Buying a new computer, mobo upgrade worth it?

Discussion about AMD CPU Motherboards
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eksaint
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Buying a new computer, mobo upgrade worth it?

Post by eksaint »

So I'm buying a new computer with a Amd Phenom Ii X6 1075t 3.0ghz Processor.

I can select to upgrade the motherboard but am not sure if it's really worth it or if I will see any real differences.
For instance I'm upgrading the graphics card to have two dvi outs, if I went with a Ecs A785gm-M Am3 Esata2 Hdmi Dvi & 1394a would this give me the ability to have dual monitors?

See the list in the image and give me your thoughts, thanks very much in advance.
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lordvic
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Re: Buying a new computer, mobo upgrade worth it?

Post by lordvic »

If you are getting a graphcis card, the DVI and HDMI ports on the motherboard would be useless...as they become disabled and use the ports on the card.
What's the graphis card your getting, and what is the price of the system with the options you've chosen & the base price?
Also, what are all the upgradeable parts?

Add $76.95 for an ECS A785GM-M 785GB motherboard?! You can BUY a new one for around $50!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

The best you can get is a 880G board...okay...
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eksaint
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Re: Buying a new computer, mobo upgrade worth it?

Post by eksaint »

Thanks for the response.
It seems like the only reason to upgrade the mobo is if you're going to use the onboard video right?
I was looking at the second ASUS in the list it has a ATI Radeon 3000 Graphics Controller, Maximum Shared Memory of 1GB; Hybrid CrossFireX Support
Here is the list of video cards in my price range i could upgrade to:

Nvidia Geforce 7900gs Dual Dvi Pci-E X16 [Add 29.95]
Pny Geforce Gt 240 512mb Gddr5 Pci-E [Add 54.95]
Pny Geforce 9600gt 1gb Dual Dvi Pcie 2.0 [Add 59.95]
Sparkle Geforce 9800gt 512mb Gddr3 Video [Add 59.95]
Pny Geforce Gts 250 1gb Dual Dvi Pci-E [Add 74.95]
Sparkle Geforce 9800gtx+ 512mb Gddr3 [Add 79.95]
Pny 9800 Gtx+ 512mb Gddr3 Dual Dvi Hdtv [Add 84.95]
Ati Radeon Hd4850 512mb Dual Dvi Video [Add 89.95]
Pny Geforce Gtx 260 Core 216 896mb Pcie [Add 99.95]

Would these be that much better then onboard?

It's about $975 with the ASUS and no video card. 3 hard drives, 2TB, 4gb(2x2gb) Ddr3 1333mhz Dual Channel Kit

Thanks
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lordvic
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Re: Buying a new computer, mobo upgrade worth it?

Post by lordvic »

The newer 800 series motherboards are noticeable better than the older 700 series boards (better performance, newer features like SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0)...basically new and improved. It also supports the new CPUs (like the Phenom II 6-cores).

VRAM (1GB of shared memory that you said) pretty much does nothing for performance. VRAM is just a temporary storage/buffer for all the images before they are sent to your display/HDTV. 1GB will only be fully utilized if you have a large display and high resolution (24"+, 1920x1080 or better).

Woah! $975?! AND WITH NO VIDEO CARD?! My whole system with ONE Radeon HD 5850 (you can see..the system in my signature...I bought a 2nd one) was just a little over $900 when I bought all the parts in December of 2010. If you were to build the exact system now, it will be $100-$200 less.

I would NOT recommend you order your computer from there.

Pretty much any descrete video cards are better than any on-board graphics; even the out-dated 7900GS there is better than the Radeon HD 3000. Hybrid Crossfire ONLY works for low end cards from the Radeon HD 3000 series (Radeon HD 3470 and 3450). These two cards a very weak.

Here's a link to AMD's Game Forums for the full compatability chart. http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview. ... erthread=y

From the list of graphcis cards, the GeForce 9800GTX+ / GTS250 (both pretty much the same; just renamed), Radeon HD 4850, and GTX 260 are the best. Even with that said, these cards are now 3+ years old - why would you buy old stuff for a new 6-core computer?!

Also, you can buy a brand new 4850 for $70; why pay $90 from...this place???
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 2&Tpk=4850

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Re: Buying a new computer, mobo upgrade worth it?

Post by Major_A »

Do you have a Fry's near you? If you buy all the parts they will build your computer. You'd be better off doing that than buying one from that retailer.
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Re: Buying a new computer, mobo upgrade worth it?

Post by Kaos Kid »

Major_A wrote:Do you have a Fry's near you? If you buy all the parts they will build your computer. You'd be better off doing that than buying one from that retailer.
^^^ +1 for that great advice ^^^

Getting to custom pick your parts (and so retain all warranty rights) is always desired, but then having professionals build it for you for N/C is a definite win/win.
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Re: Buying a new computer, mobo upgrade worth it?

Post by Civilian »

the money you save going with the onboard and buying a card later is much bigger. like posted above you can get the GTX 460 which is a far better card then anything showed on there for around 100 bucks. heck you could probably find a GTX 260 or GTX 275 for sale here in the forum for around 75 bucks. but it also makes you realize how much money you could save building your own computer and not buying a prebuilt system.
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