AMD Motherboard Advice

chrismscotland

chrismscotland

chrismscotland

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Quick question folks, if I was to go down an AMD Build route, mainly as a money saving exercise I had been looking at this motherboard: Asus M4A87TD/USB3 is there a better choice? I'm looking to pair it with a Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black
 
Its a solid enough entry level board, depends what you want from it, obviously dual gfx is a no no(only 1 PCI-Ex16 slot) but if it has all the features you need then yeah go for it, cant go far wrong with asus/gigabyte (or any other reputable brand for that matter)
 
chrismscotland said:
Asus M4A87TD/USB3 AMD 870

£86.99 inc

is there a better choice? I'm looking to pair it with a Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black
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Hello Chris! :)

the board you selected looks great but I have some questions:

  • Do you need a full ATX board (PCI-Cards etc) or would uATX work for you?
  • Do you think at any time in the future you would dabble with CrossFire?
  • Do you think having an IGP could prove handy at any point?
  • Do you think that SATA 6Gb/s or USB 3.0 could prove handy at any point?
Depending on the answers to those questions heres a few alternatives

Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H

£69.99 inc (no SATA 6Gb/s or USB 3.0)

Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H

£84.99 inc

ASRock 890GX Extreme3

£99.99 inc (8+2 PWM)

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H

£105.99 inc (4+1 PWM)

95thrifles said:
Its a solid enough entry level board
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Hey 95thrifles,

I personally wouldn't call the Asus M4A87TD/USB3 an "entry level board", it's totally state-of-the-art and aside from Crossfire it has all the features would could really need? . . .

These are what I would call "entry level" AM3/DDR3 boards . . although having said that these pocket rockets are still AMD® Phenom™ II X6 compatible and rammed to the gills with technology so not sure they even deserve to be called entry level heh! ;)

Gigabyte GA-MA74GMT-S2

£42.99 inc inc

Asus M4A78LT-M 760G

£48.99 inc
 
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I have just purchased that mobo along with a phenom 955. Coming later today will let you know what I think of it!
 
When I said entry level I didnt mean to suggest it wasnt good, thats why I stated "solid", I only meant it was lacking some additional features such as the option of a 2nd gfx card etc, and there were other better boards, whilst trying to make clear theres nothing wrong with that board as long as it does everything that is required of it
 
95thrifles said:
When I said entry level I didnt mean to suggest it wasnt good
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Sure I understand that but I'm wondering if other people will think you mean it is "Basic" or "lacking" . . . I wonder though have you used any of these boards? . . . if you had used them I don't think you would be calling them "entry level" . . . I suspect you have been mislead by the price? . . . or perhaps you think everyone who asks for mobo advice is a world class benchmarker or perhaps intending to run TriFire and maybe also needs overclocking buttons and the ability to connect a laptop to their PC to remotely overclock it? :p

95thrifles said:
I only meant it was lacking some additional features such as the option of a 2nd gfx card etc, and there were other better boards
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No probs . . . CrossFire is an advanced option for either the extreme computer game player or benchmarker . . . a board lacking the CrossFire option does not make it "entry level" IMHO ;)

When you say there are "better boards" did you mean there are "more expensive boards" or? . . . . Aside from CrossFire how do you personally define what is "better"? and does this relate to the people that are asking you for buying advice? :D
 
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No I havent used them myself, not that model, still on 775 here, lol, I didnt mean to mislead, Im very aware its a very capable board, maybe I should be more careful as to the terminology I use in future, apologies to OP for any confusion, I fully agree that just because its cheap doesnt mean its not adequate, as I tried to say, so long as it does everything thats required from you then its good enough, I agree theres no need to go OTT and buy top dollar just for the sake of it.

I dont agree crossfire is for the extreme gamer, 5 or so years ago Id agree, now I think its much more common place, as I say I should have maybe used a better term than "entry level", the etc refers to number of expansion slots (PCI-E/PCI/USB/SATA etc) which again I think youre right in alluding to 90-95% of people will be provided for with this sort of board, again I was merely trying to ask the OP to ask themselves if it provided everything that they require, and if it does by all means go for it, great board if it meets your needs.

Edit: In fact Ive just checked my build threads, lol, and in there I have rightly classed this board in my mid level builds, if that clarifies my position :p
 
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Thanks guys, I don't really need Crossfire I think its more likely that I will need a new motherboard if I were to upgrade any further (with the new AMD chips next year) USB3 I think I would like to have as its going to be widespread in the future, if I could get a board with USB3 and Crossfire for about the same price as the Asus M4A87TD/USB3 AMD 870 then I would though.
 
Installed this board, looking good - the disc that came with it doesn't work (other discs do so its not the drive).

Also after updating the audio drivers the onboard sound seems to be pretty bad? Like gettin crackling noises... has anyone heard anything about the quality of the onboard sound? I have a soundblaster live 24 bit sound card I could put in but it is literally 10 years old so I would prefer not to, but it is still better than what Im getting at the moment!
 
crackling noise sounds like interference? Is that from front panel connector or directly from rear? If from front then try rear see if its better
Re the disc not working "meh" I never use discs supplied anyway as by time you get it theresnormally always a later version so I always download all drivers etc
 
Big Wayne

+1 for the asrock

loving this board, paid under £90 when it first come out and no regrets:cool:
 
That's a nice board lmfy2k! :)

I have it's little brother . . . similar to yours (£57) but uATX and AM2+/DDR2 running an AM3 AMD® Athlon™ II X4 . . . AMD® 785G chipset is great!

I like the heatsink and 8+2 PWM system on yours (mine is 4+1) . . . you should get some nice overclocks on that! :cool:

ASUS M4A785D-M PRO (AM2+/DDR2)

Good board if you have a stash of DDR2 memory . . . .
 
Big.Wayne said:
That's a nice board lmfy2k! :)

I have it's little brother . . . similar to yours (£57) but uATX and AM2+/DDR2 running an AM3 AMD® Athlon™ II X4 . . . AMD® 785G chipset is great!

I like the heatsink and 8+2 PWM system on yours (mine is 4+1) . . . you should get some nice overclocks on that! :cool:

ASUS M4A785D-M PRO (AM2+/DDR2)

Good board if you have a stash of DDR2 memory . . . .
Click to expand...

it was one of your previous posts that made me buy it :D
 
95thrifles said:
crackling noise sounds like interference? Is that from front panel connector or directly from rear? If from front then try rear see if its better
Re the disc not working "meh" I never use discs supplied anyway as by time you get it theresnormally always a later version so I always download all drivers etc
Click to expand...

Its in the rear already. Sometimes it sounds fine but then other more bass driven tracks it sounds like its struggling. Seems to be good for a while lately tho so maybe it was the tracks.
 
tr1cky said:
Its in the rear already. Sometimes it sounds fine but then other more bass driven tracks it sounds like its struggling. Seems to be good for a while lately tho so maybe it was the tracks.
Click to expand...

Ive never thought about this before, and probably sounds really stupid, but perhaps it needs a couple of hours or so breaking in time?
 
Yo,

Rather than create a new thread I'm going to try and latch on to this one and hope some knowledge rubs off on me. :)

(TL: DR summary provided at bottom of post!)


Looking to move over to an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T based system, and was wondering about motherboards.
I hope to either have it pre-overclocked or to learn the ins and outs of AMD clocking and do it myself, either way I'd hope for a minimum of 3.6GHz.

Currently I'm looking at the Gigabyte GA-890GPA UD3H but was wondering if there are any known issues with this board or if there are other boards that I might have overlooked.

My requirements are as follows:
- Room enough for a 3 slot graphics card (4870x2 with Accelero Extreme cooler) and a PCI sound card, preferably with a gap in between the two.
- USB3 and SATA3 (with sensible positioning of the SATA, i.e. not vertical underneath where the graphics card would be) - this is for later rather than sooner.
- Room enough to fit the Thermalright Silver Arrow cooler with 2x14cm fans.
- Crossfire - not vital but I imagine I'll eventually get rid of my 4870x2 and would like the option then of getting two cards (whilst still having room for my PCI soundcard!)


I had looked at Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 but having read up on it, it uses a switcher card for the PCIEx16 slots, so I'd have to have my 4870x2 in the 2nd slot, which would mean no room for sound card, plus it would completely block off the SATA ports.


I had considered the ASRock 890GX Extreme3 but I am visiting some friends next week who may be able to get me the stuff I need from a competitor at staff discount, and said competitor does not offer this motherboard.


TL: DR - in short, is the Gigabyte a solid overclocking board? It seems to tick all my boxes, I just hope there's no issues I've missed.

Muchas gracias señoritas.
 
tibbsey said:
Currently I'm looking at the

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H

£104.99 inc

was wondering if there are any known issues with this board or if there are other boards that I might have overlooked.
Click to expand...
Hey tibbsey,

That looks like great board for your needs . . . not aware of any issues to date? :)

tibbsey said:
is the Gigabyte a solid overclocking board? It seems to tick all my boxes, I just hope there's no issues I've missed.
Click to expand...
It depends on how big an overclock you want? . . . Are you intending to get a nice day-to-day overclock going or are you gonna be benchmarking and competing with other overclockers worldwide?

That board is based around a 4+1 PWM system which will handly a medium/medium-high day-to-day overclock no problem at all but if your gonna be benchmarking and competing you may prefere a board with an 8+2 PWM system?

I think if I had the choice between two boards where the first had 4+1 and the second had 8+2 and they were selling at the same price I would take the latter . . . however if the board with 8+2 commanded a premium beyond £5.00 or so I *wouldn't* bother paying any extra heh! :p . . . That's based on the reasoning for a medium day-to-day overclock the 8+2 PWM is highly unlikely to offer any advantage vs 4+1 . . . so why pay extra? ;)

Long story short . . . what final overclock speed do you think you would want from a AMD® Phenom™ II X6 1055T? :cool:
 
Cheers for the reply Big.Wayne. :)

Ultimately I'd like a medium/medium high overclock that will be nice and stable for a good couple of years (rather than my usual "upgrade when something shiny comes out" I want this set up to be rock solid and last as long as it can).

If I can get 3.6GHz or 3.8GHz out of it then I think I will be happy, obviously more would be nice but if it would require a better motherboard then I don't think it's worth it.


I've emailed Thermalright to see if the Silver Arrow will fit on the Gigabyte, 2x14cm fans :D (don't worry, I've picked small RAMs ;)), so hopefully they'll get back to me with some good news.
 
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