Z77x Hi-Fi Biostar? and/or Asrock extreme 4 Z77?

[Mellow]

Hello everyone! I need your expert advice... I am planning to get a new motherboard as I am currently using my old MSI since 3 years I thought of replacing it to be updated on whats kicking new...purposely for my gaming! =)

I like it when it focuses on audio quality so you can feel more how you get into the action specially playing "crysis" clear graphics would be second and mostly I wanna consider by this time taht it could be power saving energy as I wanna pay less for my Electric Bill. lol

I am having AMD A10-5700 with 4GB Ram with clock speed of 3400 mhz. my budget will be
150-250$?[FONT=helvetica neue][/FONT]

anybody who can share their thoughts? so I can decide soon! many thanks!

 

[mailpup]

Both of those motherboards require an Intel socket 1155 processor so if you want to use an AMD processor, you'll have to choose something else.

 

[GhostRyder]

If your using an AMD APU, you cant use a Z77 board as those are meant for Intel. You need a board that supports the FM2 socket.

Like this One

Also this part is a straight up Opinion, but ive had low luck with biostar boards along with my friends and co-workers. I have seen the most DOA boards come from that company, so I would personally avoid them.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Biostar boards are pretty inconsistant and just plain crappy like Ghost said. Upgrading the motherboard wont save you much power. The real power savings come from using a low wattage PSU that is gold rated.

 

[Mellow]

Ah I understand! thanks for the advice though... the MSI looks already fine and I like the price. But honesly I still like biostar too. They have a this "Smart Ear 3D" which says I can get a good ambient sound on my ear phones. I think that could be really cool for ego shooters Does anybody have experience with that or does msi offer something comparable?

 

[Jad Chaar]

Ah I understand! thanks for the advice though... the MSI looks already fine and I like the price. But honesly I still like biostar too. They have a this "Smart Ear 3D" which says I can get a good ambient sound on my ear phones. I think that could be really cool for ego shooters Does anybody have experience with that or does msi offer something comparable?

That is all marketing. Dont fall into that hole! Also, let me clear this up: you need a FM2 socket motherboard, not a Z77.

This is my recommendation:
Upgrade your A10-5700 to a A10-5800K (which can be overclocked) - $130
Get this motherboard: ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6 - $105
You will need a CPU cooler if you would like to overclocked, but there is only $15 remaining in the budget after all the upgraades. So if you can, put an extra $35 (on top of the mobo and CPU) to get a Hyper 212 Evo. If you cant spend more than $250, then get this $15 cooler. It will be less effective than the Evo though, so I recommend putting in the extra cash for the Hyper 212 Evo.

I recommended these upgrades because you are probably gaming and overclocking really helps.

 

[jameyjames]

Good point to make sure that you use the correct type of processor. Otherwise everything is a waste of money.

I would agree with the setup from JC713. Its a good system for any basic need with good value! You can go with that for sure.

The only thing I would disagree is the negativ on the HiFi motherboards. I am using an A85W from biostar on my own and honestly the sound is really better than any onboard comparison that I used before. But at the end its always a subjective opinion