I'm lost when it comes to finding a motherboard for my build. Please help me.

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Mr Carter

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Mar 11, 2013
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I'm building a computer but I'm afraid to start buying components as I can't quite figure out the motherboard that I want. There's a lot that worries me: potential bottle-necking, lack of expand-ability, ability to over-clock, and most of all the enormous selection. As you may be able to tell this is my first full-build. The most I've done before this is replace a graphics card and power supply.

I read an article, on this site no less, that says that motherboards can't be picked in a vacuum, so I have decided on most of the important components I want:

NVIDIA gtx Geforce 660 TI
Intel Core i5 3570k
SSD 128 GB (enough to store the OS on and 4-5 games)
2 TB Hardrive
At least 16 GB DDR3 Memory

I'm not sure what Power Supply to get yet. I'm also a little iffy on that.

I have already received an Antec 300 Case which can fit the Standard ATX, Mini-ITX, and Micro-ATX Motherboards. I will be using this computer for the latest generation gaming and some-what intensive video-editing software as well as design software such as Flash, Photoshop, and Illustrator. My price point for the whole system will I hope be somewhere near $1200. Since, I'm spending about 600 dollars for the GPU and CPU I thought that another 600 would be good enough to complete the system.

I'm sorry that this has become a little bit more than a question about a motherboard and perhaps this is too off-topic for this section of the forum. However, I would be very appreciative if I could even find a foothold to research from.
 
Solution
jnkweaver
Here is a good build for a little over 1200. It does not include the case you already have or the OS. It is configured to SLI later if you want to. The PSU is built with that in mind.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/J6r4

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($85.13 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($156.72 @ Amazon)
Storage: Mushkin...
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with a z letter chip and over clocking you want a z77 chipset mb. the entry level mb that have good value and perfomace are msi and asrock mb. when looking at mb look at the number of ports and the mb slot layout. most mini atx are good for one or two video cards and a wifi card. most people buy the full size atx mb for the extra pci slots and ports. myself for entry level i like msi ga line of mb. priced around 100.00.asrock mb for entry level are not bad as well. a lot of people now like asus lx line of mb. asus has one of the easy efi bios to over clock with. for power supply look for a sesonic or a rebranded one or one from cosair. make sure the power supply is bronze rated. for your rig a good 650w unit should be fine.
 
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Here is a good build for a little over 1200. It does not include the case you already have or the OS. It is configured to SLI later if you want to. The PSU is built with that in mind.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/J6r4

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($85.13 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($156.72 @ Amazon)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1202.78 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-11 21:35 EDT-0400)
 
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Solution


Oh, this is great! I think the only thing I might change is the PSU, since I'll probably never SLI or I'll probably get a new card first I think 650w will be okay as long as that's all it affects, and I'll probably get a wi-fi card with it, since I don't think there's one integrated. Thanks a lot! I really appreciate the effort you went through. I was almost thinking about just giving in and buying a custom pc.
 
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If you are sure you won't SLI then try this build. Change the MB and PSU

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/J7ys

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.90 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($85.13 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($159.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1145.95 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-11 22:51 EDT-0400)

 
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Looks good, and under $1200!
 
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CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Microcenter) - Combo pricewith the CPU
Memory: G-Skill 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda STBD2000101 2TB 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99@ Newegg)
Storage: SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD250BW 2.5" 250GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: GV-N650OC-2GI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 HD Experience Series Overclocked 2048MB ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: OCZ Technology 750 Watt Fatal1ty Series Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: LG 14x Internal Blu-ray Burner WH14NS40 - Bare Drive ($59.99 @ Microcenter)

The Power Suply an the Video Card have $20 rebates on them (so $40 savings off the cost).

I know this system works. I just finished the build using these components (with the exception of the Western Digital Hard Drive) last night. The Video Card does not lend itself to SLI (but you said you were not interested in that feature).

By the time you figure that you would like to add the second video card (to make it SLI), the card will no longer be mainstream and you would end up buying two new cards anyway.

I hope that this helps.
 
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This is what I run and I couldn't be happier:

Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Core i3, i5, i7 and platforms
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)
Corsair Hydro Series High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H60
Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor 3.4 GHz 4 Core LGA 1155 - BX80637I53570K
AS Rock LGA1155 DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 Quad CrossFireX and Quad SLI A GbE ATX Motherboard Z77 EXTREME4

I've been building systems for 25 years and I spent a great deal of time researching different configurations. The Z77 EXTREME4 comes with onboard video so you don't have to decide on a video card right away. I'm not a gamer, but I do video processing so I will be purchasing a high-end card later. I decided on a Cooler Master HAF XM case which is more than adequate. Total cost: $720

Hope this helps!
 
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