Weak AM3+ Mobo for Overclocking. Live With it, or Replace?

Leyawiin

Diamond Member
Nov 11, 2008
3,204
52
91
I caught a dirt cheap ECS A970M-A Deluxe motherboard ($19.99 with a $30 MIR I'm still waiting on) last winter and but an FX-6300 in it. Its really fine at stock, but it simply can't OC beyond 4.0 Ghz. Any multiplier higher than x20 won't boot. It also won't boot if I adjust the voltage at all. I was able to get it to 4.4 Ghz using a 220 setting for the FSB in conjunction with the x20 multiplier. Its stable enough at these settings - ran Prime95 for an hour and gamed extensively with it. Stays cool too.

My question is, should I replace the board with something better for overclocking? I know the FX-6300 is capable - I tried autotune with AMD Overdrive and it went to 4.6 Ghz just using that software (x23 multiplier). I just wonder if an extra 200-400 Mhz would be worth spending the money on (as far as noticeable performance).

Should I go the replacement route, what would be the most capable overclocker for the least amount of money (chipset doesn't matter - will only use a single GPU)? I'm willing to go up to $150 if necessary.
 
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Burpo

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2013
4,223
473
126
4.4Ghz to 4.6Ghz? Not worth it.. Spend the money on a better video card or more RAM..