also in such cases, a 125w cpu could be underclocked and undervolted; and some people actually do that even when not needed - just to save power; and similarly, there are undervolters, who run same clockspeed but reduce volts as much as possible.
what's really sad is that there are very soon 95w quad Phenom II's coming.
but in behind all this is the fact that people want cheap mobos, and so the specs get compromised
but people buy these cheap mobos and then oclox them until they break
that creates an rma issue - and oclox is not warranteed - and so we have unhappy customers bad mouthing mobo makers - it becomes an out of control situation
perhaps they don't make a bios cos they don't want the bad press about blow ups; and maybe it's easier or better business to have a few disgruntled people.
but what I don't like is specifications lists that are seriously missing important details
If I see that, I turn the page and move on.
I got burned by a mobo maker once - never again - if I see omissions in spec lists, I am done before it starts.
I am a little disappointed in biostar cos they are fairly cheap mobos but biostar is an old company. they are a well known name and have some fans. this is upsetting cos I can no longer recommend them over some other cheap mobo companies.
A lot of trouble like this happened with some early 780G chipset mobos - but they mostly worked ok; it wasn't so bad. But they did start reinforcing them a lot.
A lot of the difference between a good and bad mobo is in the PWM/mosfet section which is about power handling, multi phase and stuff like that. This is where Asus and Gigabyte tend to be strong for the most part. Also MSI. But these specs are not always easy to find either.
And again, the biggest compromise is in the cheaper mobos, the low end models. They use the cheap components, and they might be the first ones to break. And perhaps they get away with it cos the people that buy them do not know what went wrong, and just let it go. It's hard to diagnose a mobo that quit. But people that know are more discerning and look for the marks of quality. Compromise is ok if you understand what's being compromised.
But the worst is buying on price only, and putting the fat cpu and video in the skinny mobo. and then cheap out on the psu and cooling. and then oclox it. this is a recipe for dead mobo. small wonder some low end boards have a bios that will not allow certain access to some settings re oclox. it's a war zone.
read the specs. and then when you decide you are ready to buy, read the specs for the first time. again. what you see in specs is what you get. you don't get what is not there - cos all those things are selling points, the features and how good they are. compare to the most expensive mobo, and try to see how the price varies. and then research all that to see how important it is. it's a lotta work to make a good choice and get a good deal too.
I like Gigas MA790XT-UD4P. I think it resembles the FX versions; seems to have good power handling. the compromise is the dual PCIe2 slots. one is x16. and that's all I need. in crossfire, they both run at x8x8. which I think is ok too. and if I ever go xfire, it won't be w 4870's. I am debating 4830 or 4850. by the time I decide, they will all be gone. the 4850 is on sale cheap. but that uses more power than the 4830. more power is more heat is more stress on the mobo. is it that serious - maybe not - the 4850 is tempting to me. but so is 4830 in xfire. anyway, that's my world, and I won't be buying for a few months anyway - which means it will all change as the 5800's roll out in the fall. along with the new chipsets. and more cpu's, including a quad Athlon II. it's endless endlessly.
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