Which Budget Gaming Motherboard for the New AM3 setup?

[rickytrux11]

I've Atlon II X3 440 and 4GB DDR3 RAM. The 'budget' motherboard should have a decent onboard ATI Graphics which will run Games like Call Of Duty MO at medium to high settings. Brands- Biostar, Asus, Asrock, GA.

 

[jmsellars1]

I think youre going to struggle running any game at a playable level with onboard graphics, if youre on a major budget, maybe try buying a cheap mobo and a 2nd hand GPU

 

[jerreddredd]

Any MB you will get, will have a very poor graphics chip on it. you might game on extreme LOW settings, but thats about it. Your CPU isn't that beefy either as is a Rana core, so it has no L3 Cache which doesn't help in gaming.

the AM3 motherboards with on board GPU's have either a ATI Radeon 3000, HD4250, HD4290. none of these are suitable for gaming.

This is a stable AM3 MB (its a micro ATX, if you want ATX it cost +$39 more:
GIGABYTE GA-880GM-D2H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128458

The best budget Gaming GPU you will find under $100 will be:
HD 5570
PowerColor AX5570 1GBD3-H Radeon HD 5570 1GB $65 MIR for $15 final cost $50.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131342&cm_re=hd_5570-_-14-131-342-_-Product
or a
GT240
ASUS ENGT240/DI/1GD3/A GeForce GT 240 $80 ($20 MIR =$60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121353&cm_re=gts_240-_-14-121-353-_-Product

These above two GPU's will struggle to play most games, but they will play them as long as you use medium settings and no AF/AA.

The next step up is a:
HD 5770 for about $130 ($110 after $20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102898&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-102-898-_-Product

You will be much happier with this card.

are you near a Microcenter? they some times have great closeout deals.