what the best bang for buck i7 motherboard

Tony

Hi guys, my current motherboard is being temperamental so going to upgrade and was wondering what the best bang for buck motherboard and i7/i5 combination is right now . I'm using DDR3 memory but I don't mind spending a bit more for DDR4 . I currently have separate video and sound cards.

would appreciate any advice

wotzgoingon

Tony wrote: »

Hi guys, my current motherboard is being temperamental so going to upgrade and was wondering what the best bang for buck motherboard and i7/i5 combination is right now . I'm using DDR3 memory but I don't mind spending a bit more for DDR4 . I currently have separate video and sound cards.

would appreciate any advice

Well we need to know what CPU you have.

Also if you do not have a CPU you are best off buying the newest generation CPU, MOBO and RAM.

Venom

AMD's new Ryzen chip is just about to be launched so its best to wait and see how it stacks up against Intel's offering in price and performance.

Digital Solitude

Venom wrote: »

AMD's new Ryzen chip is just about to be launched so its best to wait and see how it stacks up against Intel's offering in price and performance.

No good if he's already got the i7, otherwise I'd second this OP

Tony

Sorry guys I should have explained that currently have an I5 3450 socket 1155 and I was thinking i'd have to upgrade this also when going for a new motherboard.

Digital Solitude

You should be able to get a second hand 1155 board on eBay fairly handy tbh

Tony

Fair enough but if I wanted to upgrade both the processor and the board what would be the best combination to go for ?

kronnn

Tony wrote: »

Fair enough but if I wanted to upgrade both the processor and the board what would be the best combination to go for ?

Depends on how much you want to spend.
But really if youre upgrading the motherboard, processor and are fine with upgrading RAM then I would wait for Ryzen to launch if you can hold out a few more weeks.

Tony

Thanks, a few more weeks is no problem.

kronnn wrote: »

Depends on how much you want to spend.
But really if youre upgrading the motherboard, processor and are fine with upgrading RAM then I would wait for Ryzen to launch if you can hold out a few more weeks.

TerrorFirmer

I would also wait for Ryzen to see how the land lies at that point but as to what board/cpu suits you best really depends on your intended uses and whether or not you make any use of high end or certain features. For most people a cheap, basic motherboard is fine and saves a lot of money versus a board with overclocking/expansion/connectivity options they'll never use. Unlike CPU's, more expensive board does not equal better performance on a basic level.

Tony

Thanks for the info . I use it mostly for real time audio and audio/video editing as well as controlling devices over ethernet (also have a dedicated network card)

So on the motherboard I guess I just need to check that it has all the sockets I need. I'll definitely wait to see what happens with Ryzen, do older processors usually drop in price when a new series comes out ?

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I would also wait for Ryzen to see how the land lies at that point but as to what board/cpu suits you best really depends on your intended uses and whether or not you make any use of high end or certain features. For most people a cheap, basic motherboard is fine and saves a lot of money versus a board with overclocking/expansion/connectivity options they'll never use. Unlike CPU's, more expensive board does not equal better performance on a basic level.

TerrorFirmer

Not really, but we're hoping that Ryzen will be pretty competitive and will force Intel to lower prices across the board. Until now Intel have dominated without any serious competition so prices remain high.

Tony

Heres hoping, fingers crossed. Thanks again for the help

minitrue

Tony wrote: »

Thanks for the info . I use it mostly for real time audio and audio/video editing as well as controlling devices over ethernet (also have a dedicated network card)

So on the motherboard I guess I just need to check that it has all the sockets I need.

It's going to cost you €100 or something, but I would think about getting a board with the latest usb a/c (3.1 gen2) and thunderbolt in your case if you use (or think you might) any external "real-time" audio-video hardware. There's a reasonable chance new equipment over the life of the machine will want to use (or just be able to take advantage of) those high speed interfaces. As for Ryzen I would be surprised if it competes with the i7s (when it's released properly we'll have some idea) and it won't make a very significant difference to the last generations prices too soon.

Tony

Thanks for the advice , something like a Z170 perhaps ?

minitrue

Z270 at this point I'd say, I'm not sure you will find thunderbolt on anything else in this generation (you might find headers though and that might be a sane enough way to cover yourself if you go find some cables while you can easily). There are some Z170s like GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming or GA-Z170X-UD5 TH or that if you needed a Z170 for some reason, but bar an announcement very soon to say there is a problem with the latest stuff I'd stick to it.

I haven't done too much poking around at the new boards yet to start mentioning particular ones for examples