motherboard choices

[gyrene81]

i'm in the process of building a new game system...going with amd this time and i already have the processor...not going to even look at a retail box.

what i'm looking for is a full size atx mobo with at least 4 memory slots, am3 socket (not am2 or am3+), 1 pci-e2.0 x16 slot, no onboard graphics, onboard sound chip, network interface optional. under $100 usd.

i'm torn between gigabyte and asus...seems both are getting good reviews from builders but, i'm looking for long term reliability...don't want to be stuck 3 years down the road with something that isn't supported anymore.

here are the 2 motherboards i initially thought would fill my needs:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036Z65EG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ICWAV4/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

but i would like some opinions from others who have built their own systems...

[TequilaChaser]

Heya Gyrene,

I would suggest the ASUS one:  ASUS M4A87TD/USB3

it is just one ( or two ) step lower than the ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3  that I chose for my new build, I picked this one because of the Newer NB 890FX  and better Onboard Sound (and ability for (2) ATI VC's in Crossfire )

one interesting note I came across was I hit that True Core unlocker button/switch the other day and my Phenom II 975 X4 immediately went from the factory 3.6GHz to 3984MHz and I was not doing any tweaking or overclocking or Turbo stuff ( Trubo Clocker/Key or whatever it is )


here is a comparasion link from newegg:
( I included your 2 choices, and I included the EVO and the MB I got that I mentioned above )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%2050001314&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=22%7C13-131-655%5E13-131-655-TS%2C13-131-699%5E13-131-699-TS%2C13-131-647%5E13-131-647-TS%2C13-128-431%5E13-128-431-TS


hope this might help..... Good Luck

edit: according to some AMD/ATI forums and websites... the AM3 will work both backward compatible & forward compatible with AM2/AM2+  and AM3+ ( the new Bulldozers soon to come ). all that is needed will be a BIOS update.......


TC

[cattb]

One thing might want to watch, if I remember correct. Depending on the cpu you have, the memory controller may not support the higher clock speeds of the newer RAM. Been awhile since I have been to AMD websight things may have changed.

[gyrene81]

thank you very much for the recommendation tc...i think it will very well be worth the extra $6 for the ASUS M4A87TD EVO mobo...i even went so far as to double check cpu compatibility for it and it's a shoe in for the cpu i bought.

and thank you cattb...seems there could be an issue and if you hadn't brought it up, i would have made a bad choice in memory speed for the cpu model i have.

[Ghosth]

2 years ago I'd of said the Asus, now I would say the Gigabyte.

Just been hearing about more people with problems with Asus boards than those with Gigabyte.

[Noir]

I own a M4A79XTD EVO with a Phenom II X4 975 on top of it...very satisfying for what I do.

[gyrene81]

2 years ago I'd of said the Asus, now I would say the Gigabyte.

Just been hearing about more people with problems with Asus boards than those with Gigabyte.

ya i know what you mean ghost...asus has some serious ups and downs...what i've been seeing is problems on the nforce chipset/amd cpu combinations and there is no real rhyme or reason to it...for this build i'm going strictly ati/amd and see if i can avoid any issue.

[ebfd11]

I don't know if price is a factor but this is the motherboard i have in my rig right now and I love it.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5083737&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE

[gyrene81]

I don't know if price is a factor but this is the motherboard i have in my rig right now and I love it.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5083737&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE

you got an amd processor to work on that board?       

[BaldEagl]

If I were going for a higher end board I might consider ASUS but Gigabyte seems to dominate the lower end of the price spectrum in terms of features and user satisfaction.  I'd lean toward Gigabyte if I were you but you have to make sure whatever memory you put in it is on the compatibility list for that board on their web-site.

[Spikes]

Gigabyte all the way.

[ebfd11]

you got an amd processor to work on that board?       

WHOOPS my bust I didn't read the OP fully.

[usvi]

Gigabyte all the way.

+1 

[guncrasher]

http://www.1800tequila.com/age_gate.php  try this it will make any processor work on any mobo.

semp

[Pigslilspaz]

I have the Gigabyte one, but for Intel, 1366 socket.