Am3+ Motherboard Suggestions

uberseb

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Jun 18, 2013
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I'm looking for a very value- based motherboard that is AM3+ compatible, looking for one sub 120. Not an overclocking-enthusiast, just want something that runs, and will last for awhile, as well as being able to use DDR 3 - 1600mhz ram without having to overclock.
 
The Gigabit one Beefcake recommended it rated as the best AM3+ mobo.

Personally though I have had issues with Gigabit stuff and I like MSI so I would get the MSI one myself.
 
Never had MSI.

I've got a 1090T on a Gigabyte and an 8350 on an Asus. The 8350 has stability issues, at stock. The Gigabyte has OC'ed the 1090T nicely, for years, with no problems, not even a single freeze or reboot. For me, I'll be replacing the Asus (M5-88m ?) with a Gigabyte.
 
Gigabyte 990FX-UD3. Its $137 so its a few bucks over your budget but its a bulletproof board that'll handle a lot of abuse and hard to beat for the money.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0055QYKQO
 
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Gigabyte 990FX-UD3. Its $137 so its a few bucks over your budget but its a bulletproof board that'll handle a lot of abuse and hard to beat for the money.
He said he wasn't going to abuse it, though.

The OP didn't say what CPU he plans on running, (or how many PCI slots he wants or SPDIF or anything else), but even my old ga-78lmt-s2p 3.1 runs 125w Phenom x6 fine, and that cost 40 bucks.
 
Yeah but you never know. You might take a notion to try some overclocking and beat on your rig a while. For $37 more, why not buy a whole lot of extra durability for insurance. The motherboard is the foundation of your entire rig not to mention the biggest pain in the ass to swap out. I dont think its a bad idea to buy a beefy motherboard even if youre not planning on overclocking right now. Now if it was my wife and her Facebook machine, I would totally agree with you but since OP is posting on the [H], you never want to dismiss the fact that he might want to hammer on his rig a little in the future and $37 extra for 8+2 power phase and 140 watt CPU capability isnt a bad idea. ;)
 
The best mobo is the one that is defect-free. Keep ordering and returning until you get one.
 
If you aim for a 8XXX CPU be sure to get a board with at least 6+2 or 8+2 VRMs and good cooling.
 
Asus M5A97 R2.0 is ~80 bucks at microcenter on sale (and seems to be permanently on sale), ddr3 1600 without OC, USB 3.0 rear + internal headers, heatsinked VRM's, 3 sys-fan PWM headers. I have one for myself and have been very happy with it.
 
One thing, this board didn't play nice with my Sound Blaster Z (static and the sounds would wave from channel to channel), so I used the onboard sound - which isn't bad. (I have had the board for two days)
 
After the fiasco with creative and their drivers, I turned to Asus Xonar series.

I have a Xonar DX and it is good with 3rd party drivers.
 
I am late to the Party, but I do own a Gigabyte 990FX UD7 (Early Ver 1.0) , ASRock 990FX "Fatal1ty" or Professional (also a early 990FX board), ASRock 990FX Extreme 9, ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R 2.0, and two MSI 990FX G-80 V2 boards.
I thought my Gigabyte had died on me so I replaced it with the ASRock Fatal1ty that was also a problem and RMA'd the ASRock with then worked okay, but even with the latest BIOS it did not like windows 8. Anyway my monitor was causing much of the problem. I built a new machine using the Gigabyte and a FX 8350 and Win 7. Just groovy! The ASRock Fatal1ty replaced an ASUS M5A 78L-M LX Plus board (Mini-ATX, 760G chipset) that board had less features and the Fatal1ty could handle more memory. It works great with FX 4170 and Win 7 also. The ASUS R 2.0 Sabertooth board has a FX 8350 and Win 8.1 and is my mainstay. The Extreme 9 is my Gamer with Win 7, a FX 9370 and a 7990 Video card. Great board. the two MSI G80 V2's are running Win 7 one a FX 8350 and the other the faster FX 4350. The first G80 was DOA but it's replacement and the second one are super. The G80 has THX on-board sound that seems to work well.

I would say an Extreme 9 for an all out performance board and the G-80 for a overal best buy. The G80 is actually more now than when I bought them. I was at $145 but now at $20 more that might make me balk. I think The Gigabyte UD3 is the only thing in the lower price range of $130 that is close. I still think the MSI is overall best.
 
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