I'm thinking of upgrading to an AM3+ board to maybe pick up a Vishera down the line and *gasp* finally move up to DDR3 memory. I usually try to upgrade piecemeal and put $100-$200 into parts each year but haven't been able to do that lately and I'm behind the curve more than usual. I'd really like to stay AMD and take the chance on the new CPUs coming out later in the year or early next being up to snuff. I use the machine for light web/graphic design and gaming. I don't have any real complaints right now, but it's much easier for me to start upgrading piece by piece again instead of waiting for one big rebuild all at once.
So, I figured I'd de-lurk and ask for opinions/suggestions on upgrading my board and RAM so that I'm in place to upgrade the CPU after I can find a sweet spot when the new ones come out.
If you don't need SLI or Crossfire, its little brother, the TA970XE, is also very good: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138348 You can actually run two video cards on it, but the second long PCIe slot is only an X4. Other than that, same feature set as the TA990FXE.
How much are you wanting to spend. Im a big believer in getting the best motherboard you can afford. The motherboard is the foundation to your entire rig and is also the hardest one to swap out or upgrade so you want to make sure you get as good a one as you can. My personal opinion is that the Sabertooth 990FX is the best AMD motherboard on the market right now. Ridiculous build quality and toughness and its a terrific overclocker. Im a really big fan of Asus boards. HardOCP puts their motherboards thru just insane testing procedures like baking them in ovens or some such for 8 days straight! Asus are the boards that almost always emerge from these torture tests unscathed. Gigabyte always seem to do pretty well too.
Thanks for the quick feedback all. Little bit more from me ...
Though I probably never will go SLI/XFire, I'd still rather pick up a board with the ability to do it if I want.
The ASRock 970 seems to be well-liked but shouldn't I be going for a 990 chipset?
@McLeod
I was really trying to keep it under $200 for a new board and 2x4GB RAM. I have always been an ASUS fan myself though and did take a look at that board initially. The info on the Vishera chips being AM3+ doesn't seem to be set in stone though and I'm wary of some last minute change or delay that results in me having to scrap this great new expensive board I have in a years time for one reason or another. Maybe I haven't read enough or my fears are simply unfounded?
Thanks for the quick feedback all. Little bit more from me ...
Though I probably never will go SLI/XFire, I'd still rather pick up a board with the ability to do it if I want.
The ASRock 970 seems to be well-liked but shouldn't I be going for a 990 chipset?
@McLeod
I was really trying to keep it under $200 for a new board and 2x4GB RAM. I have always been an ASUS fan myself though and did take a look at that board initially. The info on the Vishera chips being AM3+ doesn't seem to be set in stone though and I'm wary of some last minute change or delay that results in me having to scrap this great new expensive board I have in a years time for one reason or another. Maybe I haven't read enough or my fears are simply unfounded?
In that case, check out the ASRock 990FX. I really like ASRock boards. I had a midrange 780G board from them and I beat the ever luvin' crap outta that thing. I'm talking a 6 core X6 at 4GHz at 1.6 volts on a board that was never built to handle a 6 core much less 1.6 volts but this thing never so much as whimpered. I couldn't get it stable but its still a testament to that things durability. I'd buy another no problem.
Me too. Im sure there are lots of guys that have bought refurb gear and had no problem. Im not going to be one of them especially with something as important as the motherboard. For that, Ill go ahead and pay the extra to get the best quality I can.
Both those open box boards were in stock when I bought mine a few weeks ago, I don't know if they've gone out and back in stock, but they're probably in stock a lot.
I keep coming back and looking at that Sabertooth guys but I have one question that y'all can probably clear up for me.
The Sabertooth has 3xPCIE2 at x16 or x16,x8,x8 but something like the Gigabyte 990FXA has 4 of them at x16,x16,x4,x4. If I do actually SLI/XFire at some point with this board (with two older gen cards most likely), am I really getting twice the multiplier for the GIgabyte board or does it not really work out that way?
I keep coming back and looking at that Sabertooth guys but I have one question that y'all can probably clear up for me.
The Sabertooth has 3xPCIE2 at x16 or x16,x8,x8 but something like the Gigabyte 990FXA has 4 of them at x16,x16,x4,x4. If I do actually SLI/XFire at some point with this board (with two older gen cards most likely), am I really getting twice the multiplier for the GIgabyte board or does it not really work out that way?
The ASUS M5A97 could've been had for just $88 shipped if you bought from NCIX US. Moreso the ASRock 970 Extreme3 which is a competitive equivalent (similar VRM system, chipset, features) costs even less at the moment ($80 shipped on Newegg).
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