Could I overclock an AMD FX-6300 using an Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard?

[diveze]

Hello! I am building my first gaming PC and I was wondering if you can overclock an AMD FX-6300 using an Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard. The motherboard was pretty cheap and had decent reviews. I was not 100% intending on overclocking but it would be nice if I could. Also, I will probably get a Hyper 212 Evo for a cooler. And, is spending a bit of extra money on an AMD FX-8350 worth it? Thanks in advance!

 

[damric]

The LE is cheap because it comes with a very weak VRM, not suitable for safe overclocking.

 

[diveze]

The LE is cheap because it comes with a very weak VRM, not suitable for safe overclocking.

Okay. Well I would like to livestream my xbox on twitch via capture card and maybe record and play light games like minecraft, LoL, CS:GO... etc. Is it worth returning my motherboard and getting a better one and overclock it or not? Also my case has USB 3.0 headers and that motherboard does not. However, I have found an attachment that adds the port I need.

 

[damric]

Is your FX-6300 also returnable?

The reason I ask is that it's simply not worth it to bother with 4 year old outdated processor when you can get a Skylake i3-6100 for just as cheap, and it is much faster at stock than anything AMD overclocked, and you can overclock the i3 too.

 

[diveze]

Is your FX-6300 also returnable?

The reason I ask is that it's simply not worth it to bother with 4 year old outdated processor when you can get a Skylake i3-6100 for just as cheap, and it is much faster at stock than anything AMD overclocked, and you can overclock the i3 too.

I haven"t even ordered the FX-6300 yet. I ordered the motherboard on amazon so I should be able to return that. I think I will go for the Skylake i3-6100. What king of motherboard would you recommend for it in order to overclock? I would like it to be a decent price but also a great motherboard with usb 3.0 availability. Also, is g.skill ares series 8gb 1600 Mhz good enough?

 

[damric]

Is your FX-6300 also returnable?

The reason I ask is that it's simply not worth it to bother with 4 year old outdated processor when you can get a Skylake i3-6100 for just as cheap, and it is much faster at stock than anything AMD overclocked, and you can overclock the i3 too.

I haven"t even ordered the FX-6300 yet. I ordered the motherboard on amazon so I should be able to return that. I think I will go for the Skylake i3-6100. What king of motherboard would you recommend for it in order to overclock? I would like it to be a decent price but also a great motherboard with usb 3.0 availability. Also, is g.skill ares series 8gb 1600 Mhz good enough?

You will want one of the ASRock Z170 boards that advertize "SKY OC" since only those have the special BIOS available for overclocking i3s. If you haven't ordered RAM yet, get some DDR4. If you already have DDR3, then you can use the the special DDR3 board.

Example:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Pro4S ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $282.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-21 16:16 EST-0500

(DDR3 version if you already have some):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Gaming K4/D3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($130.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $255.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-21 16:13 EST-0500

 

[diveze]

Is your FX-6300 also returnable?

The reason I ask is that it's simply not worth it to bother with 4 year old outdated processor when you can get a Skylake i3-6100 for just as cheap, and it is much faster at stock than anything AMD overclocked, and you can overclock the i3 too.

I haven"t even ordered the FX-6300 yet. I ordered the motherboard on amazon so I should be able to return that. I think I will go for the Skylake i3-6100. What king of motherboard would you recommend for it in order to overclock? I would like it to be a decent price but also a great motherboard with usb 3.0 availability. Also, is g.skill ares series 8gb 1600 Mhz good enough?

You will want one of the ASRock Z170 boards that advertize "SKY OC" since only those have the special BIOS available for overclocking i3s. If you haven't ordered RAM yet, get some DDR4. If you already have DDR3, then you can use the the special DDR3 board.

Example:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Pro4S ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $282.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-21 16:16 EST-0500

(DDR3 version if you already have some):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Gaming K4/D3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($130.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $255.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-21 16:13 EST-0500

I have already bought this ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546&cm_re=g.skill_ares_series-_-20-231-546-_-Product . Should I have gotten different ram like that Ripjaws V? Also, Is that the best cheap motherboard option for me to go with? Could I go with this one? http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gab150md3hddr3 And my case and everything else is blue. It would be nice for it all to be blue but to be honest I really want a great gaming pc 😛

 

[damric]

The problem with going with the B150 chipset is that you lose Hyperthreading, which is effectively half of the performance of the i3. MJ's article really sums it up if you want to read over it:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/overclocking-with-non-z170-chipsets,30962.html

So basically, if you want to keep your DDR3, go with the board I selected above. As you can see, it's about a $50 premium over the Z170 boards that use DDR4. Also, only ASRock fully unlocks i3 overclocking.

If you can return your DDR3. I would say get the first group of stuff I listed as it is a much better value.

A Skylake i3 in the hands of an overclocker is by far the best value for anything in that price range +/- $50.

 

[NOT_PROVIDED_KID]

Hello! I am building my first gaming PC and I was wondering if you can overclock an AMD FX-6300 using an Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard. The motherboard was pretty cheap and had decent reviews. I was not 100% intending on overclocking but it would be nice if I could. Also, I will probably get a Hyper 212 Evo for a cooler. And, is spending a bit of extra money on an AMD FX-8350 worth it? Thanks in advance!

YES I HAVE ONE