Amd CPU and Motherboard Advise

Hi
I have narrowed down my cpu and mobo options too:

AMD HDZ965FBGMBOX Phenom II X4 965 - 3.4 Ghz AM3 Black Edition CPU, Retail Packaged //www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-HDZ965FBGMBOX-Phenom-II-965/dp/tech-data/B002SRQ214/ref=de_a_smtd

ASUS M4A87TD EVO - AMD 870 - Socket AM3 - PCI-E 2.0 (x16) - DDR3 2000(OC) - SATA 6Gb/s - SATA RAID - ATX : http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003IAE [...] B003IAEX3Y

Does anyone for see any problems, and what memory would you recommend £40-£50

The build will be used for gaming and audio recording if this helps

Thanks

I would recommend the Zosma 960T for a cpu, same price, but has a chance to unlock to a 6-core processor with BE OC capability.

Next, i would recommend a Asrock 990FX for around another 10e. This will give you the option for SLI and CFX, so no matter what gpu you have, you can piggy-back a second in the future.

Memory is pretty simple, go with an 8GB (2x4) setup and you will have more than enough RAM, at a competitive price to any 4GB (2x2) set. Look for a Kingston, Crucial, GSkill, or Mushkin brand inside your price range, and 1333 or 1600 is plenty of speed for you.

Don't unlock cores. They aren't locked to keep your hand out of the cookie jar, they are locked because they are defective. They tried to make six-cores, and they succeeded only part of the time. But rather than throw all the bad ones out, they keep the ones with four good cores and lock the other two, saving everybody money. Go for stability and get a 6-core out of the box if you need one.

I would just get a 6 core AMD CPU or even the new bulldozer if u have the money

More than 4 cores does not help in gaming at the moment but that will change in the future.

An AMD 900 series chipset AM3+ mobo will run the X4 965 well (or an X6 core also) and also allow you to update to the FX series and probably Piledriver that follows. Based on over 20 years of building high end PCs and using all the major mobo brands I would recommend Gigabyte for performance and reliability. I do not recommend Asus mobos due to RAM sensitivity and lack of reliability IME.

Gigabyte has a full selection of AMD mobos depending on your current needs and future goals.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ame=AM3%2b