Legit Reviews

I'm looking to spend about $300-350 for a CPU MB combination. My new GPU decided to light up with a blue flame and took my MB with it, well at least my SATA ports. I can get it to boot, but no matter the drives or such the SATA comes up an error.

So can anyone recommend me a CPU/MB I should look for? I'd like for it to have a fairly decent upgrade possibility to the CPU in a year or so.

For that price I can't think of anything unless you go AMD. As far as upgrading down the road, I think your still looking for AMD in that price range. I found this on newegg. AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
Average Rating 5 out of 5 eggs(1,158 reviews)
$20 off with promo code HARDOCPX6X8D, ends 6/14

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Combo Price: $381.98

Well you get the idea. Do the best you can within your budget.

Hmmmmm....That kinda sucks. I'm curious, what socket is standard for Intel? I have a great LGA1366 HSF. If I can save on the fan, I'd probably be able to go to $400-450. Does my options improve there?

I'm also missing the link on Newegg for the MB/CPU combos, or don't they do that anymore?

Wait a month. AMD is coming out with new processors this month (I think).

Tim Burton wrote:Hmmmmm....That kinda sucks. I'm curious, what socket is standard for Intel? I have a great LGA1366 HSF. If I can save on the fan, I'd probably be able to go to $400-450. Does my options improve there?

I'm also missing the link on Newegg for the MB/CPU combos, or don't they do that anymore?

Are you using an Intel-based system now?

If your CPU cooler is an aftermarket, it should support AMD & Intel's sockets.

If you're on a budget, AMD gives the best performance for your money.

I'm using a Phenom II 1090T and a ASUS Crosshair IV Formula board, and it does prettty good! of course it can't be compared to a 2nd gen i7, but it costs half the price and performs 3/4 of one.

From what I know, ASUS (and some other board manufacturers) have allowed some AM3 boards to support early AM3+ CPUs (like Phenom II 940 on AM2+/AM2 boards). I know the Crosshair IV allows this..along with other boards; look at the manufacturers' site to see which ones are capable. 890FX, 890GX, and some lower end 800 & 700 series boards have the ability.

If you are willing to wait for a bit, you could get a Bulldozer CPU (late summer I believe..as they were set back). You could get a AM3+ board right now, and plug a less expensive AM3 CPU in (Phenom II 955 and overclock it to 3.8GHz+) for now.

AM3+ boards are available for sale since last month? NewEgg has 10 boards that are AM3+ supported for sale, ranging from $65 - $240 (recently released for sale Corsshair V Formula).

Thanks for the tips. You cleared up the AMD tech for me quite well. Also does anyone have an links to articles about Intel and their CPUs and MB options?

The HSF is a NH-U12P.

I can wait a week or two, but I need to get a computer for doing some work.


Thanks,

If you need something now I'd look at an AMD CPU (AM3) and a 990 motherboard. If in the future you want the newer AMD CPU it should just drop into the motherboard.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=20574027

From the Intel side:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128495 and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115072

Total = $344.98 sans shipping

You can easily upgrade to an i7 2600k down the road with this combo

Thanks for the help guys.