870 vs 880 vs 890gx chipset

H

Howie

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 24, 2009
Messages
230
I know there have been threads on this, but the prices are pretty much equal these days. So is there a reason not to get an 880 based board? I am thinking of doing an AMD build for the first time for my gf and I do have a discrete graphics card for her.

I've read comments about the 870 boards being better overclockers because of the lack of integrated graphics, but I haven't read anything confirming this.

Alternatively, what about the 890g boards? It's a little bit more money.
 
They are pretty much all the same +- a few features like the integrated gfx and what not.

I guess you just find a motherboard that meets your demands, and get it.
 
I believe the 890 series has more PCIE lanes for like quad crossfire (true quad, not 2x dual gpu)
The 880 will do an 16x or 8x+8x

I've also heard about the lack of IGP giving better o'cing results but have yet to see proof.
 
My MSI 890GXM has seen 4.4 ghz with a 965BE no problems. The 965BE in my old MSI 790 FX GD70 couldn't get past 3.9ghz to save it's life. So I would say as long as you have the onboard graphics disabled it should not be an issue. The 800 series chipsets do pretty well in that department with or without onboard graphics. I prefer my 955 as it seems to run a bit more stable though.
 
Howie said:
I know there have been threads on this, but the prices are pretty much equal these days. So is there a reason not to get an 880 based board? I am thinking of doing an AMD build for the first time for my gf and I do have a discrete graphics card for her.

I've read comments about the 870 boards being better overclockers because of the lack of integrated graphics, but I haven't read anything confirming this.

Alternatively, what about the 890g boards? It's a little bit more money.
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the 870's are a mixed bag some 870's are really 770's which do overclock much better then the 780/790 chipset but the 880/890's overclock even better.

if your building a minimal system where you dont plan to run anything high end like crossfire or SLI. then the 880G is by the far the best choice to go. the gigabytes do support the x6's if you ever decided to go that route(stay away from MSI 880G boards if you ever plan to go with an x6).

if you plan or think you will ever use crossfire then obviously the 890GX or 890FX boards are the better option to go with. just buy something that fits within your budget and what you are planning to build, all the chipsets are good. some have more benefits then others and some have less but they all support sata 6Gbps and usb 3.0.
 
I went with the Gigabyte 890GX because it had HS on the VRMs and I figured having an IGP was a good back up. I have noticed only minimal difference in OC between GX and FX. If you go witha 880 or 870 I would get HS on VRM and check out a review of the board. A few boards have had issues. I don't think you could go wrong with the gigsbyte boards though.
 
Thanks guys. I ended up getting the Gigabyte 870a. I wanted to get the 890, but just couldn't justify the extra costs.
 
If you are going to OC, look into some cooling for the VRMs. Gigabyte boards haven't had the issues that some of the MSI boards have had, but it really is a good idea any way. Enjoy a good board!
 
Howie said:
Thanks guys. I ended up getting the Gigabyte 870a. I wanted to get the 890, but just couldn't justify the extra costs.
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Just thought I'd give you a heads up. I have the same board and I discovered that it does not like 4 sticks of memory. I've seen online where other owners have discovered the samething. Had to get two sticks of 4GB to get the system to work.
 
Hi guys,

Is GIGABYTE GA-890XA-UD3 good mobo?

I'm fed up with Asus tech support and I might not go for RMA of my current board, as a result I might give a Gigabyte a try.… I’m planning on using single GTX570 (o/c if possible) and 965 @ 3.8Ghz or higher. (please see my sig for specs)….

Due to the length of GTX570 and Gigabyte SATA layout I’m limited to use full ATX…. Since I’m not rolling dice on getting DOA mobo from retailer online,
I’m limited to my local stores. If this is a bad choice, please help me to chose one from this store and this one.

TIA
 
I haven't heard much about that model, but it looks ok. The GA-890GPA-UD3 has been great for me. Stable, good clocks and lots of otions. If you don't need IOMMU I think the 890GX will work for you. I like the IGP so I can run the board even if something goes wrong with MY VGA card.
 
Good board. And if your buying local, any DOAs or problems can be taken care of quickly. I'm not sure why you would feed ASUS more of your money if your not happy with their service though. ????
 
I was just comparing it with Gigabyte.... :p

The price difference between GA-890GPA and the one I listed above is very tiny... Recently there weresome negative feedback on NE on 890GPA, since you are the owner do I know why?

Is ok to buy 2 x 2Gb for now (tight budget) and add another 2 x 2Gb in the future? or is it always a bad idea to mix match pairs...?

Thanks so much for your help.
 
RAM is at some of the best prices right now. I hear ya on tight budget though. Some have said RAM prices are to go up over the coming months.
It has always been my practice to use the least amount of dimms when going for higher memory clocks, puts less stress on IMC. Running 4 dimms at 1333 hasn't been an issue, but I currently run 2x4gb. It's always a good practice to use RAM either from the QVL or a model that you know someone else runs successfully. Here is the GA-890GPA product site for version 2.1 board. On the upper right hand side is supported memory list. Those are guaranteed to work, but many others will as well. If any more questions, let me know. I'll give you my opinion.
 
Thanks,

Is there advantage of going 890gx vs. 880g? I don't think I'll go SLI, since my CPU will be a bottleneck. I'm sure even Single GTX570 is pushing it.

As for memory I'm thinking about going either with 4Gb or 8G Mushkin Silverline

Please advise...
 
Hey, sorry I didn't see your post earlier. There isn't much difference between 880g and 890g. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is IGP is clocked faster on the 890. You will not be able to use SLI as that is a Nvidia tech and not supported on AMD chipsets. Only Crossfire works on AMD chipsets. There are a couple of boards out that support SLI, but it's not anything I would consider.
I would suggest looking at boards that have VRM cooling or add heat sink if it doesn't come stock.
I'm not 100% on Mushkin Silver line, but I think they are compatable. I have Gskill 2x4gb 1600 cas9, but their 1333 line works also.
 
I don't really care about IGP (other than backup).... and thanks for the SLI tip :eek:

So is there a benefit going Gigabyte 790x/890gx over Asus EVO 880G (listed above)? It is $10 more for 790x and $20 for 890gx?

As for memory I'll go with Mushkin (low profile heatsinks) and good reviews. I'm buying items locally in case of DOA...

Please advise ;-)
 
I would stay with 800 series chipset. That ASUS is a good board, as long as the PCI and PCIe slot arrangement is to your liking, I think you'll be good to go.
 
Hope it goes well. Post back if you get the time. I always like to hear how builds turn out.
 
I'm still wating for local stores to post week/weekend sales this Friday....

It looks like I'll opt for 4Gb (2x2GB) sine I'm not doing any vidoe editing/photo work. As for mobo I was even considering going with this AsRock. However I'm concerned about VRM's placement on this mobo, there is no way to stick any sinks that already have on them... and I would have to order special mosfet sinks (with shipping about $20), which totally kiills going with el cheap mobo.

The Asus support really let me down. They never got back to me with Advance RMA email, after talking to them last Friday. Also the VIP technical request took them a week to reply and this is what I got….
Delay was 7 days, and they don’t even cross reference mobo’s serial numbers, because in the mean time I talk to them over the phone and I’m still waitng for Advance RMA….. very poor technical support…
I don’t know if they were just stalling so I could find another solution myself…. Therefore I don’t know if I should be going with Asus again, but from my understanding Gigabyte is not any better……
However due to limited local selection I might have to go with Asus again (as much as I hate it). Since today computer components lack quality control, I would rather stick with local store for easy exchange in case of DOA…. This is the Asus mobo I might go for, unless one of the higher models price will go down….

Let me know what you think?

And for your pleasure, I did reply to them with my concerns and displeasure how things are going…. It has been one and a half day and I still haven’t see any reply. My mobo is under 3 years warranty and after spending over $5 on toll pay Asus motherboard service… and 2 weeks later I don’t have it fixed and Asus is ignoring me…..


Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.

My name is xxxx and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.

Sorry for the delay due to the error of the mail system.
May I know what the situation now?
Did you update the BIOS to 1801? Could the PC now work well with the new graphic card?

Welcome to refer Troubleshooting & FAQ for ASUS products in ASUS website:
Troubleshooting - http://support.asus.com/troubleshooting/troubleshooting.aspx?SLanguage=en-us
FAQ - http://support.asus.com/faq/faq.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

If you continue to experience issues in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards,

xxxx

ASUS Customer Service
 
I understand your issues with CS. I don't understand why companies don't realize that CS can make a huge difference in customers purchasing decisions. It is not a bad idea to buy local sometimes. If you run into problems the shipping and down time can end up costing more than you save buying online. One problem, as I see you are having, is selection. Most local companies can't afford to stock as many boards due to turn over rate.
If I was to buy one of the two boards you have shown, it would definitely be the 880g.
 
Sorry for the hijack, but what is a decent AM3 board for about $100. Looking at ASRock and Asus mainly, since everyone seems to denounce MSI for the X6 (though mine runs just fine). Specs in sig, plus 2x4gb 1333 ram and am not particularly interested in xfire or sli.

Currently looking at
ASRock 880G
and ASRock 870 Extreme

Any other recommendations are more than welcome.
 
With regards to the upcoming 6990 card, is there any benefit to buying an 880/890 chipset board over an 870 board? This is assuming no desire to use crossfire with two cards, of course.
 
I chose 890gx because of IGP. It allows me to use this board later, when I move on, without an add in graphics card, and it also can come in handy for diagnostics if I have any problems with my current add in card. The only thing I don't get is IOMMU support. That is only supported in the 890FX chipset, and always double check that the manufacturer implemented it too. Just because AMD has it in the chipset doesn't mean they have to provide the functionality. Also most AMD chipset boards support xfire, although only the 890fx support dual x16. Most 870 and 890gx have dual x16 @ x8 speed that can be used for xfire.
A little break down as I see it:
890fx: only one that offers IOMMU, offers up 4 graphics card and ultimate bandwidth for graphics and manufacturers top of the line product, meaning most features and supposed 'quality'
890gx: best IGP that AMD has, dual x16 @ x8 and most if not all features that the fx has
880gx: down clocked IGP, mostly single x16 and usually less features and no VRM cooling
870: dual x16 @ x8 speed, good features but wide range of options, from good cooling/options to bar basic/cheap

I'm sure I missed some stuff, but that was what I noticed.
 
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