Advise to AMD Mobo please.

[alexlyf]

I am shopping for my new game rig components and the buying list as follow:

CPU: AMD opty 165
Mobo: ???
RAM: 2 x 1 GB stick
Video: Asus 7900GT

I guess the rest is not vital to the game performance. I plan to OC the system and was looking for the DFI LP NF4 U mother board. Too bad it seems the board is out of stock in my region (no Newegg over this side of the world) and I need to look for an alternative.

1. Any recommendation of mobo that cost less than $130?

2. I am also confused by the RAM timing thingy and need recommondation for one if I am to overclock my system sucessfully. Ideally they don't cost more than $210. I don't feel like spending too much on DDR beucase it will die with my system in 3 years.

Thanks for any help in advance.
Cheers,
Alex

 

[Ultraviolet]

For the mobo i would go for an ASUS board as they are very stable and are one of the best boards on the market, try the Asus A8N-SLi series (socket 939) 😉
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/ASUS_Socket_939.html

As for the RAM, Corsair all the way! Look for the XMS series which are very good. 2x1gb sticks too 😉
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Corsair_65.html

Note: OCUK can be expensive sometimes, so shop around, but they do usually know their stuff and only show good components 😉

 

[alexlyf]

Thanks for the advise Ultraviolet.

I think the Asus A8N-SLi (no Deluxe or Premium, they just cost too much for my budget) is what I am looking for. Too bad I cannot find the DFI LP U over here.

About the RAM, if I get the Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2 (MY-079-CS), will it hammer my overclocking ability bad? It's not easy to find the 165 Opty and I don't want to waste its potential, but the Corsair 3500LL is kind of out of my budget.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[mitch074]

Corsair ram is solid; if you want to try an overclock, use their stock settings, and if you experience instability, decrease their timings - it should help greatly.

I second the Asus motion: I tried some MSI and Gigabyte stuff, and while MSI is a worthy contender, Asus does make the most stable and enduring hardware.

 

[alexlyf]

Some more questions, guys.

1. The Asus mobo does not say it support the Athlon 64 X2, so will it support my dual core Opty 165?

2. Is it important to have SATA2 support? The Asus board seems only support SATA. (Ok I am not sure what I am talking about here, the mobo manual is confusing me)


Cheers,
Alex

 

[mitch074]

if it's a 939 socket, it should support the X2 and 939 Opterons. If it's a 754, there's no way it could.

Strange, as I just got an Asus (Micro-ATX) and it did cite X2s and Optys.

 

[alexlyf]

Thanks for the answer Mitch074.

I am reading the downloaded manual of the mobo. It doesn't mention anything about manually changing the clock speed. May be I don't understand the mobo completely but does it really allow you to overclock your processor?

Cheers,
Alex

 

[mitch074]

If it's the 'plain' A8N-SLi, then it says:

Overclocking Features

AI NOS(Non-delay Overclocking System)
AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner)
ASUS PEG Link for single/dual graphics cards

Precision Tweaker:
- vDIMM: 9-step DRAM voltage control
- vCore: Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.0125 increment
- SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection): allowing FSB tuning from 200MHz up to 400MHz at 1MHz increment
- PCIe Frequency: allowing PCIe frequency from 100MHz up to 200MHz at 1MHz increment

Fixed PCIe/PCI/SATA frequencies.
ASUS PEG Link for single/dual graphics cards
ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)

Now, I'll have a look at my mobo's BIOS screen. Tell me if you have an AMIbios, and I'll try to give you a more detailed answer.