Best 790gx mobo for overclocking a PhenomII?

poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
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Hey all i'm debating which 790GX mobo to get for a X3-710 build, and im considering the Biostar, MSI, or Foxconn mobos. For some reason the Gigabyte one is much more expensive where i currently live (japan), and the aforementioned ones are within the same price range & fairly cheap, w/ the Biostar being the cheapest. I'm looking for best overclocker overall. I was considering the Biostar but read some bad user experiences w/ it on the Newegg review pages. I'd like one that could overclock the 710 & handle a 260-80 FSB.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Mar 4, 2009
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why not go with the x3 720 BE? its only ~$20 more and it has an unlocked multiplier, meaning you can drop it into any crap mobo and overclock it without raising the fsb and vcore and not have to worry much about heat and having a good mobo.

I would get this cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103649

and this mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128381

if you have the cash to get a whole am3 system, just get the same gigabyte mobo but that is am3, but youll also need to buy ddr3 ram.
those gigabyte mobos are imo the best, they have UD3 and are the mobo used to break the world record.
 

poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
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thanks redmist, but the 720 is $30 more expensive out here, and the gigabyte is $200 instead of $140/$150 for the Biostar/MSI/Foxconn, so that all adds up for a budget build.:(
 
Mar 4, 2009
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sorry I didn't read all of your original post.
ok heres what I would do, spend extra $30 on the black edition cpu vs spending the extra 50-60 on the mobo.

 

Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
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Originally posted by: Redmist
why not go with the x3 720 BE? its only ~$20 more and it has an unlocked multiplier, meaning you can drop it into any crap mobo and overclock it without raising the fsb and vcore and not have to worry much about heat and having a good mobo.

You still need to raise the Vcore.

I have the Biostar 790GX and have been very happy with it.

 
Mar 4, 2009
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Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: Redmist
why not go with the x3 720 BE? its only ~$20 more and it has an unlocked multiplier, meaning you can drop it into any crap mobo and overclock it without raising the fsb and vcore and not have to worry much about heat and having a good mobo.

You still need to raise the Vcore.

I have the Biostar 790GX and have been very happy with it.

only if you go over 400mghz.

I took my old 5000+BE from stock 2.6 to 3.0 with only changing the multiplier, i ran it like that for about a year on $50 cheap, nforce 560 mobo.
 

cusideabelincoln

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Aug 3, 2008
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I've had pretty good luck with Biostar. I used an nForce 2 board for an Athlon XP and it offered some great overclocking options. And I used an nForce 560 Biostar board for my brother's build and it was also a good overclocker. I was able to up the FSB to 255. Anything over that and Prime would give me an error, even if the system felt stable. Hell, I was more satisfied overclocking on the Biostar boards than I am with my current Gigabyte board - it does not like my RAM and acts crazy when I try to change the timings and speed.
 

poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
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thanks all, investing a little more cash in a 720 sounds like the safest bet, but that $30 can go to a new vid card, which is a long way w/ current video card prices the way they are. Just a couple more questions.

Is it that unrealistic to expect a 790GX mobo to handle a 280fsb for a 710 w/ 13x multiplier? The standard w/ the P45 chipsets, NF750i chipsets, and NF4 chipsets was 350-400 before mobos crapped out.

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: Redmist
why not go with the x3 720 BE? its only ~$20 more and it has an unlocked multiplier, meaning you can drop it into any crap mobo and overclock it without raising the fsb and vcore and not have to worry much about heat and having a good mobo.

You still need to raise the Vcore.

I have the Biostar 790GX and have been very happy with it.



FG can u confirm, the max vcore the Biostar can deliver is 1.32v yea? is that enough to push a 710 to 3500mhz u thinik? i read the middle PCI-E slot (for the Biostar) must be used for a single card, i can't use the top one, is that true? I have an 8800gt w/ an accelero turbo model (takes up 2 pci slots), so it would cover all the lower pci slots then?

Thanks in advance again!
 

Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
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Originally posted by: poohbear
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: Redmist
why not go with the x3 720 BE? its only ~$20 more and it has an unlocked multiplier, meaning you can drop it into any crap mobo and overclock it without raising the fsb and vcore and not have to worry much about heat and having a good mobo.

You still need to raise the Vcore.

I have the Biostar 790GX and have been very happy with it.



FG can u confirm, the max vcore the Biostar can deliver is 1.32v yea? is that enough to push a 710 to 3500mhz u thinik? i read the middle PCI-E slot (for the Biostar) must be used for a single card, i can't use the top one, is that true? I have an 8800gt w/ an accelero turbo model (takes up 2 pci slots), so it would cover all the lower pci slots then?

Thanks in advance again!

I have the Vcore on my Biostar set to 1.4v, as my X3 710 requires that to run @ 3.2 Ghz. The motherboard also booted up just fine with Vcore set to 1.5.

It's difficult to estimate what Vcore you'll need to get to 3.5 Ghz. There are simply so many variables - CPU, motherboard, power supply that all contribute to the overclocking soup.

You can run a your video card in the top PCIe x16 slot, however the card will run in x8 mode, rather than x16. I don't think that really affects performance, though.
 

poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
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I see, thanks then. I'll be using my Corsair HX520 psu & GSKILL ram. Basicly all the stuff from my current s939 build. So long as i can use the top pci-e slot then that's ok. If its pci-e 2.0 running in 8x, its the same bandwidth as pci-e 1.0 16x from what i've read. Thanks for the feedback.

Im debating the Foxconn or Biostar, but most hardware sites are raving about the overclocking abilities of the Foxconn. :) 1 had serious problems overclocking the Biostar and just gave up.:( W/ the Foxconn it doesnt matter which pci-e slot i use, both are 16x w/ a single card. so really leaning towards the foxconn 790gx... Its only $10 more than the biostar here. Anyone own one of these?
 

RallyMaster

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Dec 28, 2004
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Originally posted by: Redmist
sorry I didn't read all of your original post.
ok heres what I would do, spend extra $30 on the black edition cpu vs spending the extra 50-60 on the mobo.

Here at AT, we read the OP. I realize that it's optional at Overclock.net but we don't do that shit here. Welcome to AT.

As for the topic at hand: I would definitely say you go for a solid board from the start and not have to have an intermediate step where you swap a motherboard after a few months. Get an Asus or Gigabyte. The Foxconn A7DA-S looks solid but I'm not too certain on the solidity of that thing. However, I will say that Asus or Gigabyte are both solid choices.
 

poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
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ok cool, well from what im reading the foxconn seems solid, its much cheaper than the gigabyte and asus offerings, yet more expensive than biostar, so seems a good middleground. i'll go that route to be safe.:) Thanks for all the feedback guys!
 

poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
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thanks for input TL, but the cheapest FX mobo here is $40 more expensive than the GX option, so im afraid it wouldnt fit into my budget. If i find one on sale then ofcourse its a nobrainer.:) cheers.
 

perdomot

Golden Member
Dec 7, 2004
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I'm running a 720BE on my 780G mobo on default vcore and all I did was bump up the multi to 16.5 for a 3.3Ghz OC. There is no need really for any of the 790GX mobos as the ACC circuitry is inside the PHII cpus and the onboard vid is not that much better on the 790GX series. Check out this article that has numbers for both chipsets including the newer nvidia solution:
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/15690
How much would a 780G mobo cost in Japan? BTW, I'll be visiting japan for 2 weeks in May so hajimemaste!
 

Flipped Gazelle

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Sep 5, 2004
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Originally posted by: perdomot
There is no need really for any of the 790GX mobos as the ACC circuitry is inside the PHII cpus and the onboard vid is not that much better on the 790GX series.

From what I've gleaned while web-surfing, 790 seems to OC better than 780. Also, it's the 790 chipsets that can unlock the X3's 4th core (when possible) when coupled with the 780. Maybe I'm wrong about that, as the last time I looked was a week ago.

I'm of the opinion that there have been some minor "running improvements" in the 790GX, and also the SB750, which I don't think is available with 780G.

If you have a good 780G mobo, there probably isn't a reason to move to 790GX. But, if you are building a new system, unless $$ is super-tight, may as well get the more "evolved" parts, IMO.

 

perdomot

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Dec 7, 2004
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Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: perdomot
There is no need really for any of the 790GX mobos as the ACC circuitry is inside the PHII cpus and the onboard vid is not that much better on the 790GX series.

From what I've gleaned while web-surfing, 790 seems to OC better than 780. Also, it's the 790 chipsets that can unlock the X3's 4th core (when possible) when coupled with the 780. Maybe I'm wrong about that, as the last time I looked was a week ago.

I'm of the opinion that there have been some minor "running improvements" in the 790GX, and also the SB750, which I don't think is available with 780G.

If you have a good 780G mobo, there probably isn't a reason to move to 790GX. But, if you are building a new system, unless $$ is super-tight, may as well get the more "evolved" parts, IMO.

You make some valid points so I guess the main question is how much a 780G would cost him considering his budget. Personally, I don't see enough of an advantage in 790GX mobos if money is too tight.
 

poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
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Originally posted by: perdomot
I'm running a 720BE on my 780G mobo on default vcore and all I did was bump up the multi to 16.5 for a 3.3Ghz OC. There is no need really for any of the 790GX mobos as the ACC circuitry is inside the PHII cpus and the onboard vid is not that much better on the 790GX series. Check out this article that has numbers for both chipsets including the newer nvidia solution:
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/15690
How much would a 780G mobo cost in Japan? BTW, I'll be visiting japan for 2 weeks in May so hajimemaste!

The 780 mobos are actually considerably cheaper here, but from what i've read the 790gx is worth the extra cash for its overclocking features. I'm comfortable w/ spending the extra dough to get the latest chipset though, but im debating whether its better to get a crappy mobo & the unlocked 720, or a decent overclocking mobo and the 710. So far the latter option is the cheaper one for me & im more confident i can get a good overclock w/ the latter option.:/



 

perdomot

Golden Member
Dec 7, 2004
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I can assure you that the 780G mobo I have from Gigabyte is anything but crappy. I had an X3 8650 in it before and it was fast and stable. With the 720BE in it now running at 3.3Ghz on default vcore, its even better. I can't say I saw anything in the Techreport article I linked to that says the 790GX is worth it given the new PHII cpus. I also wouldn't be too confident on anything to do with overclocking as its purely luck of the draw for both the cpu and chosen mobo. I like the BE cpus because only one setting has to change in order to get a good OC.
 

Smoove910

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Aug 2, 2006
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I have a cheap 780GX Biostar MicroATX I'm running my X3 720 (0904) @ 3.7ghz no prob. Actually, it's rock solid at 3.7ghz, 1.5vcore, 29c idle according to Speedfan and Coretemp. I'd go for the Black Edition processor as well and pick up a 780GX board.

Who cares if you can unlock the 4th core. Not like you'd be able to tax the processor enough to take advantage of it much regardless.

Just my .02
 

jjmIII

Diamond Member
Mar 13, 2001
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Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: Redmist
why not go with the x3 720 BE? its only ~$20 more and it has an unlocked multiplier, meaning you can drop it into any crap mobo and overclock it without raising the fsb and vcore and not have to worry much about heat and having a good mobo.

You still need to raise the Vcore.

I have the Biostar 790GX and have been very happy with it.

Cool, just bought the combo. Live cash-back gives you credit on the individual prices, not the lower combo price.
 

Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
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Originally posted by: Smoove910
I have a cheap 780GX Biostar MicroATX I'm running my X3 720 (0904) @ 3.7ghz no prob. Actually, it's rock solid at 3.7ghz, 1.5vcore, 29c idle according to Speedfan and Coretemp. I'd go for the Black Edition processor as well and pick up a 780GX board.

Who cares if you can unlock the 4th core. Not like you'd be able to tax the processor enough to take advantage of it much regardless.

Just my .02

LOL

Plenty of people utilize 4 cores - video enthusiasts, image editing, 3D rendering, sound editing, some games, plain ol' multitasking...
 

Flipped Gazelle

Diamond Member
Sep 5, 2004
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Originally posted by: jjmIII
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: Redmist
why not go with the x3 720 BE? its only ~$20 more and it has an unlocked multiplier, meaning you can drop it into any crap mobo and overclock it without raising the fsb and vcore and not have to worry much about heat and having a good mobo.

You still need to raise the Vcore.

I have the Biostar 790GX and have been very happy with it.

Cool, just bought the combo. Live cash-back gives you credit on the individual prices, not the lower combo price.

Damn... whatta deal!