Help finding a motherboard

[Giantz]

So I'm probably going to upgrade my motherboard soon. I'm looking for a motherboard that runs crossfire (preferably 8x8) and supports Phenom II processors.

I'd like to mention that I'm going to be crossfiring 6850's, so there needs to be room for that. (My current board has 2 sata ports covered up by just 1 of them.)

DDR3 ram supported, and a price range of $100-$150 preferably.

Also, I'm probably upgrading cases aswell, I was looking at the NZXT Phantom, but if you guys think that's a waste of money, suggest me a different one. (This also means that the size of the motherboard shouldn't be a problem.

[lordvic]

There are a lot of CorssfireX motherboards in the under $150 region with PCI-E slots that run at X8/X8 mode.
Here are some Motherboards that I would recommend (I looked into some of these while I was "doing my homework" for my new rig):

890GX motherboards (these have on-board graphics available)
- GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H Costs $134.99 (price of it hasn't changed at all in the pst 3 months)
Supports the new Phenom II Quad and six cores, 2 PCI-E X16 slots (x8/x8 when in Crossfire), SATA 6/Gbs, USB 3.0.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

- ASUS M4A89GTD PRO USB3 (there is one that doesn't have USB3.0m while another one does) $137.99
Again supports Phenom II's, 2 PCI-E slots (x8/x8), SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

MSI 890GXM-G65. $119.99 after rebate. USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, x8/x8. It just seems that MSI boards are either a hit or miss; DOA or works great.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product


890FX boards are typically better than the GX, they have no on-board graphics, have more 2 PCI-E X16 slots or more, two or more cards can run at x16/x16 instead of x8/x8, and seem to OC better. But they are more expensive $140 - $200+

(need to split my post into two)

[lordvic]

- GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 $179.99.
4 PCI-E slots (one card: x16, two cards: x16/x16, 3 cards: x8/x16/x8, 4th slot is for sound cards and such) USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, etc.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

- ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3. $169.99
Two PCI-E X16 slots running at x16/x16, SATA 6GB/s, USB 3.0, etc.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

If you want some 4GHz+ overclocking, ASUS's ROG "Republic of Gamers" overclocking boards are available. They come with a pretty hefty price tag though. Of course, for the price, you get more goodies & features.
- ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
- ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

RAM, most DDR3 RAM can be bought for a lot less now. 8GB can get had for under $90. 4GB is as low as $40! (less if you get them while on sale) I'd recommend that you get RAM speed of 1333Mhz or 1600Mhz. 1066Mhz and 800Mhz is relatively slow.
Here are SOME.
4GB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820146740
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231274

8GB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220466
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231314

[Giantz]

Thanks man, will definitely look into those boards.

[Giantz]

*Bump*

I was wondering if thise motherboard would be compatible with my parts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157198

It's very cheap, and seems to have most of the features that the other motherboards had that you listed.

I was also wondering, what does the chipset mean? I understand a 890 chipset is better than a 870, but what makes it better?

[Major_A]

From what I've read ASRock is making good boards with more features cheaper than the rest of the big names. Quick difference between the chipsets is the number of PCIe lanes and probably the number of USB 3.0 slots and SATA III ports.

http://www.downloadatoz.com/driver/arti ... rison.html

[Giantz]

So I read some more reviews, and it turns out if I were to crossfire 6850s on that board, I would end up covering up the HD header audio front panel. But I don't think that would matter too much as I could just use the ones pre-attatched to the back of the motherboard, right?

[Major_A]

You can always install the header first then the card. But yeah you can just use the rear I/O panel.

[bramahon]

Had recent experience with both the Asus and MSI boards. Both are fine boards but M4A89GTD-Pro is much better a board for OCing, has some fine features too. It also gives you the feel of a premium Asus board. The MSI 890GXM-GD65 is cheaper and M-ATX, one that I got worked fine but Northbridge runs a bit hot. Don't know about the AsRock boards as sometimes they make quality boards and sometimes not. Recently I'm hearing good things about them though. hope this helps.