AMD recommendation-RAM CPU MOTHERBOARD

[Rocketman122]

Hello everyone.

currently I have
Q6600 lapped true120
evga 780iFTW
4gb ram
evga GTX660

I need to upgrade the ram cpu and motherboard. I know the hierarchy in intel but know nothing about AMD. where can I see the list of cpu hierarchy for AMD

basically just want
-possible SLI in the future
-USB 3
-ESATA
-firewire (not critical but can add it via pci card)
-thunderbolt? even possible? (but not critical)
-2 year warranty, 3 years better and more important.

Id like to use the TRUE120 cooler on the new parts so will need a mount for that.

budget-not much-APRX

$110 for CPU
$100 for motherboard
$$50 for ram 4/6/8GB not really sure what it takes.


Please dont recommend intel. I want to support AMD. first time AMD and want to try it out. absolutely no intel recommending/persuading please

thank you for your time

 

[BUnit1701]

I would say save up an extra $100 at least, to gain any ground on that Q6600 your going to need to go AM3+, and your going to want to spend more than $100 dollars on the motherboard if you want it to last.

 

[denis280]

What OS will you be running.

 

[Rocketman122]

I would say save up an extra $100 at least, to gain any ground on that Q6600 your going to need to go AM3+, and your going to want to spend more than $100 dollars on the motherboard if you want it to last.

No, cant. thats my budget. dont believe in buying $200+ motherboards anymore. or even $150. I had the asus striker ii formula and that was just a waste of money for my needs. now I have this POS asus board that cost me $60 and it lasted more than my evga 780i FTW which had a stupid mosfet chip come undone and had to be sent in for replacement under warranty.

I dont believe that paying more means better quality. features yes, but a $100 MB is more than fine for my needs of gaming and PS work and video watching.

If I can do it fine on my current setup then no doubt what ill buy will only be better.


WIll be using XP or W7. I have both. I do have an SSD but I really dont like W7 and will have the SSD with W7 and another HDD with XP.

was thinking for cpu I would go with the fx-6300?

 

[BUnit1701]

No, cant. thats my budget. dont believe in buying $200+ motherboards anymore. or even $150. I had the asus striker ii formula and that was just a waste of money for my needs. now I have this POS asus board that cost me $60 and it lasted more than my evga 780i FTW which had a stupid mosfet chip come undone and had to be sent in for replacement under warranty.

I dont believe that paying more means better quality. features yes, but a $100 MB is more than fine for my needs of gaming and PS work and video watching.

If I can do it fine on my current setup then no doubt what ill buy will only be better.


WIll be using XP or W7. I have both. I do have an SSD but I really dont like W7 and will have the SSD with W7 and another HDD with XP.

was thinking for cpu I would go with the fx-6300?

I understand the sentiment, but when speaking about socket AM3+, one has to remember that FX series CPUs run REALLY hot. To get appropriate cooling, you have to spend more money. You could possibly get by attaching aftermarket heat sinks to the VRMs on a cheaper board, but IDK how mod friendly you are.

 

[Rocketman122]

I understand the sentiment, but when speaking about socket AM3+, one has to remember that FX series CPUs run REALLY hot. To get appropriate cooling, you have to spend more money. You could possibly get by attaching aftermarket heat sinks to the VRMs on a cheaper board, but IDK how mod friendly you are.

Thanks for the quick reply Yeah no problem modding. disassembled my 9800GTX many times to clean it from dust and regoop the thing. also lapped my TRUE120. so pretty comfortable with those stuff.

Im not an expert but have no problem getting hands on. and excuse my dumbassness but VRAMS..? those are on the gpu, no? do you mean that the heat from the cpu will dissipate over to the gpu and heat that up? or the mosfet chips that sit on the left of the socket (between the i/o ports and socket) sorry not sure why a better MB is what ill need. trying to understand so you need to dumb it down a bit for me please.

 

[BUnit1701]

Yes, I am refering to the VRMs on the motherboard next to the CPU socket. Thsee are vital for feeding your CPU. The FX Series run hot and eat lots of electricity. To properly feed them, you will need a strong VRM setup, and it is advisable to have cooling on them. More expensive motherboards will have more 'phases' and the VRMs will come with heatsinks on them. As I said, a less expensive motherboard will be fine so long as it has enough phases and you apply your own heatsinks.

 

[Rocketman122]

Yes, I am refering to the VRMs on the motherboard next to the CPU socket. Thsee are vital for feeding your CPU. The FX Series run hot and eat lots of electricity. To properly feed them, you will need a strong VRM setup, and it is advisable to have cooling on them. More expensive motherboards will have more 'phases' and the VRMs will come with heatsinks on them. As I said, a less expensive motherboard will be fine so long as it has enough phases and you apply your own heatsinks.

Im looking at different mobos (tired of asus, and evga, and dont like MSI, so the only familiar is gigabyte):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...14&name=AM3%2b

and all the ones im looking at have vrams coolers. I dont think Ill be OC the cpu. if anything, just a bit. why wouldnt the ones up to $100 be ok? im trying to understand. if the board says it handles AM3 then it should be ok, no? otherwise, they shouldnt sell it. not looking to get a high OC. maybe just a bit. im not OC my GPU currently.

Ive OC my Q6600 to 3.6 without issues but currently run it at 2.4 stock and its ok speed wise. just want something a bit better. maybe a 20% increase. I can just oc q6600 and get a boost but its time to upgrade. will keep the parts for emergency situations.

 

[Seba]

With AMD you have two paths now (taking into account only the latest generations in each path):
- Socket AM3+ motherboards
- Socket FM2+ motherboards

FM2+ motherboards are more up-to-date, while AM3+ motherboards are somewhat obsolete.

Chipsets:
For AM3+ motherboards: AMD 9-series chipsets (970, 990X or 990FX).
For FM2+ motherboards: AMD A88X chipset.

Regarding CrossFire support in the chipsets:
- with 990X, 990FX (for AM3+) and A88X (for FM2+).

Regarding SLI support in the chipsets:
- with 990X and 990FX, but also depends on the motherboard.

USB 3.0
- Since AMD list only USB 2.0 capabilities for 9-series chipsets (in fact for the SB950 southbridge), but there are motherboards with 9-series chipsets and USB 3.0, I guess that USB 3.0 is provided by 3rd party chips.
- A88X has native USB 3.0.

Good processor choices (neither has integrated graphics - not needed anyway in your case, since you have a graphics card):
- For AM3+ motherboard: AMD FX-6300 (6 core, or 3 modules).
- For FM2+ motherboard: AMD Athlon X4 760K (cheaper than FX-6300, but only 4 cores, or 2 modules).

One AMD module includes two cores, which share the L2 cache (there are also other shared things per module) .

 

[BUnit1701]

The Gigabyte 970 boards are probably your best choice, but be aware that they are going to lack SLi support (may be possible with hacked drivers, but wont be certified by nVidia.) and will be x16/x4 on the dual PCI-E slots. From a reliability standpoint (my primary concern) the D3P, UD3P, and UD3 would all be excellent, with UD3 being the absolute best in terms of cooling.

 

[BUnit1701]

For SLi support, this ASRock board is also an option.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157262

 

[schmuckley]

For AM3+,The CHV is the only option,IMO.

tbh..I'd wait until Feb when Kaveri comes out;then you might get some good performance while staying within your budget.