Upgrading Motherboard AM3+ Help!

ahudson85

Distinguished
Sep 2, 2009
10
0
18,510
Hello and thanks in advance. I am looking at upgrading my motherboard and memory and have a few questions:

CPU: AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H
RAM: 8g Crucial PC2-6400 (ddr2 @800mhz)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2-600W
GPU: MSI GTX 560 TI Hawk Edition
Case: Antec 300
Display: LG 24" LCD @1920x

1. What motherboard would you suggest? (am3+ , 1 or 2 GPU slots (2nd card later on?) and in the mid range price market). I do play games, but nothing too serious, MMO's mainly; SW:TOR.

2. What memory would you suggest based off my semi-demanding game choices? (I was thinking something 1600mhz, but willing to take suggestions on higher speeds).

3. How much of a performance boost will I achieve by going to a new board with DDR3 Memory.


I was thinking something along these lines,

Mobo: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514 (not sure if I really need 4 PCI-e slots?)

Memory: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144


Thanks again!
 
amd's 9xx chipsets support am3+ cpus and both cfx and sli.
do any of these motherboards fit your preference?
ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX $140
GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 ATX AMD Motherboard AM3+ CPU,8+2 Phase VRM,2 Way SLI $150
ASUS M5A99X EVO ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS AM3+ Ready w/ UEFI BIOS, DIP2, SLI/CrossfireX $150
all have $12.24 shipping.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=Property&N=100007624&IsNodeId=1&OEMMark=0&Manufactory=1944%2C1315%2C1314&PropertyCodeValue=709%3A46178%2C709%3A129198%2C719%3A156035%2C719%3A156018%2C719%3A155156%2C3880%3A27176%2C757%3A7618&bop=And&CompareItemList=22|13-157-262^13-157-262-TS%2C13-131-754^13-131-754-TS%2C13-128-510^13-128-510-TS
as for performance boost...the cpu, gfx card and ram take priority over motherboard. however, it's the motherboard that allows the cpu to be overclocked more of less that other motherboards.
 

TRENDING THREADS