Compatibility between AMD FX6350 or 6300 Black Edition and ASUS M5A97 R2.0 Socket AM3+ ATX AMD Mobo

URXP2ME

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Mar 2, 2014
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I'm new to computer building (actually this is my first) and I was wondering the compatibility between this CPU and this motherboard.

This is the motherboard (2 links) -
http://www.microcenter.com/product/398235/M5A97_R20_Socket_AM3_ATX_AMD_Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-M5A97-R2-0-SATA-Motherboard/dp/B008V9959O/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_img_y

Now as far as I can tell these two are the same boards, and Microcenter just has a better price. I can't tell if the socket type of AM3+ is the only thing that makes it compatible. The chipsets it says it's compatible with Athlon II and Phenom II and Sempro 1600 Series, but I don't understand what that truly means.

This are the CPUs I was looking at.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CLBZAHY/ref=gno_cart_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FD6300WMHKBOX-FX-6300-Processor-Edition/dp/B009O7YORK/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_img_y

As I stated before, I'm completely new to this, so any help would be awesome. If the motherboard is not compatible, could you suggest any other options that I could use. Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
Those will work perfectly fine together!

The AM3+ boards work with

ANY FX Processor (if it's a 970 chipset or above which this board is)
or AM3 Athlons II, Phenom II'(The FX series replaced these)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($113.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.79 @ Newegg)
Total: $208.27
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 12:35 EST-0500)

The Best places in America to purchase those parts.

Ignore the compatibility issue as this is not a problem(the BIOS will be updated...

AshyCFC

Honorable
Those will work perfectly fine together!

The AM3+ boards work with

ANY FX Processor (if it's a 970 chipset or above which this board is)
or AM3 Athlons II, Phenom II'(The FX series replaced these)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($113.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.79 @ Newegg)
Total: $208.27
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 12:35 EST-0500)

The Best places in America to purchase those parts.

Ignore the compatibility issue as this is not a problem(the BIOS will be updated already and perfectly fine)

ignore the FX-6350 it's just an overclocked FX-6300, i'd spend the money saved by getting the 6300 instead on a cpu cooler like this one:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($113.48 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($94.79 @ Newegg)
Total: $236.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 12:38 EST-0500)

Reasons why I'd get the cooler: Very good first cpu cooler for overclocking(you can turn your 6300 into a 6350) and it's much quieter than stock.

Only problem is you need a case that can fit it(most cases can)

EDIT: microcenter has that board on offer at the moment, grab it if you can(I think you need to pick it up in store)
 
Solution