BleepingComputer.com: Upgrading MOBO

Hi There,

I am looking to upgrade my motherboard, the one I have was something cheap and temporary as my last one died on me when I installed a new GFX card
It was actually a really good MOBO, and I would like something similar to it again, it was a workstation mobo but when I search for those terms on novatech and overclockers I return no results.
I currently have an AM3 Processor, and would like an AM3+ Mobo that supports AM3 for an eventual upgrade.
I do game, though my main use of the PC is Mixing, and Audio Production.

I am quite happy with how it currently plays games, but there are times when it is a bit slow on the audio side of things.
My previous build was not as high spec, with the same audio card, so my thought is the motherboard is the key in this latency.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what Mobo I should look at, willing to pay up to about £150, so not a huge amount but all I can afford.

Current system:

MOBO: ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 MOTHERBOARD (Would like this replaced)
Processor: AMD PHENOM II QUAD CORE 955 AM3
Ram: G.SKILL RIPJAW 4GB (1X4GB) DDR3
HD: 1x300gb Velociraptor 2 x 500gb WD Caviar Blue 1 x 2tb WD Caviar Green
PSU: OCZ MODXSTREAM PRO 700W SILENT S (wouldn't mind replacing this as well, might even go back to my old one, got this cos it's modular but case has power at bottom and this PSU doesn't work well in this position)
CASE: Antec 900
Heatsink: ZALMAN CNPS9900-LED DUAL FLOWER
GPU: SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 5770 VAPOR-X 1GB
Sound: M-Audio Delta 10/10 LT

Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

Which online site do you prefer buying from?

If you are not sure about the PSU upgrade, consider the following board:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-990fxa-ud5-amd-990fx-s-am3plus-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-raid-sata-pcie-20-%28x16%29-atx

And if you are:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigabyte-ga-990fxa-ud3-amd-990fx-s-am3plus-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-raid-sata-pcie-20-%28x16%29-atx (a little cheaper)

+

A 650 ~ 750W PSU from Corsair/Seasonic/XFX (avoid the CX/GX series from Corsair though)

This post has been edited by ReviverSoft: 04 November 2011 - 08:08 AM

I usually use novatech but don't mind spreading out, novatech isn't what it used to be. My secondary site is over-clockers, but usually only for their deals of the week, they seem a bit more pricey the rest of the time.

Those Mobo's look cool, they don't look too dissimilar from my current one (other than the AM3+) but that's probably ignorance and late night talking.

I don't need to upgrade the PSU, I just want a modular PSU that fits in the bottom of my case properly as this one was clearly designed with the typical top loaded PSU in mind, which has made the wiring very messy. The PSU can be on top of the mobo, the £150ish maximum was purely for the mobo. to be fair I would probably spend £200 if the difference was substantial enough to warrant it.

Would you definitely go Gigabyte over Asus? I had a bad experience with a 2 gigabyte mobos when upgrading form old mobo, both faulty and had issues with my GPU and then i got this one which was ok, but i think is causing a bottle neck or something

Whatever happened to the "Workstation" class of motherboard? is it just not a used term anymore?

This post has been edited by Davidian: 05 November 2011 - 05:16 AM

Workstation motherboards are often rolled into enthusiast or gamer boards, unless you are doing server work and have special requirements, like multiple CPU sockets or more than six RAM slots. All AM3+ boards support both AM3 and AM3+ CPU's, so compatibility is certain there. I use an Asus Sabertooth 990FX board along with an FX-8150P CPU and haven't had any issues. That motherboard is a gaming or enthusiast board and the link is here.

Nice Mobo, I think i may go for that one, and might treat myself to an extra stick of ram too as I am often using 3-4gb of it esp when having a mix or producing a track.

Quick question, found the same mobo for about £30 cheaper with free delivery here: http://www.morecomputers.com/extra.asp?pn=SABERTOOTH%20990FX - is it worth going with that scan.co.uk anyway?
Its also £149 on Novatech and they offer free lifetime support...

Although right now I think the cheapest option suits me best, but haven't used that site before so not sure on how reliable they are.

I've just been looking into that processor, it looks sick!

Well mobo for now, the processor will have to wait a month or two

Novatech is only lifetime support but not lifetime warranty for the motherboard.

Here's some reviews of morecomputers.com, if you want to check them out:
http://reviews.pricegrabber.co.uk/morecomputerscom/r/1768/
http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews249474.html

Cheers Lord Spam, odd the on pricegrabber they are all positive and on review center they are nearly all negative

Thank you for those review sites though, very usefull for future reference of other sites, I may well try more computers.com and see what they come up with - if they deliver the goods and everything works i've got no problems


Thank you all for the help, you have all been great as always!!

This post has been edited by Davidian: 07 November 2011 - 11:38 AM

You're quite welcome.
A couple of other retailer review sites I use:
http://shop.bizrate.com/
http://www.epinions.com/
http://www.resellerratings.com/
http://www.shopping.com/xMerchantDirectory-