Three AMD 990FX-Based Motherboards For Enthusiasts

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cravin

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Jan 22, 2013
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You might as well get like a 6770 or some cheap video card if you ever decide to do gaming. I saw a used gtx 550 ti on craigs list for like $60.
 

Crashman

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[citation][nom]Onus[/nom]All posts the same? Then it's a spammer; kill it with fire.Fair enough on the price then; if it's that big a jump, then it's a different class of board and doesn't belong in this group.[/citation]Bingo
 

gregturek

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I'd love to hear how memory stability was tested. I've gone through 3 ASUS MBs and 3 different 32GB 8GX4 memory kits and had a number of issues running default speeds while testing with memtest86. It would sometimes take a couple passes but I would often see 1-2 memory errors in overnight testing (4-5 passes). But even 1 memory error in 24 hours is too much.

I must say that ASUS has been great to work with swapping boards, but I've been trying to get a stable config since December and have now bought enough extra parts to build 2 complete systems.
 
I owned both the UD-3 and UD-5 990FX boards and I preferred the UD3. Shouldn't be that much difference, but when it comes to overclocking the UD3 was superior-and that's because it had Load Line Calibration.

At the time, the lack of LLC control limited the overclock due to the terrible Vdroop most of us were experiencing. Had I known about the Vdroop issue prior to purchasing, I probably would have gone with another manufacturer, such as ASUS or Asrock. I think its still worth mentioning now.

A more stable board with tighter voltages means a better overclock. If you're buying a $150 board, its important to know this.
 

Crashman

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[citation][nom]Onus[/nom]It appears to be back down to $160...[/citation]ASRock did that specifically for this article. Really. They said the discount will last until the end of April.
 
Well then, it sounds like those who want a deal on a nice AM3+ board would do well to jump on it. It may well be a poor deal at $190, but at $160 should be a lot more tempting. If I didn't have a Sabertooth...
 

Crashman

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Former Staff
[citation][nom]Onus[/nom]Well then, it sounds like those who want a deal on a nice AM3+ board would do well to jump on it. It may well be a poor deal at $190, but at $160 should be a lot more tempting. If I didn't have a Sabertooth...[/citation]Agreed!
 

billcat479

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I tend to think AMD has been the company doing the innovating!
I guess it's harder for people to see when they never take the long view.

In fact we might not be where we are right now because of AMD. How many times were they bashed when they came out with the 64bit home cpu? A LOT. They were getting flack from Intel, a host of hardware review sites questioned them and only made mention that they kept good 32bit performance. They were constantly questioned and worse when they didn't try to keep up with the insane clock speeds of the then Intel cpu that had to throttle back from overheating while trying to run it that fast while using dell and paying everyone off they could to not buy this Athlon 64 and knew that it didn't matter if they lost the law suits because they just needed to stall for time to pretty much do what AMD did and with the money and rescorces they were able to pass AMD while keeping AMD from making enough money to spend the huge R&D money that is needed to stay in the game. AMD did win that law suit and look how much good it did them.

And AMD is showing more inovation than Intel is with the radical (if not the best current design for yesterday's and maybe a few more months software) their FX design has it's single thread issue but the new one is at least good enough and as we are seeing more and more software going multi threaded their cpu's are looking better all the time. In fact this very site made a note on how their older cpu's with 4 or 6 core's suddenly passed some Intel systems because newer software is starting to make better use of AMD's inovations.
And AMD's APU path is another inovation and if they can merge the cpu/gpu into one unit it may pass Intel again in the future if they get enough money and can hire some smart people to help with the R&D and if you folks give AMD a little more support so they have the much needed money for that huge R&D cost it will help all of us in the long run.

I've seen the benchmarks that show AMD's newest FX8350 doing multi threading it was giving Intel's I5 and even in some tests the I7 a run for it's money. It's a new design, all new designs have growing pains and we just have to hope that they don't try to inovate the Edsel of a cpu because all new stuff if risky. So far I like what AMD is trying to do.
Most people say they are slow when in fact they are very fast but not compared to current Intel cpu's in a lot of the tests but they are no means a slow failed cpu. It almost pains me to see just how close minded people can be and this has nothing to do with being a so called AMD fan boy or a Intel hater, I just look at the long view and cause and effect and read what is going on not just with the hardware but also with the software trends that we will be seeing in the next few months to years and what AMD is doing makes sense. The bad part is they just need more time and they could really use more money but everyone that doens't care if they cut their own throat and bailed on AMD back when they were still putting out good products. They sure were not the best but I have this I7 system and I have a AMD 6 Core and when I had some hardware issues I used the AMD system and found I could play all my games just fine. One or two I had to tone down on the full bells and pretty stuff but I could run all my software.

If there is one truth about AMD, it's that their current 8350 (I think that's their top FX) is going to follow what the older 6 core did and that is it will get faster with age as software is moved over to massive threading and can make use of AMD's radical inovative design that everyone loves to hate.
The only thing Intel is doing is like building Porsche's, they are not inovating in any big way except optimizing transistors and shrinking existing designs so they come out with the new Porsche and we all know what is wrong with Porsche is they never change the body style at all and just put more junk into a 50 year old car body while AMD at least is taking Ferrari's path of trying new stuff that keeps us interested in new systems and boy if AMD hangs up their fab workers and designers we will live in a world of cars that all look the same with no need to break out of the rut because Intel will not want to keep spending huge amounts on new designs when they don't have to.
Is that the kind of world you all want to live in.
This has nothing to do with being this or that fan boy garbage, this i a cold hard glimpse of a future I don't care to see. I'm hoping that
AMD can hang on and bring together what ever their vision is.
 


Innovating on the CPU side yes. Instead of following on power consumption reduction trend. But on the chipset side? Not so much.
 

rojodogg

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What suprised me is how you can get such a different FPS from different MOBO's, I assumed they would be the same or very close due to the same chipsets.
 

jskrypt

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I have had a good experience with ASUS M5897 LE 2.0. and got my FX850 to 4.6 on default uefi bios. I can only imagine what these boards are capable of. Thanks TOM
 

Laxblade

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What About the new "Asus Sabertooth 990FX R2.0" WHERE DOES IT SIT on the Performance table... at a fair price??

along with the FX-8350 Compared to the "Z77 Asus Sabertooth" WITH 3570K MORE EXPENSIVE.

just is there much difference between AMD and INTEL. CHEERS!

Which is the best value for money, "I'm only a casual gamer", not a "compulsive gamer" like so many with

A "GIGABYTE GTX 660 OC CARD 2GB"
 

Laxblade

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I've been buying Intel from 1997-2002, - Then AMD 2002-2006, Then back to Intel 2006-2013.

I'm no fan-boy, but It proves also that the FX-8350 is a decent card for the Amazon UK Price off only £155.00 -:

against the slightly more powerful i7 3770K Costing a whooping £260.00 at Amazon retail boxed price. Thats £105.00 of a difference which could Buy a Classic AMD FX-8350 & 990FX Motherboard, or not too far away...FOR THE PRICE off an i7 3770K. Like I have been buying Intel from 2006 every year, I think my next Project will have to be the new Pile-Driver with the upgraded firmware updates to be released throughout the coming year.. very excited indeed.. I'm only a 'casual gamer' and use the PC for more Labour intensive tasks, like video rendering, and DTP... and the AMD FX-8350 Going by these benchmarks which are always fair at TOMS-HARDWARE, in my opinion is certainly worth the investment together with a "GA 990FXA-UD3" OR "ASUS Sabetooth 990FX R2.0"

FOR a long time I heard nothing but bad press regarding AMD AM3+ Boards, & FX-Piledrivers and bulldozers, however it appears AMD Must have been working hard on their flagship processor, the FX-8350 Which certainly is much cheaper than my intel 3570K which cost me a whooping £177.00 Retail Boxed compared to the AMD-FX 8350 Which is only £155.00 like I said earlier in my post.On Amazon UK.

So, Yes, I will NOT be leaving Intel behind, certainly NOT, but I will invest some cash in an AMD Rig with the "Flagship FX-8350" to give it a Fair crack off the whip.!! and there is NO better time than NOW before "AMD decide to put the prices UP"...

In Amazon the AMD FX-8350 gets nothing But Completely "5 star reviews" thought the whole reviews thread from people or customers who were confirmed purchasers...NOT one Single 4, 3, 2, 1 Star reviews, no, all over "35" 5 Star reviews on Amazon UK website for all to see.. which is amazing, as these are all confirmed purchases by Amazon. So, Im taking no risk or Gamble because I know the new Pile-driver going by reading lots of good reports from some decent Professional websites give it the thumbs up mainly because of the price compared to the Intel i7 3770K which is £105.00 more which is close to the price of the:
Gigabyte GA 990FXA-UD3 motherboard, "which is a Top end piece of equipment".

Amazon UK are doing and offer on the TOP Motherboard by Gigabyte somewhere around £128.50 for the "Golden TOP End"; Gigabyte GA 990FXA-UD5. a price that you will not find elsewhere. So, £155+ £128 and all you need is a decent cooler and drop it into some other Case, and other parts you may have lying around the house.

I have a spare "Zalman Z11 Plus Case" which will do nicely Plus a Spare matching set of DDR3 RAM Sticks too.. together with a power supply I bought for another rig but didn't need to use it, so I have most of the Kit already, just need the AMD CPU and GIGABYTE BOARD. (I Plan to use a spare GT 440 Nvidea GPU) TO GET ME Started, then if I'm happy with the progress I will buy a "GIGABYTE GTX 660 GPU" to match the MOTHERBOARD... I still have a sweet spot for Intel, and that will not change overnight, however at the curent price for an 8 core CPU, I think I will pay my money and take my chance while they are so much, more, cheaper than a 3770K. (Thanks for reading).. Cheers! - LaxBlade
 
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