Mobo Suggestions for AMD FX-8120

955 BE for $200? Nope not at that price.

Look for a MB + CPU combo from some online retailers. Never been to a Micro Express store but I see postings on here from time to time about good sales that can be had in-store. i.e. a 2600K for $199

mjw21a said:

^^^ Yea, I've still got my 955BE in my home theatre box....I'd go with the 1045T..... It's just a lot of chip considering the asking price. Very good value for money, and once overclocked it'll beat out an overclocked FX-8120 in many things.

Out of what Newegg have in stock, it would be my choice as when you factor in a future overclock, its great value. I believe you'll even be happy with it at stock speeds. I mean, for $129 you really can't go wrong. Also, for $129 your looking at a multiplier locked 6 core, whereas the 965BE is an unlocked 4 core of effectively the same architecture. I'd go the 6 core for the extra $10. It'll overclock quite well too.

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You'd go w/the Phenom II X6 1045T 2.7GHz, over the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz, Really?

I'm confused, why would you select a multiplier locked 6 core, over an unlocked 4 core 965 BE? I know I'm missing something here.

Absolutely the 1045 is a superior chip to the 965. AMD base clock overclocking is AMAZING compared to intel, but both lack current instruction sets though. Phenom II / Thuban is basically 3 generations out of date as far as instruction set/enhancements are concerned while BD is current.

ssjwizard said:

Absolutely the 1045 is a superior chip to the 965. AMD base clock overclocking is AMAZING compared to intel, but both lack current instruction sets though. Phenom II / Thuban is basically 3 generations out of date as far as instruction set/enhancements are concerned while BD is current.

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Hmm...my 3 choices are

Phenom II X6 1045T Thuban

AMD FX-8120 Bulldozer

Core i5 2500k

From the reviews I read of the BD, I'm not that impressed, the reviewers weren't impressed either. In my earlier posts w/others, it seems like if I were to get a 8120, the 8 cores would be underutilized. So the thought that Cigarsmoker and Mj had were perhaps a good 4 core chip would be good enough for the next couple of years of gaming, and then upgrade later.

That's how I got looking at the other AMD chips once I read the not so enthusiastic reviews on the AMD BD chip.

I know the i5 is a good chip. I've just never owned intel before.

Yeah I know the OC'ing ability has always been better w/AMD, that's one reason why I went w/them.

^^^ Correct. Our resident wizard makes some excellent points there. I do believe that Thuban to be great bang for buck. It's basically half the price of a FX-8120 or 2500K

What you really need to understand is that an FX-8120/50 is NOT and 8 core chip as AMD would have you believe. It's a 4 core chip which can process 8 threads. I think the best way for people to understand it is to liken it to Intel's Hyperthreading technology, even though thats no technically accurate either. You can really only call the FX-8120 a 4 module processor, however I can't stress this enough, it's NOT an 8 core processor. AMD's marketers are stretching the truth with this.

A Thuban on the other hand is quite literally what it says, its a 6 core processor. For $129 thats a great chip for the price. Excellent bang for buck. To put things in perspective, thats the same sort of price as you'd pay for a Core i3, and the Phenom X6 is a no brainer in this instance. I'd get the chip and push a very easy 3.8GHz overclock. It will do more though.

mjw21a said:

^^^ Correct. Our resident wizard makes some excellent points there. I do believe that Thuban to be great bang for buck. It's basically half the price of a FX-8120 or 2500K

What you really need to understand is that an FX-8120/50 is NOT and 8 core chip as AMD would have you believe. It's a 4 core chip which can process 8 threads. I think the best way for people to understand it is to liken it to Intel's Hyperthreading technology, even though thats no technically accurate either. You can really only call the FX-8120 a 4 module processor, however I can't stress this enough, it's NOT an 8 core processor. AMD's marketers are stretching the truth with this.

A Thuban on the other hand is quite literally what it says, its a 6 core processor.

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I see. Would you go w/the Thuban I found or the i5 ? Money is not an issue.

Oops..sorry..I didn't see that last line, where you said you'd get the Thuban and OC it.

Core i5 2500k

Cigarsmoker said:

Core i5 2500k

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I thought you'd say that. Hmmm...would I even "need" a WC set up then w/the 2500k...I'll see what intel forum thinks. I know zip about Intel boards..crap

If money is not the issue then the i5 is the clear hands down winner. Maybe even go one step up and get the 2600K. That's only if as you say price isn't an issue. I'm a very price conscious buyer, hence why I would go with the Thuban and overclock it. If price and value's not an issue then I'd probably go with a 2600K, especially since you're not keen on overclocking.

The Sandy Bridge chips produce very little heat so I'm not sure why you'd worry about water cooling..... I'd lean towards that Noctua NH-D14 cooler and a sweet case like mt Silverstone Temjin TJ04-E

mjw21a said:

If money is not the issue then the i5 is the clear hands down winner. Maybe even go one step up and get the 2600K. That's only if as you say price isn't an issue. I'm a very price conscious buyer, hence why I would go with the Thuban and overclock it. If price and value's not an issue then I'd probably go with a 2600K, especially since you're not keen on overclocking.

The Sandy Bridge chips produce very little heat so I'm not sure why you'd worry about water cooling..... I'd lean towards that Noctua NH-D14 cooler and a sweet case like mt Silverstone Temjin TJ04-E

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I like to have the ability to OC, but I'm always worried that if I do it more than I do it now (which is nothing to speak of), that I will burn out my components. I can't afford to buy chips and GPU if I burn through them because I OC'd improperly or didn't cool them enough etc etc.

Would the Noctua NH-D14 fit in the mATX Silverstone case you showed me?

I'm a price conscious buyer too trust me. I look for great deals. But in some cases, I'll spend a bit more if it gets a significantly better component. Of course "more" and "better" are all subjective terms.

EDIT: The price of the 2600k is too pricey for me, just checked.

If I felt more confident about OCing like you do, I'd probably get the Thuban I found.

I have a spare AMD 3000+, I wonder if I could get a board for it, and practice OCing more. Of course I don't remember how good an OCer that chip was. It's been a while.

I'm gone for half a day and you blow through the comments my goodness. I'm going to go with the group and say i5 is better the x6 pII. don't get me wrong as I was the one who told you in the other thread to get PII over 8120. Only because I have them both... (8150<1090t)in real world. I really can't speak though on the i5 it's self but I have heard great things about it. But if you can put extra into the cpu 2600k is insane and in my option worth it. But like stated before the rest of the I7 line is way over priced.

adams1029 said:

I'm gone for half a day and you blow through the comments my goodness. I'm going to go with the group and say i5 is better the x6 pII. don't get me wrong as I was the one who told you in the other thread to get PII over 8120. Only because I have them both... (8150<1090t)in real world. I really can't speak though on the i5 it's self but I have heard great things about it. But if you can put extra into the cpu 2600k is insane and in my option worth it. But like stated before the rest of the I7 line is way over priced.

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HAHAH...I've been going at a fast pace. I wish the intel forum was helpful for mobo suggestions sheesh.

Well, I'm in an information sponge, and I have to read about/ask to make an informed decision

The if 2500k is like $100 less than the i7 2600k at least at newegg. That's a big difference to me. How much is the performance gain of i7 over i5? Clearly to you it's worth it.

There is a lot that can be said about both, I7 is there top tier of cpu's all of witch are pretty much over priced other then the 2600k which I believe it is pretty fair. The I5 I hear can be pushed really hard with OC(I don't have first hand experience with it though). I ended up doing what your doing asking a lot of questions reading reviews etc. Came up with 2600k being the best for oc'in and straight out of the box. I belive the I5 does not have HT as well.

adams1029 said:

There is a lot that can be said about both, I7 is there top tier of cpu's all of witch are pretty much over priced other then the 2600k which I believe it is pretty fair. The I5 I hear can be pushed really hard with OC(I don't have first hand experience with it though). I ended up doing what your doing asking a lot of questions reading reviews etc. Came up with 2600k being the best for oc'in and straight out of the box. I belive the I5 does not have HT as well.

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HT ?? hyperthreading?

correct.

What board exactly are you looking at?

As others have suggested, pick up a 965 BE from newegg and find an old 890FX board used somewhere or go with a 2500K.

I don't suggest 900 series boards because BIOSes are Bulldozer-optimized and later bioses have serious issues with Phenom II. Not to say they don't work at stock, but ram will not run over 1066/1333 in most cases. I've yet to run Phenom II with ram other than 1066 CL9 with a bios supporting retail Bulldozer.

You have a few options:
965 + 890 series
8120 + Sabertooth or Crosshair V Formula - Don't even consider anything less than 8120 if you go FX, X4 965 BE @ 4 GHz beats out a 6-core FX-6100 @ 4.6 GHz in most occasions
2500K + mid-range P67/Z68 board in $150 range.

I would stay away from MSI offerings for sure, Dr. MOS was more like Dr. POS, 790FX/890FX high end boards catching fire under load with only modest overclocks.

Gigabyte UD5/UD7 now utilize a Driver-Mosfet configuration similar to MSI, but UD3 uses and older/traditional design. However a lot of users complain about horrible vdroop and vgain on Gigabyte boards, (I've seen two guys at XS complain about voltage spiking .1v up on load with UD3, and droop .05v+ with UD5/UD7) ...and Gigabyte's implementations of Load-Line Calibration in Rev. 1.1 and 1.2 boards is half-assed. (Worked for Prime95 with Phenom II X6 but not LinX, and Phenom II uses less power than Bulldozer when overclocked)

BeepBeep2 said:

What board exactly are you looking at?

As others have suggested, pick up a 965 BE from newegg and find an old 890FX board used somewhere or go with a 2500K.

I don't suggest 900 series boards because BIOSes are Bulldozer-optimized and later bioses have serious issues with Phenom II. Not to say they don't work at stock, but ram will not run over 1066/1333 in most cases. I've yet to run Phenom II with ram other than 1066 CL9 with a bios supporting retail Bulldozer.

You have a few options:
965 + 890 series
8120 + Sabertooth or Crosshair V Formula - Don't even consider anything less than 8120 if you go FX, X4 965 BE @ 4 GHz beats out a 6-core FX-6100 @ 4.6 GHz in most occasions
2500K + mid-range P67/Z68 board in $150 range.

Gigabyte UD5/UD7 now utilize a Driver-Mosfet configuration similar to MSI, but UD3 uses and older/traditional design. However a lot of users complain about horrible vdroop and vgain on Gigabyte boards, (I've seen two guys at XS complain about voltage spiking .1v up on load with UD3, and droop .05v+ with UD5/UD7) ...and Gigabyte's implementations of Load-Line Calibration in Rev. 1.1 and 1.2 boards is half-assed. (Worked for Prime95 with Phenom II X6 but not LinX, and Phenom II uses less power than Bulldozer when overclocked)

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After all the Bulldozer reviews I read (none of which were enthusiastic) which was disappointing to me a lot actually.

I'm pretty sure I'm going with a i5 2500k. I did find a X4 BE, but it was $200. Someone said at that price, it's not worth it. So that left me with a X6 Thuban, Deneb at NewEgg Or the 2500k

Today someone suggested mITX, because I had asked about in another thread (I like the idea of a SMALL form factor). mATX is smaller than my Chieftec case, mITX even smaller. However, w/small size you have to compromise generally.

At the moment I'm leaning towards z77 mATX mobos that Mj suggested for 2 reasons

1. They'll support Intels upcoming Ivy Bridge processors
2. and also support SLI and Crossfire.

I figure if I'm going to get an Intel mobo I'd like it to be somewhat "future proof"

Giga OR ASrock OR Asus Max Gene 5

Earlier, someone pointed this mITX from Asus I read some initial youtube reviews/reviews it certainly caught my interest

P8Z77-I DELUXE

I don't know if I will go w/dual card setup. Initially, I'm only getting one vid card, either the amd 7970 or the nVidia gtx equivalent

Viper this can go on for a long time lol. Because people want to sell you the best. But really you need to think about what you want from your computer and want you really want. Don't get 8 cores when you really only need 4 etc. If your going to play mainly games with it like I do with mine 4 is all you need. Most games don't even take good advantage of two core none the less 4,6 or 8. I only bought this computer because my wife said" Fine build your computer just don't tell me the cost". But I did not go crazy with any one thing. What I did was I went to newegg build my dream computer about 3k not counting WC. Then a cheap upgrade with amd and intel. Then compared and meet in the middle. It is a lot of work and we are all here to help but sometimes we get into little argument over this and that, and get lost in what really matters. What you need/want.

Viper69 said:

After all the Bulldozer reviews I read (none of which were enthusiastic) which was disappointing to me a lot actually.

I'm pretty sure I'm going with a i5 2500k. I did find a X4 BE, but it was $200. Someone said at that price, it's not worth it. So that left me with a X6 Thuban, Deneb at NewEgg Or the 2500k

Today someone suggested mITX, because I had asked about in another thread (I like the idea of a SMALL form factor). mATX is smaller than my Chieftec case, mITX even smaller. However, w/small size you have to compromise generally.

At the moment I'm leaning towards z77 mATX mobos that Mj suggested for 2 reasons

1. They'll support Intels upcoming Ivy Bridge processors
2. and also support SLI and Crossfire.

I figure if I'm going to get an Intel mobo I'd like it to be somewhat "future proof"

Giga OR ASrock OR Asus Max Gene 5

Earlier, someone pointed this mITX from Asus I read some initial youtube reviews/reviews it certainly caught my interest

P8Z77-I DELUXE

I don't know if I will go w/dual card setup. Initially, I'm only getting one vid card, either the amd 7970 or the nVidia gtx equivalent

Click to expand...

I typed before reading your post lol

Viper69 said:

After all the Bulldozer reviews I read (none of which were enthusiastic) which was disappointing to me a lot actually.

I'm pretty sure I'm going with a i5 2500k. I did find a X4 BE, but it was $200. Someone said at that price, it's not worth it. So that left me with a X6 Thuban, Deneb at NewEgg Or the 2500k

Today someone suggested mITX, because I had asked about in another thread (I like the idea of a SMALL form factor). mATX is smaller than my Chieftec case, mITX even smaller. However, w/small size you have to compromise generally.

At the moment I'm leaning towards z77 mATX mobos that Mj suggested for 2 reasons

1. They'll support Intels upcoming Ivy Bridge processors
2. and also support SLI and Crossfire.

I figure if I'm going to get an Intel mobo I'd like it to be somewhat "future proof"

Giga OR ASrock OR Asus Max Gene 5

Earlier, someone pointed this mITX from Asus I read some initial youtube reviews/reviews it certainly caught my interest

P8Z77-I DELUXE

I don't know if I will go w/dual card setup. Initially, I'm only getting one vid card, either the amd 7970 or the nVidia gtx equivalent

Click to expand...

Phenom II X4 965 BE are currently smth like $125 on newegg right now. As far as Intel platforms and futureproofing go though, lately Intel has been switching a socket every year or two.

P67 and Z68 motherboards also run sli and crossfire. Most will support ivy with a bios update, short of crazy ram clocks new boards will be able to do with the new CPUs. If you go with a 2500k too, you won't be upgrading to ivy, I assure you. More like haswell, which I'm sure will be a whole new chipset AND socket.