asus m5a97 Am3+

[Belo1301]

Is this motherboard good for a gaming rig

[WoodenMarker]

Sure..? The motherboard doesn't affect performance.

[Fate]

It's 6+2 phase, so it's suitable for all of the FX chips, not much overclocking though. That being said, FX isn't the best for gaming due to their weak cores; i3's and locked i5's are a better value nowadays. 

[João Severino]

Is this motherboard good for a gaming rig

Sure..? The motherboard doesn't affect performance.

 

Exactly

As long as the CPU you want is compatible with the motherboard there is no problem

[Belo1301]

Ok i bought the fx -8320 e and im going to overclick it

[PutuLips]

Sure..? The motherboard doesn't affect performance.

It does with FX processors. You need the extra wattage for more than 4 cores at a decent speed -- otherwise the cores downclock due to the lack of power or overheating VRM. The M5a97 will work great, plus have a lot of overclocking headroom with its high power capability.

[Fate]

It does with FX processors. You need the extra wattage for more than 4 cores at a decent speed -- otherwise the cores downclock due to the lack of power or overheating VRM. The M5a97 will work great, plus have a lot of overclocking headroom with its high power capability.

I wouldn't say 6+2 phase is "high power capability" with FX chips. I wouldn't go too crazy on the overclocks.

[WoodenMarker]

It does with FX processors. You need the extra wattage for more than 4 cores at a decent speed -- otherwise the cores downclock due to the lack of power or overheating VRM. The M5a97 will work great, plus have a lot of overclocking headroom with its high power capability.

Not really--the compatibility list wouldn't list cpus that aren't fully supported. 

[PutuLips]

I wouldn't say 6+2 phase is "high power capability" with FX chips. I wouldn't go too crazy on the overclocks.

M5A99FX R2.0 (which is 6+2) is used to get 5GHz on FX8350. That's pretty high.

 

Not really--the compatibility list wouldn't list cpus that aren't fully supported. 

Lots of low-end boards just have copied and pasted information from higher-end boards. I once bought a 95W board (M5A78) for a 95W chip (FX6100) and it still throttled with great temps -- the VRMS were overheating and couldn't get enough power to the chip for turbo boost. Oh and I had to update the BIOS using another chip before I could use it (which was never really mentioned until they received enough complaints).

[WoodenMarker]

Lots of low-end boards just have copied and pasted information from higher-end boards. I once bought a 95W board (M5A78) for a 95W chip (FX6100) and it still throttled with great temps -- the VRMS were overheating and couldn't get enough power to the chip for turbo boost. Oh and I had to update the BIOS using another chip before I could use it (which was never really mentioned until they received enough complaints).

They have bios versions in cpu compatibility lists. It also isn't an issue now if it was before. 

[harrynowl]

I wouldn't say 6+2 phase is "high power capability" with FX chips. I wouldn't go too crazy on the overclocks.

M5A97 R2.0 is 4+2, the M5A97 EVO R2.0 is 6+2.

 

4+2 and overclocking don't really go together.