# AM3 890FX Board Selection



## eidairaman1 (May 9, 2010)

New Build in the Near future

I am weary of Asus as I have had a bad past with them but I am posting all the 890FX boards out or coming out soon

I want a board that is a strong over-clocker, I will probably not be running 2 video cards but think about it later in the future- layout is a must. I intend on running 8 Gigs to Max amt of ram in the board along with a sound card and possibly a PCI E SSD or Raid card. 5870/5850 2GB is what I intend on running in the machine for video.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=kPGmtxee5RsQVsXG&templete=2

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=fLIjRELzxMxkH2UQ&templete=2

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=890FX Deluxe3

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=482

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=171&prod_no=2025

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=3425

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=3423


----------



## codyjansen (May 9, 2010)

i like the asus board and i plan on upgrading to that within the next few months. i like the look of it and i am using an asus board right now and i have not had problems with it, but it is first asus board i have ever used because i have only built 1 computer.


----------



## runnin17 (May 9, 2010)

Unless you absolutely must have a motherboard now, I would wait for the Crosshair IV Extreme. Don't have a release date yet, but I imagine it should be out in the next month or two. Unless Asus is completely crazy.

However, the CH IV Formula or the Gigabyte UD7 would be my choice. Biostar has a terrible layout, the MSI doesn't OC as well as the others, the ASRock is a solid board, but I would spend the extra money for the extra features of the CH IV or the UD7.


----------



## PaulieG (May 9, 2010)

runnin17 said:


> Unless you absolutely must have a motherboard now, I would wait for the Crosshair IV Extreme. Don't have a release date yet, but I imagine it should be out in the next month or two. Unless Asus is completely crazy.
> 
> However, the CH IV Formula or the Gigabyte UD7 would be my choice. Biostar has a terrible layout, the MSI doesn't OC as well as the others, the ASRock is a solid board, but I would spend the extra money for the extra features of the CH IV or the UD7.



This. CH IV Formula or UD7. I currently have the CHIV, and I've got a ton of experience with Gigabyte boards in general. I don't think you could make a bad choice b/t the 2.


----------



## Rapidfire48 (May 9, 2010)

The Crosshair IV without question will be the best of all of them.


----------



## mav2000 (May 9, 2010)

I would go with the ud 5 as I dont need the water cooling stuff and otherwise its the same as the ud 7.


----------



## Master Wolfe (May 9, 2010)

I've got the MSI, first one of theirs I've bought in years, and it's a good board. But, I don't O/C.


----------



## wahdangun (May 10, 2010)

CH IV extreme, it's have hydra in it so u can SLi and Crossfire


----------



## eidairaman1 (May 10, 2010)

I still dont like the configurations of the slots. Instead of stuffing 2 slots right desides eachother, make the 1st slot PCI E 16x then a space where a slot would go, then the second PCI E 16x slot then another space then the rest of the slots with the bottom being PCI or PCI E 8x capable


----------



## ShRoOmAlIsTiC (May 11, 2010)

Im kinda in the same boats.

Cant get the UD7 cause I dont own and E-ATX case
The crosshair 4 is kinda not an option cause most good air coolers will block 2 mem slots and keep me from getting some decent mem.
The msi reviews got me second guessing it
So I feel like my only option is the UD5.  
Why couldnt Asus make it so the mem can run dual channel in the 2 farthest slots from the cpu.
And do mem makers feel the need to screw all of us by putting tall heatspreaders on all the good ram.
AARRRGGG!!!!


----------



## Master Wolfe (May 11, 2010)

ShRoOmAlIsTiC said:


> Im kinda in the same boats.
> 
> Cant get the UD7 cause I dont own and E-ATX case
> The crosshair 4 is kinda not an option cause most good air coolers will block 2 mem slots and keep me from getting some decent mem.
> ...


I had an issue with the stock AMD hsf, haven't installed one in forever. So I installed my Cooler Master Gemini II S. Which I then had to UN install because I couldn't get the Gskill Ripjaws installed with it in place. It fits under there, but impossible to install or remove with the CM in place.


----------



## Mussels (May 11, 2010)

make sure to double check the products, i've seen several mobos with 890 in their name from asus and giga, that actually had the 790FX chipset :shadedshu and 850 southbridge


----------



## erocker (May 11, 2010)

Mussels said:


> make sure to double check the products, i've seen several mobos with 890 in their name from asus and giga, that actually had the 790FX chipset :shadedshu and 850 southbridge



Which boards? I assume possibly the GXE models?


----------



## Mussels (May 11, 2010)

erocker said:


> Which boards? I assume possibly the GXE models?



the giga UD5 and UD7 are in the OP's posts, the UD3 uses the older chipset.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=3376








such a dirty trick


----------



## erocker (May 12, 2010)

Gigabyte + AMD has always been "meh" for me. I have no complaints with my Crosshair IV. The biggest surprise with this board has been it's onboard sound. It simply blows away anything else I've ever used onboard. Clean sound, no hiccups, and best of all, It's actually loud if need be! No more sound card for me, I'm happy.


----------



## ebolamonkey3 (May 12, 2010)

I'd go with the Crosshair IV personally.


----------



## eidairaman1 (May 12, 2010)

Gigabyte GA-890FX-UD7 or Asus ROG Crosshair IV Extreme are what Im looking at now.


----------



## Loosenut (May 12, 2010)

Can't afford the CH IV, the UD7 has nice options but the PCIex16_1 and _2 are too far apart and would probably require the long 100mm bridges so it all boils down to the UD5 for me.

Tough choices either way, good luck with that


----------



## Mussels (May 13, 2010)

i'm planning on the UD5 for my AMD build, but its a few months away so that may change.


----------



## bogmali (May 15, 2010)

I have a GB 890GPA-UD3H currently and thinking about upgrading to the UD7 due the chipset water cooling option. The UD3H's chipset gets really hot to the touch during normal ops with no OC to my 1055T:shadedshu The UD7 is also a little expensive than the CH IV Formula


----------



## ebolamonkey3 (Jun 14, 2010)

Btw, does anybody know if the UD7 will fit in a Corsair 800D? I'd buy this except I'm not sure if it'd fit.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jun 14, 2010)

UD 7 Requires a XL-ATX or EATX Case, do a search for those.


----------



## ebolamonkey3 (Jun 14, 2010)

Well, that's the thing. XL ATX just means it's 8 PCI slots instead of 7, and not wider than the standard ATX right? The 800D has an extra vent space at the bottom of the PCI slots so I was wondering if it'll fit in there.

On the other hand, if the screw spacings are not the same as ATX then it won't screw on the mobo tray anyways. Anyone who has a UD7 would care to comment?


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jun 14, 2010)

ok if the case is not specified as EATX, good luck stuffing it in a case


----------



## erocker (Jun 14, 2010)

The case needs to be ATX XL compatible, different mounting placement. The Corsair 800D is: ATX, mATX, EATX


----------



## ebolamonkey3 (Jun 14, 2010)

Ah I see, so the screw placement is different. I knew the case was big enough.

Anyways, back on topic, definitely can't wait till the CHIV Extreme is released


----------



## Toadicus (Jun 14, 2010)

Crosshair 4 Formula ... ASUS product. Great workmanship. Excellent Quality Components. BIOS from Hell. This board has a mind of it's own and will change settings as it sees fit. If i reboot or even just cycle the power on and off, regardless of how long it is off, and have a USB drive plugged into any of the dozen USB ports, the entire "stack" of SATA/IDE/AHCI/RAID settings and priorities go to hell.
Being very careful and resetting the BIOS from a saved, safe setting rewards you with blazing speeds ... Like a fine european wo.... car.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jun 15, 2010)

Toadicus said:


> Crosshair 4 Formula ... ASUS product. Great workmanship. Excellent Quality Components. BIOS from Hell. This board has a mind of it's own and will change settings as it sees fit. If i reboot or even just cycle the power on and off, regardless of how long it is off, and have a USB drive plugged into any of the dozen USB ports, the entire "stack" of SATA/IDE/AHCI/RAID settings and priorities go to hell.
> Being very careful and resetting the BIOS from a saved, safe setting rewards you with blazing speeds ... Like a fine european wo.... car.



Change the CMOS Battery, also some boards have a bios reset switch on them that needs to be changed, or some boards have the ability to change to safe settings when it feels it cant boot/POST.  Read your board manual for everything.


----------



## scaminatrix (Jun 17, 2010)

Toadicus said:


> Crosshair 4 Formula ... ASUS product. Great workmanship. Excellent Quality Components. BIOS from Hell. This board has a mind of it's own and will change settings as it sees fit. If i reboot or even just cycle the power on and off, regardless of how long it is off, and have a USB drive plugged into any of the dozen USB ports, the entire "stack" of SATA/IDE/AHCI/RAID settings and priorities go to hell.
> Being very careful and resetting the BIOS from a saved, safe setting rewards you with blazing speeds ... Like a fine european wo.... car.



Actuall, I have that problem with the C4F...... Won't boot if my card reader is plugged in. I've checked BIOS, etc. but it just don't like my reader!


----------



## brandonwh64 (Jun 17, 2010)

This board is good!

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=890FX%20Deluxe3


----------



## Mussels (Jun 17, 2010)

brandonwh64 said:


> This board is good!
> 
> http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=890FX%20Deluxe3



thats my next board.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jun 17, 2010)

i just wonder how hard it overclocks


----------



## Mussels (Jun 18, 2010)

eidairaman1 said:


> i just wonder how hard it overclocks



thats what unlocked multipliers are for


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jun 18, 2010)

regardless of Unlocked Multis, push the bus speed then the Multi.


----------



## Mussels (Jun 18, 2010)

eidairaman1 said:


> regardless of Unlocked Multis, push the bus speed then the Multi.



eh, i never saw any real gains for OCing FSB... some people swear by it, but the tests rarely back it up. set the ram speed high by default, and it doesnt matter. (most FSB OC gains are really from higher clocked ram)


----------



## erocker (Jun 18, 2010)

Only reason I up my FSB is to push my memory a little more above or in between the dividers. Everything else is unlocked so there really is no need.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jun 18, 2010)

well if everything is overall faster then that does provide gains.


----------



## monte84 (Jun 18, 2010)

For starters, AMD hasnt had a FSB since 2003. There is a base or reference clock. 2 overclocking by the base/reference clock while keeping the multi on locked/auto will still allow CNQ and C1E to function, if you overclock by multi it locks in the higher multi disabling power saving features.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jun 18, 2010)

your trying to tell me something I already Knew back in High School, it is just a low latency solution to a Traditional FSB, it is Hyper Transport Technology, Intel copied it with QPI.


----------



## monte84 (Jun 18, 2010)

thats great im proud of you........


----------



## Mussels (Jun 18, 2010)

monte84 said:


> For starters, AMD hasnt had a FSB since 2003. There is a base or reference clock. 2 overclocking by the base/reference clock while keeping the multi on locked/auto will still allow CNQ and C1E to function, if you overclock by multi it locks in the higher multi disabling power saving features.



no it doesnt. i locked mine up by multi and CnQ works perfectly.


----------



## runnin17 (Jun 18, 2010)

ebolamonkey3 said:


> Ah I see, so the screw placement is different. I knew the case was big enough.
> 
> Anyways, back on topic, definitely can't wait till the CHIV Extreme is released



That is why you just mod your motherboard tray to fit the XL ATX screw placement .

+1 for the CHIV Extreme. Bought erocker's M4A79T Deluxe just to tide me over until the Extreme comes out. Then my 555BE (unlocked to quad @ 4.0GHz, another ) and the M4A79T will become my crunching rig.


----------



## Corduroy_Jr (Jun 19, 2010)

why not get the M4A89TD PRO it overclocks just as well and cheaper, thats my next purchase ftw


----------



## ebolamonkey3 (Jun 19, 2010)

runnin17 said:


> That is why you just mod your motherboard tray to fit the XL ATX screw placement .
> 
> +1 for the CHIV Extreme. Bought erocker's M4A79T Deluxe just to tide me over until the Extreme comes out. Then my 555BE (unlocked to quad @ 4.0GHz, another ) and the M4A79T will become my crunching rig.



Lol, I got a MSI 890gxm-g65 to tide me over haha, definitely not gonna be overclocking a lot on this board, so I can't wait till the CHIV Extreme comes out.


----------



## Corduroy_Jr (Jun 20, 2010)

theirs no way around it your into pushing your cpu to the limit u need a 8+1 or .8+2 phase motherboard


----------



## Octopuss (Jun 20, 2010)

Why not Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD?


----------

