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The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
Original Poster
#1 Old 27th Nov 2014 at 5:28 PM
Default Advice on new MOBO and Processor
I'm building a new core for a computer build (which will continue for a while yet). I am basically looking at a new processor and MOBO atm. What I'd welcome is any comments or advice from those of you more knowledgeable than me (which is probably quite a few). Him Indoors is helping me out with the purchasing and will, thank heavens, be the one to actually do the building. He's an electronic engineer, which is useful, but not a gamer, which is not. Hence his perspective is not completely helpful though it's pretty damn good. I'm looking at the following processor:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00K3E8N...=I2FLAOO2BSD69Q
which I think is ok having looked around at reviews and test reports.

The thing that is bothering me more is choosing a MOBO. I'm looking at this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E5QLM...=I2XBQSI5JYE5EQ
The reason we went for a B85 rather than a H87 is because the idea is to cannibalise parts of the present set up including, at first at least, the drives. The H87 doesn't have the requisite sockets and that would mean buying at least one drive immediately if I want the thing working in the next month. I don't want to do this. However, there's not much info about B87 boards and I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do. I will buy new drives eventually, along with a new video card (the present one is moderately good so that will be last on the list), but I can't afford this right away.

Any comments welcome and TIA.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
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#2 Old 27th Nov 2014 at 6:37 PM
What's your budget? Normally I would only suggest getting an i7 if either you have a large budget, or you need it for work. If your computer won't be doing anything more demanding than video games, then get the cheapest 4th gen i5 you can get.

Also the comment you made about the hard drive really puzzles me because I find it extremely hard to believe that an H87 won't have what you need. What kind of hard drive is this exactly? Can you take a picture of the drive, or get more details about kind of port the drive needs. SATA has been standard for like... a decade now I think. So if you're using a PATA hard drive... you should definitely replace it anyway, and the B85 you linked to doesn't even support PATA as far as I can tell.
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
Original Poster
#3 Old 27th Nov 2014 at 7:18 PM
We were looking at a comparison chart of MOBO types which I can't find now - actually there's a version on Wiki here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1150

The drive I want to transfer is indeed SATA but the port will be version 2.0 not 3.0 and, according to the chart at least, H87 MOBOs don't have ports for SATA 2.0. The other drive (which is an 'internal' external drive - i.e. it is at present mounted internally) - has a USB connection and isn't a problem - we anticipate anyway.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
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#4 Old 28th Nov 2014 at 5:42 AM
SATA 3.0 ports are backward compatible with SATA 2.0 drives. You can connect a SATA 2.0 drive to a SATA 3.0 port without any incompatibility problems and without needing new cables.

Additionally, you should be getting H97 instead of H87. H97 is virtually the same but supports newer processors (for the same socket) and newer features if the manufacturer implements them.

The price of H97 and H87 motherboards are the same on average.
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
Original Poster
#5 Old 28th Nov 2014 at 9:11 AM
Thanks for that information. Trying to work out the best option is a PITA is you're not really into all the details. I'm still trying to work out why the B85 board would include SATA 2.0 ports in the first place if the 3.0 ports are, as you say, backwards compatible. I finally found some information about that (not easy to find all requisite info) which says the ports do work though, of course, the read speed is limited to the SATA 2.0 speed (if that makes sense). Considering options atm.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Scholar
#6 Old 28th Nov 2014 at 10:24 AM
The B85 would have SATA 2.0 ports because at the time the board was being made SATA 2.0 ports were probably cheaper than SATA 3.0 ports. H97 boards are newer and SATA 3.0 ports are probably cheaper now compared to before due to economies of scale, hence no SATA 2.0.
 
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