SOLVED Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 or ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AMD 970A

[Reflex97]

Hi im asking which board i should use,im planning on overclocking 4ghz+ with a Phenom II x4 965 BE and was wondering which one to pick ,if you guys know of any better board within $150 range then go ahead...

 

[tungureanu]

i recommend :ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ASUS m5a99fx pro 2
or ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+ AMD 990FX ASUS Formula V

 

[Reflex97]

Yeah i might go for the asus

 

[tungureanu]

if you can , go for the formula V

 

[Reflex97]

Im gonna go with the Asrock 970 Extreme3...

 

[tungureanu]

i think it will not be enough. maybe go for one with 6+2 phase. better safe than sorry.
But as you wish.

 

[GamerMagnet]

You could get a UD-5 for $164.99, a little above the 150 mark but it's 8+2 power phase and is a decent board. I've read reviews that say it has issues with vdroop, but I haven't noticed this with my Ud-5

 

[Reflex97]

i think it will not be enough. maybe go for one with 6+2 phase. better safe than sorry.
But as you wish.

I was thinking about it but i do really like the color scheme of the board..I would really love a black board!!!!

Should i re-evaluate my options then?? 8+2--> Black Non black M5A88-V EVO

 

[tungureanu]

i say asus from the 3 . you can still keep using it when piledriver comes alog

 

[tungureanu]

You could get a UD-5 for $164.99, a little above the 150 mark but it's 8+2 power phase and is a decent board. I've read reviews that say it has issues with vdroop, but I haven't noticed this with my Ud-5

OFFTOPOIC:gamermagnet do he slipstreams work better on the 920 than the original ones? tempwise, are you lower on p95 load?

 

[Mandrake4565]

Reflex if you are planning on overclocking, like you said you were don't cheap out on a board. If you want a black board find a quality unit. Not that the ASRock you picked out is bad. It's probably a decent board for a mild OC. If you are planning on pushing your CPU get a good board.

 

[Reflex97]

Reflex if you are planning on overclocking, like you said you were don't cheap out on a board. If you want a black board find a quality unit. Not that the ASRock you picked out is bad. It's probably a decent board for a mild OC. If you are planning on pushing your CPU get a good board.

Yeah i know what you mean man im gonna go with This

 

[Mandrake4565]

I was thinking of suggesting that same board to you. It's a good choice.

 

[ssjwizard]

The 990FXa-UD3 is a rockin motherboard. I run my 8120 at 4.4Ghz daily and have gone as high as 5.3Ghz with it. The dual x16 PCI-e slots is great if you ever go multi-GPU.

 

[BeepBeep2]

If you look at the options on the market that are marketed with overclocking in mind, the UD3 is about the worst "high-end" board you can buy.

The UD3 has a weaker, outdated analog PWM, and just recently, Load-Line Calibration was added on the second revision (Rev 1.1+). Furthermore, it can not be tweaked, on the UD3, it either droops .04-.05v or adds .04v. This is a huge range and it is hard to find stability at load with a very high idle vcore with it disabled, or finding stability at idle with a huge jump in load vcore with it enabled. The UD5 is a solid board though, with 5 steps of Load-Line Control that can be tweaked to your liking.

This matters a lot for 24/7 users, and extreme enthusiasts alike. Don't be fooled by CPU-Z validations it can achieve at whatever voltage it supplies at idle though... "5.3 GHz on air" because that doesn't take into account the vdroop which hampers stability in real-world, or vgain which can damage the CPU if you don't know what you're doing.

ASRock's whole AMD line has a similar type, weaker PWM, and ASRock is generally a bit behind Gigabyte and ASUS in memory compatibility/overall brand reliability. Some people love them though, but they usually have their quirks.

ASUS's lower options, even the M5A97 boards, offer a decent 8+2 PWM and usable Load-Line Calibration/Control option. However, you do pay a small premium for the name too. ASUS has established itself as a leader in enthusiast boards with their ROG line, but they do make solid midrange boards too.

If I had to recommend a cheaper board to someone with a budget, and plans to run a single GPU, hands down it would be the M5A97 line.

If you plan to run dual GPU, then looking at 990FX boards (UD5/UD7, Sabertooth, Crosshair V) would be appropriate.

MSI has had problems with their Dr. MOS PWMs blowing up / catching fire in the past due to malfunctioning over-temperature control and inadequate design, until they prove to be reliable, personally I would not touch them with a 10ft pole.

 

[Reflex97]

BeepBeep2
I very much appreciate the feedback and know that this wont score any big clocks safely but i don't have a lot of money and this seems to be my best choice for appearance and features.The asus boards have interested me and another option right now is Asus M5A99X EVO which is the same price as the gigabyte i just prefer the ud3's black board...So are you advising i get a 970a chipset then

 

[BeepBeep2]

BeepBeep2
I very much appreciate the feedback and know that this wont score any big clocks safely but i don't have a lot of money and this seems to be my best choice for appearance and features.The asus boards have interested me and another option right now is Asus M5A99X EVO which is the same price as the gigabyte i just prefer the ud3's black board...So are you advising i get a 970a chipset then

The problem with the UD3 and ASRock boards is not totally safety, but also design tolerance.
If the PWM is good for 400 amps, like the UD3 at 1.5v vcore and 300 watts (something AMD FX-8150 does when heavily overclocked) you are only doing 200 amps. This may sound like nothing.
Then, the Crosshair V Formula can supply up to 2000 amps, and UD5/UD7 similar.
...
Also, like I was saying about the vdroop and vgain of the UD3, it is not worth a crap to someone looking for maximum 24/7 stable overclocks. You either have to use too much voltage at idle or too much at load/not enough at idle to retain stability. The UD5 is more accurate and adjustable, same UD7 and ASUS boards.

If you plan to stick with a single GPU and do not plan to do crossfire or SLI, then the M5A97 EVO is great. All you are missing is one PCI-e x4 slot, and the ability to run dual GPUs effectively.

I would not buy the lesser M5A97s, or the "R2.0" version these are inadquate compared to the older EVO. It is discontinued at newegg, so means you might need to look elsewhere to find one.

 

[Reflex97]

Thats fine man,im british anyway and can find them on loads of sites..

 

[BeepBeep2]

If you can't then the M5A99X EVO is your best bet. The R2.0 version is okay for that board too, it's just the R2.0 version of the M5A97 as an inferior PWM/VRM plus are missing rear panel connectivity as well as the vanilla and "Pro" 1st versions are missing a bunch of stuff.

 

[Reflex97]

The power phase is 6+2 on the EVO,The only other thing about the EVO is the DigiVRM So does this Digi Mosfets bullocks just give a more stable cpu and memory OC because i keeps the voltage in line... Is that what your getting at>.<