Biostar TA890FXE cheap and awesome!

[coonmanx]

That seems to be the way those 965s are. You get 3.8 quite easily but 4.0 can be difficult (if you can get there).

 

[xoke]

That seems to be the way those 965s are. You get 3.8 quite easily but 4.0 can be difficult (if you can get there).

Very true...not sure why we get obsessed with whole numbers like 4.0...cause 3.8 is sooooo terrible, but it is what it is. [/sarcasm]

I only wish I could swing a 1090T right now...I feel my CPU is the issue, not the mobo.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to be content for a few months playing everything at ~75 FPS with all the eye candy turned up...my life really is difficult, lol!

 

[CgS Drone]

The first system I loaded has a PS2 mouse and keyboard and went without any issues, the second one had the USB and I noticed during several attempts to load the OS that it was always acting up at the point of the install where its loading USB files so I took some PS2 stuff and hooked it up and it loaded just fine. Probably would not have had the issue had it been a newer OS.

Just wanted to let people know about this, I went to MS site and looked around and they say they know this is an issue with motherboards and XP and that if you have the ability in the bios to disable the Legacy USB to do that and the install with work with the USB keyboard and mouse and that XP does not use the Legacy support of the bios. Although I have not tried this the Biostar TA890FXE does allow you to disable it in the bios.

 

[Ronbert]

I see Thomas is at it again. BTW Tom if you actually looked around here on the forums you'd see that a fair amount of people have that board and are very very pleased with it in fact a friend here on the forums convinced me to get that board recently with my new AMD purchase and said if I'm not happy he'll buy it from me and get me something I want, true story... so why would someone pledge that kind of promise if the board was so terrible?... end Rant.


As far as thread related goes after xoke's first sentence you don't even need to read anymore lmao but seriously he's dead on I've been tweaking with this board at a friends house for a while (same one on the forums) and it just seems like a solid piece of machinery granted like CC pointed out there's lacking in some features but the ones it's lacking really arn't all that essential I guess...

One more quick side note... love how Tom quotes Tom's Hardware but didn't even know about the site till me and CC told him to look at reviews there in a thread I started about cooling yesterday. But enough of that I'm sorry I'll say no more

 

[xoke]

Lulz at both.

Xokeman, I might have missed it, but how is your oc' going on this board? It's in your sig, but it seems like your rig is pretty damn capable of more.

The clock is going well, lol, to be perfectly honest heat is my only issue. This chip seems like it will clock pretty well, but it really enjoys the volts. I promised myself that I would try and keep this build under control and actually use it, lol...as opposed to just bench it all the time.

Last year I sold, my dice pots, , my slush box, my phase system, and most of my benching stuff...it got to a point when my two car garage had no cars in it, just benching stuff, lol. I was out of control. I love computers and making them go fast, but my time constraints (I started a new business this year) restrict me from getting as involved as I would enjoy. If I had my way I would just sit around benching and breaking stuff all day long, but this real life thing keeps getting in the way, lol.

So, I might put this rig on water, or I might run it as is and just use it and wait for my next rig to go a bit crazier.

I guess my point is I'm trying to strike a balance in life between tweaking my computer...and actually using it, lol. As overclockers, we (or at least me) get way obsessed with how fast it will go...and totally forget to use and enjoy the darn thing, lol. I mean honestly, is there anything a stock 965BE or 920 i7 won't do? ...no, there isn't.

 

[Ronbert]

If I had my way I would just sit around benching and breaking stuff all day long, but this real life thing keeps getting in the way, lol.D

You and me both my friend, you and me both. Please keep this thread updated with info on the board or at least send me PM's of results I'm stoked to get such a good board and such a great price! Another side note... Xoke here is another person responsible for convincing me to order this board He's a Biostar salesman undercover I'm pretty sure.

Oh wait xoke I do have a question this pertains to the board but not really the thread it's self. The board only supports dual channel memory now does this mean if I put three sticks in it will be run as single channel instead of dual? I'm not sure how memory stacks up I just know the lower the timings on stock the better.

 

[xoke]

I merely pointed out its cheap considering its specs,please don't drag god in as they might be busy

Its a quote from Billy Madison.

 

[Ronbert]

I don't think I've ever seen xoke rage before... and I've seen a lot of xoke posts before

 

[xoke]

You and me both my friend, you and me both. Please keep this thread updated with info on the board or at least send me PM's of results I'm stoked to get such a good board and such a great price! Another side note... Xoke here is another person responsible for convincing me to order this board He's a Biostar salesman undercover I'm pretty sure.

Oh wait xoke I do have a question this pertains to the board but not really the thread it's self. The board only supports dual channel memory now does this mean if I put three sticks in it will be run as single channel instead of dual? I'm not sure how memory stacks up I just know the lower the timings on stock the better.

Yea, it's only dual channel. If you run three sticks you will ruin that. 2 or 4 sticks is the way to go. This board, as with other current AMD boards will perform best with two sticks in slots 3 and 4...the ones furthest from the CPU.

You can run four sticks (I am), but your overclocking potential will be hampered. This is actually more of a CPU issue than a motherboard thing. The sweet spot, in my opinion, for AMD systems is 1333 with really tight timings and a fast CPU/NB frequency. There are scenarios when 1600 and 1800 are faster, but in real world applications, you will never know.

 

[Ronbert]

Yea, it's only dual channel. If you run three sticks you will ruin that. 2 or 4 sticks is the way to go. This board, as with other current AMD boards will perform best with two sticks in slots 3 and 4...the ones furthest from the CPU.

You can run four sticks (I am), but your overclocking potential will be hampered. This is actually more of a CPU issue than a motherboard thing. The sweet spot, in my opinion, for AMD systems is 1333 with really tight timings and a fast CPU/NB frequency. There are scenarios when 1600 and 1800 are faster, but in real world applications, you will never know.

Two things to add then with the current build I'm going for which is the same as yours except with a GTX460 I was going to get 2 sticks of ripjaws for 4gb this should be a decent balance for ocing the board right?

And why slots 3 and 4? I lied one more... Is the 965 a C3 revision or is that just given? Not trying to thread jack just curious how my current list of "to gets" will go with this particular board. I lied... one more >.>;; I was going to get 1600 but I won't be benching as much as playing games should I just go ahead and say go for 1333 and save a few bucks since the trade off in performance won't really affect it?

 

[xoke]

Two things to add then with the current build I'm going for which is the same as yours except with a GTX460 I was going to get 2 sticks of ripjaws for 4gb this should be a decent balance for ocing the board right?

And why slots 3 and 4? I lied one more... Is the 965 a C3 revision or is that just given? Not trying to thread jack just curious how my current list of "to gets" will go with this particular board. I lied... one more >.>;; I was going to get 1600 but I won't be benching as much as playing games should I just go ahead and say go for 1333 and save a few bucks since the trade off in performance won't really affect it?

My 965 is a C3, I think most of the ones you get today will be. (If you have the extra cash get a 1090t, they seem to be overclocking better.)

Two sticks of Ripjaws will work fantastic...I just built my friend a system with this mobo and that Ram, he is way happy.

I would pony up the extra $10 bucks for 1600mhz Ripjaws...even if you don't end up running them that fast. The theory being, buy the fastest thing you can...even if you don't need it when given similar prices. That, and the 1600mhz ram will probably be capable of better timings at 1333 then the ones rated for only 1333. Make sense? Timings can increase more as speed decreases.

Why slots 3 & 4, i dunno, you will have to ask AMD or someone who knows something about the architecture of the CPU. I have no clue, I know just enough about it to be dangerous.

4gb of RAM is perfect for a modern computer. The only reason I'm running 8gb is because I got a really good deal on them. If you were to place two systems next to each other and use them, one with 4gb and on with 8gb, you would never know the difference...unless you were doing some crazy photoshop or CAD stuff.

Your not thread jacking at all. Feel free to ask me anything you want. Just remember, these are my opinions...not always statements of absolute fact.

 

[Ronbert]

Thought the ripsaws were a good choice glad to know I'm not the only one.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

The clock is going well, lol, to be perfectly honest heat is my only issue. This chip seems like it will clock pretty well, but it really enjoys the volts. I promised myself that I would try and keep this build under control and actually use it, lol...as opposed to just bench it all the time.

Last year I sold, my dice pots, , my slush box, my phase system, and most of my benching stuff...it got to a point when my two car garage had no cars in it, just benching stuff, lol. I was out of control. I love computers and making them go fast, but my time constraints (I started a new business this year) restrict me from getting as involved as I would enjoy. If I had my way I would just sit around benching and breaking stuff all day long, but this real life thing keeps getting in the way, lol.

So, I might put this rig on water, or I might run it as is and just use it and wait for my next rig to go a bit crazier.

I guess my point is I'm trying to strike a balance in life between tweaking my computer...and actually using it, lol. As overclockers, we (or at least me) get way obsessed with how fast it will go...and totally forget to use and enjoy the darn thing, lol. I mean honestly, is there anything a stock 965BE or 920 i7 won't do? ...no, there isn't.

Oh man would I love to do that. The reason I run my system at stock is because I run 1.65+ vcore and 1.5+ cpu-nb when I bench. I don't want to kill it any faster than I am.

Do you have a Hwbot profile? Here's mine: ChanceCoats123. You say you sold all of your benching equipment. Which did you use? I'm thinking of going cold, but I don't want to break the bank (as oxymoron as that is). I'm thinking SS to be honest.

 

[QuietIce]

I was going to get 1600 but I won't be benching as much as playing games should I just go ahead and say go for 1333 and save a few bucks since the trade off in performance won't really affect it?

Just make sure it can run CAS 7 at 1333 - and CAS 6 would be icing on the cake ...

 

[Ronbert]

Just make sure it can run CAS 7 at 1333 - and CAS 6 would be icing on the cake ...

Well HERE's some that runs at cas 6 and at a modest price but when I go to over clock there won't be nearly as much room in the ram department which would just limit me over all wouldn't it?

I retract that statement those would actually set me back more than the 1600 Ripjaws would so I think I'm just going to stick with the Jaws.

 

[xoke]

Well HERE's some that runs at cas 6 and at a modest price but when I go to over clock there won't be nearly as much room in the ram department which would just limit me over all wouldn't it?

I retract that statement those would actually set me back more than the 1600 Ripjaws would so I think I'm just going to stick with the Jaws.

Careful with the Giel...they recently closed there US based customer service dept. Don't get me wrong, it's good RAM, but if you ever need to get an RMA it could be difficult.

If I was buying RAM today, Id get this...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226123

Mushkin is legit, and they are based out of Colorado, really good company. I'm not sure whats up with all the Newegg goofballs (reviews) though.

 

[Ronbert]

Very nice ram but it's to pricey for me (I know you get what you pay for) but the ripjaws I think are a modestly priced item with more then exceptional strength to help me achieve the performance I want.

 

[xoke]

Very nice ram but it's to pricey for me (I know you get what you pay for) but the ripjaws I think are a modestly priced item with more then exceptional strength to help me achieve the performance I want.

Agreed. The Ripjaws are really good too, like I said I just put them in my best friends machine and they are rocking. I didn't tweak them because he lives far away and I didn't want him to have any issues. I would be wary of the Geils though, even though mine are super.

Dude, get these... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

$10 bucks off! cas9 at 1600mhz, almost guaranteed to run 7 or 6 at 1333.

 

[Bobnova]

cas8 at 1600 is .2ns faster then cas7 at 1333, cas9 at 1600 is significantly slower then 7 at 1333.

One thing to keep in mind is that it's pretty much impossible to detect the difference between 1333 and 1600 and/or cas7 vs cas8 without a benchmark.


Have they unified the OCing and voltage stuff on the ta890fxe? My friend has a tpower 790gx board and the OC options are scattered all over the place. The board works great, but going through a dozen screens for one OC is kinda rough.

 

[Ronbert]

Well see I'm glad there's no visual difference besides for in benching because to be honest this computer will be mostly for gaming but it's also got to be in the budget range best it can be without being as expensive as it can be.

So far I've got....
965BE
The biostar mobo in this thread
Ripjaws (ones Xoke posted)
GTX460
750W Corsair later down the line.

The psu will be ordered next month along with the GTX because all I have is a Rosewill 550W with +12 rails that I don't believe have enough amps to power the card and rest of the computer (HERE) In fact even if it could I believe the GTX requires 2 pci-e connectors this PSU only has one.