Gigabyte f2a88xm-ds2 is a good motherboard for overclocking athlon x4 860

[Dragon2633]

I wanted to know if this motherboard is good for overclocking an athlon x4 860k. Also I wondering if the gtx 960 has problem with this motherboard because of dual graphics

 

[ZENprime]

Probably no . it is not good motherboard , it only has 3+2 no heatsink VRM which is low for overclocking , your best chance is having fans that blow air into the VRMs , it's just overloading the board much .... try to get a board with heatsink VRM at least .

GTX 960 will work fine with that board and processor , x4 860k has no integrated graphics .

 

[Dragon2633]

What is the heatsinks ????
And why are so important ???

 

[ZENprime]

What is the heatsinks ????
And why are so important ???

In computers , a heatsink is a cooler for any chip , for example : CPU heatsink / southbridge heatsink / VRM heatsink

VRM are the chips that provide power to the CPU , these chips get hotter when the CPU require more power , they are also rated for specific amount of power they can deliver to the CPU before it get too hot .


More VRM = better power delivery to the CPU = you can overclock your CPU without fear of the VRM being hot .

A vrm heatsink cools down the VRM chips making them less hot = making them able to deliver more power to CPU

with no heatsink the VRM gets hot which means you can't overclock on your CPU , if you did overclock without a motherboard that has many VRM or has VRM heatsink , the VRM will blow up ..

 

[Dragon2633]

So if I got it: with this motherboard I will not be able to overclocking th cpu
Right???

 

[ZENprime]

So if I got it: with this motherboard I will not be able to overclocking th cpu
Right???

it is not 100% safe but you can overclock on it , it will depend on your room temperature , to be safe get a fan and install it above the VRM to help cool it .
Don't forget to buy a good CPU cooler too .
Did you buy it ? You could say your budget and get a good overclocking motherboard (if available)

 

[Dragon2633]

So if I got it: with this motherboard I will not be able to overclocking th cpu
Right???

it is not 100% safe but you can overclock on it , it will depend on your room temperature , to be safe get a fan and install it above the VRM to help cool it .
Don't forget to buy a good CPU cooler too .
Did you buy it ? You could say your budget and get a good overclocking motherboard (if available)

I don't have bought anything yet
But I would like a motherboard around 70$

 

[ZENprime]

So if I got it: with this motherboard I will not be able to overclocking th cpu
Right???

it is not 100% safe but you can overclock on it , it will depend on your room temperature , to be safe get a fan and install it above the VRM to help cool it .
Don't forget to buy a good CPU cooler too .
Did you buy it ? You could say your budget and get a good overclocking motherboard (if available)

I don't have bought anything yet
But I would like a motherboard around 70$

Asus A88X-PLUS is great for overclocking , but it's around 85$ / 4+2 VRM with heatsink
Gigabyte GA-F2A88X-D3H is probably good for overclocking 75$ / 4+2 VRM with heatsink

Asus has the best quality in the VRM , Gigabyte is good too .
Remember you need a good cooler for overclocking + overclocking depends on luck getting a good processor chip

 

[Dragon2633]

I will probably buy the f2a88xm-ds2 and if is not possible I will not overclocking the cpu.
However take a loot at the whole system :
Cpu: athlon x4 860k
Motherboard: gigabyte f2a88xm-ds2
Memory: Kingston 2x4gb 1866mhz
Hdd: seagate 7200rpm 6.0gb/s 1tb
Gpu: msi gtx 960 oc 2gb
Psu: 550w

 

[Dragon2633]

Please tell me your opinion about my system

 

[ZENprime]

I will probably buy the f2a88xm-ds2 and if is not possible I will not overclocking the cpu.
However take a loot at the whole system :
Cpu: athlon x4 860k
Motherboard: gigabyte f2a88xm-ds2
Memory: Kingston 2x4gb 1866mhz
Hdd: seagate 7200rpm 6.0gb/s 1tb
Gpu: msi gtx 960 oc 2gb
Psu: 550w

looks great , change the 960 into R9 380 card for better graphics performance
What model is the 550w PSU ?
Best brands are XFX / Seasonic
Please always try to get any tier 1 or teir 2 PSU in this list :
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

 

[snapon]

Asus A88X-PLUS is great for overclocking , but it's around 85$ / 4+2 VRM with heatsink
Gigabyte GA-F2A88X-D3H is probably good for overclocking 75$ / 4+2 VRM with heatsink

Asus has the best quality in the VRM , Gigabyte is good too .
Remember you need a good cooler for overclocking + overclocking depends on luck getting a good processor chip

How about the M-ATX version Asus A88XM-PLUS, Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H, any VRM heatsinks ? Looks like only got a chipset heatsink for each board.