Help deciding motherboard for first occasional gaming build

[jdjs]

Title says it. First time building myself, and need some help on what to get. I received an amd APU (A8-5600K) and a GPU (R7850) a while back, so deciding to build the rest. Primarily trying to decide what motherboard to get right now, but will need to figure out PSU and RAM eventually. In terms of games I might play, Portal 2, CS:GO, Bioshock series and the like come to mind.

The CPU is an FM2 Socket, so that narrows it down. My casing fits ATX and microATX, narrowing neweggs filters to 43! -_- Would an ATX board be cheaper than the equivalent microATX board? I'm currently leaning to a microATX so I could move it to one of my smaller cases in the future if I build another system, but better performance at a similar price would sway me one way or the other. I doubt I'll be getting any additional graphics cards or Crossfiring, so an excess of PCIex slots won't be necessary. Won't be needing integrated graphics. I may consider putting in a wireless card for convenience if the price is right (<$10), otherwise I'd just be using a long ethernet chord, what kind of slot would be necessary for that? Ideally I would want to spend <$100 on the MB, unless there anything else I should consider/is worthwhile? I don'e quite understand the difference in chipsets, are they just different additional features? Or do they affect performance? Not trying to break the bank with a free processor haha. Recommendations please!

Considering this PSU:
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/96536/tigerdirect-850w-hec-80-silver-certified-power-supply
It appears to be no name, but seems like a steal for the voltage. The R7850 says 500v recommended, is that for the GPU alone, or overall? Would it be better to have some overhead voltage? Or should I go for more known brands like corsair?

As for RAM, I'm considering just 2x2gb=4gb, would 2x4gb=8gb improve performance by much? I hear games wouldn't utilize it all anyway, and the most multitasking intensive thing I would be doing is having 20tabs on chrome with a couple word docs and/or spreadsheets open.

Parts I already have:
CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113281

GPU: R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC
http://us.msi.com/product/vga/R7850-Twin-Frozr-2GD5-OC.html

Storage: 120gb hdd

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

Approximate Purchase Date: Sometime in the next month, no rush.

Budget Range: 200-300 tops (for the parts I still need) After Rebates & After Shipping

System Usage: Daily work/school usage, surfing internet, watching/streaming HD movies (HTPC maybe), occasional gaming (maybe more if build turns out well)

Parts to Upgrade: MoBo, RAM, power supply (have old stock 350w from Cooler Master Centurion 5, likely no enough for this build)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, amazon.com, frys.com. Cheaper the better! I've been comparing parts on newegg, will probably scour for deals once I decide on parts.

Overclocking: Never done it before, but might this time. Likely, since I've read the CPU might bottleneck the GPU.

SLI or Crossfire: Probably not.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1440x900, 1600x900, maybe 1920x1080

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Currently running a 3.0ghz Pentium 4 system from circa 2005, so anything would be an improvement. Mostly need something snappy and responsive.

 

[TheCowman]

mATX is normally marginally cheaper than ATX because it has less expansion ports. You only have one video card, and if you don't plan on adding more, it'll fit really nicely on a mATX case. You don't need an 850W PSU! When they say 500W recommended, they mean for the system. You could definitely go for a 500W> PSU from Seasonic/Corsair/XFX. (seasonic makes corsair's PSUs, anyway). 8GB of RAM is the way to go nowadays, for gaming, anyway. G.Skill RipjawsX or Sniper series/Corsair Vengeance would have you sorted on that aspect. As for the motherboard, I have no clue because I haven't looked into any AMD mobos, but I know that Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and ASRock tend to do well for performance mobos.

 

[vertexx]

What you really have there are parts for two completely different computers. For what you stated:

"System Usage: Daily work/school usage, surfing internet, watching/streaming HD movies (HTPC maybe), occasional gaming (maybe more if build turns out well)"

Your CPU, which is really an APU, or a combined CPU and GPU in one chip will do fine. So, you can sell your 7850 to get more $$ to invest in the rest of your system. In fact, with that setup, you may want to consider a small form factor Mini-ITX build.

However, if you think you might want to experiment more with the Gaming side of it, then your A8-5600k is really a mismatch for that need. Basically, with your HD 7850, the GPU part of the A8-5600k is sitting there doing nothing.

If you want to optimize your setup for the gaming potential, here is an option worth considering for the long haul (bear with me here):

1. Sell your A8-5600k. See if you can get $75-85, particularly if it's still new in the box.

2. Buy a previous generation AMD Phenom II X4 965 CPU for $75-85. You can catch a promo on Newegg or even pick it up on eBay. This chip is a tremendous value for an all-purpose and gaming PC. Here are a few references:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-2.html
http://www.gamersnexus.net/pc-builds/46-pcbuildupg/999-mid-range-budget-gaming-pc-2013
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-965-vs-AMD-A8-5600K

Overall, this is a great chip that is very easily over-clocked to 4.0 Ghz for a good performance boost.

3. The whole purpose of this switch would be to get you to an AM3+ motherboard, which is the more performance oriented motherboard. So, you would buy something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131873
This is a mid-range ATX motherboard with SATA 6.0GB/s and USB 3.0. It will provide a good upgrade path for several years.

4. With the next generation of AMD processors, the performance oriented CPUs will use the AM3+ socket. The FM2 socket will be used for general purpose, lower performance APUs. You will be well set to upgrade the CPU if you choose to at that point.

With the Phenom II X4 and HD7850 2GB combination, you actually have a great mid-level gaming rig.

Bottom line is the mix of the AMD A8 with the HD7850 is not really an optimized setup. I'd recommend deciding which way you want to go and get rid of one or the other. Or, you could decide you have the beginnings of 2 PCs: One a Small Form Factor general purpose PC/HTPC that does light gaming (the A8) and one budget gaming rig (the 7850 with a budget CPU).

 

[vertexx]

If the above is too much, then here are some answers for your current setup:

1. A good quality 350W PSU is actually fine for the components you just listed. It depends on the amperage available on a rail. The 12V amperage requirement is ~22Amps. So, your PSU should have a plate with a grid on it that tells you the available amps for each voltage. If you upgrade, then find a Certified Bronze PSU in the 450-500W range.

2. For motherboard, something like this will fit the bill: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131881
Micro-ATX will give you the best functionality on a budget. Just make sure it supports the CPU (always recommend going to the Motherboard Manufacturer's product page and verify CPU compatibility), and I'd recommend getting a newer Motherboard with USB 3.0 and Sata 6.0GB/sec support.