Need a replacement for a board that isn't sold anymore

[ThatGuy]

Hi

My motherboard has broken and I need a replacement but the one I have isn't sold anymore.

The one I have is an eVGA ATX 790i SLi Mainboard. I have no idea what to get as a replacement so any suggestions would be good.

If you need more details, just ask.

[kalniel]

What is your CPU? And do you have any other constraints?

[shaithis]

Wow socket 775. If your not using SLi I would go second-hand for just about any S775 board.....ebuyer have a couple of S775 boards but they seem quite pricey for the low-end boards they are.

What CPU/GPU are you running and what do you use the PC for?

[ThatGuy]

The board I have wasn't being used to its potential these days. When I got the computer it had three GPUs, these days it only has the one GTX 580. The CPU is an Intel Q9450 Quadcore, 4GB of RAM (two sticks) in a Coolermaster Cosmos-S case, if that makes a difference. And I have no idea what socket 775 means.

I use the computer for gaming and work.

[shaithis]

Socket 775 is the socket type for the CPU and motherboard you have. From what I can tell you already have DDR3 RAM (which is good). You could go with one of the motherboards from ebuyer I mentioned (from here) but they are both quite low-end.

I'd be more inclined to try and sell the Q9450 and get an FX6300 and an AM3+ mobo. The Q9450 seems to be going on ebay for roughly what you can buy the FX6300 for new. AM3+ motherboards start around £30-40.

Everything above (including the S775 motherboards) requires DDR3 RAM, you might want to double check that.....quick goggle shows most (all?) 790i boards being DDR3....but I can't be 100% sure.

[ThatGuy]

I have DDR3 RAM.

Do you think there would be much difference in performance? And do you have a suggestion for which motherboard for the FX6300?

[Noxvayl]

You can get an idea about performance here: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/699?vs=51

In general the FX6300 is better, it performs better and has more threads to use so going forward will handle newer applications better. I agree with Shaithis that selling your CPU and getting the FX6300 is a good use of money.

As for the motherboard, I use the ROG AM3+ board from Asus (which I love) but that costs £165. A more modest costing board would be this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-9...i-6sata3-4usb3 for £70.

Any other board in the same category would be good but I picked out the MSi Gaming board because it has a feature set tailored for gamers that I quite like but at a reasonable price. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the top end boards have but it has plenty of awesome things to shout about like traffic priority network adaptor and high poling rate USB ports for your keyboard and mouse which are nice to have as a gamer.

[ThatGuy]

Unfortunately that gaming board is a pre-order.

[shaithis]

As far as AM3+ boards go, this should be more than sufficient and even has USB 3.0......for £50.....and the FX6300 for around £60.....that's £110 and you can get £50-60 back from selling the Q9450. Gets the system running, with warranties and more power, plus some future upgradability and USB 3.0 for ~£50. I'd call that a bargain.

[ThatGuy]

I've just put an order in for the FX6300 and the Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P. Thanks for the help.

[Noxvayl]

Unfortunately that gaming board is a pre-order.

Didn't even notice that... my bad. I did mention that anything in the same category would be good, there isn't that much to choose from with AM3+ because of how long the platform has been dormant. What shaithis suggested is really good, might of chosen that if I bothered to check whether the Gaming board was in stock...