Motherboard Question(s)

[LordHood2]

I've decided to make a few revisions to my custom PC build. Specifically, I switched from an AMD FX-4100 CPU to an AMD Phenom II x2 (its a lot harder to find bad performance reviews about a Phenom over a Bulldozer/FX CPU). My current motherboard is a Gigabyte GA990fx-UD3, but I wouldn't mind finding one that's a tad cheaper. I was looking at another GB board, the GA-990XA UD3. But I dont know if I should try to find something a bit better suited for a budget PC, because I dont want some cheap motherboard that doesn't really have a future as a gaming rig.

The rest of my build looks like this:
Case: Rosewill Challenger U3
CPU: AMD Phenom II x2
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 6870
PSU: Corsair GS600 (Already Own)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8gb(2x4gb kit) PC3 12800
Boot Drive: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 60GB SSD
Storeage drive: 500gb Segate Barracuda (Already Own)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 (might upgrade to H80)
Motherboard: UNDECIDED

My budget is around $800, currently I'm sitting at $770, which includes Windows 7 Home 64-bit. Ordering from Newegg(US site).

Soo, my real question is is it worth it to try to find a lower end board or just stick with the GA990FX or GA990XA?

[Masteroderus]

If you don't care about am3+ , look for a used 790 or 890 mobo. You might still be able to find a 890. You do not need the FX series unless you are going to do some serious mutli GPU setups.

Also i got my phenom x2 to overclock by 800 MHz with a stock cooler. The only aftermaket mod I did on the cpu was dope it with noctua TIM, then apply the standard TIM "pea" or "bb".

[dandelioneater]

get something with core unlock or whatever it is called. maybe that phenom will yield a third or maybe fourth core.

[hossdaddy]

what problems were you experiencing with the fx-4100?

[LordHood2]

Originally Posted by hossdaddy

what problems were you experiencing with the fx-4100?

None really. I just think that the phenom is more budget oriented, but can still deliver if the other cores unlock.

[hossdaddy]

ut you already bought the 4100? Were you able to return it? Anyhow the 4100 is great overclocker as you can see by my signature, not to mention its more energy efficient and much cooler.

[LordHood2]

Originally Posted by hossdaddy

ut you already bought the 4100? Were you able to return it? Anyhow the 4100 is great overclocker as you can see by my signature, not to mention its more energy efficient and much cooler.

I haven't bought anything yet, other then the things I mentioned I owned in the thread. I'm just trying to shave off a few bucks. It's not helping that I'm A.D.D when it comes to picking things out (I'm not really A.D.D, but i change my mind a lot XD ). For example, when I posted this I was happy with the Phenom. But I read some articles somewhere since posting that say FX/Bulldozers are the way to go now, and another one that confirmed that at some point there will be driver and application patches that allow the full power of Bulldozer to be realized. ....

So I'll probably go back to the FX4100. And also the m5a97. Pretty much everywhere I see it, people say that "FX + M5A97 = ". So I think I'll be locking my build in, since in the next couple weeks I will probably start looking at ordering it.

...

Unless I change my mind. Which is unlikely. Kinda.

[hossdaddy]

That is the exact setup I have and I couldn't be happier. Awesome motherboard, great tools for overclocking and monitoring. Very stable, great UEFI Bios. Bang for the buck abounds with this setup. You will not be disappointed. Hit me up if you need any help when you get it. FYI do not waste yoru time with a liquid cooler for the cpu, its completely unnecessary. I have this Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus and with the cpu oc'd @ 4.4ghz it idles @ 23-26c and tops out approx @ 43c after an hour of MW3. I recently looked at one of those coolers but I could not justify the additional cost given the minor performance increase.

Good luck with the build!!