AM3 matx motherboard

[LiquidHard]

howdy folks.

I cant seem to find this:

1) am3 mobo in MATX form (am3+ if it supports X6 proc)
2) moderate overclocker ~20%`25% for proc
3) ram oc able 1866 or 2133 is good enough
4) sata3
5) usb 3.0


anyone? Most of what I can see is atx...

 

[RGone]

3) ram support 1866 and above = I doubt seriously that you find a board that supports and the key word is 'support' of DDR3 @ 1866 speeds. AMD did not 'support' AM3 processors at DDR1866 so it would be most difficult to find a motherboard that could support that speed of ram since the ram controller was inside the cpu and AMD did not support DDR1866.

Now Overclock ram at/to DDR1866, that you might find in AM3 motherboard.

4×240pin DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 = That is how the ram was shown as far as speed rating and use goes for probabably the best AM3 motherboard and it shows O.C. for any speed greater than DDR3 1333, which was the supported ram speed of AM3 motherboards.

 

[Buddywh]

howdy folks.

I cant seem to find this:

1) am3 mobo in MATX form (am3+ if it supports X6 proc)
2) moderate overclocker ~20%`25% for proc
3) ram support 1866 and above
4) sata3
5) usb 3.0

anyone?

Was going to suggest Asus M5a88-m but noticed it's out of stock at Newegg... wonder why.

 

[LiquidHard]

3) ram support 1866 and above = I doubt seriously that you find a board that supports and the key word is 'support' of DDR3 @ 1866 speeds. AMD did not 'support' AM3 processors at DDR1866 so it would be most difficult to find a motherboard that could support that speed of ram since the ram controller was inside the cpu and AMD did not support DDR1866.

Now Overclock ram at/to DDR1866, that you might find in AM3 motherboard.

4×240pin DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 = That is how the ram was shown as far as speed rating and use goes for probabably the best AM3 motherboard and it shows O.C. for any speed greater than DDR3 1333, which was the supported ram speed of AM3 motherboards.

Thanks for pointing that out, RG.
I'll amend the 1st post.

 

[Buddywh]

...
I'll amend the 1st post.

Your amend is a bit perplexing to me: I think RGone's point is it's not the MoBo that makes it able to 'support' 1866, but the processor. So that suggests to me the mobo may claim to 'OC' it (many do in the advert's i've seen) but the processor may not... at least that's the way I'd take it.

Still, I'm really interested to know if there's really declining availability of high-end mATX mobo's for discrete AMD CPU's... and why. Could AMD be EOL'g chipsets that made them practical? (880G and 890G in particular). This to redirect market attention to Trinity APU's, of course.

 

[trekky]

the board in my sig is AM3+ and it has everything you would need.
but DONT buy it!!!
the sound card has broken 2 times already!
but i think other 890GX would be fine

 

[LiquidHard]

Your amend is a bit perplexing to me: I think RGone's point is it's not the MoBo that makes it able to 'support' 1866, but the processor. So that suggests to me the mobo may claim to 'OC' it (many do in the advert's i've seen) but the processor may not... at least that's the way I'd take it.

Still, I'm really interested to know if there's really declining availability of high-end mATX mobo's for discrete AMD CPU's... and why. Could AMD be EOL'g chipsets that made them practical? (880G and 890G in particular). This to redirect market attention to Trinity APU's, of course.

yes Buddy.
Just trying to ask for recommendations based on fellow forumers experience on their mobos. Some mobos "help" OCing ram more, perhaps due to voltage or bios options. I do see your point.

And yes, matx boards for am3/+ seem to be limited. The better ones come in bigger sizes lol. cant locate a matx board with sata3 usb3 functions...

If you read the post by Frakk, he mentioned it seems though, that am3/+ socket seem here to stay for a while more, supporting the 2nd gen FX.

APUs are great for the dough for those not looking for a discrete gpu. built some of these, the igp does well compared to intel in the same price range.
Its a pity Trinity has to use another socket, else I'll be on the A10s now.

 

[LiquidHard]

the board in my sig is AM3+ and it has everything you would need.
but DONT buy it!!!
the sound card has broken 2 times already!
but i think other 890GX would be fine

Yes it has, but its ATX..

sound card? do u mean the integrated sound? what happened to "break" it?

 

[Jagged_Steel]

Newegg is showing 65 MATX AM3 (+) Motherboards in stock right now. and several do in fact natively support 1866 Mhz memory, although as has already been mentioned, memory speed is dictated by the CPU ever since the memory controller was integrated with it a few generations ago.

 

[LiquidHard]

Newegg is showing 65 MATX AM3 (+) Motherboards in stock right now. and several do in fact natively support 1866 Mhz memory, although as has already been mentioned, memory speed is dictated by the CPU ever since the memory controller was integrated with it a few generations ago.

Thanks, lots of FM1 sockets in that link too.
Is it possible to mount a Phenom2 1050t in the FM1 socket and use?

 

[LiquidHard]

ok, when a mobo says this:

Memory Standard: DDR3 800/1066/1333

does it mean the mobo will only use up to 1333, even tho we know we can OC the ram using the 1050T? This is where I am confused. Perhaps bios is locked down to 1333 max but we can raise bclk to oc the ram?

 

[Buddywh]

...
Just trying to ask for recommendations based on fellow forumers experience on their mobos. Some mobos "help" OCing ram more, perhaps due to voltage or bios options. I do see your point.....

Well... in that case I would indeed recommend an M5a88-m. I've had great success OC'g on mine. It runs my highly pedestrian PNY ram at 1866 on an FX processor quite well. How it would do with a Phenom I've no idea though.

Once you winnow Jagged's 25 mATX mobo's at Newegg down to those with USB 3.0, SATA rev 3 (6Gbps) and then ones suitable to OC with, i.e., 140w TDP processor, the pickin's get slim indeed.

...
Is it possible to mount a Phenom2 1050t in the FM1 socket and use?.....

No

 

[LiquidHard]

Well... in that case I would indeed recommend an M5a88-m. I've had great success OC'g on mine. It runs my highly pedestrian PNY ram at 1866 on an FX processor quite well. How it would do with a Phenom I've no idea though.

Buddy, that looks like what fits me! Dang, I dont think I can get it here though.

 

[Buddywh]

ok, when a mobo says this:

Memory Standard: DDR3 800/1066/1333...

It means that's what it's rated to do, anything else is gravy and not to be assumed do-able.

If I could offer a piece of advice: everything I've read about memory clock speeds over 1333 suggests it's pay-off is very slim. AMD processors just don't benefit from it very much. If you CAN get STABLE performance at 1600/1866/etc. go ahead and do it but don't compromise other things to get there.

 

[Jagged_Steel]

ok, when a mobo says this:

Memory Standard: DDR3 800/1066/1333

does it mean the mobo will only use up to 1333, even tho we know we can OC the ram using the 1050T? This is where I am confused. Perhaps bios is locked down to 1333 max but we can raise bclk to oc the ram?

A few years back the memory controller was in the Northbridge chip and therefore the motherboard would in fact dictate what memory speeds could be run, but now the memory controller is integrated in the CPU. The listed memory speeds for a modern mobo indicate what the BIOS will recognize automatically, but the real speeds that can be run are actually dictated by the CPU.

I am curious: Do you already have this 1050t? If you don't I recommend going with an FX CPU if you are building a new AMD rig, particularly if you want to use some zippy memory. Also, why are you chained to a MATX? Sure, you can pack a monster CPU onto one, but you are just asking for heat issues really. Get a $20 ATX case and a ASUS M5A97 EVO ($39 refurbished at Geeks). I need to update my sig, I am actually running a 990fx Sabertooth that I picked up for $99 at Geeks. It kicks some serious buttoskey. I also ordered a Crosshair V ($160 open box Newegg) and had both of them for a couple of weeks to compare, and to my surprise the Sabertooth showed slightly better performance so I kept it and sent the CHV back.

Edit to add: The "Memory speed Doesn't matter" advice above is a bunch of hooey. It matters. Always has and always will.

 

[LiquidHard]

It means that's what it's rated to do, anything else is gravy and not to be assumed do-able.

If I could offer a piece of advice: everything I've read about memory clock speeds over 1333 suggests it's pay-off is very slim. AMD processors just don't benefit from it very much. If you CAN get STABLE performance at 1600/1866/etc. go ahead and do it but don't compromise other things to get there.

Alright, I'll bear that in mind. Thanks Bud.

 

[Buddywh]

....
Edit to add: The "Memory speed Doesn't matter" advice above is a bunch of hooey. It matters. Always has and always will.

Not saying it doesn't matter... just not very much...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bulldozer-ddr3-overclocking,3209-13.html

operative quote:

"And while most of today’s benchmarks demonstrated negligible performance gains going from DDR3-1600 to DDR3-2400, one application really did jump by 6%."

So, what one must ask: how much do I compromise things elsewhere to get 6% performance boost in ONE application? Take issue with Tom's methodology as you will, I'm well and truly out of my league, but I do have reason to believe it because I've clocked my memory from 1333 through 1880 and none of the bench's I've done showed any difference worth noting once I got to 1600. I found it hard to believe until I read that Tom's article...and several others.

To me, Tom's conclusions are really telling when the best case they can make for buying expensive high speed RAM is because it's a small extra cost to show off a massive overclock in your expensive case and high-end optical drive which themselves offer no benefit to performance. In other words: it looks good.

Tom's tests, and my experience, is with an FX processor, built for higher speed RAM. What a Phenom would be like I don't really care to research...

 

[LiquidHard]

A few years back the memory controller was in the Northbridge chip and therefore the motherboard would in fact dictate what memory speeds could be run, but now the memory controller is integrated in the CPU. The listed memory speeds for a modern mobo indicate what the BIOS will recognize automatically, but the real speeds that can be run are actually dictated by the CPU.

I am curious: Do you already have this 1050t? If you don't I recommend going with an FX CPU if you are building a new AMD rig, particularly if you want to use some zippy memory. Also, why are you chained to a MATX? Sure, you can pack a monster CPU onto one, but you are just asking for heat issues really. Get a $20 ATX case and a ASUS M5A97 EVO ($39 refurbished at Geeks). I need to update my sig, I am actually running a 990fx Sabertooth that I picked up for $99 at Geeks. It kicks some serious buttoskey. I also ordered a Crosshair V ($160 open box Newegg) and had both of them for a couple of weeks to compare, and to my surprise the Sabertooth showed slightly better performance so I kept it and sent the CHV back.

Edit to add: The "Memory speed Doesn't matter" advice above is a bunch of hooey. It matters. Always has and always will.

Thanks JagSTeel.

Yes the 1050T is here. As well as a 1100T.

Y matx? Bcos of space constraints on the desk, thats all. Cant lay em on the floor here nor is there space for additional shelves here.

Heats fine, the ac here calls for a hoodie worn indoors

Yes I love the Sabertooth too +1. Dun love the price tho and wun not be needing more than 1 discrete gpu slot.

As for ram speeds, theres a pair of 1866 gskill here so I hoped to run them at at speed or higher, else I;ll try bringing down em latencies.

 

[Jagged_Steel]

I hear ya about the price of a Sabertooth. I got mine for $99 (refurbished) at Geeks.com , but I just checked and they do not currently have any . They do have M5A88 MATX boards for $65 though, this might work for you. I have gotten two refurbished mobos from Geeks, the first one was a Crosshair V ($149) which was DOA-(physically ruined CMOS chip) and they sent me a UPS return code and cost $0 shipping both ways, and they refunded instantly when they got the unit back. I would have swapped for another CHV if they had one- but they were out so my second try I got a Sabertooth for $99 and it was 100% perfect and seemed brand spanking new in every way other than it was not in the original box. Ialso then saw an open box CHV on Newegg and ordered it too, so at one point I had both a CHV and a Sabertooth to compare. I was really surprised that the Sabertooth showed better performance. Very slightly better than the CHV, and I figured it would be the other way around of course- and that I would keep the CHV, but being $50 less and slightly better (especially in heavy gaming Crossfire performance) I kept the Sabertooth. Egg was great about taking back the CHV too, but I ate $12 of shipping on that. That is a small price to pay to check out the most expensive AMD mobo available IMO. Geeks has a great selection of cheapo stuff like cables and mobo screws and that sort of thing too.

 

[LiquidHard]

Not saying it doesn't matter... just not very much...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bulldozer-ddr3-overclocking,3209-13.html

operative quote:

"And while most of today’s benchmarks demonstrated negligible performance gains going from DDR3-1600 to DDR3-2400, one application really did jump by 6%."

So, what one must ask: how much do I compromise things elsewhere to get 6% performance boost in ONE application? Take issue with Tom's methodology as you will, I'm well and truly out of my league, but I do have reason to believe it because I've clocked my memory from 1333 through 1880 and none of the bench's I've done showed any difference worth noting once I got to 1600. I found it hard to believe until I read that Tom's article...and several others.

To me, Tom's conclusions are really telling when the best case they can make for buying expensive high speed RAM is because it's a small extra cost to show off a massive overclock in your expensive case and high-end optical drive which themselves offer no benefit to performance. In other words: it looks good.

Tom's tests, and my experience, is with an FX processor, built for higher speed RAM. What a Phenom would be like I don't really care to research...

Yup Buddy, from what I've read, as the ram freq get higher, the law of diminishing returns asserts itself.