Motherboard Wars! This or that or is another one "better"?
I'am looking at mobos for the haswell chipset. I have two options at the moment but I'am wondering if the 80$ Asrock will do the trick.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=-1|13-157-371^13-157-371-TS,13-131-979^13-131-979-TS
Above: The two in question. I'm looking to spend under 200 $USD at the max. If a cheaper motherboard works. Wooo!!! I do not think I will overclock.
Loosely using this article for some mobo education. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z87-haswell-motherboard-review,3524.html
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=-1|13-157-371^13-157-371-TS,13-131-979^13-131-979-TS
Above: The two in question. I'm looking to spend under 200 $USD at the max. If a cheaper motherboard works. Wooo!!! I do not think I will overclock.
Loosely using this article for some mobo education. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z87-haswell-motherboard-review,3524.html
Comments
Basically, the different chipsets offer different features. For example, here is how they compare for Sandy/Ivy Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155
Don't know the details yet, but my guess is if you ever plan on overclocking you'll want Z87 or Z85, but if you don't care than H87, Q87, or Q85 are fine.
They're solid, dependable, and I have never received a defective one yet... and I've built (literal) hundreds of systems. Between those two, cheaping out to save $40 on something you're going to be using for 4-5 years at least is just dumb.
MSI tend to skimp on features (like only allowing 3/4 of the fan-headers to be controlled via PWM, or using weird monitoring chips), Gigabyte used to have problems with their caps a few years back (leaky caps SUCK; all KINDS of problems, and the only fix is a new mobo or soldering on new caps). ASRock I haven't used, but from what I gather they're a cheaper/lower-quality off-brand trying to ride the collateral ASUS brand-recognition.
I ended up going with a MSI ZH77A-G43 ($89 on newegg) because I was also getting a i3 3.3GHz duo (actually there was a newegg combo for the processor and mobo that saved $10, I was like "... amazing.") and I have a microATX case. This has no OC ability, but it's enough to play NS casually even in b248. I won't be able to play b249 til tomorrow (PORT TO OSX PLEASE!!!) but I'm sure the game will run even better.
What to know when buying new mobo (in a nutshell):
1. What socket type do you want/need for the processor you have/are getting. Your processor needs to fit into the motherboard. There are different socket types. Makes sure you don't get the wrong socket for your processor.
2. What form is your computer case (ATX, microATX, other, I suppose...). In other words, you gotta get the right motherboard which can actually mount in your computer case.
3. Make sure the mobo you are getting has the correct slot type for your GPU. If you have a big graphic card, try to do as much research as you can to make sure you can fit it into your case with the mobo. You probably won't have issues, but it's cool to check, I suppose.
4. Any other feature you are looking for (OC ability, RAM slot capability, etc.).
I've read awful things about ASRock.
The case is a Rosewill redbone U3 Black if that means anything.
Presuming the mobo and case are certified for ATX, everything should fit just fine. The most typical sizing problems for gaming comps are whether the GPU is too long for the case (they've gotten pretty big over the years) and does the aftermarket CPU cooler have enough clearance for the RAM.
i3 3220 3.3GHz duo core (http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-3220-Dual-Core-Processor-Cache/dp/B0093H8HXS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371326157&sr=8-1&keywords=i3+3220)
H77MA-G43 MSI Motherboard (DDR3, 1155 socket) (http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Corp-Motherboards-H77MA-G43/dp/B007QWI368/ref=sr_1_18?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1371326252&sr=1-18&keywords=msi+motherboard)
G. Skills DDR3 2 x 2gb 1600 Hz (http://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Ripjaws-240-Pin-Desktop-F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL/dp/B002RPCLH6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1371326412&sr=1-1&keywords=g.+skills)
MSI nVidia GTX 650 ti Power addition (http://www.amazon.com/MSI-OC-PCI-Express-N650TI-1GD5/dp/B009K1PY5Q/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1371326078&sr=1-19&keywords=gtx+650+ti)
E-3lue Cobra Type-M EMS131BK High Precision Gaming Mouse (http://www.amazon.com/EMS131BK-Precision-Controls-included-Authentic/dp/B005CPGHAA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1371326641&sr=1-1&keywords=gaming+mouse)
Logitech K120 Keyboard (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-920-002478-Keyboard-K120/dp/B003ELVLKU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1371326702&sr=1-1&keywords=logitech+keyboard)
SteelSeries QcK Gaming Mouse Pad (Black) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UEZ36W/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
HP 2009m 20" Display (http://www.amazon.com/HP-2009M-20-Inch-LCD-Monitor/dp/B001UHOX2S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371494279&sr=8-1&keywords=hp+2009m)
Windows 7
HP Pavillion Case from a couple of years ago.
Basically, I gutted my Pavillion, got new mobo, processor, ram, and video card. Got a gaming mouse and a keyboard which was comfortable and not large. I really like my build - it runs NS around 60-80fps with dips into the 40s in end game (used to get as low as 28 fps in really heavy fighting before b249). I'm ok with that though, NS is very playable... on the old Athlon X2 2.5ghz that came with my original computer could not handle ns at all. 35fps at the start of a game in an empty room.
If it means anything else to you, my build runs WoW on ultra, 1600x900 (native for my monitor). 95fps in cities.
Hell, I still have a few 486es that come up and run just fine... one which has been running for about 20 years now through various incarnations; workstation, server, fileserver, and put out to pasture as a IPMasq router/mailserver. ...I really should decommission that thing; I'm sure it's eating more power than it's worth at this point, when a Raspberry Pi could do almost the same job, aside from the lack of a second NIC. Still, nostalgia.
However, if you want quality, I'd spend a little more ($14) and go for one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553002
It doesn't look like you play any combat servers bobscardy?! :-O