Windows 10: What's a Good, Affordable Motherboard?

Ok I see. For some reason I'm leaning towards the mobo with 4 slots.

Out of curiosity, would 2x4GB ram be more efficient than 1x8GB ram?

And why did you choose the one with 2 slots?

 

Just marginally because of Dual channel. It helps IGPU more than anything else. For systems with dedicated GPU, gain is in statistical error range.

 

Mike, I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to Dual Channel, which I admit I should do research on to understand what it is. But can you tell me how you know that this mobo with 2 slots is dual channel while the other isn't?

 

Both can run in Dual channel but RAM sticks have to be in pairs, each pair can run dual channel. One stick, single channel, two sticks Dual channel but with dedicated GPU card you don't have to worry about it.
So you can use one 16GB stick in that micro MB without any discernible loss of performance comparing to 2 x 8GB in either MB.
So if you want that mATX, go ahead but get one 16GB RAM stick and can have other slot to add another one at later date.

 

Is there any reason for only considering microATX boards? The case that you specified (HAF 912) supports full-sized ATX motherboards. If you don't need the smaller size of the microATX, you might look at ATX as well.

Example:

ASRock Z170 Pro4S LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gbs USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

It uses the Z170 chipset, which I believe is the top choice of the 100 series. It's a bit limited for an ATX board (for example: only two PCI-E X16 slots), but it looks like a good board for $80+3 S&H US.

I was surprised that there are microATX boards with 4 DIMM slots, like the last one that you posted. Nice.

If you wish to experiment with overclocking the CPU (most easily done with an I5-6600K, with its unlocked multiplier), you should consider an aftermarket CPU cooler. This one has been popular for a long time:

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011 - Newegg.com

I'm not sure that it's the best choice, but it should be OK for its price.

I try not to push people to spend more than they'd planned, but your graphics card is a GTX 970, so it'd be nice if the rest of the system was at a similar high level.

 

No reason.. I just had an ATX mobo in mind before. The micro ATX was added naturally according to price, not preference to size. But I'm indifferent to size. As long as it does its job and is low cost that's what counts. What's so special about ATX?

Not interested.. I just want to play games. Games dont benefit with overclocking.

 

Mike, someone said I should get a mobo with more than one PCIe x 16. Is this the slot for the graphics card? If so, I don't plan to run Sli, will just buy one graphics card. Is this what is meant by that?

Is it necessary to have more than one PCIe x 16?

Will having one PCIe x 16 not be future proof enough? I just want to make sure the mobo will last a long time.

Also please review this mobo. Its got 4 ram slots which helps me economize the future buying of ram.. And let me know if you think it's future proof too. Thanks mike:

MSI B150M Mortar LGA 1151 Intel B150 HDMI SATA 6Gbs USB 3.1 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

 

Nothing. It's a standard board size, 305 X 244 mm (12 x 9.6 inches). microATX is 244 mm square or smaller. An ATX board can have 7 card slots. mATX is limited to 4.

No overclocking? I think that some games may give enhanced framerates with overclocking, but the benefit may not be justified by the risk of instability. (You can also overclock the graphics card, most easily with software distributed by the card's maker. That has a definite effect.)

Graphics cards normally use PCI-E X16 slots. If you're sure that you will never want to use multiple graphics cards, one X16 slot is enough. No single GPU (graphics processor unit) that I know of today is adequate for gaming at 4k resolution, but I assume that you're not contemplating that.

(An aside: In the past, both nVidia and AMD have made cards with two GPUs on them. They are basically single-slot SLI [or Crossfire] setups. Usually very expensive, though. But they permitted SLI with a single slot.)

I don't know about future proofing. For gaming, the strongest dependence is probably on the graphics card. Nearly all graphics cards in desktop PCs use a PCI-E X16 slot, and I have read nothing that leads me to expect that to change any time soon. If you'd like to build a PC that you could sell in 2020 for any large fraction of what you paid new, that strikes me as unlikely, even though the rate of advance of PC technology has slowed in recent years.

 

My thoughts about ATX and mATX. Mostly it is board size and that dictates the resources on them such as PCI, PCIe X1, PCIe X16, etc., slots and the case size. More slots for Add-in cards means a taller case.

My history with building computers started in '94 in a local computer shop and all the Custom computers we built used AT-style motherboards, a lot of OEM were moving to PS/2. The AT keyboard plug was as big as one's thumb rather than the pinky-size PS/2 plugs. The mice used a 9-pin Serial port. Even the PS/2 ports are being left off more-modern boards/computers in favor of USB. All-in-all it's just technology marching on. I was recently given an 80386 40MHz computer [Custom] with an AT board and the keyboard and mouse to work with it.

One other point on the AT and ATX differences, the AT power switch connected directly to the power supply while the ATX switch connects to the motherboard, pressing it tells the motherboard to get things started. There's usually continuous power to the ATX motherboard even when completely off but not unplugged.

 

More than one PCIe x16 you need badly only if you want to use multiple GPUs but it can also be used with x1, x4 and x8 cards.
x16 is used mostly for GPUs although there are few for other Xs.
Most of other than GPU cards come with x1 as they don't need the bus speed of full x16 except for some rarities. It's very flexible bus.
Ordinary PCI buses are needed for some legacy HW and you can get away without them if you don't desperately need them for cards you already have and can't be replaced with PCIe equivalents.. They are rare on newer MBs and going into history together with IDE (PATA) disk interface, floppy disks and even CD/DVDs
Keep in mind that you may loose one of PCIe buses on account of most GPUs except for most simple ones covering them.
So, full ATX MBs have more expandability features but no performance gains over smaller formats.

 

Here's my build so far. I definitely won't do X-fire or Sli.

Intel Core i5-6500, MSI GeForce GTX 970, Cooler Master HAF 912 USB3.0 - Lighter Rig - xlooks Saved Part List - PCPartPicker

I already got a PSU and good conputer case. But I hope I can find lower priced ones. Can you guys suggest a lower priced but "future proof" PSU and computer case for this build?

 

Just can tel you that Gold Certified PSU means that it might save you few bucks per year on electricity bill and is not a guarantee of it's quality.

 

I see. But what computer case do you recommend to substitute the one I picked out? The one I picked out is $60 which to me is a bit pricey. Can you find one lower priced but has good cable management and air flow for my build?

 

Check out the Corsair Spec 02
Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-02 Mid-Tower Gaming Case - Newegg.com

 

Its the same price as the one in my build.