Suggestions for an AM2+ Motherboard

Gundog48 · 12 Jun 2010 at 10:29

I asked this in the motherboard forum, but apparently people only read the general hardware section!

I am looking for a decent ATX AM2+ motherboard. The one I have ATM is a MATX one, so my duel slot 9800GTX covers both PCI slots. I am looking for a decent motherboard that:

Costs around £80-100
Preferably nVIDIA
If ATI then it must support discrete XFire
Is ATX
Must have support for AM3 Phenom II x4 CPUs
Has half-decent NB/SB cooling

I know nVidia chipsets on AM2+ are hard to find so feel free to suggest an ATI alternative and flex my requirements as much as you like!

Redmint · 12 Jun 2010 at 10:37

If you're spending that much on a new motherboard you might as well change your RAM too and go AM3...

infernox · 12 Jun 2010 at 10:39

go am3 mate then you can get the new bulldozer's next year

Gundog48 · 12 Jun 2010 at 10:42

I would love to, but in reality I just can't afford to buy a new CPU and RAM. This is mainly to free up space for a sound card and add on the features of my current motherboard, but also providing a level of expandability into AM3. I will see how money goes, if I can save some up I will probably ask for you guys to spec me an upgrade.

Gundog48 · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:11

I think I have made the decision, I plan to go AM3. I will be looking at something like an AMD 955 x4 CPU and will be getting some 1333MHz 4Gb RAM. Now I am looking for the best bang-for buck motherboard wise. Again, must be ATX, preferably nVidia, but will be looking for the £50-70 mark instead. Any ideas?

IKMS · 12 Jun 2010 at 15:28

This.

Marine-RX179 · 12 Jun 2010 at 16:48

IKMS said:
This.

That won't do proper Crossfire, but this one would:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-366-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

Gundog48 · 12 Jun 2010 at 17:00

Nice suggestions. Any suggestions for an nVidia one though? Really want to make the most of my 9800GTX using nVidia Hybrid Boost.

Any idea how much I will get for the CPU (retail, W/ cooler and some warrenty), motherboard and RAM, as I will be looking to sell these to finance my purchase! Will also be selling my Xigmatek Achilles and Spire TherMax Eclipse II CPU coolers, which should hopefully bring in an extra £45.

Do you think it is worth going with an x6? I do some video editing, but with a lower clock speed than the 955 is it really a decent option?

Marine-RX179 · 12 Jun 2010 at 17:31

Gundog48 said:
Nice suggestions. Any suggestions for an nVidia one though? Really want to make the most of my 9800GTX using nVidia Hybrid Boost.

Nvidia has stopped making motherboard chipset for quite a long while now. Don't think Nvidia made any for the AM3 boards.

Gundog48 · 12 Jun 2010 at 18:04

Marine-RX179 said:
Nvidia has stopped making motherboard chipset for quite a long while now. Don't think Nvidia made any for the AM3 boards.

There are a few still knocking about. So no chance of SLI on AMD then, thats a real drawback. Does PhysX work with ATI boards? I have seen an ASUS M4A77TD PRO/U3S6 on the bay going cheap. If I could get that it would be amazing, with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s, but somehow I doubt it!