Upgrading cheap... keep my AMD FX-60 (Socket 939)?

[Stoneburner]

Originally posted by: WAZ
Actually, if I'm NOT using the onboard ATI 3300 video (which I won't be -- I'll be buying a PCIe card in the 4850 range), then do I even need a 790GX board? Can I not just get a 770 instead?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128376

Or is there more to the doubling price of the 790GX that I won't get with the 770?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...scription=790x&x=0&y=0

790x is the same chipset with dual pci-e x16 (really x8 in x-fire) and the gigabyte is phenom II compatible.

EDIT: I guess you aren't necessarily looking for x-fire. It looks as though the board you linked should have phenom II compatibility with a newer bios.

 

[WAZ]

Yeah, shortly after looking at the 770, I came across that Gigabyte 790X. Looks pretty good and still has the SB750 (saw some 790X boards with SB600). If the ONLY difference is the lack of onboard video, I may well go that route. I would like Crossfire available as an option to someday down the line add a 2nd video card.

I understand the 790GX basically replaced the 790X, and I see a TON of GX boards and very few X boards. Am I going to run into a lack of support for a short-lived 790X chip, as the focus shifted to GX?

 

[cusideabelincoln]

I don't think so. The "X" ones just don't have onboard video. I doubt anything else is too different. BIOS updates should be similar for both platforms. Although all of this is just speculation on my end.

 

[Spoelie]

The X is not short lived, has been out for over 1,5 years... It is a 65nm chip and the GX is a 55nm chip, but the latter one has integrated graphics, so all in all I'm not sure which one is better heat/power consumption wise.

I'd prefer the GX tho, as it would help debugging what is wrong with your system if it wouldn't post one day (removes the need for an extra GPU on standby to check if the videocard is the culprit).

 

[lopri]

Heh.. There is a reason you don't see many 790X boards.. They use the same north bridge as in 790FX boards.

 

[WAZ]

Yeah, I ended up shying away from the 790GX (I see some benefit in the onboard video, but in the end probably don't really need it), and narrowed my system down to a 790X and 790FX. Still researching before I drop my money on one, but it's pretty much come down to whether the 790FX is worth the extra $90 for the Crossfire with 16 pipelines. Not sure if there are other major differences, but the main one I could find was 8 pipelines in X-fire on the 790X, but 16 pipelines X-fire on the 790FX.

Comparison:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...8387%2CN82E16813128391

*Note on the 790X, there's a combo deal w/ processor that knocks $30 off... making the difference in price between these boards $90, not $60. That extra X-fire bandwidth worth it?

 

[cusideabelincoln]

No, it's not.

 

[lopri]

Go with the combo deal. That's an awesome deal.

 

[WAZ]

Thanks for the replies. I ordered everything for my new system (except for the video card -- deciding between the 4770 and 4870), and I'm pretty happy with what I got:

- 790X Motherboard -- Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
- X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma
- OCZ ModXStream 700W PSU ($55 after rebate from Amazon)
- 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR2-1066

Grand total for those 4 items, before video card, after rebates and combo deals = $259 SHIPPED.