Need cheap AM2+ DDR2 OCing board

[ZratedLS1]

Im looking to get a cheap AM2+ board to go with a Phenom II 965 BE. I do want to OC the processor but nothing extreme. I have a GTX 480 and 4gigs of DDR2 800 ram(4 sticks) that will also be going with the board. I really want to go under $100.00. I plan on using this setup until the Ivy bridge gets released, so about a year or so.

A couple boards I have been looking at, they're really cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Im looking to get a cheap AM3 board to go with a Phenom II 965 BE. I do want to OC the processor but nothing extreme. I have a GTX 480 and 4gigs of DDR 800 ram(4 sticks) that will also be going with the board. I really want to go under $100.00. I plan on using this setup until the Ivy bridge gets released, so about a year or so.

A couple boards I have been looking at, they're really cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks.

Given the DDR2 RAM you would actually be looking for an AM2+ board, not an AM3, because AM3 boards do not support DDR2 memory (or at least I've never seen any that did).

Just thought you should know that.

 

[TheQuadFather]

seen as you have a 480gtx, is there any point in getting integrated on your board? like the two you suggested, the 785G chipset isnt the best of over-clockers and the on board gpu just complicated everything, i think a 790x/790fx board will be better suited.

 

[ZratedLS1]

Given the DDR2 RAM you would actually be looking for an AM2+ board, not an AM3, because AM3 boards do not support DDR2 memory (or at least I've never seen any that did).

Just thought you should know that.

I was confused by the listings on websites for purchasing motherboards. They show AM3/AM2+/AM2. I haven't built an AMD computer before so the names are not familiar. I just need a good AM2+ motherboard that supports DDR2, I do want to overclock so it needs to support that. The onboard video doesn''t really matter as I wont be using it. A lot of the boards have it standard so its not much of a choice. I have read a couple places that the asus board I listed doesnt support 140watts which would be better for overlcocking.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

I was confused by the listings on websites for purchasing motherboards. They show AM3/AM2+/AM2. I haven't built an AMD computer before so the names are not familiar. I just need a good AM2+ motherboard that supports DDR2, I do want to overclock so it needs to support that. The onboard video doesn''t really matter as I wont be using it. A lot of the boards have it standard so its not much of a choice. I have read a couple places that the asus board I listed doesnt support 140watts which would be better for overlcocking.

Yes, I saw that too.

I don't know why they listed it that way, because it's very misleading to new system builders and/or those not in the know on these things.

Main reason I'm guessing they did that is to say that it supports socket AM2, AM2+, and AM3 processors.

 

[ZratedLS1]

any objections to this board?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130266

 

[Tech Tweaker]

any objections to this board?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130266

I was about to say it looked good, but then I read the negative reviews on it.

I'm a little wary of that one to be honest, because frankly the thought of a motherboard just randomly bursting into flames, yes flames, is a little frightening.

 

[QuietIce]

Im looking to get a cheap AM2+ board to go with a Phenom II 965 BE. I do want to OC the processor but nothing extreme. I have a GTX 480 and 4gigs of DDR2 800 ram(4 sticks) that will also be going with the board. I really want to go under $100.00. I plan on using this setup until the Ivy bridge gets released, so about a year or so.

A couple boards I have been looking at, they're really cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks.

Either of those boards should be fine for a mild OC'er. You may want to either limit your vCore (not necessarily the overclock) because of the lack of MOSFET coolers or you can buy some small heatsinks when you buy the motherboard and add them yourself. Neither ASUS nor Gigabyte put MOSFET coolers on anything except the high-end boards even though their cheaper boards are fine for mild (and sometimes good) OC'ing.


BTW - If it says AM2+ anywhere (AM2/AM2+/AM3) it will use DDR2 RAM. I'm sure they do that to show what CPUs the board will take.

 

[ZratedLS1]

Either of those boards should be fine for a mild OC'er. You may want to either limit your vCore (not necessarily the overclock) because of the lack of MOSFET coolers or you can buy some small heatsinks when you buy the motherboard and add them yourself. Neither ASUS nor Gigabyte put MOSFET coolers on anything except the high-end boards even though their cheaper boards are fine for mild (and sometimes good) OC'ing.


BTW - If it says AM2+ anywhere (AM2/AM2+/AM3) it will use DDR2 RAM. I'm sure they do that to show what CPUs the board will take.

This one that I listed a couple posts up has a mosfet heatsink. The board seems good for my needs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&AID=10446076&PID=3754110&SID=skim1132X509988

 

[ZratedLS1]

I ended up getting this board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130266 and a Phenom II X4 965 BE at microcenter for 207 out the door. For some reason it took 40 bucks off the motherboard when you paired it with the processor.

 

[QuietIce]

What a deal!