BIOSTAR TZ77A Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard + 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM $98 + Free Shipping @ Newegg

Quote from ResidentPony : Great RAM - but BIOSTAR? ... fwiw, Micro Center has their i3/15 combo discount right now in-store only and that includes the excellent Asus Z77 V-LK for eighty bucks with processor purchase. Better board, lower price - if you can get to a store and you're picking up a CPU.

do you happen to have the link. its worth the drive for me since gas is going down.. lower price and better specs is worth the drive

Quote from aznsniper911 : The sheer amount of people who don't realize that Microcenter is out of reach for many people is so frustrating at this point. My nearest one is about 8 hours away and I'm not planning a vacation just for the sole purpose of driving down to the nearest Microcenter to buy a cheap combo.

dont worry, im in NYC and within 50 miles of 3 different microcenter stores - but i get what you saying. i feel the same way when there's a half decent in store only deal at fry's

Quote from Synthetickiller : I've never had an issue eith a biostar board. They are fine. Most ivy chips are temp limited or you will simply hit a wall unless you have an amazing chip. That said, it's a good deal if you need a cheap system. As for the MC statements, here's my take. . I live 60 miles out of the denver location. I decided to make the drive. The cost of gas and sales taxes killed a single cpu purchase. I bought a ton of stuff, but the combo deals arent impressive, just the cpu prices. They dont always fo 50 off a board. I lived 6 hours from houston in Nola and its never worth the drive. So what if you are close, its not realistic to make the drive. Unless you are 20 miles away or less...

I live even further than you, but still find my way there ocassionally. Yes, it's senseless to make a trip in that area just that, but if I'm in the area and need computer parts (especially motherboards/CPUs) then it's worth a stop in there. For example, I'm going down South in a few days and might swing by the one in Fairfax, VA. Most people I know do a little bit of traveling for either work or to visit friends/relatives. Just work a pitstop into your trip.

Quote from ResidentPony : Micro Center The problem is that G.Skill isn't well known but their Ripjaws have reviewed near the top of the pile for a couple of years now, while Biostar is well known as a cut-rate mobo with a mediocre rep. I know they (and ECS and Asrock fwiw) are trying to move upmarket like Hyundai, but they have a long and sordid history to overcome. Just a couple years ago a typical convo would be "Why did you spend so much on the case and get a Biostar?" and "I'm on a very tight budget so I'm reusing my PSU and getting a Biostar motherboard." Hey, they aren't alone in trying. But as long as they price their wares in the same range as better manufacturers, I'm content to let someone else do the testing.

yup youre right biostar ecs and most not all asrock is a pile of shit.. i believe frys got sued pretty bad over ecs boards. having a high defective rate not sure if its the refurb or the return or just deal on power up, but frys got hit pretty hard i remember ecs deals left and right but would die a day later.. always that had the top in my opinion was asus, gigabyte, abit when they was around and Tyan. also dfi, when they made lanparty the old oskar wu who jumped from abit to dfi making them crazy boards.. though things have gotten better. MSI is somewhat ok!!! i remember their thing was ooh we got the latest usb2 but damn drivers and blue screens was a constant. cant say anything about asrock, but ecs and biostar haha beyond budgeteer crap. but if its free or $40 not much to say.

Quote from diablofreak : dont worry, im in NYC and within 50 miles of 3 different microcenter stores - but i get what you saying. i feel the same way when there's a half decent in store only deal at fry's

Dude, the gas and tolls would kill any deal going from NYC. What's the Hudson crossing these days? $15?

Quote from Kumicho : Dude, the gas and tolls would kill any deal going from NYC. What's the Hudson crossing these days? $15?

yeah, but im also relatively close to yonkers and garden city long island

Quote from ResidentPony : Quote from LonelyHiker : I use Corsair Vengeance ram in mine, so I don't know about the quality of the ram in this package, but otherwise I'd say it's a good deal. I can speak of the RAM; I use Ripjaws almost exclusively and they're excellent. (Plenty of other great RAM out there but I'm familiar with Ripjaws.) EDIT: Why is this devolving into a spat about Micro Center? I offered an alternative deal at a better price and observed that it's only for people who can get to a Micro Center. Should I have had that bit in bold? Or apologized before offering the deal?

What's the cheapest CPU I can run on this?

Sent from the official Slickdeals App for iPhone & iPod Touch.

Quote from Rocko99 : What's the cheapest CPU I can run on this? Sent from the official Slickdeals App for iPhone & iPod Touch.

Celeron G4xx, G5xx and G16xx range, currently as low as $49 on Newegg [newegg.com].

Full CPU Compatibility List [biostar-usa.com]

Quote from Rocko99 : What's the cheapest CPU I can run on this? Sent from the official Slickdeals App for iPhone & iPod Touch.

probably the i3-3220 or 3225 depending on if you have a *gasp* Microcenter nearby. Even if you don't, its still going to be either an i3-3220 or 3225. actually, if you want to be stupid, you could grab a celeron G550 or G860, though the G860 might not be THAT stupid.

Quote from Rocko99 : What's the cheapest CPU I can run on this? Sent from the official Slickdeals App for iPhone & iPod Touch.

Quote from deelseaker : Celeron G4xx, G5xx and G16xx range, currently as low as $49 on Newegg [newegg.com]. Full CPU Compatibility List [biostar-usa.com]

OP is completely right about that, but once you jump to Celeron you may as well go with a cheaper board. This board - a budget enthusiast board if that makes sense - has a bunch of features that will be irrelevant for a Celeron.

Quote from ResidentPony : OP is completely right about that, but once you jump to Celeron you may as well go with a cheaper board. This board - a budget enthusiast board if that makes sense - has a bunch of features that will be irrelevant for a Celeron.

Unless one is planning an upgrade at a later date, that is. A Celeron will still get through a lot of games depending, of course, on the GPU that's being used. Not a bad plan if someone doesn't have the money quite yet for an i3+.

Quote from dj-3lusion : do you happen to have the link. its worth the drive for me since gas is going down.. lower price and better specs is worth the drive

It's a recurring deal so I wouldn't rush out; it's always in their catalog [zmags.com] under Computer Parts. The deal shifts between $40 and $60 off a variety of mobos, and the list of eligible chips also changes. Right now it's an i3 and an i5, often it's an i5 or i7 (3570k 3770k). When it's the i7 combo, it beats Newegg by a lot. (Typically thirty bucks less for the chip, fifty bucks less for the mobo. Sometimes there's a rebate on the motherboard too...)

Pity their other in-store prices are mediocre. Not bad but higher than the almighty Newegg, plus tax for me. And with their slow inventory turnover, I had trouble getting a Vertex or Agility 3 with the 2.15 firmware during the OCZ fiasco.

tl;dr I only make the drive if I've got errands in the area and the combo is hot.

Quote from aznsniper911 : And may I ask how did you come about with that number?

He did a quick census of the US between posts.

People bashing the mobo must have never had any experience with Biostar. While not the sexiest company out there they are pretty decent for the money. I have had Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte, Asrock, EVGA and MSI boards crap out on me. Some were crazy expensive, others were budget boards. A lot of it also has to do with user experience too