AM3 Mobo suggestions

[RatInABox]

Hi.
I'm a total newbie when it comes to hardware, but I'm about to build my first computer! I don't really know what I'm looking for in a motherboard other than wanting SATA 3Gb/s, USB3 support and at least one PCIx16 slot. I'm especially in the dark when it comes to which ones are good for overclocking. If you guys have any suggestions either of what else I should be looking out for in a motherboard, or a sub-£100 ($125) AM3 motherboard I'd be extremely grateful! I'm using a Phenom II 1055 x6 CPU.

Thanks in advance!

 

[beenthere]

There is a lot to learn in building a reliable, stable PC and most of it comes from reading and testing. Overclocking is more of the same but should not be considered until after you understand the basics well enough to know what is safe and what is not.

Everyone seems to have a favorite brand of Mobo that they like. I have used most of the top tier brands and I prefer Gigabyte for reliability and user friendliness. The Gigabyte website will tell you all the different model AM3 Mobos they offer and with what features. There is no point in paying for features you don't want or will never use.

The link below are all Gigabyte AM3 Mobos.

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/list.aspx?s=42&jid=9&p=2&v=2

When you get to the point of overclocking read Dolk's OC thread to save you some time on the AMD Phenom II series.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023

 

[xoke]

For overclocking on an AMD board normally I would recommend any board with an 890fx chipset. It's AMDs latest and greatest. With that out of the way seeing as you are on a budget, I would steer you towards the 790fx chipsets. They are a bit older, but honestly there isn't a great deal of difference between the two and the 790fx motherboards are more affordable. A DFI Lan Party 790fx can be had for around $139 US.

If thats still a bit too much, look for anything with an 890gx...they overclock good too. The main difference between FX and GX chipsets is the GX ones have on board video, and the FX ones have more support for Crossfire X.

The manufacturer is a personal choice, we all have opinions, but the chipset is what really matters. From best to worst...for me...890fx, 790fx, 890gx, 790gx...I wouldn't personally get anything else than one of those.

 

[coonmanx]

I'd say that you're probably looking at a good 890GX board for that price. Maybe Asus, ASRock or Gigabyte would be some good choices.

 

[fadirocks]

because it's an X6 and your first build
I suggest that you follow this recommendation
http://products.amd.com/en-us/recom...f2=1090T&f3=E0&f4=AMD&f5=&f6=&f7=&f8=125.000&

that's what I'm going to follow too for my upcoming Phenom II X6 built just make sure to get the right revision on the board if not then it might not work

as somebody else said this before some say it's compatible but umm not compatible till you flash the BIOS! i.e require another CPU first to run the motherboard then got that one going = pain so I believe if you follow the link i gave you should be safe

 

[RatInABox]

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm going for the Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435

 

[CgS Drone]

Hi.
I'm a total newbie when it comes to hardware, but I'm about to build my first computer! I don't really know what I'm looking for in a motherboard other than wanting SATA 3Gb/s, USB3 support and at least one PCIx16 slot. I'm especially in the dark when it comes to which ones are good for overclocking. If you guys have any suggestions either of what else I should be looking out for in a motherboard, or a sub-£100 ($125) AM3 motherboard I'd be extremely grateful! I'm using a Phenom II 1055 x6 CPU.

Thanks in advance!

Since it looks like you have chosen the MB you want now the rest will come into play. Since you intend to do some OC your case air flow, CPU cooler, power supply and RAM will now start to be important factors in what you are going to do next. Have you already decided on them?

 

[RatInABox]

Hi,
I've preliminarly chosen the other components. I'd be grateful if you could have a look and double check compatibility and make any suggestions for changes!

I was considering faster RAM perhaps? The rig will be mostly used for gaming, uni work, photo editing and small-medium sized database manipulation. The original budget was £600, but now I'm looking at more £700-£750! Also, will I need any other fans for cooling? If so could you recommend any?

Here's the rig:
£156 AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz 9MB Cache http://www.ebuyer.com/product/204939
£100 Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H 890GX http://www.ebuyer.com/product/197546
£90 Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1066MHz http://www.ebuyer.com/product/142085
£73 Western Digital 1TB Hard Drive SATAIII 7200rpm 64MB Cache http://www.ebuyer.com/product/193712
£164 Sapphire HD 5830 1GB http://www.ebuyer.com/product/195442
£68 Corsair 550W VX Series PSU - 120mm Fan http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132563
£45 Antec 300 Three Hundred Case http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143854
I'll be reusing an old CD/DVD rw and display

Thanks a ton for any help. I'm really excited to build my first computer!

 

[soulwatch5]

Since the 1055T mainly overclocks with the HT ref i would probably look to get some faster ram. If you do plan on overclocking faster ram would be nice to have. When you overclock with the HT ref you also overclock everything else including the ram. If you purchase ram that is rated for higher speed you are less likely to have stability problems with overclocking your ram since it would be rated for the higher speeds.

Lastly if your only going to be running one card and not planning on crossfiring the 5830 later then I would actually get the GTX 460 instead. It preforms better for the same price.

 

[RatInABox]

Thanks for the suggestion soulwatch5, after a bit of research I've taken on board both your suggestions! Should be ordering the parts on Monday! Is there anything else I need to buy other than maybe a screwdriver do you think? Fans, tools, thermal gel etc?

 

[CgS Drone]

Are you planning on using the stock cpu cooler? maybe I missed it but I don't see you saying what cpu cooler you where planning on using.

I would order a tube of thermal compound (TIM) its always good to have on hand especially if you have to remove the cooler for some reason you don't want to try to reuse the old TIM. Arctic Silver 5 or Arctic Cooling MX-2 are very good thermal compounds.

 

[RatInABox]

I think I'll just the stock cooling for now, just for simplicity as it's my first build. I'd like to learn about overclocking to get more out of the system once it's up and running ok! For now it seems a daunting enough task getting it working! Thanks for the suggestions though!

 

[DragoXT]

The reason a cpu cooler is mentioned is due to the fact that almost all cpu coolers that are good enough to allow you to overclock require you to take your motherboard out of the case or have a case with a cut out so you can remove the stock retention bracket. There is nothing worse than pulling a system apart to put in a new cooler. It is so much easier to do this before you put your system together than it is to do it later and take everything apart again. If you dont wish to do this then you are very limited on what cpu coolers you can get in the future.