Hi, Im trying to spec a 1156 based upgrade for my main system. Choosing the right mainboard has been a real headache. The four elements that I cant seem to get all playing nicely on one board are as follows:
A. Not too expensive (ideally less than £130inc)
B. eSata port
C. Good onboard sound (preferably AL889)
D. Quality product that will last (I will probably keep it for 3yrs+)
I don’t plan SLI or Crossfire, but I do want a fast board as its mainly going to be used for gaming and I plan to do a moderate overclock on air.
Ive got my eye on the Gigabyte range and there is a nice board that ticks all the boxes (P55-UD4P). Problem is that it doesn’t seem to be available in the UK.
The other two choices are the P55M-UD4 and the P55-UD5. Both these have eSata and the AL889, but the first is an mATX board and the second is a bit too dear for my liking.
So this brings me here to ask the following questions:
1. Am I being too picky by wanting the AL889 codec, would I really notice the difference going for a board with AL888 when I mostly just game?
2. Does it actually matter if my 1156 board is mATX rather than ATX? Would the P55M-UD4 be slower than the P55-UD5 carrying the same CPU, GPU etc?
3. The MSI P55-GD65 also ticks the right boxes, but I don’t trust MSI on quality. Ive heard some good things about their recent 1156 boards, would it be a wise choice to consider this instead of a Gigabyte board that costs £20 more (i.e. the UD5)?
Thanks in advance for any advice given
A. Not too expensive (ideally less than £130inc)
B. eSata port
C. Good onboard sound (preferably AL889)
D. Quality product that will last (I will probably keep it for 3yrs+)
I don’t plan SLI or Crossfire, but I do want a fast board as its mainly going to be used for gaming and I plan to do a moderate overclock on air.
Ive got my eye on the Gigabyte range and there is a nice board that ticks all the boxes (P55-UD4P). Problem is that it doesn’t seem to be available in the UK.
The other two choices are the P55M-UD4 and the P55-UD5. Both these have eSata and the AL889, but the first is an mATX board and the second is a bit too dear for my liking.
So this brings me here to ask the following questions:
1. Am I being too picky by wanting the AL889 codec, would I really notice the difference going for a board with AL888 when I mostly just game?
2. Does it actually matter if my 1156 board is mATX rather than ATX? Would the P55M-UD4 be slower than the P55-UD5 carrying the same CPU, GPU etc?
3. The MSI P55-GD65 also ticks the right boxes, but I don’t trust MSI on quality. Ive heard some good things about their recent 1156 boards, would it be a wise choice to consider this instead of a Gigabyte board that costs £20 more (i.e. the UD5)?
Thanks in advance for any advice given