AM3+ motherboard comparison

[namarino]

Hey guys, I currently have an M5A97 R2.0, but the socket gets really overheated when I raise the voltage when I attempt to overclock. How much better is the M5A97 EVO? I've vaguely read about my mobo having a 4+2 power phase and the EVO having a 6+2. Does that make the EVO better for overclocking and would it be worth switching and going with the EVO? Thanks a lot for your help!

[Enderman]

Switching motherboards just for overclocking?

No, you might as well switch to intel and buy a new CPU because that will get you way more performance then you will ever get overclocking a 8320

[Aniallation]

Hey guys, I currently have an M5A97 R2.0, but the socket gets really overheated when I raise the voltage when I attempt to overclock. How much better is the M5A97 EVO? I've vaguely read about my mobo having a 4+2 power phase and the EVO having a 6+2. Does that make the EVO better for overclocking and would it be worth switching and going with the EVO? Thanks a lot for your help!

Might as well switch to the Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P for 8+2...

[Aniallation]

Switching motherboards just for overclocking?

No, you might as well switch to intel and buy a new CPU because that will get you way more performance then you will ever get overclocking a 8320

Unless he's doing things like video editing...

[Mattr567]

Have this board + FX 8370. Agreed OCing isnt great on this mobo.

 

Is it worth a new board just for OCing? No. Better to save up for a new cpu + mobo for better performance.

[namarino]

Have this board + FX 8370. Agreed OCing isnt great on this mobo.

 

Is it worth a new board just for OCing? No. Better to save up for a new cpu + mobo for better performance.

Gotchya. What exactly makes a motherboard good for overclocking? Is it how much heat it can handle? This is my first time overclocking so I honestly don't know much about it.

[Mattr567]

Gotchya. What exactly makes a motherboard good for overclocking? Is it how much heat it can handle? This is my first time overclocking so I honestly don't know much about it.

 

Power delivery. the R2.0 is only 4+2 phase power delivery. A good OCing board is 8+2 or more.

 

6+2 is also fine.

[Enderman]

Unless he's doing things like video editing...

a xeon or i7 is better than an 8320 for video editing

[namarino]

a xeon or i7 is better than an 8320 for video editing

Please don't start with this. AMD CPU's and Intel CPU's are both good. I've heard enough about this. Please.

[Aniallation]

a xeon or i7 is better than an 8320 for video editing

It's also much more expensive then just a motherboard. Please stop suggesting Intel and just answer the question in the OP.

[namarino]

Power delivery. the R2.0 is only 4+2 phase power delivery. A good OCing board is 8+2 or more.

 

6+2 is also fine.

Ok good to know for the future. Why is it that the socket gets so damn hot in this motherboard? I upped the voltage from 1.275 to 1.308 and the temps were off the charts. Is that because of the power delivery?

[Aniallation]

Gotchya. What exactly makes a motherboard good for overclocking? Is it how much heat it can handle? This is my first time overclocking so I honestly don't know much about it.

For AM3+ you want a motherboard with more capable VRMs, as you stated previously, so you do have a basic idea as to what you're looking for. 4+2 really isn't meant for overclocking 125W chips, it's mostly meant just to run them at stock. If you want to OC mildly you'll want a 6+2 like the EVO or MSI 970 Gaming, but if you really want to push your chip you'll want 8+2.

 

As I've suggested before the Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P is a great overclocking board for the price, featuring 8+2 power phase VRMs.

[Aniallation]

Ok good to know for the future. Why is it that the socket gets so damn hot in this motherboard? I upped the voltage from 1.275 to 1.308 and the temps were off the charts.

FX can handle over 1.4V without issue, so 1.3 making it damn hot is either a sign of poor mobo design or poor airflow over the board components.

[namarino]

FX can handle over 1.4V without issue, so 1.3 making it damn hot is either a sign of poor mobo design or poor airflow over the board components.

Well the core temps are just fine. They're right around 52. But the socket temps are north of 70. It's been suggested in the past that I should put a fan on the back of the motherboard to cool the socket. Would that be effective? My case airflow is as good as it's going to get with my Carbide 200R unfortunately.

[Enderman]

Please don't start with this. AMD CPU's and Intel CPU's are both good. I've heard enough about this. Please.

This isn't about which one is better. OP wants more performance from his CPU, in which case switching to intel would be a much better option than spending $150 on a motherboard to overclock his CPU

 

It's also much more expensive then just a motherboard. Please stop suggesting Intel and just answer the question in the OP.

No, it would not, because he can sell his current CPU and motherboard to make up for the difference in cost.

Instead of spending $150 on an AMD motherboard, spend that money on an intel motherboard and use the money from his current motherboard and CPU to buy a xeon.

But I'm pretty sure hes just gaming, so even an i5 would be enough, he could overclock it, and it would still perform much better.

 

Buying a new motherboard just for a couple hundred MHz is not worth it. I'm suggesting this because there are better options than wasting $150 and if what he is looking for is better performance, then maybe he will consider switching platforms which would be the smart thing to do.

[Aniallation]

This isn't about which one is better. OP wants more performance from his CPU, in which case switching to intel would be a much better option than spending $150 on a motherboard to overclock his CPU

He is the OP.

 

Instead of spending $150 on an AMD motherboard, spend that money on an intel motherboard and use the money from his current motherboard and CPU to buy a xeon.

It's only $80... http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga970aud3p

[Enderman]

It's only $80... http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga970aud3p

there are also $80 intel motherboards

you get what you pay for though

[Aniallation]

Well the core temps are just fine. They're right around 52. But the socket temps are north of 70. It's been suggested in the past that I should put a fan on the back of the motherboard to cool the socket. Would that be effective? My case airflow is as good as it's going to get with my Carbide 200R unfortunately.

Hm that's interesting, because with my friend's 8350 on a UD3P in a Define R4 with stock fans, it's at 4.5GHz on 1.4V and getting around 52c core 58-60c socket... I've never used the M5A97 myself so I can't speak on behalf of it.

[namarino]

Hm that's interesting, because with my friend's 8350 on a UD3P in a Define R4 with stock fans, it's at 4.5GHz on 1.4V and getting around 52c core 58-60c socket... I've never used the M5A97 myself so I can't speak on behalf of it.

Hmm that is interesting. It must be the mobo and the case airflow. I have 2 intake fans, but one is blocked by the harddrive cages. And did you mean 8320? Because the 8350 turbos up t0 4.5 so all you would really have to do is increase the multiplier. But that irrelevant haha, just curious

[Aniallation]

Hmm that is interesting. It must be the mobo and the case airflow. I have 2 intake fans, but one is blocked by the harddrive cages. And did you mean 8320? Because the 8350 turbos up t0 4.5 so all you would really have to do is increase the multiplier. But that irrelevant haha, just curious

8350 turbos up to 4.2, not 4.5. He also did pretty poorly in the silicon lottery, so 4.5 on all 8 cores at 1.4V is the best I was willing to do at the time for everyday usage. If it was my PC I would have spent some more time trying to get a bit more out of it but it was still a decent OC and I was getting lazy as I wasn't getting anything out of it.

[namarino]

8350 turbos up to 4.2, not 4.5. He also did pretty poorly in the silicon lottery, so 4.5 on all 8 cores at 1.4V is the best I was willing to do at the time for everyday usage. If it was my PC I would have spent some more time trying to get a bit more out of it but it was still a decent OC and I was getting lazy as I wasn't getting anything out of it.

Oh gotchya. Yeah I got a pretty decent OC with my 8320. I got it up to 4.2 at stock voltage. If I had a better mobo I guess I would be able to do a bit better.

[GoodN1ght]

Classic LTT forum event: 

Hey guys I need info on doing this or that with my AMD processor.

<<Instead of changing ur stock fan you could get an I5>>,