MOBO went boom :(

[GoinAllTheWay]

All of 5 mins into an exhilarating round of TF2 last night when my comp froze while letting out an ear splitting screech and a hard lock. Nothing I did got me out back to desktop so had to hit the reset button.

Pretty sure she's toast. Won't POST and the MOBO display is throwing up an error.

I could trouble shoot but this rig is at least 5 yrs old in its current configuration. Now is as good a time as any to upgrade.

I'm waaaaaaaaaaaay out of the loop now and have no idea what's good anymore. I'm fairly certain all other components are fine (RAM, Vid cards, PS etc...) so I'm just looking for some advice on laying down a good backbone with starting off with a new MOBO and processor. I'll upgrade other parts down the road.

I've used Nvidia for years now, I quite like their boards. Also have two graphics cards that are SLI'd.

What do you guys suggest? Budget isn't a huge concern but would like to keep it reasonable, say around $500ish?

[burn_this_city]

http://www.asus.com/ROG_ROG/MAXIMUS_V_GENE/

I have this board, it should probably support your older stuff since it's not the latest greatest. I've had mine for almost a year now, not sure on availability anymore.

[PsYcNeT]

What beeps (if any) is the mobo giving off?

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

What beeps (if any) is the mobo giving off?

None. Honestly...the extent of my trouble shooting so far is to try re-starting a few times and then popping off the side of the case and noticing the display that normally shows temp is flashing an error. After seeing that I closed the case and went off and did something else.

I've been thinking of upgrading for a while so this is just a good excuse.

[Vulcan]

Maybe something like this bundle - $400

http://www.ncix.com/detail/ncix-bund...99038-1297.htm

You may need DDR3 memory as well. $100 - memory prices are going up.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/corsair-v...59431-1297.htm

A 256/GB SSD would be nice as well -$150- they're getting cheaper

http://www.ncix.com/detail/corsair-f...97920-1297.htm

oh yeah a heatsink for OC - $30

http://www.ncix.com/detail/cooler-ma...64385-1297.htm

Just quick suggestions to get you started but I'd probably look for an I5 processor with a K after it for over clocking.

[rbochan]

It might be a tumor.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Maybe something like this bundle - $400

http://www.ncix.com/detail/ncix-bund...99038-1297.htm

You may need DDR3 memory as well. $100 - memory prices are going up.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/corsair-v...59431-1297.htm

A 256/GB SSD would be nice as well -$150- they're getting cheaper

http://www.ncix.com/detail/corsair-f...97920-1297.htm

oh yeah a heatsink for OC - $30

http://www.ncix.com/detail/cooler-ma...64385-1297.htm

Just quick suggestions to get you started but I'd probably look for an I5 processor with a K after it for over clocking.

lol, and the snowballing begins! I told myself I would never build a new PC without an SSD system drive so I can justify that much for sure.

What's the attraction to the processor with the "K"? And what does it mean that it's unlocked? Is that purely for overclocking? Funny thing is, the last 2 systems I assembled I had every intention of overclocking at some point.....never did.

ME seems to have some bundles MOBO/CPU packages too, are these MSI boards any good?

[J Diddy]

The "k" processors are designed for overclocking. Overclocking now is so easy even I did it on my cpu and gpu and the results are fantastic.

I personally would recommend Asus or AsRock for your new board.

If you have no plans to overclock the stock cooler is fine.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Well if it's easier to do than it used to be, might as well keep that option open. I have a HUGE cooler master cooler on my current CPU, kinda looks like a V8 engine, should be more than enough for overclocking.

[Vulcan]

ME does price matching so use shopbot to get the best price. The bundled MB and processor aren't always the cheapest either. Check each individually.

http://www.shopbot.ca/

[GoinAllTheWay]

From a processor point of view, I'm assuming there is no real good reason to go with an i7 processor? Get a cheaper i5 and overclock, save the money for a GPU down the road?

[GoinAllTheWay]

I'm thinking this may fit the bill but any feedback would be appreciated:

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/BDL_MM00000110

I will naturally take Vulcan's advice and use shopbot to see if I can find cheaper elsewhere and have ME price match.

[Vulcan]

This looks like the same MB and processor bundle for a $50 cheaper price match.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/ncix-bund...99038-1046.htm

From what I understand the little improvement for gaming with an i7 processor isn't worth the cost.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Ended up changing course, went with one of these:

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX52028

Re-build went awesome. Spent more time undoing previous cable management then anything.

And wow are system SSD's every nice. Can't wait till everything can be installed on one.

[Tyler12]

Nice Motherboard! That post boot is always Refreshing haha