Motherboard choices for rebuild Asus or Gigabyte?

tannoy1

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Sep 9, 2014
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Hi.
I am rebuilding my old self built pc after many years and can't decide on which motherboard to buy. I was given an online gift voucher for a particular store and can't buy any alternatives. I also have to fit it into a budget and want to order this week (no waiting and saving).

I'm keeping the following items from my other build.

Antec 900 Case
Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-x
Corsair HX520w PSU
2 X Western Digital 320gb HDD
Pioneer DVD-rw

I've chosen the following.

FX 6300
Crucial 8GB kit (4GBx2) DDR3 1600 MHz CL9 1.35V Ballistix Sport VLP (low profile to allow better selection of cooler)

And these are the motherboards I can choose from (again, please note, I can't get any alternatives as it's a small Irish Supplier I have the voucher for).

Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3
http://www.gigabyte.ie/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3901#ov

Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4591#ov

ASUS M5A97 R2.0
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97_R20/

The GA-970ADS3P is the cheapest option (not by much) but does give me a few more quid towards a better cooler.

The more reviews I read, the harder it gets. I am running into 'Fanboys' of each company who won't give impartial advice.
I use it for light gaming and would like the option to overclock and get extra power.
 
Solution
The DS3P has only 4+1 power phase, Asus 6+2 and 990XA-UD3 has 8+2 Power phase. these are CPU Voltage Regulation modules power phase (VRM power phase).

So for overclocking a 6-core FX CPU, i would recommend at least the Asus M5a97 R2.0

pierrerock

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Jul 4, 2014
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The DS3P has only 4+1 power phase, Asus 6+2 and 990XA-UD3 has 8+2 Power phase. these are CPU Voltage Regulation modules power phase (VRM power phase).

So for overclocking a 6-core FX CPU, i would recommend at least the Asus M5a97 R2.0

 
Solution

tannoy1

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Sep 9, 2014
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Thanks for the reply but I'm looking for technical reasons to choose one over the other.
Some people are saying I should avoid the Asus because it has a 4+2 power phase?

Edit: Sorry... Got a new reply just as I typed.

Pierrerock, the Asus is listed as a 4+2 on their website?
 

pierrerock

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Jul 4, 2014
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Oh yeah my bad i read under M5a97 EVO which has 6+2, SO this one has 4+2. Still a better option than gigabyte.

It will allow you to overclock, a mild overclock. I bet the 990 chip board is much more expensive ? So if you want a good overclock, you would have to spend more a the board. I am not sure if it is worth it. But it's your call.
 

tannoy1

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Sep 9, 2014
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Thanks again.
I only want to bring it safely to about 4.2ghz? So the Asus M5A97 R2.0 would be a safe bet yes?
I've had a P5N-E sli board since 2007 :) and it's never had a problem. So Asus have been good to me.