Can you help me pick a motherboard? (and other computer-building questions)?

Question

I'm building a gaming computer--unfortunately, I'm also just one step away from being computer-illiterate. Through long and difficult struggle I *think* that I've figured out the best parts for my needs... except for the motherboard and the chassis.

I've no intentions to do any overclocking.

The parts I've decided on so far are listed here: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/B6fT9W

There's a few things I also don't understand when it comes to finding a motherboard, relating to the CPU and RAM. The Intel i5-7500 processor says that it supports two-channel DDR4/DDR3L; does this mean that it wouldn't accept the DDR3 RAM I was hoping to get? If the CPU supports that and I get a motherboard that only supports DDR3, will that cause problems? Do I even need DDR4/DDR3L, or are those just overkill? Is this even something I should be worrying about?

I know I want an ATX motherboard with a LGA1151 socket, but picking out a motherboard seems more complicated than choosing the other parts has been. Can you help me pick one out?
(help with the chassis would be appreciated, as well).

Thank you for any aid you can provide.

Answer 1

Why don't you go to the pcpartpicker forums and ask them? I'll bet you have and they told you to go with a Ryzen 5 1600 with a b350 board, didn't they? Sound advice, IMO

Answer 2

Why don't you go to the pcpartpicker forums and ask them? I'll bet you have and they told you to go with a Ryzen 5 1600 with a b350 board, didn't they? Sound advice, IMO

Answer 3

Hey, I recently just built my computer. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID... It wasn't a huge one, but it make the effort of actually building the computer a lot more difficult. *Get a motherboard that is NOT micro atx* It's called micro because it really is small, which makes plugging things in a lot harder. ALSO -- get a motherboard where the plugs are not coming up like any regular component off of the motherboard, but rather have the ports come out on the side for much easier cable accessibility when managing wires. Best of luck man! (Any Asus "gaming" processor should be good, just make sure it isn't a micro atx and the ports are fitted sideways) for easy cable management, get the NZXT Elite case too!

Answer 4

You will need DDR4. There are some motherboards you can find that are LGA1151 and DDR3, but they aren't a good idea to use. The DDR3L is really just for laptops. DDR4 is designed to run on 1.2V, while DDR3 needs 1.5V and the voltage difference will slowly fry the CPU if you get a DDR3 LGA1151 board.



Here's an overview of LGA1151 chipsets:



H110: very basic, everything you need to get the computer working but no extra features, only a few SATA ports, and only a few USB ports. RAM will only run at 2133 MHz. Available in mATX only. Skylake (i*-6***) chipset, will probably need a BIOS update before it can recognize Kaby Lake CPUs (i*-7***).



B150: A few more SATA and USB ports compared to H110, also available in ATX and mITX. Other than that, no real differences.



H170: A few more SATA, PCIe, and USB ports compared to B150, possible support for Crossfire (2 AMD GPUs at the same time), possible support for M.2 NVMe, no other real differences.



Z170: Same as H170, but possible support for SLI (2 Nvidia GPUs at the same time), support for RAM possibly up to 4266 MHz depending on the individual board (all will support up to at least 3200), support for CPU overclocking.



B250: B150, but with native support for Kaby Lake (i*-7***) and maybe a few more SATA and USB ports.



H270: H170, but with native support for Kaby Lake (i*-7***)



Z270: Z170, but with native support for Kaby Lake (i*-7***) and Intel Optane memory.



Since you're getting a locked Kaby Lake CPU, look for B250 or H270. Look for something with a lot of USB ports and a good audio chip. If you look at the board's specs on Newegg, the audio chip will be Realtek ALC(3-4 numbers). Mine is ALC887. 887 is the lowest you should even consider, and higher is better.



Also, get the RX 580 instead of the 480. It's the same price, it's clocked higher out of the box, and it can overclock better.

Answer 5

Yeah, I agree with David. If you have no idea as to what board to pick then you shouldn't pull the trigger on a purchase until you've researched the information.



I found doing the research to be fun and for me that was actually the best part of building a PC. You can read what's written in other forums, the user reviews and specs on newegg give great details. I don't see how building a PC is unfortunate at all since it frees you of the shackles of poorly built and often mismatched boxed computers.



From what I've seen in reviews and public opinion, people are deferring on the non-K Core i5 in favor of the Ryzen 5 processors. I think it would be a wise idea to do a little more research on what you actually need. I don;t think you can go wrong with either the Core i5 or the Ryzen 5 processors.







___Sometimes asking questions on forums can yield some useful information, which is what I'm going to give you in regards to the DDR3 memory.



On modern Processors, the memory controller is in the CPU. It's called the IMC or Internal Memory Controller.



You can buy a 100-series motherboard that takes DDR3L memory and put standard DDR3 memory on it, and run that combination with a 6th Gen Intel CPU. DDR3L and DDR3 are physically the same. However, the higher voltage requirements of DDR3 memory will slowly destroy the IMC on any 6th or 7the Gen Intel CPU. Regular DDR3 memory will kill your CPU. Since DDR3L is expensive and has a higher clock speed, the demand for it and Socket 1151 boards that support DDR3L is low. That's why you're having trouble finding boards that support DDR3L memory



It makes no sense, Zero sense to run with DDR3 memory. Also, since today's games actually see a performance benefit from higher clocked memory, it would just make sense to go with the best you can get.



Also, the BIOS on the 100 series motherboards won't support the 7th Generation chips without a BIOS update. At the minimum, you'd need a B250 or H270 board to go with that 7th Gen CPU.



The 6th Generation Intel processors support DDR4-2133 and the 7th Generation Intel Processors support DDR4-2400 memory.



Picking out a motherboard isn't too difficult if you know what options you want. If you want more USB ports then look at Z270 or H270. If you want better Integrated Audio then look at the soundchip that's being used on the motherboard. The Realtek ALC1150 and higher end integrated sound may be useful to you. I would make sure the board has an M.2 slot for NVMe SSD since this will be a useful option to have in the future.

Answer 6

DDR3 ram isn't the same as DDR3L.



DDR4 RAM has a different slot than the other types, so it's up to the motherboard. They made motherboards with different RAM slots for a while, but now it's all DDR4 RAM slots for 1151 CPUs.



Why not a micro ATX motherboard? They're cheaper, and unless you need a lot of card slots, Micro ATX should meet your needs. If you don't overclock they aren't any slower than the ATX "gaming" motherboards.



I usually pick a motherboard by checking the features I want. Start with 1151 socket (to fit your CPU). Then Look at the different chip sets available. Research what those mean and narrow down the search to the ones you want (Like others here suggested the B250 chip set so it would support the 7th gen CPU out of the box)



Do you need a slot for WIFI? Or were you going with a usb WiFi? Get at least get 4 SATA ports so you have room for a backup drive (Even if you have to buy it later).



It might also be helpful to look at other builds on PC Part Picker to get examples.

Answer 7

TBH if you know little about computers, I wouldn't recommend a self build until you do more research. Look up in a library or get some computer magazine or join a local computer club if there is one nearby.

You could get a system builder to build one for you and this would give you a warranty, and guaranteed compatibility.

Just google computer system builders and you will get some contacts, they will have a range of prices to suit

Answer 8

Why don't you go to the pcpartpicker forums and ask them? I'll bet you have and they told you to go with a Ryzen 5 1600 with a b350 board, didn't they? Sound advice, IMO

Answer 9

socket 1151 mobos ONLY use DDR4 ram. nothing else will fit. that's good because DDR4 is clocked at faster speed than DDR3.



the H110 series of mobos might do enough for you -- you'll have to think about future expansion of capabilities to decide. the Z170 series will probably be more than expansion proof but I've heard of problems getting them to work with Kaby Lake cpus [the BIOS has to be flashed but it won't work without a cpu and the cpu won't work until the BIOS is flashed ... catch 22. not sure this is so for all Z170 board makers/models, so ... ask maker to be sure]



I didn't read your parts list ... suggest rechecking your psu size using online sizer app. and make sure you have plenty of exhaust fans in the box -- i'd recommend at least four 120mmm fans for any i5 system, even without overclocking.