Is the ASRock 939Dual for me?

[msi or epox]

i don't really like physical modding, I can flash bioses and things but not mods.
do you think this would work for me if I am going to overclock an opteron 146, not over 2.6 though?

Otherwise I'm going with the easier solution.. Epox EP-9npa Ultra.
The reason I'm considering this is price, tight budget. I'm not a big ram overclocker either

thanks

 

[SynthDude2001]

2.6GHz is not always a given with 1.4-1.45V (I think 1.4V is the max the unmodded board can do for dual-cores, and 1.45V for single cores). I need over 1.5V for 2.6GHz on my Opteron 170. So if you aren't interested in modding (it's not difficult IMO if you do the conductive pen thing, but it is still something else to have to mess with) then the ASRock board probably isn't for you if you want that large of an overclock.

 

[msi or epox]

2.6 is my max, probably not even that. How long does it take for the vcore mod anyways? How simple for a noobie that has never built his own computer? I like how they may come out with am2 support for this

any great reviews for this board? anandtech maybe?

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: msi or epox
2.6 is my max, probably not even that. How long does it take for the vcore mod anyways? How simple for a noobie that has never built his own computer? I like how they may come out with am2 support for this

any great reviews for this board? anandtech maybe?

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=29&threadid=1637097

^^That's my (huge) thread on the motherboard, there is a link to Anandtech's review in there (as well as OC Workbench's review, I think...been a while since I added those though )

The Vcore mod took me maybe 15-20 minutes at most. Basically all you do is connect two (very small) adjacent solder pads with conductive ink. If you have a steady hand and good vision (or maybe a magnifying glass ), IMO the mod isn't difficult.

I do like the AM2 upgradability in theory, and it does provide a nice upgrade path for those who want it, but in practice I'm not really that excited about it...my Opteron 170 should last me a long time, plus I was able to recycle my old PC3200 RAM from my Athlon XP system.