Is the ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 a good Board for overclocking?

[box o rocks]

I need a board that is good for overclocking an FX-8350, but I can't afford to spend the money for a Crosshair or Sabertooth.

Or would the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 be better?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Get the ASUS board it's a decent overclocking board.

The Gigabyte might be a little better with a 8+2 power design.

They are both great choices,

 

[box o rocks]

Would the Gigabyte give me higher CPU overclocks? Someone on another forum said the UD3 didn't overclock very well. No reason, just his opinion, I guess.

 

[delaro]

It depends on the version you can get. Revision 3 has a heat issue with Overclocking.

https://teksyndicate.com/forum/motherboards/gigabyte-ga-990fxa-ud3-rev-30-stay-away/139832
http://www.overclock.net/t/1440428/gigabyte-ga-990fxa-ud3-rev-3-0-vrm-and-northbridge-temps-solution

Revision 4 seems to have less issues but some problems with bios updating for some users.
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/741239-FX-8-Core-with-Gigabyte-GA-990FXA-UD3%28REV4%29

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme9 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $154.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-13 17:18 EDT-0400

 

[box o rocks]

The Asrock is getting beyond my price range. At Newegg I have to pay state sales tax too. ($11)

@ Delaro
OK. Thanks for that. I think they are all rev 4 now.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Most places should be selling Rev.4.

 

[delaro]

Overclocking results vary with stability around 4.4ghz to 4.8ghz on that board, I don't see any issues on that side. CPU bin and RAM will greatly determine what you get. If you plan on going higher or trying 5ghz then you may want the more expensive board that Blackbird mentioned.

Read the comments below the review you will see what I mean, it seems like a solid board.
https://teksyndicate.com/node/134713

 

[Tradesman1]

Think you'd be happy with the Asus, many have done very well with it, I'd give it a slight nod over the GB

 

[delaro]

Here is a Review of the ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 and how it compares to the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/ausus_m5a99fx_pro_r20/

They are pretty close, it comes down to personally preference or the slight price difference.

 

[box o rocks]

A little bit off topic, but I wonder if the FX-6350 would be a better overclocker than the FX-8350 and as good a gamer. Basically the same stock speed (3.9GHZ/4.2GHZ vs 4.0GHZ/4.2GHZ) but more headroom due to 1 less module to heat up.

 

[delaro]

FX-4350,6350,8350 will all overclock to the same speeds and run just as hot, typical results are under 5ghz on air if your lucky. You don't gain much past that and it gets hard to manage heat on all three even with the best water cooler.

 

[1405]

If the OP gets the Gigabyte 900FXA-UD3 (rev4) and it's anything like mine, it won't OC at all. My FX-8350 can't pass the AMD OD stability test or Prime95 with a simple multiplier increase to 23. Even with the CPU VID increased. And when I get the voltage past 1.475v, 4 cores begin to throttle and their multiplier stays at 17. Temps are fine. And this was tried with 2 new FX-8350 CPUs. Yes, Turbo is off.

 

[delaro]

Good place to research O.C on the Gigabyte board.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1023100/official-gigabyte-ga-990fxa-series-owners-thread-club

Did you disable all of these?
AMD CIE Support
C6 Support
AMD K8 Cool&Quiet
AMD APM Master Mode
Core Performance Boost

I was playing around with a FX-6350 and 900FXA-UD3 R4 tonight at a local O.C party and I got it stable with vcore 1.38V @ 4.615mhz Didn't have a FX-8350 on hand to attempt but I see many people have good results.

 

[1405]

Good place to research O.C on the Gigabyte board.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1023100/official-gigabyte-ga-990fxa-series-owners-thread-club

Did you disable all of these?
AMD CIE Support
C6 Support
AMD K8 Cool&Quiet
AMD APM Master Mode
Core Performance Boost

I was playing around with a FX-6350 and 900FXA-UD3 R4 tonight at a local O.C party and I got it stable with vcore 1.38V @ 4.615mhz Didn't have a FX-8350 on hand to attempt but I see many people have good results.

Thanks for the reply. I don't mean to hijack the OP's thread. It just seemed like it was something I should add.

I disabled all those except for AMD APM Master Mode. Actually, I never heard of it and will have to search for it. I've tried voltages all the way up to 1.5v in increments as small as I could. I exchanged my 1st FX-8350 thinking I had a bad CPU. But the 2nd one performs the same. Maybe I have a bad board. I should consider exchanging it for the Asus the OP mentions, maybe?