Picking a New Motherboard

[Wislan]

Hey,

I've decided that I really do need a new motherboard. My current one is super old and has been causing issues lately, and besides I am looking to upgrade other hardware, specifically more storage space and maybe a new processor. This has proven to be much more difficult than I an anticipated and I am somewhat fearful of all the issues with compatibility, longevity etc even after reading the "How to Choose a Motherboard" article on this site. I would appreciate your help in making a selection. My current setup is

Win 10 64bt
i7 2600k
8gb ram (2x4gb DDR3)
GTX 970
250gb ssd (SATA III 6gb/s)
500gb hdd (SATA II 3gb/s)
I also have a single optical drive.

My current mohter board is a MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) (this one https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/Z68AG43_G3.html#hero-specification)

Additionally, the SSD is Samsung which I have heard can have compatibility issues with AMD motherboards, for example although I have checked my SSD is in a SATA III slot, it shows in Windows as being in a SATA II slot.

So far I haven't overclocked anything but it is something I would like to be able to dabble in in the future.

I have done my best to provide all required information but understand you may need more...

Thanks

 

[WildCard999]

What issues are you having with your current motherboard? If possible can you use your current motherboard until you could afford a new CPU, MB & RAM?

The reason I ask is your current motherboard does support overclocking and also since it's older its going to be difficult to find a cheap but decent MB.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

It's difficult to find good motherboards for a decent price that are that socket. There are either only the cheap ones that are new or the good ones that are used and expensive.

Scarcity has increased their price.

 

[Wislan]

What issues are you having with your current motherboard? If possible can you use your current motherboard until you could afford a new CPU, MB & RAM?

The reason I ask is your current motherboard does support overclocking and also since it's older its going to be difficult to find a cheap but decent MB.

It's difficult to find good motherboards for a decent price that are that socket. There are either only the cheap ones that are new or the good ones that are used and expensive.

Scarcity has increased their price.

So it would be much better to get a new CPU along with a new motherboard since there are very few motherboards that support the CPU I have?


The issues are not currently terminal however I have had the occasional BSoD that I traced back to the motherboard (it was an out of memory problem however I checked the RAM thoroughly and it was fine so I concluded the motherboard was the issue). That hasn't happened for a few months however. It's also that I want to upgrade a few other components (more storage, maybe a better CPU) and want a motherboard that can support it.

 

[WildCard999]

Since this BSOD hasn't happened in awhile I would save up and get a substantial upgrade such as the i5-8400 (or i7-8700) and if it takes a few months it will work out well as Intel will be releasing there B350/H370 "budget" motherboards early next year. Or your could go with the K CPU versions and Z motherboards for overclocking.