Which AMD CPU should I throw on this board?

M

mm622449

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Messages
115
I am buying this board and 8GB of RAM ....


ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS AMD 760G Motherboard


What processor can I put on here right now and get the most bang for my buck? I dont have any crazy need for multiple applications running, just gaming like Battlefield and stuff...


Price ceiling is $200, but would like to spend in the 80-150$ range
 
Also -- video card recommendations also welcome.... lower the price the better..
 
Thanks piotrsama, anyone else have any valuable info for an out of date former techie?
 
weak mobo..Athlon II x3 450 Rana er somethin..Phenom II x2 550-560.Yeah..buy a board with beefier VRMs that are heatsinked next time.
 
Piotrsama said:
$129.99: FX-4300 Vishera 3.8GHz (4.0GHz)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113287

If you want to play BF3, you need a strong GPU. This one may be a bit expensive for your budget, but gives you an amazing bang for your buck.

$239.99: GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418
Click to expand...

Id agree that the FX4300 is probably the best chip for gaming with that board, could probably get by bumping the multiplier up one notch, but not much else.
 
According to http://www.overclock.net/t/946407/amd-motherboards-vrm-info-database your Mobo has a rather anemic VRM circuit.

Something like this should be OK with a mild OC. It's rated at 80W at stock speed, 3.1GHz. I bet you can get to 3.8GHz or so (about 100W) without too much drama.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=798984&CatId=4433

Leave the voltage stock. Power draw goes up quickly as you add V.

During a stress test round, give the mosfets* the 'burned finger test.' Back off the GHz if they get painfully hot. (Be sure to ground yourself to the case first, so you don't ESD the board!)


*The little black chicklets soldered to the board.
 
The motherboard is approved for the FX-4300 and The VRMs should hold up fine as long as the OP does not OC.

If the OP wants to be on the safe side, he should use a top down cooler.

schmuckley said:
weak mobo..Athlon II x3 450 Rana er somethin..Phenom II x2 550-560.Yeah..buy a board with beefier VRMs that are heatsinked next time.
Click to expand...

A little off topic, but

Heatsinks and lots of phases != good VRM design

A 4 phase VRM design without heatsinks can be designed to handle 130 watts without heatsinks, just look at the old ASUS P5B board.
 
A good power supply is more important than phases on the motherboard as far as power regulation is concerned.
 
I wouldn't recommend an FX 4300..It's only a dual-core/dual module thing with worse single-threaded performance than AMD's previous architectures;and really only 2 true cores..notsogood for gaming .
TL:DR
New AMD cpus suck as of right now.
Your board will not handle much power draw, though.So i'd say 4.0 Ghz+ Deneb/Thuban quad/hex would be out of the question.That leaves dual and triple-core Athlon and Phenom IIs.
 
Buy a x6 1045T or an x4 945. It's supported by the board, says so right in the link. Both can be gotten for 100 or less, and depending on where you shop, the chip is much less than 100. On the topic of phases, my 880g bargain basement board is a 3+1 and if comfortably supports an x6 in 24/7 use and the vrm sinks are only warm to the touch.

If you're worried about too much wattage, you'd be suprised how low you can get cpu voltage on an AMD chip sometimes. AMD chip stock voltages aren't really an exact science.
 
I think X4 965 for $75?

Then spend the rest of your budget on a video card. I just bought a 7770 for $70 for my wifes brother after $30 MIR. I think you can get 7850-7870 for sub $200, which, IMHO is the best bargain around right now.
 
Given the board supports 125 watts:
Go for any of these:
X4 965
FX4300
FX6300

Most games rely purely on high clock speed, but Battlefield and games released in the future will love having extra cores.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top