Whats the differences between the Asus M5A97-EVO & M5A99X-EVO

[mjw21a]

Hey guys, currently looking to replace my ageing mainboard and looking at Asus boards. Now there's only a $20 difference bweteen these two boards.

Apart from the chipset, and support for more cards in Crossfire/SLI, what does the M5A99X-EVO give me over the less expensive M5A97-EVO?

Really hoping both of these will support Piledriver once released.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[ssjwizard]

Looks the same to me. Same VRM, same heatsinks, same socket. The 990x MIGHT sport nicer lan or audio but meh. The important stuff should all be the same on those two boards. Unless your looking for better support for Xfire or SLI I would go for the 97-evo.

 

[mjw21a]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. I don't believe in multiple video cards. Enough can go wrong with a single card setup regarding drivers without worrying about Crossfire/SLI.

Is there any difference in the boards with how many phases they run? This owuld be the single most important thing for me, and if it's at the cost of $20 then the more expensive board may be the way to go.

 

[ssjwizard]

They both use asus new Digi+ vrm wich assuming its the same on the 990x as it was on the Sabertooth I had briefly it should be(8+2 but guessing). I dont think the digi+ works quite the same as we are used to in terms of how the phases work. Unfortunately I didnt get to spend to much time playing with it.

 

[mjw21a]

Ok, I'll save some $ and go with the 5A97-EVO. Thanks bud!

 

[ssjwizard]

Sorry for the double post, heres a zoom in shot of the VRM area on the back of the 97-EVO and I count 16 leads which tells me 8 phases.

 

[mjw21a]

No worries, it's nice to have confirmation. I don't much like the 4 phase boards. I tend not to overclock these days, though I do like the option of doing so should I want to. TY for posting again.