and they want you to buy those at $1600 if you want a gaming platform, not swap a $300 full pc into a gaming platform by swapping out a cpu and gpu.
 
Slight difference. The h61 chipset itself can support any 3rd gen cpu. And on an aftermarket motherboard, they do as that's a selling point, universal fit. But Lenovo, Dell, HP, Sony and the other 3rd party OEMs aren't selling the h61 chipset, they sell a complete pc. And the bios for that pc model line is restricted to only a few cpus. So if you wanted the 3770k you'd need to buy the more expensive model pc. Some models didn't even accept the core i5, only cpu available was the core i3, if you wanted a quad, buy the more expensive model.

It's a way of making sure people only bought a certain limit, couldn't just buy the cheapest and throw in an upgrade. You'll find very few full size ATX or full tower designs, most are mATX with a micro tower at best, just to make it semi-impossible to make a full gaming platform with giant gpu/cpu on the cheapest models.
im good with the 3770,i was just wondering what to do if i need to update the bios,but according to you and many others who own a pc like mine,thats not necesarry.Also since i have a RAIDMAX NEON RGB case which i bought to replace lenovo one and is it safe to use a usb 2.0 to 3.0 adapter since my mobo doesnt have a usb 3.0 port on it.The case it self has on the front a 1xusb 2.0 and 1xusb 3.0 which i wont be able to use until i buy a adapter,so is the adapter safe to buy one?
 

Karadjgne

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Sure. USB2.0 is a 10pin block connection. USB3.0 is a 20pin block connection. USB3.0 is basically double the bandwidth of USB2.0, so a USB3.0-2.0 adapter just splits that single 20pin into 2x 10pin and your motherboard has 4x? USB2.0 headers.

The hardest part about the swap will be lining up the front panel connectors with your mobo. The old case had a single plug, proprietary, built just for that motherboard. Aftermarket cases have individual pins to accommodate any motherboard. So you'll just need to figure out where to stick the power button + and -, speaker + and -, hdd + and - etc.
 
Sure. USB2.0 is a 10pin block connection. USB3.0 is a 20pin block connection. USB3.0 is basically double the bandwidth of USB2.0, so a USB3.0-2.0 adapter just splits that single 20pin into 2x 10pin and your motherboard has 4x? USB2.0 headers.

The hardest part about the swap will be lining up the front panel connectors with your mobo. The old case had a single plug, proprietary, built just for that motherboard. Aftermarket cases have individual pins to accommodate any motherboard. So you'll just need to figure out where to stick the power button + and -, speaker + and -, hdd + and - etc.
Yeah i was planing on doing some heavy research about that,cuz i noticed in many build quides it goes easily,but when i saw the bottom of my mobo i was like this is a maze without exit.The mobo has 3 fans which are all routed via single molex which is perfect,and they have 3x4pin for rgb which i wont be able to use until i buy a rgb splitter.If you want i can send you a picture of all the front panel cables and the bottom of my mobo if tou think you can help me.And yes my mobo has 4xusb 2.0 at the back.
 

Karadjgne

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No, not the back panel. That's seperate. Down near the Sata data connectors will be a line of USB2 headers, quite often right at the very bottom of the mobo, next to the front panel pins. Small, black 10pin headers. That's what the USB3-USB2 adapter will plug into.
 
No, not the back panel. That's seperate. Down near the Sata data connectors will be a line of USB2 headers, quite often right at the very bottom of the mobo, next to the front panel pins. Small, black 10pin headers. That's what the USB3-USB2 adapter will plug into.
Ok,but can you help me wih front panel connection since you said that will be a bit of a challenge.If u want i can send u pics of the front panel cables from neon rgb case and the bottom of my mobo.