ontoptherock Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) This is my first topic on here, been browsing the forums for a while though. Well anyway i am getting parts together for my first build. I got the Antec 200 S computer case and Antec 550w PSU so far. waiting on some money before i buy some more. but in the mean time i have been trying to decide on what motherboard to go with. At first i was sure i was going to go with ASUS's new M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 board. I am going with AMD's 890gx chipset. anyway so i thought for saure that was what i was going to go with till i saw ASRock's new board the 890GX Extreme 3. i want either of these two because of the ability to possibly unlock potential cores in the phenom II x2's. i know its not a definite but i am ok with having an x2 and hey if it unlocks then awesome! anyway this being my first build i wanted to know if one company had a better reputation over the other or if you can overclock with one board better than the other, etc... thanks for the advice. other notes: (my potential build) Phenom II x2 555 BE antec 200 case (bought) antec 550w PSU (bought) G skill 2x 2gb 1600 8-8-8-24 motherboard (undecided- see above) GPU (using the IGP on the board for now to save money, will upgrade later if i need it) Edited March 28, 2010 by ontoptherock Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wevsspot Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) OTR - I'm not an expert on either of the boards you are considering, but I did want to take a moment and welcome you to the forums. I'm sure a few AMD experts will be by before long to help you out. Relative to the brands - ASUS will get the nod for top notch brand name recognition and reputation. However I've also had really good luck with ASRock boards. The ASRock boards usually don't have all the bells and whistles like many of the ASUS boards do, and they definitely skimp here and there to keep the prices down. But bang for the buck I never hesitate to recommend ASRock unless they just put out a poorly engineered board. ASRock is actually an offshoot of ASUS with the whole purpose of hitting a niche on the price point versus performance and options. Good luck, and welcome again. Regards, Edited March 28, 2010 by wevsspot Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ontoptherock Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 OTR - I'm not an expert on either of the boards you are considering, but I did want to take a moment and welcome you to the forums. I'm sure a few AMD experts will be by before long to help you out. Relative to the brands - ASUS will get the nod for top notch brand name recognition and reputation. However I've also had really good luck with ASRock boards. The ASRock boards usually don't have all the bells and whistles like many of the ASUS boards do, and they definitely skimp here and there to keep the prices down. But bang for the buck I never hesitate to recommend ASRock unless they just put out a poorly engineered board. ASRock is actually an offshoot of ASUS with the whole purpose of hitting a niche on the price point versus performance and options. Good luck, and welcome again. Regards, thanks for the input. being a first time builder i havent messed with BIOS settings much. is either bios easier than the other. or is it pretty much all BIOS are the same? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Nate Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 BIOS settings are pretty straightforward (and user manuals are getting better - they tell you where to look for what settings). You won't have to change much, mainly setting the memory voltage, speeds, and timings if they're incorrectly detected (if you even care). Other things are less important. Check out some of the other 890GX motherboards. OCC reviewed a couple and they performed very well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted March 28, 2010 Posted March 28, 2010 the Asus has the core unlocker right on the board...and is a very fine clocker...mine will be here Monday... That Asrock looks like a very nice board but I would have to see some solid reviews on it...until I did I would have to lean towards Asus and its proven Solid performance at this time... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ontoptherock Posted March 29, 2010 Posted March 29, 2010 the Asus has the core unlocker right on the board...and is a very fine clocker...mine will be here Monday... That Asrock looks like a very nice board but I would have to see some solid reviews on it...until I did I would have to lean towards Asus and its proven Solid performance at this time... do you know if the core unlocker on the asus will unlock a x2 to an x3 if the 4th core isnt operational, or will it just not unlock any of the cores unless both cores are good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_bowtie Posted March 29, 2010 Posted March 29, 2010 it will unlock either or...you can use the switch or push 3 for the 3rd or 4 for the fourth core unlock... there is a thread on the board by Praz thats pretty informative....plus the OCC review.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_Capitan Posted March 29, 2010 Posted March 29, 2010 I have 3 AMD systems with these motherboards, all with the Phenom II x3 720 BE's: ASRock M3A780GXH/128M GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P MSI NF750-G55 (http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=173971) All three are good motherboards, and all three can unlock the 4th cores, but only one of the three CPU's I have actually has a stable 4th core. I'm more of a budget builder, but all motherboards have their upsides and downsides. The MSI has a better CPU overclock of the three I mentioned above, but not for memory overclocking. The ASRock and GIGABYTE are both good, but the ASRock holds better voltages. The GIGABYTE, however, does better at holding an unlocked 4th core. As long as you do your research, you'll be fine with whatever you choose. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wevsspot Posted March 29, 2010 Posted March 29, 2010 The ASRock and GIGABYTE are both good, but the ASRock holds better voltages. Not that it's completely relative to this thread, but my ASRock X58 board also has ROCK steady voltages. In fact, the most amazing that I've ever seen. JW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ontoptherock Posted March 29, 2010 Posted March 29, 2010 thanks for the input, taking it all into consideration. still awaiting for a review on the new asrock 890gx board. has yet to land in the states. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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