Legit Reviews

After deciding on an AMD 6000+ 3.0 CPU, I am now looking for a mobo to handle it.

I am having tough a time time finding what makes one mobo seperate itself from another. I realize that I need to make sure that the mobo works with the CPU, so I need an AM2 mobo, and it sounds like having one with SLI is the way to go.

Does the mobo affect the speed of the processor in any way? What numbers should I look at for a mobo?

For some reason, finding good information on why you choose a specific mobo is escaping me.

Thanks for any and all help!

Generally most motherboards at stock settings will all perform within 1% of each other, the reason that specific motherboards are recommended are due to a number of things.

Reliability; while you don't know how reliable your specific board will be until you get it, certain manufacturers have a better reputation at having better boards.

Overclockablity; this is the deciding factor most enthusiasts go for, how far you can push your board, and henceforth system, while maintaining stability.

Price; the other major factor. No-one wants to spend outrageous amounts more than other boards for only a very small performance jump.

So basically pick a budget and find the best board you can in that price range. Find something you like the look of then check up on reviews to see if its any good.

Dan

I think Asus make good motherboards, and eVGA seem to make decent ones too, last but not least, DFI are the best for overclocking.

Personally if i were going for an AM2 motherboard, and i had the money, i would get the AM2 equivalent of my own Asus A8N32SLI Deluxe, which would be the Asus M2N32SLI Deluxe, or i would seriously consider the Asus Crosshair which looks like a really nice motherboard.

The Asus M2N32SLI Deluxe will give you full x16, x16 bandwidth in SLI, which would be an advantage with high end cards like the 8800GTX/Ultra, but for other cards it probably won't make much difference.

The Asus Crosshair looks like a very decent board, and i believe it comes with a good sound card . It also has an 'LED Poster', 'EL I/O' (the back I/O panel lights up and tells you whats what), and an 'Onboard Switch' i think that's to reset the BIOS without using a jumper.

The only drawback between the Crosshair and the M2N32SLI Deluxe is the SLI bandwidth, with the Crosshair i think you only get x8, x8 in SLI but as i said this won't matter unless you plan on getting very high end video cards. That said, it is nice to have that as a feature, in case it will be of use sometime in the near future. Both boards come with a lot of features and it's hard to choose between them, have a look at them both and see what you think suits you best. They are expensive motherboards though so don't rule out others.

I have the Asus M2N32SLI and find it an easy board to work with. I also like the DFI version of the same chipset though.

I will take a look at those options, thanks for the help.

Do all mobos now come with sufficient sound so a seperate card does not have to be purchased?

Let's say I want to spend no more than $100 bucks on a mobo that is going to be able to give me SLI, work well with a 3gig CPU and provide quality sound for gaming. Is that possible?

Not really. The On Board sound of most motherboards isn't very good. That Asus Crosshair comes with a separate sound card but i have no idea how good it is. On Board sound, on the whole, is not good at all, from all accounts the difference between On Board sound and a good sound card is suppose to be quite amazing.

If you get anything other than the Crosshair then a good sound card is something you should consider. It's something i would like to get but i don't really have the money for it just now and i have other things i would like to get before a sound card.

That said, if you do get a sound card then i think the best bet is the X-Fi Xtreme Music, you can get an OEM version for about £50 ($100). The X-Fi Xtreme Audio is just a rebranded Audigy (i think) and it doesn't process the sound in hardware, it is done in software, therefore the CPU handles it. With the X-Fi Xtreme Music the sound is processed in hardware, i think the X-Fi Xtreme Gamer is the same as the Music, as are the more expensive ones (processed in hardware that is). I think the X-Fi Gamer retail is about the same price as the X-Fi Music OEM, personally i would go with the X-Fi Music OEM. There are Fatal1ty (sell out!) branded X-Fi cards too, but you're paying for some guys name on a box, all Fatal1ty stuff is a rip-off if you ask me.

As for the motherboard for $100 with SLI etc. Yes, i am sure that is possible, you could probably get am Asus M2N-E SLI for about $100 (maybe less), or you could get the Asus M2NSLI Deluxe which is about $120 (going on UK prices and exchange rate). The Asus M2NSLI Deluxe is similar, if not the same as the Asus M2N32SLi Deluxe, expect it doesn't have the full x16, x16 bandwidth in SLI, which as i said is not vitally important (unless you plan on very high end video cards, then it would be beneficial).

Onboard sound is good enough for most people.

If you want cheaper SLI you'll have to go with the nForce 570 chipset, the 590 mobo's tend to be more expensive.

Those are a few exemples of what's available and fits your needs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... rder=PRICE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... rder=PRICE

On Board sound is probably adequate for most people, but, as i said a good sound card makes a big difference, so if you can get one then you should. That said, if you have other things you need first, then you can always get a sound card later on, and on board sound would do fine in the mean time.

Do you have an AM2 CPU at the moment or is it something you're going to buy? Although i prefer AMD to Intel, i have to say that the Core 2 Duo chips can be very good value for money, you can overclock them better than AMD chips so it might work out better value. It's something you should consider.

If you don't have a CPU yet and really want an AMD CPU, then have a look at the AM2 Opterons, to be honest i haven't heard much about the Opterons for AM2, but if they are anything like the 939 ones then they will overclock very well too and should give you better value.

To be honest, I do not plan on running SLI anytime soon. I realize that it seems to be industry standard for an SLI mobo, but I don't see myself using that option for quite some time.

Let's say I go with the AMD 6000+ CPU witha GeForce 8800 GTS 320mb card and don't plan on overclocking anything, what's my best option at under $100?

Newegg has an open box ASUS M2N-E for 50$, but with that board you just have to make sure your memory's voltage is rated at 1.95V or lower since the BIOS won't let you go higher. Memory rated higher than that may or may not work.

Even though you don't plan to, it has some overclocking room, enough to max out the 6000+


Like someone else said earlier, if you didn't buy your processor yet, you should consider going Intel (although the price/performance ratio is basically the same) or waiting about a month for the price cuts.

i would even go and get a 5200 for about 70 dollas cheaper. then just oc it.

I agree, i would get a slightly cheaper CPU and a slightly more expensive motherboard. A good motherboard can make your system last longer and if it has good overclocking features then that helps too. I don't really think you would need an x2 6000 for a 8800GTS, maybe a GTX (even that would be debatable), so consider a better motherboard and a cheaper CPU, that's my advice.

Even if you don't plan on overclocking you should really look in to it. It might sound complicated but it really isn't that hard. Once you get a few basic concepts then that's it, you just learn as you go. The damage from overclocking really only comes from people who do stupid things like max out the voltage without decent cooling. Or they raise the FSB and it doesn't boot, then they panic, when all they need to do is reset the BIOS, but even then they get put off by it so don't try it again.

Overclocking, with a little research, care and probably more importantly, common sense, can really give you high end CPU performance for a much better price if not a fraction of the cost.

Why not look in to it with your current system? See what you can do, just take it easy and have a look at a couple of guides, there is one on another forum called The Absolute Basics on how to Overclock your CPU, that would be a good place to start.