what gaming motherboard for an Athlon 64x2 6000+

[Sweatdog]

Im looking to buy a gaming motherboard, or mobo+case setup, that i can plug an athlon 64 x2 6000+ into. Needs ATX, needs an AM2 slot. A single PCI-E 16x slot is fine. i have all the other components i need.

What would you suggest? I want something better than average for a mobo. I just dont know what a good mobo brand or type would be, beyond the requirements i listed above.

Thank you!

 

[rambo117]

the 790FX by MSI is an excelant overclocker and has 4 PCIE 16x 2.0 slots.
i like mine
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130136

 

[Sweatdog]

That looks perfect, yet is just a tick more expensive than I am hoping to spend.... but thank you for that rambo, im gona bookmark that link to newegg just in case.

Any other suggestions? Is a normal ATX better for gaming than a micro ATX or should i not be concerned with that?

 

[rambo117]

actually, there is an open box version of that mobo on newegg!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130136R

insanely nice deal if ya ask me. and if you want to, you can eventually upgrade to a quad core or add four graphics cards and run crossfireX

 

[spanner_razor]

the revised 770 series should be nice, if you just want a single graphics card. E.g. the Gigabyte ma-770 ds3 2.0 or ds3p, ds3p should be better futurewise.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128081

but doesn't specify what revision it is and the 1.0 is ok but not great, you want 2.0 if you get that.

 

[rambo117]

but... what if in the near future, he thinks, wow, i should have gotten a mobo with two or maybe four PCIE 16x slots for crossfire(as i did and regretted)

i used to own a biostar 770 and i hated it... very limited in features. the 790FX is the best AMD CPU mobo on the market currently. and quite frankly, you cant beat how CHEAP it is

 

[spanner_razor]

surely the gx is better but anyway if he's worried about the price then we can assume he's not a top shelf gamer so the 770 is the best all rounder as the 780 is a media center model and can't support new chips anyway due to heating issues. Also biostar aren't gigabyte so comparing the two is like comparing caviar and some fish eggs from a dollar tin of tuna

 

[Sweatdog]

thanks guys, its making a bit more sense now. Although im not sure what the revision difference is that you mentioned spanner, i will do my HW on that though.
I suppose i should just pony up the extra money for a mobo that has more slots, but the common problem im seeing with the MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX is that the PCI-express slots are partially blocked by some parts of the mobo,making it hard if not impossible to fit bigger GPUs. Did you have any problem with that rambo?

 

[spanner_razor]

I heard bad things about the MSI boards with higher wattage chips, i.e. the high end phenoms and such. Most of the boards are like that, they will work with single slots cards like the 4850 but not the dual slot variants. I'd go with the gigabyte version of that board with a 700 series southbridge if at all possible. You may have to query them as it may not mention it on the site.

 

[Sweatdog]

I went with the gigabyte board as it was a bit cheaper, and now i wont be tempted to fill up all my expansion slots hehe. I was concerned with the tight fit for GPU's in the MSI board rambo listed also.

Ty both very much for the info, rate ups all around!

 

[rambo117]

well, your money i geuss.
but i have two 3870s(dual slot) in crossfire and have NO issues. Spanner apparently doesnt know what hes talking about when he thinks that the GX version is better. the GX version is a skimmed down version of the FX. just to warn you, the 770 chipset is quite limited, but if your not happy with it, newegg's refund policy is pretty good. (from experience lol)
hope everything works out for you

 

[megamanx00]

That board Rambo suggested is a pretty good board and is one of the lowest priced boards with the 790FX chipset. If you want something a little cheaper you can go with

BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138130

or

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 $124.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128075

 

[megamanx00]

As for the suggestions for boards with the SB750, those really only make a difference when overclocking Phenoms since it changes their tolerances to allow for higher overclocking, but it doesn't seem to make a spit of difference for the Athlon X2s.

 

[spanner_razor]

Maybe not but it adds in more sata ports and added pci lanes, etc. Plus most manufacturers seem to be giving the sb700/750 preferential treatment in terms of bios upgrades which are important for future compatability.