Which AMD Mobo is better??

[Hawkie]

Which Motherboard is better? The Asus m5a97, or the GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD? Links are provided below.

GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128521

ASUS M5A97 = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767

P.S. - Would these be OK for frequent gaming?

Thanks for all of your time!

 

[keithy351]

Which Motherboard is better? The Asus m5a97, or the GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD? Links are provided below.

GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128521

ASUS M5A97 = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767

P.S. - Would these be OK for frequent gaming?

Thanks for all of your time!

There both good boards, but the board has only some impact on a gaming rig, more focus should be placed on the cpu, and if your building a gaming system then i wouldnt opt for a am3+ cpu, the intel i3 and i5 chips crap all over the am3+ cpus in gaming (im specifically talking about the fx 4100-fx8120 chips) so unless your planning on buying a amd phenom 2 chip i would highly reconsider and purchase from the intel range. What is your cpu, graphics card choice?? also what is your overall budget not including windows 7??? im only assuming your planning on running one of the fx cpu's as you have linked am3+ boards and if thats the case you can spend your money alot more wisely for a gaming system. I have nothing against the fx range of cpu's, heck i just built one a week ago and its a super fast cpu but it wasnt a gaming rig that was built so im not an intel or amd fan boy im just pointing out that an intel chip for a gaming rig would be the better choice over the amd

 

[Hawkie]

There both good boards, but the board has only some impact on a gaming rig, more focus should be placed on the cpu, and if your building a gaming system then i wouldnt opt for a am3+ cpu, the intel i3 and i5 chips crap all over the am3+ cpus in gaming (im specifically talking about the fx 4100-fx8120 chips) so unless your planning on buying a amd phenom 2 chip i would highly reconsider and purchase from the intel range. What is your cpu, graphics card choice?? also what is your overall budget not including windows 7??? im only assuming your planning on running one of the fx cpu's as you have linked am3+ boards and if thats the case you can spend your money alot more wisely for a gaming system. I have nothing against the fx range of cpu's, heck i just built one a week ago and its a super fast cpu but it wasnt a gaming rig that was built so im not an intel or amd fan boy im just pointing out that an intel chip for a gaming rig would be the better choice over the amd

I am still deciding on what cpu I should get. I have looked at the 960t and the Phenom II x4 965. If I can unlock the 2 cores from the 960t then I might want to get that. Otherwise I am still looking but definitely I want to get a quad core or up. I don't have quite enough money right now but I have about ~$150. It's going to be a while I just wanted to see what mobo was better.

 

[EarthDog]

Any motherboard that works is good for gaming. If you want a quad core, get a quad core. If that chip doesnt unlock, you are screwed.

 

[Hawkie]

Any motherboard that works is good for gaming. If you want a quad core, get a quad core. If that chip doesnt unlock, you are screwed.

Yea that's why I am not sure which one I should get. It would be cool to unlock the 2 extra cores on the 960t, or I could just get a 6 core processor.

 

[RGone]

Yea I could just get a 6 core processor.

The problem with that idea is that for most of us there are NO good 1090T/1100T processors still for sale in retail channels and that means you are forced to look at the FX-bulldozer lineup of processors and many say they are not as strong as the lineup of Thuban processors they replace.

 

[scrambler]

That really annoyed me when looking at new CPUs. I could find old 4core phenoms, but the 6cores were gone. Everywhere. Online and locally. I think at one point I found a 1055. No thanks.

 

[RGone]

That really annoyed me when looking at new CPUs. I could find old 4core phenoms, but the 6cores were gone. Everywhere. Online and locally. I think at one point I found a 1055. No thanks.

I hear you loud and clear man.

 

[trents]

Hawkie, a six core CPU will not likely improve your gaming experience since most games can't even make good use of four cores. With games the most important consideration is performance per core, not the number of cores once you get past 3 or 4 cores. If you cannot afford the more expensive Intel I5 "k" series CPUs which perform better on a per core basis than AMDs then look at the Phenom II X4 975: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103924 and go with the Asus board you linked over the Gigabyte which people report has a NB chip that runs too hot.

 

[Hawkie]

What about an AMD FX 6-Core Black Edition?

 

[trents]

What about an AMD FX 6-Core Black Edition?

Not as good a performer as either the unlocked 960T or the higher end Denebs.

 

[Hawkie]

Not as good a performer as either the unlocked 960T or the higher end Denebs.

AM3 CPU's work in AM3+?

 

[slynutcase]

yes am3 cpu's work with am3+ sockets, i assume all do aslong as the boards support them, and for gaming i have not so far reached the limits of my 960t, i am biased to the 960t over other phenom 2 quad cores, as the trial and error of unlocking cores is fun, it doesnt always work but it is a bonus if you get a working 6 core out of the deal, and from what i have read and experienced they tend to be good overclockers.

 

[trents]

AM3 CPU's work in AM3+?

Yes.