# Best AM3 boards??



## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

I need a high end AM3 board to match with a PII 965. This rig will be my primary gamer, and will most likely see 2x5850's in the near future. I'm asking for suggestions on the best 2-3 AM3 motherboards on the market right now. Budget is up to $175. Please explain why you think a certain board is a good choice. All thoughts are greatly appreciated, but fanboy comments might get you a


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 10, 2010)

I just grabbed an MSI 790X-G45 and everything went great.  Don't know how well it overclocks and it doesn't have IEEE1394.


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## DirectorC (Jan 10, 2010)

If was going to build an AMD system right now, this is what I'd get: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128398


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## Fourstaff (Jan 10, 2010)

Can you wait a bit for the 890 boards to come out?


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## assaulter_99 (Jan 10, 2010)

Gigabyte 790fx ud5p, asus crosshair formula III comes to mind... They are some of the best.


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## Silverel (Jan 10, 2010)

Fourstaff said:


> Can you wait a bit for the 890 boards to come out?



I second this. No sense grabbing a board right now if you can wait a bit for integrated USB3 and SATA 6gb/s


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## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

Fourstaff said:


> Can you wait a bit for the 890 boards to come out?



Nope. Board needs to be purchased within the next couple of days. It will be replaced with a 890 when it comes out.


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## dir_d (Jan 10, 2010)

MSI-790FX-GD70 theres alot more voltage controls than even gigabyte. You can control everything if you are a really skilled overclocker.


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## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

dir_d said:


> MSI-790FX-GD70 theres alot more voltage controls than even gigabyte. You can control everything if you are a really skilled overclocker.



I've thought about this board. Just hesitant pulling the trigger, since I've had nothing but bad experiences with MSI boards in the past. Tempting though.


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## Dark_Webster (Jan 10, 2010)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131363&Tpk=M4A79-T

What do you think of this? I know that is really hitting your budget, but one friend of mine has it and it's a great board overall, stability and overclocking included.


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## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

Dark_Webster said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131363&Tpk=M4A79-T
> 
> What do you think of this? I know that is really hitting your budget, but one friend of mine has it and it's a great board overall, stability and overclocking included.



I think if I go over my budget, I'll jump to a Crosshair. I would really like to keep it under $175.


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## Chicken Patty (Jan 10, 2010)

Paul,

My first AM3 board is the one in my specs, the UD5.  I'm impressed to say the least.  4.1Ghz at just a hair over stock voltage on the 965.  I know the CPU has to be good as well but the build quality of this board is great.  It has everything you need, the BIOS is not full of extra options for those planning on wasting a million gallons of LN2.  Just right if you ask me.  

other than this, the Crosshair 3 is a heck of a board from what I've seen.


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## kenkickr (Jan 10, 2010)

If I had to sell my Crosshair III, just a awesome board so don't even ask, I'd probably go with this Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5.  SATA III and some USB 3.0 support for under $200 and you don't have to wait til the 890 comes out for those features.


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## assaulter_99 (Jan 10, 2010)

Once you have a good look at the crosshair, you just have to pull the trigger! cant go wrong!  Anyways it has wicked looks and does the job too, the enthousiast's dream!


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## Chicken Patty (Jan 10, 2010)

kenkickr said:


> If I had to sell my Crosshair III, just a awesome board so don't even ask, I'd probably go with this Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5.  SATA III and some USB 3.0 support for under $200 and you don't have to wait til the 890 comes out for those features.



Yep.  THey kept all the Legacy features as well and made it look good.  The board is very solid!


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## exodusprime1337 (Jan 10, 2010)

i picked up an asus m4a79t deluxe, was 188 at the time, but the board has more features that you can shake a stick at and is a breeze to oc with.  I highly recomend this board as it helped me get my phenom 2 965 c3 up here above 4 ghz no problem, plus it runs cool, has power and reset on the boad, a great quality sound card(well better then my audigy 2 zs which anything is i guess), and it wasn't too expensive for the features.


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## Munki (Jan 10, 2010)

I have an Asus M4A79XTD EVO, and  I cannot complain one bit. For $120 its simply the best AM3 board I have owned. The features outnumber the cost by a long shot for me, although this is just a suggestion from my personal experience.


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## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

Hey CP and Ken, what about the UD4? It has Sata 6 and USB 3.0. I'm trying to figure out the differences b/t the UD4 and UD5. I'm just so out of the loop with AMD. LOL


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## kenkickr (Jan 10, 2010)

The differences I see are the UD4 uses the 790X chipset and only gives 2 x PCI-Ex16 slots, 1 LAN, and no ESATA were the UD5 uses the 790FX chipset and gives 3 x PCI-Ex16 slots, Dual Lan, and ESATA.  http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_ComparisonSheet.aspx?ProductID=3263,3258


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## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

kenkickr said:


> The differences I see are the UD4 uses the 790X chipset and only gives 2 x PCI-Ex16 slots, 1 LAN, and no ESATA were the UD5 uses the 790FX chipset and gives 3 x PCI-Ex16 slots, Dual Lan, and ESATA.  http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_ComparisonSheet.aspx?ProductID=3263,3258



LOL. Could I be any more lazy this afternoon?  Actually working on my Thesis. So, I'm glad someone was willing to do a bit of research for me. 

Damn you Ken and CP. Now I may end up going over budget with this AMD rig.


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## kenkickr (Jan 10, 2010)

Your lucky I saw that post.  I've been working on a mod for the stock 4890 heatsink VRM area and just put the card in to test it. 

Too bad Shadowfold isn't here...he'd make you spend more


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## erocker (Jan 10, 2010)

M4A79T Deluxe. Yeah, it's the board I own. There's a reason for that. It is p0wnzorz!


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## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

erocker said:


> M4A79T Deluxe. Yeah, it's the board I own. There's a reason for that. It is p0wnzorz!



Eric, what is it about that board that you like?


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## erocker (Jan 10, 2010)

Paulieg said:


> Eric, what is it about that board that you like?



Bios is easy, it runs cool at stock or overclocked, great layout, cheaper than the Crosshair III, runs CrossFire beautifully, very good ram compatability. The biggest plus is how cool it runs I suppose, I've never seen it go over 33c.


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## Reefer86 (Jan 10, 2010)

I spent along time reading reviews over the am3 boards avalable at the moment as i went am3 about 2 months ago. Thes best boards are Asus M4a79T, Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5 AM3 AMD 790FX / GIGABYTE GA-790FXT-UD5 AM3 AMD 790FX or the MSI 790FX board. Tbh the asus is a good board but higher overclocks over all were achieved on the MSI and the Gigabyte and better for unlocking cores (if thats your thing). I personally went for the  Gigabyte and the MSI was out of stock and i am impatient.
The Gigabyte is a great board and would reccomend it to anyone. But I would go for the MSI 790FX-GD70 as it just looks so beautiful and got some very nice features.  

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223&Tpk=msi 790fx


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## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

So, now I have things narrowed to the Gigabyte UD4 or UD5, the MSI GD70 or an Asus Crosshair. Decisions, decisions.


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## Reefer86 (Jan 10, 2010)

They are all really strong choices.


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## Fourstaff (Jan 10, 2010)

Paulieg said:


> So, now I have things narrowed to the Gigabyte UD4 or UD5, the MSI GD70 or an Asus Crosshair. Decisions, decisions.



Get the cheapest? I see no point in comparing between the 4 of them, as many have said all of them are solid. Since that you are upgrading when the 890 comes anyway, all the more reason to get the cheapest.


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## PaulieG (Jan 10, 2010)

Fourstaff said:


> Get the cheapest? I see no point in comparing between the 4 of them, as many have said all of them are solid. Since that you are upgrading when the 890 comes anyway, all the more reason to get the cheapest.



That is a very good point.


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## Deleted member 67555 (Jan 10, 2010)

kenkickr said:


> If I had to sell my Crosshair III, just a awesome board so don't even ask, I'd probably go with this Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5.  SATA III and some USB 3.0 support for under $200 and you don't have to wait til the 890 comes out for those features.


This or a 890 will be my next board, there are only 2 SATAIII  but it has a SATAII controller separate  from the SATAIII so you could possibly do SATAIII Raid0 and USE SATAII for storage
Plus it has 2@ x16 XF or 4@ x8 XF

Seems like a solid board to me 

The only problem that makes me want to wait for a 890 is that I'm not sure if you can have more than 4gb of memory @1866 or higher it is notated that 1866 or higher must be used in slots 3&4


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## PaulieG (Jan 12, 2010)

Still can't make a decision. I'm thinking the UD4 for the lower cost, and I'll just put the savings toward a 890 when it's released. I'll looking forward to having a AMD rig around again...The overclocking is just more fun.


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## STUdog (Jan 12, 2010)

ASUS M4A79 Deluxe   FTW

One of the only boards with 4 usable PCIE 16 x slots,  only 2 16x electrical tho,  only one nic tho

I have my AM3 965 @ 3.7ghz stock volts,  And can do stable 4ghz at 1.55v but gets a bit warm,  its summer here and is way too hot,

Note, my 965 is the new 125w version


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## Chicken Patty (Jan 12, 2010)

I can vouch for the ASUS boards, I had a M3A79-T and it was one heck of a board.  Overclocked my Phenom 9850 to 3.6 GHz, for that CPU, that's  heck of a overclock!


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## STUdog (Jan 12, 2010)

The only thing I dont like with asus boards are there life span, maybe its just me and taking my pc erverywhere, but they seem to die within like a year or 2, as in northbridge will die or come off.


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## Chicken Patty (Jan 12, 2010)

STUdog said:


> The only thing I dont like with asus boards are there life span, maybe its just me and taking my pc erverywhere, but they seem to die within like a year or 2, as in northbridge will die or come off.



I can't say as I never had mine for that long, but Kei a member in here had his for many many years (ASUS M3A32-MPV Deluxe) and he sold it here.  Still running without issues.


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## Kei (Jan 12, 2010)

Yep, I've been an ASUS man for many years now and never had one die on me before. I've only ever had one board arrive DOA...don't remember what year that was lol. My M3A32-MVP Deluxe I consider to honestly be the best board I've ever owned in my life. If I had some extra cash laying around I would have never ever ever ever sold the board honestly...and even so I still regret selling it (I know CP and everybody told me not too lol...curiosity and shiny pics are evil).

Paulieg, if you're gonna try to save a few bucks on buying a board and sell it when the 890's come out I would strongly suggest going with a 790GX board over a 790X board. The GX boards are almost the samething as their 790FX bigger brothers with the exception of the extra PCI-E lanes and the onboard video which you can just turn off.

Other than that they're nearly identical all the way down to how they overclock. The bios on those boards (from the big 3 that is) are very robust so you won't be hurting for overclocking options, and one of the GX boards even came in 2nd position in one of Tom's Hardware's OC contests...I couldn't believe how well it did (something like 5.3-5.6Ghz with serious cooling).

As usual I stand by the ASUS boards for their bios layouts and utilities. The EZ Flash2 is awesome at doing bios flashes and works it's magic in roughly 30 seconds or less. The bios's actually HAVE save slots unlike some other manufacturers which to me is extremely annoying not to have.

My current 790GX board clocks even higher than my previous 790FX board which is just ridiculous, but speaks volumes about how good the GX boards can really be.

Kei


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## Chicken Patty (Jan 12, 2010)

Kei said:


> Yep, I've been an ASUS man for many years now and never had one die on me before. I've only ever had one board arrive DOA...don't remember what year that was lol. My M3A32-MVP Deluxe I consider to honestly be the best board I've ever owned in my life. If I had some extra cash laying around I would have never ever ever ever sold the board honestly...and even so I still regret selling it (I know CP and everybody told me not too lol...curiosity and shiny pics are evil).
> 
> Paulieg, if you're gonna try to save a few bucks on buying a board and sell it when the 890's come out I would strongly suggest going with a 790GX board over a 790X board. The GX boards are almost the samething as their 790FX bigger brothers with the exception of the extra PCI-E lanes and the onboard video which you can just turn off.
> 
> ...



Thanks for chipping in Kei.  I do have to agree that the ASUS boards have good utilities.  Luckily the UD5 I have has the in windows BIOS update so updating to latest BIOS was just as simple as downloading the file and hitting update


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## Kei (Jan 12, 2010)

I should mention that I recommend the 790GX boards only if you're just trying to get back to AMD and you plan on getting an 890 series board as soon as they're released. If you're not really certain that you're going to go with the 890 series then by all means buy a 790FX board now.

The Crosshair III, GD70, and UD5 are all awesome boards and I believe are the absolute top for current 790FX boards, the M4A79T is awesome as well but just under those boards...it also costs less than the Crosshair if you're trying to go with ASUS.

Putting all bias aside If I was choosing between the M4A79T and the GD70 I'd end up still with the M4 because of familiarity with the bios and knowing exactly the quality I'll be getting with that bios. Strictly on board performance between the two I'd say GD70 hands down...it's not that hard to learn a new bios lol. 

Kei


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## Chicken Patty (Jan 12, 2010)

Kei said:


> I should mention that I recommend the 790GX boards only if you're just trying to get back to AMD and you plan on getting an 890 series board as soon as they're released. If you're not really certain that you're going to go with the 890 series then by all means buy a 790FX board now.
> 
> The Crosshair III, GD70, and UD5 are all awesome boards and I believe are the absolute top for current 790FX boards, the M4A79T is awesome as well but just under those boards...it also costs less than the Crosshair if you're trying to go with ASUS.
> 
> ...



I haven't done my homework on the GD70 although I've heard nothing but great things.  From personal experience, my current UD5 is a amazing board IMO.  The BIOS has just the necessary things, unlike the DFI 790GX board I had.  Thing had more options than I can learn in a lifetime!  this board has just what you need to get a good overclock, nothing more nothing less.  I can vouch for ASUS, but I haven't had hands on experience with the M4A79-T nor the Crosshair 3.  I have with this UD5 and I highly recommend it.

Paul knows GB is   He's had a few for his i7


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## Super XP (Jan 12, 2010)

MSI currently has the BEST AM3 board right now. The 790FX-SB750


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## Rapidfire48 (Jan 12, 2010)

Crosshiar III


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 12, 2010)

i have a M4A79T-Deluxe and it is a great board


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## Super XP (Jan 12, 2010)

I have the M3A79T-Deluxe AM2+ mobo and it works great. Though I would have prefered the MSI 790FX-GD70, but it was not out at the time I got the Asus.


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## kenkickr (Jan 12, 2010)

Super XP said:


> MSI currently has the BEST AM3 board right now. The 790FX-SB750
> http://www.msi.com/uploads/prod_b5792d435e80dfbb1be898b68684d480.jpg



If your going to use more than 2 graphic cards and require more than 1 NIC I guess but I would honestly go for the UD4.  The Gigabyte UD4 is $30 bucks cheaper but does give you SATAIII and USB 3.0 over that MSI 790FX board.  

The problem with most CFX boards is if you "need" to have more than 2 graphic cards then good luck being able to use any other expansion slot.  

My vote goes to the GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 12, 2010)

if he needs to save money i also suggest a 790gx board hell my Asrock AOD790gX 128mb took my Phenom II 940BE to 4ghz stable just the xiggy i had couldnt handle the heat so a good 790gx board hell i think P O S PC has MY asrock board for sale for about $80


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## PaulieG (Jan 12, 2010)

kenkickr said:


> If your going to use more than 2 graphic cards and require more than 1 NIC I guess but I would honestly go for the UD4.  The Gigabyte UD4 is $30 bucks cheaper but does give you SATAIII and USB 3.0 over that MSI 790FX board.
> 
> The problem with most CFX boards is if you "need" to have more than 2 graphic cards then good luck being able to use any other expansion slot.
> 
> My vote goes to the GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3




I've about come to the same conclusion. If the 890 boards were not right around the corner, then I would probably go with the UD5 or Crosshair. Since I probably only own the board for 4-6 months, the UD4 will suit my needs just fine.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 12, 2010)

well i still say take a look here

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=112393

Asrock 790gx board was orignially my board that i gave to CP that then gave it to POS PC  great board 4ghz OC on a PII 940 and Athlon II 240


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## kenkickr (Jan 12, 2010)

Paulieg said:


> I've about come to the same conclusion. If the 890 boards were not right around the corner, then I would probably go with the UD5 or Crosshair. Since I probably only own the board for 4-6 months, the UD4 will suit my needs just fine.



and when your done you can sell it to me


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## jjFarking (Jan 12, 2010)

Paulieg said:


> I've about come to the same conclusion. If the 890 boards were not right around the corner, then I would probably go with the UD5 or Crosshair. Since I probably only own the board for 4-6 months, *the UD4 will suit my needs just fine*.
> __________________
> *Looking for a Asus Crosshair III*. PM me if you have one to sell!!



Seems a little contradictory 

If you have decent systems already, why not simply wait out the next few months?
What's the rush in getting something right now?


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## Kantastic (Jan 12, 2010)

jjFarking said:


> Seems a little contradictory
> 
> If you have decent systems already, why not simply wait out the next few months?
> What's the rush in getting something right now?



He needs his share of the WCG pie.


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## SoulTribunal (Jan 12, 2010)

ASUS M4T785TD-V EVO ( I have both Versions of the EVO Currently).

If you want just rock stable, it will do that for you no problem. If you want to Overclock, I managed to unlock a X2 550 to 4.1GHZ prime stable. Very damn good board.

MSI Boards are great, the only reason I am hesitant to support them is their Customer Service (At least for Canada) is lacking.

ST


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## Chicken Patty (Jan 12, 2010)

I think the UD4 is the best bang for the buck


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## PaulieG (Jan 12, 2010)

Chicken Patty said:


> I think the UD4 is the best bang for the buck



Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning it that direction. I know that things are different between AMD/Intel board manufacturers, but I've just had great recent experiences with Gigabyte and their x58 and p55 boards. Asus x58 was decent, but not spectacular. I haven't bought an MSI since the 939 days, but I'm not sure I can ever be talked into buying from them ever again. 

Gigabyte UD4 it is. The saved cash will go toward a 890 in a couple of months. I just ordered a PII 965 revision C too. It will be nice to have both a AM3 and a p55 rig around for benching comparisons.


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## jjFarking (Jan 12, 2010)

Kantastic said:


> He needs his share of the WCG pie.



Noted & fair enough then.

Go M4A79T Deluxe.

When you're done with it, dump some gfx cards in for more slices of WCG pie. If you have single-slot gfx cards lying around, you can end up with quite a folder/cruncher


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## SNiiPE_DoGG (Jan 12, 2010)

Just wanna chime in here and say that I have had nothing but excellence from my MSI GD70. Sitting pretty at 3.8ghz (955 ES) with about 5 minutes spent overclocking, couldn't be a better looking, featured, or supported board really.


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## PaulieG (Jan 12, 2010)

jjFarking said:


> Seems a little contradictory
> 
> If you have decent systems already, why not simply wait out the next few months?
> What's the rush in getting something right now?



I crunch, therefore I need as many rigs going as possible. My 2 other i7 860 rigs are dedicated to WCG, period. The AMD build is going to be a dedicated gamer and daily driver.



jjFarking said:


> Noted & fair enough then.
> 
> Go M4A79T Deluxe.
> 
> When you're done with it, dump some gfx cards in for more slices of WCG pie. If you have single-slot gfx cards lying around, you can end up with quite a folder/cruncher



That is the job of my 2 i7's. I think I'm going to let the AMD just play.


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## jjFarking (Jan 12, 2010)

Paulieg said:


> I crunch, therefore I need as many rigs going as possible. My 2 other i7 860 rigs are dedicated to WCG, period. The AMD build is going to be a dedicated gamer and daily driver.
> 
> That is the job of my 2 i7's. I think I'm going to let the AMD just play.



OK.
Go UD4


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## suraswami (Jan 12, 2010)

I would go with an Asus or MSI.  My Gigabyte board runs hot and so limits the OC capability.  Ofcourse I don't have the best in class board but it was $170 when it came out.

My other cheap MSI board runs cool even when OCed.  Yet to try a Quad on the cheap board.  Fets and chokes all run cool to the touch, haven't tested the temps with my infrared thermometer.


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## Super XP (Jan 12, 2010)

kenkickr said:


> If your going to use more than 2 graphic cards and require more than 1 NIC I guess but I would honestly go for the UD4.  The Gigabyte UD4 is $30 bucks cheaper but does give you SATAIII and USB 3.0 over that MSI 790FX board.
> 
> The problem with most CFX boards is if you "need" to have more than 2 graphic cards then good luck being able to use any other expansion slot.
> 
> My vote goes to the GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3


There's a benefit in having full PCI-Express x16 slots on the mobo. The more the better, you can plug in any type of PCI-Express in there from x1 to x16.

I didin't know the Gigabyte offers USB 3.0 & SATA III. That's obviously good but I still wouldn't buy a Gigabyte, I would recommend to either wait or just buy the MSI or Asus M4A79-T Deluxe though the MSI is a lot more feature rich.


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