Gaming computer upgrade

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Valkyrie

Weaksauce
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Aug 31, 2009
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I am looking to upgrade to a phenom II X4 processor and was looking at the ASUS M4A79XTD EVO and the Crosshair III Formula motherboards. Is the Crosshair worth the price difference, or is the M4A a good enough board for budget gaming. I don't need the fastest gaming rig, but I would like it to be versatile and last for a while.
 
Also, does the M4A79XTD EVO have as good of overclocking abilities as the Crosshair III Formula for moderate overclocking?
 
Before I went AM3, I had this setup:

M4A785-M
Phenon 9950

What I first upgraded was the CPU, I went to the PII 955, and installed it on my MoBo within a BIOS update. Then I upgraded to ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO...

And I didn't really see improvement in Overclocking...I don't think going from a motherboard to another will increase\decrease the ability of getting a better overclock...It's almost all about your chip...Each chip overclocks differently.

But the ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO is a very good motherboard though, as a first AM3 motherboard it is very good...But since the Crosshair III is offering more software to help overclocking that might be just it.

So if you have the money to throw on it, go for it, and it might be an advantage for the future for you might want to SLI\CF.

Tj
 
Right now the EVO is half the price of the Crosshair III. I don't plan on doing any hard overclocking, so the EVO may be good enough for me. I am upgrading from a A8N-SLI Premium, so it is still a big step up.
 
One more thing, does anyone know what version bios Newegg is shipping on the M4A79XTD EVO? I read a post that the new 125W Phenom II X4 965 may not work with the old bios of this board.
 
Unless you are going to use 2 video cards the M4A79XTD EVO is a very good board and it is considerable cheaper. I have the XTD and the M4A79T Deluxe and the XTD is has pretty much the same overclocking ability as the Deluxe. The XTD is a really good board considering it can be bought for around $100 with rebate. It was $95 with rebate when I bought it.

The board I got about a month ago had the 0604 bios.
 
i have the Crosshair III and love it, glad I paid the bit more for it.....dont have anything other than a M3A79-T to compare to...and the Crosshair III destroys that....I have got my Phenom II X2 550 up to 3.8 stable on air with it...temps were near max but it was stock cooler...., if you want to upgrade later, or overclock, i do reccomend it, cant speak on behalf of the EVO tho.
 
W.Feather said:
i have the Crosshair III and love it, glad I paid the bit more for it.....dont have anything other than a M3A79-T to compare to...and the Crosshair III destroys that....I have got my Phenom II X2 550 up to 3.8 stable on air with it...temps were near max but it was stock cooler...., if you want to upgrade later, or overclock, i do reccomend it, cant speak on behalf of the EVO tho.
Click to expand...

I also have the M3A79-T and it is a generation behind the Crosshair or either one of the M4's. For all out overclocking the Crosshair is probably the best, but the M4's are not far behind, if any. If cost is not a concern go with the Crosshair or the M4A79-T Deluxe but if you are looking for a good board that will save you some money go for the XTD EVO. I have both and I wouldn't pay the difference for the Deluxe over the EVO. The EVO actually has more sata ports. I only run 1 video card and have no plans for 2.
 
Thanks all. I think I will be going with the M4 EVO. The Crosshair is just not worth the extra money for me, and the EVO sounds like a good board. I just hope it works with my Phenom 965 125W.
 
Just got my board in from newegg and the version number on it is 1.02G. According to the ASUS site, versions 1.01G and up should work fine with the new Phenom II 965 125W CPU's. I'll post how it works out after the holidays when I get a chance to build the new setup.
 
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