MOBO for i5 750

**Switch** · 07-25-2010, 12:58 PM

Hi guys,

I'm building my sister a rig. No over clock, no special sauce. I just want something strong and stable.
Her budget is $500. We're going to recycle her tower, and I already bought a 1TB WD Black -- thse don't factor into the 500.

Here's what I'm going to order -- but I dont know what mobo to get:

TOWER: Recycle Antec
PSU: $54 Antec Earth Watts 650
PROC: $195 I5-750
RAM: $90 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc..._-20231277-L0E
VIDEO: ?? I can probably use her old card, but any cheap new one will do

MOBO: >> please halp

Stability is important... I'm going to build it this week and fly away on saturday, not to return for a half year or more. I havent been keeping up, so i dont know what chipsets etc are better/worse/worthless.

I'll use your input today to buy.

Thanks

**Reaperassault** · 07-25-2010, 02:06 PM

I suggest

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128405

**Vulcan** · 07-25-2010, 03:47 PM

I recommend
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131604

**Acreo Aeneas** · 07-25-2010, 07:19 PM

Since you're not looking for gaming performance or overclocking features, there's not much point in recommending a $100+ board like others above.

I'd suggest this 1156 budget board from ASRock: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157190 ($70 + free s/h)

Depending on what she's going to use your new comp for, she could even forego the need for a separate video card and just rely on the Intel HD graphics onboard (or rather on the CPU since the GPU is integrated).

I wouldn't be concerned about stability or longetivity with Intel-based boards anymore. It's moving into the realm of enthusiasts and even the some of budget 1156 boards are built around the H55 chipset which offers some moderate OCing potential. As for the brand, ASRock boards are mostly rebranded ASUS boards and used to be a division of ASUS (new features would show up on ASRock boards before they were put into ASUS boards in the past).

This particular one should be a great board as I'm using the H55DE3 in my brother's build. This one is the H55M so it's in the same family.

**Flarfignuggen** · 07-25-2010, 07:27 PM

As much as I like my new UD3R Gigabyte mobo, I'd go with Asus of the above two recommendations. Their BIOS is much more streamlined and should you have to fix something over the phone, it should be, I predict, easier to navigate through. Gigabyte's website and support can be a bit of a pain in the ass, too (they reuse the names of old products without differentiating generation before you look at the page for the board--e.g., a P55-architecture UD3R is labeled the same as my X58 UD3R).

Both companies have excellent hardware, I just find Asus's infrastructure a little better for their products.

*As a note, there's a relevant point of interest here: µATX or standard ATX size tower?