Upgrading Mobo, looking for help.

So yea, I'm annoyed with the limitations of my MSI K9N6SGM-V and I'm looking at getting a new mobo. One that will have crossfire capability and able to use AM2+ or possibly AM3 CPU's in the future.

I don't OC, But I do game. So yea, I'm running AM2 now with my 5000+ BE, and I have a HIS IceQ HD4670 Turbo that I might throw into Crossfire.

I'm looking for a decent budget Mobo that will have at least 4 sata outputs and needs to be compatible with AM2 while allowing me to upgrade to quad cores later on. And the Crossfire.

I'm kind of looking at the ASUS M4A785-M for about $73 shipping included but I haven't kept up to date on the latest prices. Any help would be great.

 

There's not a great deal of point crossfiring two HD4670s, as one $125 HD4870 will be substantially faster, and less reliant on crossfire support.
If you're willing to spend a little more, you can get a much nicer board like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128395
Compatible with the latest and greatest AM3 CPUs, crossfire support, 16GB RAM support, six S-ATA ports, good brand.

 

I forgot to put in my original post that the new mobo needs to support pc5400 667mhz ram. I'm only looking to replace the mobo to allow future upgrades in the next few months. This one supports 800mhz+ although the support site states some 667mhz support but my crucial rendition isn't listed, although I suppose they can't list ever ram available... should be ok right?

And about the GPU, I was going cheap again... already have one 4670 so I was gonna Xfire a second, but I guess that will have its limits and I could likely sell the 4670, add to the cost of a second and get the 4870 for not much more, if more... then later I could Xfire those maybe... Sounds good.

So yea, if you could help me out with the ram thing, that board looks pretty good. Hope newegg throws free shipping at it sometime soon to help me out.

 

667mhz is supported by pretty much every board to my knowledge. If it's not listed it's usually because it's quite rare these days. I would be surprised if PC5300 RAM didn't work with that board.

 

good to know, I've also been looking at these boards. They seem to be pretty near the Gigabyte so I'm trying to pick apart the specifics.

Don't know much about ECS:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135075

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135235

Heard good things about Biostar... sometimes:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138156

So yea, I'm basically comparing them to your suggestion, but these come with free shipping saving me $20 instantly...

 

ECS are absolutely dire, even worse than Asus. Biostar boards are pretty good.

 

Yea I've never really heard much about ECS's... And the Biostar, while cheaper plus free shipping kinda lacks in spec's... I'm likely going to buy in the next 2 weeks so I'll just keep an eye out on that Gigabyte board for a price drop/free shipping.

 

I was looking for slightly cheaper boards than that gigabyte samm, and I was able to find an open box deal from NCIX's ebay store. Picked it up as "new opened" for under $80 shipped.

Thanks for helping me out with finding a great board! Your always very helpful.

 

An open box version of the same, or something else?
I tend not to advise open box products, as they're usually "repaired" warranty failures and are as such unreliable by comparison. Best of luck with it though.

 

Same mobo but it was through NCIX whom I trust and they would RMA it if anything was wrong with it. So if there is a problem they will replace with a new board and if not I got it much cheaper. $90 at newegg with shipping and taxes was about $115 to $120, got it for about $78 this way.

And again, thanks for pointing me to a great board, will def help me with my next few upgrades

 

NCIX seem a reputable store from what I've read.

 

I've dealt with NCIX a few times and they were fine. I prefer newegg for most of my buys though. Tigerdirect is also good at times although their prices are usually higher than neweggs.

But again, thanks for showing me the great board, I'll be upgrading the ram and GPU soon, and moving to quad core in the new year This def helps me out.

 

not sure if you've sub'd to this sam but I can't seem to find the info I was looking for. Will my 5000+ BE dual core support 1066 ram? I was looking at buying this:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145247

 

Depends on the motherboard.

 

oh ok, I thought there was some sort of limitation with the CPU as well... I'm a newb heh.
And the mobo is the one u suggested so I know that its supported there. Thanks again samm. Your advice is always helpful

 

There often is with AMDs, but as far as I'm aware PC8500 is fine with the X2s.