Recommended Motherboard for an i3 550

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Quantum10

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Nov 27, 2010
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Hello:

I am considering to build my own PC with my father given the cost effectiveness compared to buying a pre-built machine. I am replacing a Dell Inspiron 580 that I paid approx. $700 for last Feb which was lost due to water damage in my home. So, I am being practical in terms of total expenditure.

I'd like to use an Intel i3 550 CPU, and would appreciate any recommendations toward the most reliable, cost-effective motherboard.
I have spent countless hours researching reviews from various manufacturers including Intel, Asus, ASRock, Biostar, etc. My initial instinct was to purchase an Intel MoBo, but it seems like they have the worst reviews.

I was hopeful to find a board with 4 memory slots and ability to upgrade to i5 or i7 CPU in the future. I plan to use the following components as well:

Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Blue ($39.99 CompUSA)
Corsair 4GB DDR3 $89.99
Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W PSU $79.99 -OR- Antec 450W PSU $44.95 ($19.95 after rebate)
Radeon HD5570 video card for simultaneous use of 3 monitors
Lite-On IHA522406 DVD/CD drive

I will genuinely appreciate any insight the good members of this forum may be able to share in recommending a motherboard.

Sincerely,
Quantum10


 
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hello Quantum10,
u have selected good configurations.These appears to be future proof as well.
If u are going to use it for high-end gaming then u should go for Radeon HD 5770 or if u can afford more then go for GTX 460 instead of Radeon HD 5570.
But as u are planning to have Intel Core i3 550,it means that u need a motherboard with 1156LGA socket.
On 1156LGA socket,u can place even core i7 but of 8-series.Corei7 9-series will not be applicable.
Core i7 9-series is applicable on motherboards having LGA 1366 socket.
................................................................................
here are some motherboards:
*Intel DP45SG.
*ASUS P7P55D.
The two motherboards given above have two PCI-e 2.0 X16 slots it means that u can connect two graphic cards if u want to.
The motherboards given below are having single PCI-e 2.0 X16 slot:
*ASUS P7H55-V.
*ASUS P7H55D-M PRO.
................................................................................
Best Of Luck.
 
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^+1 i7 9xx are X58/1366 - but the i7 8xx are P55/1156.

GPU:
While the HD 5570 supports the feature, the costs getting it to work make it a poor choice. I would recommend the SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 ; one dongle will cost you an additional ~$25~$30.
SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873

Eyefinity:
Dongles - http://support.amd.com/us/eyefinity/Pages/eyefinity-dongles.aspx
Set-up - http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/gpu50-ati-eyefinity-display-groups.aspx

MOBO:
Do not get Intel MOBO, great CPUs -- horrible and problematic MOBOs; go figure?! ASUS is about the least problematic MOBOs.

$140 ASUS P7P55D-E http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131620
$130 ASUS P7P55D Deluxe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131400

ASUS Side-by-Side -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627%2050001315%20600007888&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-131-405^13-131-405-TS,13-131-620^13-131-620-TS,13-131-601^13-131-601-TS,13-131-604^13-131-604-TS,13-131-400^13-131-400-TS

PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W PSU $79.99 {Japanese Capacitors, Single Rail, over/under and fault protection} Antec is better 'now' but in the past they wouldn't last and in the end take-out components like CPU/MOBO/GPU in their death throws.

CASE:
$80 CM 690 II Advanced http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216

HDD:
$50 Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

CPU:
i3 530 or i5 750 ; the $10 savings from 530 to 550 is a free BIOS tweak in the BIOS.
 
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jaquith: Do not get Intel MOBO, great CPUs -- horrible and problematic MOBOs; go figure?! ASUS is about the least problematic MOBOs.


buddy thats why i have mentioned three ASUS motherboards above.
 
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I am also getting the parts needed to build a very similar computer (i3-550), except I will be using a PNY GTX 460 and a SSD.

I wanted the possibility of SLI-ing the video cards in the future, and am confused as to the best way to go about that.
Do I need the P7P55D-E's faster USB or SATA's?
What is the best PCIe configuration: 1x16 and 1x4 or dual 8x
Basically which is the best mobo of those asus mobo's for: 1) SLI expandability and 2) OC-ability

Any recommendations or information appreciated!!!
 
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i actually have another question about ram.

the i3 doesn't natively support 1600 DDR3 ram, correct? Is there any way to use the ripjaws @ 1600 by OC-ing something? Or is that not a good option? Are there better options?

First build...sorry.
 
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woah you're fast...

I ordered the ASUS P7P55D Deluxe, but didn't really understand your last comment.

I would be using an i3-550, not an i7 9xx series? Are you saying that since the i7 can use it the i3 should be ok as well?

I'm kind of regretting that purchase now...
Hopefully everything works out.

CPU i3-550 $110
MOBO Asus D Delux 130
RAM Gskill 2x2gb 50
HD OCZ 90GB SSD 120 (will prob get a big drive for storage, this for OS)
GFX GTX 460 150

What speed do you think the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Processor cooler will let my little i3 get to?
 
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Clarification:
Memory controllers
i7 930 DDR3-800/1066 - http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=41447
i3 550 DDR3-1066/1333 - http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=48505

ASUS P7P55D Deluxe G.SKILL Tested RAM -> http://gskill.com/configurator2.php?pid=2&model=162 Use ONLY RAM listed here from G.SKILL!

RE: "HD OCZ 90GB SSD 120 (will prob get a big drive for storage, this for OS) " -> Don't do it get at least 120~128GB SSD. I 'get' the $ but I too get you want ALL of your OS + Apps to fit on the SSD; otherwise you're causing more problems than a solution. Splitting Apps on another HDD is NOT a good thing and defeats the purpose of the SSD. Trust Me!

There's no problem with you running 1600 MHz RAM with either the CPU or MOBO; Good to Go!
 
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Hi geniusender:

I appreciate your time and effort in responding to my thread.



I do not intend to use the video card for gaming. Rather, I trade the financial markets and would like to utilize three monitors for displaying multiple price charts in my workspace.

Would it be more beneficial to purchase 2 additional video cards as opposed to 1 high-end video card in terms of memory?



Sounds as though, dependent upon price, it may be most beneficial to consider having a MoBo supporting LGA 1366?

Sincerely,
Quantum10
 
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Hi jaquith:

I appreciate your insight.



So, in order to operate three monitors simultaneously I will need to purchase an "active" dongle from the URL provided?




So, when purchasing the i3 530 I would need to manually tweak the BIOS?

Sincerely,
Quantum10
 
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^ ANS:
1. Yes you'll need a dongle for the 3rd monitor if using the GPU I linked. More 'stuff' for the GPU you picked. Keep in mind there are some HD's with 6 miniports.

2. If you purchase the cheaper CPU you'll need to OC to match the speed of the CPU that you choose {baby OC}. And yes you'll need to modify a couple of settings.
 
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hello Quantum10,
As u dont require it for gaming so one graphic card would be enough.
But yes a good pair of graphic card can beat a high end graphic card like the pair of HD 5770 is an excellent pair.
Similarly,
A pair of GTS 250 is a good one.

Now i move towards the processor.If u have budget then u should go for the Core i7 9-series.It is future proof as well.
In that case ur CPU will not bottleneck your GPU n u will not have to Overclock it.
Yes buddy for 3rd monitor u will require dongle.
Best of Luck buddy.
 
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Hello everyone:

Thanks again for all of your continued insights. I'm wondering if it is possible, and feasible, to utilize the built-in video of a MoBo for 1 monitor, and then employ the use of two, individual low-end video cards for the 2nd and third individual monitors:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161321

It would seem more cost-effective, since I do not intend to use the monitors or video cards for gaming. I do not foresee this use in the future either.

I understand this may not be a realistic possibility, but wanted to ask this question because it has been on my mind.

Sincerely,
Quantum10
 
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Thanks for clarifying this. I will probably purchase the 550 then, to avoid any frustration in having to modify the bios settings.

Sincerely,
Quantum10
 
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Hello:

In the interim, I have decided to piece together those components which I am certain of purchasing at this point:

Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E
CPU: Core i3 550
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-650TX
HD: Barracuda 7200.12 1TB

On the Asus board, I did not see any product specs indicating built-in ethernet, although I assumed it came equipped with such.

For memory, is the following suitable:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233132&cm_re=Corsair_4GB_DDR3-_-20-233-132-_-Product



Sincerely,
Quantum10
 
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Hi Jaquith:

Thanks for this. I appreciate your sharing the compatibility resource.
From the list specific to the MoBo selected, I think I am going to purchase the following:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145263

I was wondering if there is a different case you would recommend aside from the CM 690 II. Although I appreciate the aesthetics, I am looking for something a bit more "plain". Unless I could simply deactivate the neon blue lights inside?

Sincerely,
Quantum10
 
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I use the CM 690 II Advanced for my office, they're about as plain as it gets. Yes, there's a switch that turns on/off the blue LED or simply unplug the LEDs. They have excellent airflow, wiring, connections {I like the SATA on the top / covered by smoked plastic cover}, and toolless. The next step-up is the Corsair Graphite Series 600T but it's twice the price with 10% more...

Amazon -> http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Advance-Mid-Tower-RC-692-KKN2/dp/B00336EM0W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1291602738&sr=8-1
 
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Hi jaquith:

Thanks again for responding. In the spirit of learning ,I am interested to know why it is not advisable to utilize a single 4GB memory stick.

The particular reason I was going to buy a single stick was to occupy less slots on the MoBo for future upgrades.

Does it employ the memory less efficiently?

Sincerely,
Quantum10
 
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The problem is as I mentioned upgrading, and MOBO upgrading paths; review your manual or download. The typical options are:
1 Stick - period
2 Sticks
2 Sticks + 2 Sticks

ASUS P7P55D-E http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=9i872VNaAILRp8bS

Examples Dual Channel MOBOs:
P55_Dual_Channel.jpg

DDR_DUAL.jpg


 
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Hi jaquith:

Thanks for this. It would seem I would not be able to operate dual channel mode with just one stick. I appreciate the info.

I'm about ready to order the components, but just slightly unclear on purchasing the dongle from ATI. The site linked to lists many variations, seemingly different based upon the input column.

I will require a dongle with a DisplayPort input, correct?

Sincerely,
Quantum10
 
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