Which AM2+ board to get?

[TuxedoBond]

I need a board with SB750 and 790X/GX. I want a board that is good to overclock with and is stable. I'll probably be running two cards in Crossfire in the future.

This is my setup:
Phenom II 955
Radeon 4870 1GB
4x2GB DDR2 1066 RAM
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.B 0A38016 1TB
LG GH22LS50 SATA DVD Burner
ENERMAX ELT620AWT-ECO Liberty ECO 620W or CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX CMPSU-620HX 620W

The boards I've had in mind thus far are:

Foxconn A7DA-S - $86.61

MSI DKA790GX - $84.2 - 4-Pin CPU power connector.

Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P - $94.33

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H - $96.22 - Some SATA ports will probably be blocked when adding a card to the second PCI-E 16x slot which I don't like.

I don't need integrated graphics although it would be a handy temporary solution if my card ever died.

Which board is preferable between the MSI and Foxconn? And between all of them? Are the Gigabyte boards worth the price difference compared to the Foxconn and MSI?

I don't like that you get one SATA cable with the MSI, and I don't think a ZEROtherm Zen CPU cooler and RAM with heat spreaders in the first slot will fit on the Gigabyte.

Gigabyte RAM clearance thread: Will the ZEROtherm Zen CPU cooler block first RAM slot on Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4?

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

If you are going to do Crossfire then you should go for a 790FX board. Is there a way you could return your DDR2 and get DDR3 since you might as well get an AM3 motherboard.

 

[TuxedoBond]

I don't have the RAM ordered yet. I was going to go AM2+ due to it being cheaper and having cheaper DDR2 memory. Same reason for the FX unless there is one in the same price range as the ones I listed.

 

[soccerballtux]

I have the Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P.
Note that the ram voltage will not go lower than 1.95V even if you want it to. I believe this is to reduce RMA's-- people thinking their board isn't working when they're not setting the voltage right on their 2.0v sticks (and it locking up on them). Or it could be they just messed it up.

You don't need to worry about have 2*16x PCI-E lanes for your crossfire, either in this or the next generation of graphics cards, it amounts to about a 1% performance drop (2*16x vs 2*8x) on OC'd 4890's. Remember this is PCI-E 2.0 we're talking about, so 8x on 2.0 is the same as 16x on 1.0.

I'd go ahead and go the AM2+ route, you'll lose minimal performance and you'll get to use cheaper DDR2.

 

[TuxedoBond]

What about the Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P versus the GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H? Will a large video card in the second PCI slot block the SATA ports on the DS4H?

 

[TuxedoBond]

BUMP. Between the MSI and Foxconn, which is better with an AMD 955, Radeon 4870 1GB, Crossfired and overclocked?

 

[I HAZ A BEAST]

go for gigabyte i got it. a large video card will not cover the ports. the SATA ports are on the side i got this board and satisfied with it


and who ever said the x8 is like pcie 1.0 your wrong so very wrong


there memory bandwiths lets say HD4870s are 3.7gbps a sec and X8 is 4.0gbps per second x16 is 8.0 gpbs a sec


but if u have 2 hd4870x2 it will have a massive bottle neck because its 7.4 gbps a sec

 

[jackjack]

Originally posted by: TuxedoBond
I need a board with SB750 and 790X/GX. I want a board that is good to overclock with and is stable. I'll probably be running two cards in Crossfire in the future.

This is my setup:
Phenom II 955
Radeon 4870 1GB
4x2GB DDR2 1066 RAM
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.B 0A38016 1TB
LG GH22LS50 SATA DVD Burner
ENERMAX ELT620AWT-ECO Liberty ECO 620W or CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX CMPSU-620HX 620W

The boards I've had in mind thus far are:

Foxconn A7DA-S - $86.61

MSI DKA790GX - $84.2 - 4-Pin CPU power connector.

Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P - $94.33

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H - $96.22 - Some SATA ports will probably be blocked when adding a card to the second PCI-E 16x slot which I don't like.

I don't need integrated graphics although it would be a handy temporary solution if my card ever died.

Which board is preferable between the MSI and Foxconn? And between all of them? Are the Gigabyte boards worth the price difference compared to the Foxconn and MSI?

I don't like that you get one SATA cable with the MSI, and I don't think a ZEROtherm Zen CPU cooler and RAM with heat spreaders in the first slot will fit on the Gigabyte.

Gigabyte RAM clearance thread: Will the ZEROtherm Zen CPU cooler block first RAM slot on Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4?

I suggest get the Gigabyte board. I have the Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-UD5P... It's a very good motherboard even with a defective case fan installed in one of the fan headers it manage to boot. So it can withstand a little bit of abuse I should say..