Best AMd (AM3+) motherboard for a budget build?

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Eduardo Trujillo

Eduardo Trujillo

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May 28, 2013
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Which of these motherboards is best:
ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0
or
Biostar TA970.

and, are these really reliable for a budget build? I plan to use an fx 8350 at stock clock but in case they're not worth it I would have to go with a good mobo for overclocking and the fx 6300. I'm on a budget, don't want to go over $80 on this one unless is a good mobo for OC. Thanks.
 
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damric

damric

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Sep 17, 2010
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For overclocking, the M5A99X EVO R2.0 is the minimal that can handle the power draw, and it's around ~$100. If you are overclocking, then I would consider the FX-8320 to save a few bucks. Keep in mind that it takes serious cooling to keep the 8 core chips under control.

If you are really broke, you can go with the FM2 Athlon 750K or 760K. They overclock really nice even on cheap $50 boards, and have about the same performance as the FX chips when four or less threads is used. Another benefit is you won't need to spend nearly as much on cooling.
 
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Eduardo Trujillo

Eduardo Trujillo

Honorable
May 28, 2013
23
0
10,510


Thanks, but I would really like to know which of the two motherboards I mentioned is best and if they are good for a decent build with no overclocking, I dont really want to get into overclocking and nor can I afford a $100 overclocking mobo with an 8 core fx cpu, thats why I rather stay with one of these

ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0
or
Biostar TA970

or a better one under $80 to pair with the fx 8350. Thanks

 
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damric

damric

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Sep 17, 2010
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That board's VRMs would melt under an overclocked 8300 CPU.

OP, if not overclocking, just get whatever suits your needs whether that be SATA III ports, USB3 header locations, fan headers, aesthetics, and bundled software. I'd personally go with the ASRock because it comes with a free unlimited RAM disk utility.

 
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Eduardo Trujillo

Eduardo Trujillo

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May 28, 2013
23
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10,510
Thank you all for your help, I have a combo of the asrock and the fx 8350 so thats why im not going for the 8320 and the overclocking mobo, but I wanted to make sure it was a quality board for a regular build.
 
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damric

damric

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Sep 17, 2010
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It will be fine. I've run a handful of ASRock boards and never had a problem. I'm actually running the Extreme 6+ right now :) They are pretty quick to update BIOS and utility software as needed.

 
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Eduardo Trujillo

Eduardo Trujillo

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May 28, 2013
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I hope anyone see this, I believe I found a good motherboard for overclocking:
ECS A990FXM-A
with power phase 6+1, for just $80 so I'm taking the FX-8320 and hopefully OC it to 4.2 ghz with CM Evo 212. I hope I'm not wrong with this one seems like a sweet deal.
 
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damric

damric

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Sep 17, 2010
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That board received the worst review I have ever seen from dave at TPU, and that says a lot. But, that review was from 2011 and the board has had since had two BIOS revisions of which you should be aware.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ECS/A990FXM-A/13.html

 
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Eduardo Trujillo

Eduardo Trujillo

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May 28, 2013
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10,510


Seems like an even better deal lol, though I'm curious in the pcpartpicker website it states it only supports CPU's up to 125w TDP, is that incorrect?
And also would I be able to do some fine overclocking on it (FX-8320), Please tell me more about it's OC capabilities.

 
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Eduardo Trujillo

Eduardo Trujillo

Honorable
May 28, 2013
23
0
10,510

I apologize for the best answer I chose it in a rush. Seems like the Gigabyte is my best option, thank you for your help kind sir.
 
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