M5A99FX PRO R2.0 vs GA-990FXA-UD3 Rev. 4

Anybody have any opinions on what is a better board? They both seem to be going for about the same price used on eBay. I would be putting a 6300 in the one I get. I mostly want to just use it as something to tinker with and see how high of an overclock I can get with the 6300 on air. Thanks for any input.

I have the PRO R2 and it works well with the 6 cores. Runs my 6350 at 4.5 without breaking a sweat on a CM hyper 212

I have a M5A99X Evo which is similar to the Pro, it's a really good board. My only issue with mine was the 6+2 Vrm sectionjust wasn't enough to run my 8350 above 4.5-4.6 stable but for the 6300 it should be a great board. I have never owned the Giga 990fx UD3 on paper it should be a really good board. Though, we have seen issues with the different revisions of them so it's tough to recommend them.

Mandrake4565 said:

Though, we have seen issues with the different revisions of them so it's tough to recommend them.

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You can say that at least one more time "manny".
RGone...ster.

Though, we have seen issues with the different revisions of them so it's tough to recommend them.

Mandrake4565 said:

Though, we have seen issues with the different revisions of them so it's tough to recommend them.

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Ahhah. I guess the fourth revision of the UD3 seems pretty decent. Revisions 2 and 3 obviously had issues. I am pretty much using all ASUS boards for the rigs I actually do more than stare at. I was thinking of getting some variety. But then again, the better board should be my main objective.

If you want variety for the spice then just get the 970 UD3P which is new and only in Rev 1.0 to date. it is okay I guess but I still "myself" would go with the Asus board in the PRO version as it is just a little more robust than the EVO.
RGone...

I'm using the M5A99FX PRO V 2.0 with a FX6350 to post this. I can run 4400 MHz 24/7 with no voltage adjustments. I changed nothing but the CPU multiplier and off to the races we went. Absolutely no issues so far , and lots of options for adjusting just about everything. I could seriously break shett if I so desired with this board. There have been some people who have concerns with ASUS customer service , so research all your options , but I can recommend this board for that chip. Skip the AI Suite II that comes with it. It can't read it's own fan speeds , voltages , or temps worth a damn. Crapware to the end. Only good software in the bundle is the ASUS CPUID. Looks cool and works like CPUID. Win/win there. For the 8 cores , I wouldn't look at anything lower than the Sabertooth , so if you plan to upgrade in the future , save your nickels and get one of them instead. As always , YMMV.

Alaric said:

I'm using the M5A99FX PRO V 2.0 with a FX6350 to post this. I can run 4400 MHz 24/7 with no voltage adjustments. I changed nothing but the CPU multiplier and off to the races we went. Absolutely no issues so far , and lots of options for adjusting just about everything. I could seriously break shett if I so desired with this board. There have been some people who have concerns with ASUS customer service , so research all your options , but I can recommend this board for that chip. Skip the AI Suite II that comes with it. It can't read it's own fan speeds , voltages , or temps worth a damn. Crapware to the end. Only good software in the bundle is the ASUS CPUID. Looks cool and works like CPUID. Win/win there. For the 8 cores , I wouldn't look at anything lower than the Sabertooth , so if you plan to upgrade in the future , save your nickels and get one of them instead. As always , YMMV.

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I already own a Sabertooth990FX and an 8320 so I am good there. I just happen to have the 6300 gathering dust.

I'm happy with mine. Lots of options for OC memory and CPU , and pretty good voltage control.

Don't think you will be unhappy with the M5A99Fx Pro + 6300 combo, chrisjames.

Mandrake4565 said:

Don't think you will be unhappy with the M5A99Fx Pro + 6300 combo, chrisjames.

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^^+1

Mandrake4565 said:

Don't think you will be unhappy with the M5A99Fx Pro + 6300 combo, chrisjames.

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My eBay take for the week. A Noctua NH-D14, a ASUS A88X-PRO FM2+ and the afore mentioned M5A99FX Pro. I have so much crap I can't keep track of it. I have bought at least enough parts for 15 complete builds since I started this when I replaced my wife's pc early 2013. After using only Macs since 1990. Not only that but the time I waste is unreal. I never hunt or fish anymore. It isn't healthy. I am itching to buy a Swiftech H240-X if they ever actually ship. When I was growing up it was not nearly this easy to buy stuff you don't need.

Mandrake4565 said:

Don't think you will be unhappy with the M5A99Fx Pro + 6300 combo, chrisjames.

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I am wondering how it will compare with my 8320 and Sabertooth? My 8320 I have stable at 4.6 GHz. I would imagine I should be able to get the 6300 to that clockspeed with the M5A99FX Pro? If so performance should be close for most workloads. I only casually game and don't render video or anything of that nature.

chrisjames61 said:

I am wondering how it will compare with my 8320 and Sabertooth?

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I am too wondering something? How can that question really be answered other than just guessing or finding some site that has benched two identical rigs with each cpu. Or they took the same mobo and benched the two cpus.

In Cinebench 11.5 when testing the CPU bench...the 4 core FX scored one half of what an 8 core FX scored and the 6 core FX scored 75% of what the 8 core FX scored. Within 1 or 2 percentage points of that exact breakdown. Pretty cut and dried based on that bench.

I do considerable Video Editting and seeing ALL 8 cores of my processor hard at work would make me sure that I prefer my 3 FX-8350s over an FX-6300 for what " I " do. YMMV or course.

If you do nothing but surf the web and game a little on the FX-6300 you will see absolutely no plus or minus performance over your FX-8320 within margin of error. Speed of FX-6300 might even reach 4.7Ghz on the PRO board with good cooling. It all depends on the cooling. If you saved on cooling for the lesser setup, then of course you may have some speed issues.

FX-6300s are good cpus. They run a little cooler overall because they have fewer cores to put off heat. That means an FX-6300 made with good silicon is likely just a shade easier to push fast. Otherwise, I doubt surfing and gaming, if you can tell which processor is doing the processing.
RGone...ster.

I don't have any personal experience with the 8 cores , but I get the impression they're faster (core for core). People with 6 cores seem to use words like "good" , "stable" , and "nice". The folks with the 8 cores use words like "fast" , "snappy" , and "hauls a$$" , LOL. At least around here it seems that way. Maybe multi-threaded software is more prevalent than I thought.

I have the Fx 8350 in my sig as well as a Fx 6300, I removed my 8350 from my daily rig to bench it on my sabertooth board so the Fx 6300 has been residing in my 24/7 rig on my CHV motherboard. It's been Oced to 4.7 since I put it in, for my uses which include gaming and the cpu running at 100% for short bursts during the day for work, I do not feel any difference between the 8350 and the 6300 both at 4.7.

As I stated above I also own an Asus M5A99X Evo board which is similar to the M5A990Fx Pro board. Judging by my experience with OCing my Fx 8350 on it I feel the M5A99X/990Fx Pro should be good for around 4.6- 4.8 with the Fx 6300 in it. This will also depend on the quality of the silicon in the Fx 6300 and also the cooling used. Maybe I'll do a few runs with the 6300 on my M5A99X when I get a chance, just to see how far I can push it on that board.

The Fx 6300 does run cooler then the Fx 8350 by around 8c on my custom loop when running prime from what I've seen on my setup.

That 8c lower temp is...

...is surely nothing to sneeze at. Lower temps equal lower cpu volts and lower cpu volts can equal less load on lesser VRMs. If all in theory was actual in practice, it would be almost a win, win.
RGone...ster.

Mandrake4565 said:

The Fx 6300 does run cooler then the Fx 8350 by around 8c on my custom loop when running prime from what I've seen on my setup.

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Actually I wasn't 100% accurate Rgone, the package temp was 8c lower, the socket temp was actually a little more probably around 10c cooler then the Fx 8350. Taking into account I have a fan on the VRM's of the CHV and also a 120mm fan blowing on the backside of the mobo, while running both chips. Still nothing to sneeze at.

RGone said:

I am too wondering something? How can that question really be answered other than just guessing or finding some site that has benched two identical rigs with each cpu. Or they took the same mobo and benched the two cpus.

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I realize the 6300 is just a cut down 8320. My rhetorical question was will I notice any difference in my own specific workloads? Most people won't imho. You happen to use software that utilizes the 8 cores and saturates them it seems.