Looking for Mobo Advice for Budget Upgrade

[BeautifulDankness]

I will be purchasing an FX 6300 processor. I'm looking for an AM3+ mobo and I want suggestions... I was hoping for a $50 board, but I could i go up to $70 if there is a distinct reason to. I have been recommended ASUS over other brands, but why choose one over the other? What is your preference? I plan to game on this machine, but with only one graphics card.

Also, is USB 3.0 worth getting? I have a front slot on my new case.

And one more thing, the memory that i buy to accompany the board - what speed is suggested, all things considered? Is it hard to Overclock RAM? Is it expensive to have a board that will do it well? Or can any board do this?

Thanks all! This website rocks!

 

[Calvin7]

FX 6300 processor
Memory channels: 2
Supported memory: DDR3-1866 (1866 at 1 DIMM per channel, 1600 at 2 DIMMs per channel)

There are several micro-ATX AMD 760G chipset motherboards in your price range. An AMD 990 or 970 model are ATX size and are about $100 and up.

ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131942

GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128565

 

[BeautifulDankness]

FX 6300 processor
Memory channels: 2
Supported memory: DDR3-1866 (1866 at 1 DIMM per channel, 1600 at 2 DIMMs per channel)

There are several micro-ATX AMD 760G chipset motherboards in your price range. An AMD 990 or 970 model are ATX size and are about $100 and up.

ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131942

GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128565

Thank you for the reply & suggestions. I like both, but the Gigabyte stands out. However, i've found another board i was thinking about, what is your opinion?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157323

I've Prime so i can get that shipped for free on Amazon. It doesn't have front usb 3.0 headers but it has rear 3.0's and DOES have x2 SATA 6 - which would be worth consideration, right?

Also, say i get the Asrock i posted, what would be the suggested Ram type (Mhz) to pair with the board and FX 6300 cpu? I'm still a tad confused on how that works, even though i've been told to just get some ram and throw it in there and it'll be fine. The Asrock says "DDR3 1866(OC)/1600(OC)", does that mean i'd be using 1600 oc'd higher than 1600, or something lower clocked up TO 1600? (Just as an example - i want the fastest if possible)

Thank you for the replies, i'm very close to completing my system and i have the Tomshardware community to thank <3

 

[Calvin7]

The FX-6300
◦The number of memory controllers: 1
Memory channels: 2
Supported memory: DDR3-1866

You can use one DIMM per channel for 1866MHz speed without overclocking. If you want to use two DIMMs per channel then you can use 1600MHz speed memory without overclocking.

In the BIOS: (Do NOT leave the memory clock set to [Auto], for 1866MHz memory set it to [933MHz DDR3_1866].

Memory Clock
This item can be set by the code using [Auto].
You can set one of the standard values as listed: [400MHz DDR3_800], [533MHz DDR3_1066],
[667MHz DDR3_1333], [800MHz DDR3_1600] and [933MHz DDR3_1866].

Set the first four DRAM Timing numbers in the BIOS starting with CAS Latency (CL).
For example,
G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460
• DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
• Timing 9-10-9-28
• Cas Latency 9
• Voltage 1.5V

The first number in DRAM Timings listed above is 9 for CAS Latency, second number 10, third 9, fourth 28.