Would this motherboard be any good?

Author Topic: Would this motherboard be any good?  (Read 1143 times)

Im just starting to build my own pc, and my friend was offering to give me this motherboard for free, im trying to remain in a 600 budget so if its any good i would like to use it.

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A88TDV_EVOUSB3/

It's okay but it only has PCIe 2.0, iirc now the default is 3.0

Also you can build a very capable pc for $600 without having to go used with old hardware. If you want a list, I could make you one
« Last Edit: February 07, 2017, 10:10:44 PM by Insert Name Here² »

It's okay but it only has PCIe 2.0, iirc now the default is 3.0

Also you can build a very capable pc for $600 without having to go used with old hardware. If you want a list, I could make you one
I've never seen an AM3 motherboard with PCI-e 3.0 support

Using an old motherboard and CPU isn't the best idea because you're using dated hardware that's slow and possibly about ready to break. Even some of the cheapest CPUs on the market today will be quite a bit faster than what you could get on the AM3 socket and the power consumption and heat output are lower too. As INH said, you can build a reasonable PC for $600 or less, so I would go with buying newer parts.

I've never seen an AM3 motherboard with PCI-e 3.0 support
Yeah this too

Alright using your budget I was able to come up with a build for around $580 CAD that offers much greater performance for your buck, along with a great upgrade path so in the future you can get a higher end CPU, RAM, GPU, so forth.

Specs:
  • Intel Pentium G4400 @3.3 Ghz (CPU)
  • MSI GTX 1050ti OC 4GB (GPU)
  • G.Skill NT 8GB (4x2) DDR4-2133 (RAM)
  • MSI H110M Pro-VD MicroATX (MOBO)
  • Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7200rpm 3.5" (HDD)
  • EVGA 430w 80+ White (PSU)
  • Corsair Carbide 88R MicroATX mid-tower (CASE)


Trust me, you really should go for new parts with this one. That motherboard doesn't have a good upgrade path much at all and the tech it has is pretty outdated, and the CPU's available for it aren't all that powerful and as Pngu said, takes up quite a lot more power to run. This build has a good upgrade path if you ever so wanted, and good enough power to run MANY games at High - Max at 30 -  60FPS, depending on the game and resolution. But even with the Pentium G4400 which is a VERY capable chip for what it is, and the 1050ti which has amazing performance for the price, you won't be let down.

BTW The motherboard is a flagship, but the flagship in 2010. Since you're getting the board for free, you can just accept it anyways and either create a second build to give to someone / keep or sell the board / keep it as a collectible
« Last Edit: February 08, 2017, 02:11:28 AM by Insert Name Here² »

That motherboard is dead.  Don't take it.

Yeah this too

Alright using your budget I was able to come up with a build for around $580 CAD that offers much greater performance for your buck, along with a great upgrade path so in the future you can get a higher end CPU, RAM, GPU, so forth.

Specs:
  • Intel Pentium G4400 @3.3 Ghz (CPU)
  • MSI GTX 1050ti OC 4GB (GPU)
  • G.Skill NT 8GB (4x2) DDR4-2133 (RAM)
  • MSI H110M Pro-VD MicroATX (MOBO)
  • Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7200rpm 3.5" (HDD)
  • EVGA 430w 80+ White (PSU)
  • Corsair Carbide 88R MicroATX mid-tower (CASE)


Trust me, you really should go for new parts with this one. That motherboard doesn't have a good upgrade path much at all and the tech it has is pretty outdated, and the CPU's available for it aren't all that powerful and as Pngu said, takes up quite a lot more power to run. This build has a good upgrade path if you ever so wanted, and good enough power to run MANY games at High - Max at 30 -  60FPS, depending on the game and resolution. But even with the Pentium G4400 which is a VERY capable chip for what it is, and the 1050ti which has amazing performance for the price, you won't be let down.

BTW The motherboard is a flagship, but the flagship in 2010. Since you're getting the board for free, you can just accept it anyways and either create a second build to give to someone / keep or sell the board / keep it as a collectible
An Intel Pentium?  Lol forget no, those things are garbage.  For <$800 you're way better off going with AMD products.  At $600, Intel and Nvidia are outside your price range.

It's okay but it only has PCIe 2.0, iirc now the default is 3.0

Also you can build a very capable pc for $600 without having to go used with old hardware. If you want a list, I could make you one

The differences between PCIe 2 and 3 are ridiculously minor (5 fps, maybe 10 at most) though for a budget PC you could care due to the limited hardware, you're not going to feel it anyway in the long run.

  • Intel Pentium G4400 @3.3 Ghz (CPU)
  • MSI GTX 1050ti OC 4GB (GPU)
  • G.Skill NT 8GB (4x2) DDR4-2133 (RAM)
  • MSI H110M Pro-VD MicroATX (MOBO)
  • Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7200rpm 3.5" (HDD)
  • EVGA 430w 80+ White (PSU)
  • Corsair Carbide 88R MicroATX mid-tower (CASE)

I would not advise getting a Pentium by a long shot regardless of your budget.
I believe the GPU is a good decision, it's fairly cheap coming from Nvidia and will manage on your system, although it's not going to deal extremely well with High-Max 1080p gaming despite what INH said.
G.Skill for RAM is overkill. 2133 at that too, you can save a fair amount of money of getting another brand and maybe 1333 or 1600 mhz, putting more money into the CPU.
No comment on the mobo itself, although if he can get one for free I believe it should be the base of a budget build. The only issue is the CPU limit, but since he's on a budget an AMD for a CPU would not be the end of the world.

Plus if you have a PC already you might have salvageable parts that might not be a loss to replace with cheaper versions, such as storage.

Despite what I said about the RAM here's Nvidia's own suggestion, having randomly stumbled over the page. http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/geforce-garage-build-an-entry-level-geforce-gtx-1050-gaming-pc-for-only-500
« Last Edit: February 08, 2017, 06:40:53 AM by LeetZero »

G.Skill for RAM is overkill. 2133 at that too, you can save a fair amount of money of getting another brand and maybe 1333 or 1600 mhz, putting more money into the CPU.
DDR4 RAM clocks start at 2133.
It'd also be stupid at this point to not use DDR4.

An Intel Pentium?  Lol forget no, those things are garbage.  For <$800 you're way better off going with AMD products.  At $600, Intel and Nvidia are outside your price range.
I had a budget of 600$ and managed to pick up an i5-6600 and 970 ( before 10** series was released ), I don't know what you are talking about.

I'll see if I can't work up a list real quick while managing under $600.

Never ever pair off 2x4 GB of ram with a mobo that has only two slots.
Nowadays you're going to want to upgrade to 16gb as soon as possible.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($189.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card  ($139.99 @ B&H)
Case: Enermax ECA3253-BW ATX Mid Tower Case  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $599.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-08 07:53 EST-0500
« Last Edit: February 08, 2017, 06:55:58 AM by Pah1023 »

Pah, Spaceguy's currency isn't usd, its CAD.

Pah, Spaceguy's currency isn't usd, its CAD.
Was not aware.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($148.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($64.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($62.94 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card  ($179.98 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.98 @ NCIX)
Total: $591.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-08 08:46 EST-0500


Thank you for responding, i think i am going to look up pah1023's idea