Please recommend me a board for a C3 stepping Phenom II X4 945

[Gigantopithecus]

I've decided to finally move to a quad & have decided on the Phenom II X4 945 as I don't want a 125W BE AMD cpu & the C2Q/i5/i7s are out of my price range.

What I need:
DDR2, not DDR3 (going to reuse my existing modules)
5 or 6 SATA ports (prefer 6)
BIOS that will support the newer C3 stepping out of the box (I know, I know, I just have always had awful luck updating BIOSs & I don't feel like dropping $30 on a 'BIOS update only' chip)
A board that has a reputation for stability & reliability. I absolutely detest flaky mobos.

What I prefer:
microATX form factor
$100 or less, willing to spring up to $125 if the features justify it.

TIA. Appreciated.

 

[mm2587]

the gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H rev 1.1 board fits your needs. Its also priced right at only $80.

The important thing though is you need the rev 1.1 board to ensure out of the box c3 support. The rev 1.0 and 1.1 boards are very easy to tell apart though. Rev 1.0 has red/yellow memory slots while rev 1.1 has light blue/white memory slots.

Since rev 1.1 has been out since November I image there's few 1.0 boards left unless your picking this thing up off a dusty shelf somewhere.

http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=3278

http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=3143

 

[wwswimming]

the gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H rev 1.1 board fits your needs. Its also priced right at only $80.

The important thing though is you need the rev 1.1 board to ensure out of the box c3 support. The rev 1.0 and 1.1 boards are very easy to tell apart though. Rev 1.0 has red/yellow memory slots while rev 1.1 has light blue/white memory slots.

Since rev 1.1 has been out since November I image there's few 1.0 boards left unless your picking this thing up off a dusty shelf somewhere.

http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=3278

http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=3143

yeah. AWESOME motherboard !

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

 

[heyheybooboo]

I think the 95w 945 is a great proc and will work well with the Gigabyte 785g, but ....

you might want to consider the 955BE for $9 more. Kick the voltage back a notch or so and zoom ya go.

Phenom IIs tend to be a bit over-volted at stock so it should not be an issue AND the Gigabyte 785g AM2+ seems to over-volt a bit, also.

I unlocked a Phenom 550 on that mobo, undervolted -0.1, and dropped power consumption at load by 1/3.



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