Need Motherboard Suggestions For A Tight Budget...

[William Carter]

Hi guys, I have had the same system for about 6 years now, and I feel like I need to upgrade. I am on a tight budget, so I am looking to find a decent but cheap motherboard that has a better Max RAM on it but uses LGA1156 so I can use the RAM & CPU I already have. Here is what I have:

Asus P7H55-M LE Motherboard (Max 8GB RAM)

Intel Core i5-760 Processor 2.8 GHz 8 MB Cache Socket LGA1156

Corsair Vengeance - DDR3 - 8 GB : 2 x 4 GB - DIMM 240-pin - 1600 MHz / PC3-12800 - CL9 - 1.5 V - unbuffered - (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B)

EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti FTW DVI-I/HDMI/Display Port GDDR5 Graphics Card with ACX Cooling 02G-P4-3757-KR

I'd like something that can use what I have above, but has a max RAM of 16-32GB. Any recommendations? I'd like to stay as far under $200 as possible.

 

[William Carter]

Ok guys, so I have decided to go along with this setup Delaro recommended:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($121.73 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($111.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $333.70

My final question is: I looked up that CPU he recommended and the one I currently have and I'm wondering, it seems like they both have the same stats as far as:

i3-8100 - 3.6Ghz
CORES - 4
L1 CACHE - 4 x 32KB Instruction - 4 x 32KB Data
L2 CACHE - 4 x 256KB
L3 CACHE - 1 x 6MB

Mine:

i5-760 quad core
2.8GHz - CORES - 4
L1 CACHE - 4 x 32KB Instruction - 4 x 32KB Data
L2 CACHE - 4 x 256KB
L3 CACHE - 1 x 8MB

They seem the same, just wondering how the i3 is better and by how much?

 

[delaro]

This will give you a good idea.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-760-vs-Intel-Core-i3-8100/m717vs3942

Average use is close to 50% faster due to both a higher IPC and memory bandwidth. On the gaming side you gain at least 30% on the minimum FPS which is quite noticeable for a $100 CPU.

 

[artk2219]

Ok guys, so I have decided to go along with this setup Delaro recommended:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($121.73 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($111.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $333.70

My final question is: I looked up that CPU he recommended and the one I currently have and I'm wondering, it seems like they both have the same stats as far as:

i3-8100 - 3.6Ghz
CORES - 4
L1 CACHE - 4 x 32KB Instruction - 4 x 32KB Data
L2 CACHE - 4 x 256KB
L3 CACHE - 1 x 6MB

Mine:

i5-760 quad core
2.8GHz - CORES - 4
L1 CACHE - 4 x 32KB Instruction - 4 x 32KB Data
L2 CACHE - 4 x 256KB
L3 CACHE - 1 x 8MB

They seem the same, just wondering how the i3 is better and by how much?

The thing your not taking into account is the 10 years worth of architecture improvments and additional CPU instructions. Your current I5 cant decode H265 videos, the I3 can, also it comes with a built in gpu, and it lets you do quick video conversions, finally its like 60% faster clock for clock. So your I5 in order to match it would have to be clocked at 5.6 Ghz or so. I cant find any good direct comparisons, so I've included their passmark comparisons below.

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare_CPUs/Intel_BV80605001908AN,Intel_CM8068403377308/

=773&cmp[]=3103]https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=773&cmp[]=3103

 

[William Carter]

Well, that's what I'm going to go with, I may wait a month or two to save a little bit more to do 2-8GB sticks. Thank you all for your advice and your patience. It is really appreciated.

 

[William Carter]

Ok, this is the setup I'm going with, lemme know what you guys think (compare to what I have now)...


Mobo: GIGABYTE B360M DS3H (LGA1151/Intel/Micro ATX/USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB3.0) Type A/DDR4/Motherboard)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BQ9SSH7/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

RAM: Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Single DDR4 2666 MT/s (PC4-21300) DR x8 DIMM 288-Pin Memory - BLS8G4D26BFSC (White)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS79QSP/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

CPU: Intel Core i3-8100 Desktop Processor 4 Cores 3.6GHz LGA1151 300 Series 65W BX80684i38100
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0759FTRZL/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Total price: $269.00

8GB is all I can do for now, but I'll get another stick later in the year, and I'm gonna stick with my current video card as it can play WoW on High settings fine which is what I mostly play... What do you guys think of this setup compared to what I have now? Is it worth it?

 

[artk2219]

Ok, this is the setup I'm going with, lemme know what you guys think (compare to what I have now)...


Mobo: GIGABYTE B360M DS3H (LGA1151/Intel/Micro ATX/USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB3.0) Type A/DDR4/Motherboard)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BQ9SSH7/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

RAM: Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Single DDR4 2666 MT/s (PC4-21300) DR x8 DIMM 288-Pin Memory - BLS8G4D26BFSC (White)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS79QSP/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

CPU: Intel Core i3-8100 Desktop Processor 4 Cores 3.6GHz LGA1151 300 Series 65W BX80684i38100
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0759FTRZL/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Total price: $269.00

8GB is all I can do for now, but I'll get another stick later in the year, and I'm gonna stick with my current video card as it can play WoW on High settings fine which is what I mostly play... What do you guys think of this setup compared to what I have now? Is it worth it?

Talk about necroing a thread . That setup looks good, it will definitely feel better than your current computer, you just need to add more memory and upgrade your video card later and you should be good for a while after that, and you will have an upgrade path to a 6 core in the future when you need it. I would say that if you've been looking or an upgrade, thats a pretty decent one, and you should notice a difference. Also, should you be curious about building a Ryzen 3 2200G system vs your current config, ill leave this here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br-QusrfzXE