Have an AM2 processor... best motherboard I can get?

[AntiFreze]

So I think I need to replace my MB. Currently I have a brisbane athlon x2 AM2 3600. Can I put this in a MB that says AM2+/AM3? Or do i need to look for an a AM2/AM2+ motherboard?

 

[PM650]

All AM2/AM2+ mobos and chips are interoperable, provided a bios update is available for the case of AM2 mobo & AM2+ CPU; the reverse (AM2+ mobo & AM2 cpu) should work regardless. Basically, pick an AM2+ board that you like, AM3 only will not work. There are some boards that say AM2+/AM3 (sometimes in error), the only ones that will work with your chip are those that have DDR2 slots (some support both DDR2 & DDR3).

 

[AntiFreze]

All AM2/AM2+ mobos and chips are interoperable, provided a bios update is available for the case of AM2 mobo & AM2+ CPU; the reverse (AM2+ mobo & AM2 cpu) should work regardless. Basically, pick an AM2+ board that you like, AM3 only will not work. There are some boards that say AM2+/AM3 (sometimes in error), the only ones that will work with your chip are those that have DDR2 slots (some support both DDR2 & DDR3).

What about something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138111

it lists CPU Socket Type: AM3/AM2+/AM2

 

[taltamir]

thats just an AM2+ socket.
AM3 chips will work on an AM2+ socket.
that is also an nvidia chipset, and nvidia hasn't updated those in years (because AMD and intel have both locked them out of the market). So it is not a very good choice.

Questions:
1. do you overclock seriously?
2. do you play video games?

basically, do you need an IGP?

 

[AntiFreze]

no to overclocking. yes to gaming. i have a 4830 at the moment. i need to replace my mb, keep my current cpu, but open up the door for a future upgrade.

 

[AntiFreze]

I'm thinking about this board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157177

thoughts?

 

[wwswimming]

the Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H is one of the best motherboards i've ever owned.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128394

i bought a combo with the 2.9 GHz Dual Core Athlon 245 - for $122.

i expected "just another uATX" motherboard. i would have to say it's better than that.

 

[tcsenter]

What about something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138111

Its fine for what it is, a no-frills entry level MB that supports AM2/AM2+ processors in 65nm and 45nm up to 95W, including your X2 3600+, and up to 4GB RAM (the hardware can do 8GB but BIOSTAR is arbitrarily drawing the support limit at 4GB because it only has two DIMM slots).

Supports SATA 3.0 Gb/s, USB 2.0, HD Audio, all the same contemporary features that are found on boards costing twice as much. Its limited to PCI Express 1.0a, which we know isn't a substantial performance loss for cards at the level of HD 4830. It also has 100Mb LAN instead of 1000Mb, which may or may not be of any importance to you.

Drivers for this chipset from NVIDIA are very mature and stable, the Vista drivers work fine on Windows 7. Don't see any reason to avoid this MB unless it just doesn't have the FEATURES you want.

 

[heyheybooboo]

the Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H is one of the best motherboards i've ever owned.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128394

i bought a combo with the 2.9 GHz Dual Core Athlon 245 - for $122.

i expected "just another uATX" motherboard. i would have to say it's better than that.

Gotta go with this. It's good all-around stuff. The US2H will run your old Athlon and upgrade to any Socket AM3 CPU currently on the market.





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[SunnyD]

I like my Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H myself. So much so that I'm selling it... (I am upgrading to Intel LGA1366, so...)