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Motherboard Choice

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tedbrown007   09-25-2009 at 04:53:34 AM

Im building a new rig, and Im not entirely sure what MB I want to buy. Right now I am looking at
BIOSTAR TA790GXE
and
ASUS M4A78T-E

Both come in combo deals at newegg.ca with the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition, and both are a good deal. The BIOSTAR board however will save me about $50 in the combo, and I can probably get more DDR2 RAM for less than DDR3 (currently looking at buying 4GB for $75)

So, my question is, should I take the BIOSTAR combo and most likely save money, or should I spend the extra money on the Asus and DDR3? My only concern with buying the BIOSTAR and DDR2 RAM is whether I will need to update it in the near future. Oh yes, and I was wondering, will there be a significant difference in performance between these boards? (they do have the same chip sets)
Sorry about the long question, but I really appreciate any help!
Thanks!

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tedbrown007   09-25-2009 at 05:14:23 AM
- 0 +

Ok, I have recalculated.
With the Asus and 4gb of ddr3 1333 it would only be 5 dollars more expensive than the BIOSTAR with 8gb of DDR2 1333

So, I guess the main question now, is should I go with the newer and possibly better tech of the Asus? or will the performance be better with the extra 4 gb of ram?

Reply to tedbrown007
pinkeyes   09-25-2009 at 08:19:21 PM
- 0 +

Personally, I'd go with the AM3 DDR3 board. 4gb of DDR3 ram is enough, you won't see any improvements at 8gb DDR2 as those extra 4gigs are just excess (besides unzipping huge file folders and such).

If anything, in gaming and most apps, 4gigs of DDR3 will be faster than the 8gigs of DDR2 because of the higher memory throughput.

I suppose the argument could be made for a ramdisk, but it's not something i'd consider

Reply to pinkeyes
zipzoomflyhigh   09-25-2009 at 08:24:39 PM
- 0 +

Theres no such thing as DDR2-1333.

Definately go with the DDR3 platform. You dont need 8gb of ram and with the AM3 platform you will have a better upgrade path. Even if AMD changes sockets, you will be able to use your DDR3 on a future motherboard. AMD's next processors wont have DDR2 controllers so you will be buying memory again.

Reply to zipzoomflyhigh
pinkeyes   09-25-2009 at 08:28:31 PM
- 0 +

While I agree with all the advice given zip,

could you supply a link that states the next processors won't have a DDR2 controller?

Reply to pinkeyes
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