New Phenom build help

[IBM/PS1]

Can anyone recommend a good board with crossfire, CMOS reset button and holes for water cooling

I think i have a few i might like, lemme know

NCIX.com - Buy ASUS M4A78-E ATX 790GX Socket AM2+ DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI HDMI Video Sound GBLAN Motherboard - M4A78-E In Canada.
NCIX.com - Buy Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H AMD790GX ATX AM2+/AM3 Sideport 2PCI-E Sound GBLAN HDMI CrossFireX Motherboard - GA-MA790GP-UD4H In Canada.
NCIX.com - Buy MSI KA790GX ATX AM2+ 790GX DDR2 PCI-E16 Hybrid CrossFire PCI-E1 3PCI HDMI SATA GBLAN Motherboard - KA790GX In Canada.

paired with

NCIX.com - Buy AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition Quad Core Processor AM2+ 3.0GHZ 8MB Cache 125W 45NM Retail Box - HDZ940XCGIBOX In Canada.

Another follow up question

I see the 920 is 30 dollars cheaper the 940. Is this the same deal as superclocked video cards, as it's just a gimmick to OC some extra MHZ that you could do yourself or is there any physical properties that differ in the chips?

What is side port memory?

 

[Muffin Man]

the combo that was listed in the second post still seems like your best choice. heres the canadian link though:

Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

that biostar mobo has the same features that the mobo's you picked have. the combo also saves you money.

if you picked your GA mobo with your 940 be, it would cost $397 cad + $10 cad mir.

that newegg combo costs $349 cad. you would be saving $50 which could go towards other hardware.

 

[IBM/PS1]

I'm not denying it's a good deal but a few flaws i've seen with it.

The master PCI express port is on the bottom which could make it tight if i was gonna cross fire
Cross fire only runs at x8 for 2nd card
The heat pipes and bridges are pretty small

I've also heard some cosmetic complaints about the bios and IO shield.

 

[MrFeetZ]

if your looking at doing crossfire, i would think about spending a few extra $$$ and getting a board that sports the 790FX chipset, instead of the GX. To the best of my knowledge, the GX chipset does not support dual x16 pci express.

 

[IBM/PS1]

if your looking at doing crossfire, i would think about spending a few extra $$$ and getting a board that sports the 790FX chipset, instead of the GX. To the best of my knowledge, the GX chipset does not support dual x16 pci express.

From what i can tell it's X16 X8.

Does that mean that one card is running @ 50% performance?

What do you think of this

Canada Computers - Motherboards > Socket AM2+ : Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5 Socket AM2 AMD 790FX Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 /800/1066Mhz SATA 3Gb/s 8-Channel Intel High Definition Audio Gigabit Lan Firewire Dual PCI-Express 2.0 Graphic Slots All-Solid Cap

 

[MrFeetZ]

From what i can tell it's X16 X8.

Does that mean that one card is running @ 50% performance?

What do you think of this

Canada Computers - Motherboards > Socket AM2+ : Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5 Socket AM2 AMD 790FX Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 /800/1066Mhz SATA 3Gb/s 8-Channel Intel High Definition Audio Gigabit Lan Firewire Dual PCI-Express 2.0 Graphic Slots All-Solid Cap

Thats correct one card would run at x16 and the other at x8

However, that does NOT mean it is running @50% performance.... more like not running to its potential. But, unless your a benchmark or fps junky, I dont think that it would makle a big diff.

IMHO, I dont care too much for that mobo. It's running the old Southbridge SB600 that gave many people issues.

between that giga board and the other 790GX boards you found.. go with the 790GX. Stay away SB600 and look for SB750

here are two:
Newegg.ca - MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

I think you might have a devil of a time finding a 790fx mobo that supports ddr2. I took a quick look at newegg canada but found NONE. There are a few out there tho.

I think your looking at two options: 790fx w/ ddr3 or 790gx w/ ddr2. The 790fx build will cost about $50 more (due to DDR3) and will give you better x-fire support. the GX will be slightly cheaper (mostly because of DDR2). if your really going x-fire, id go with the FX if you can. If not, you'll have great performance with gx..... it a question of $$$$

sucks huh???? just did upgrade myself and it nearly killed me with all the price/performance options!

 

[IBM/PS1]

Yeah i'm losing my **** lol !

Can i use a am2+ phenom chip on an AM3 board with DDR3 ram ?

 

[Thresh25]

Just about no cards, or no cards at all use the full x16 2.0 bandwidth, having the second im crossfire at x8 is 100% fine and you will see no inrease with two x16. The biostar board is great. I have it running the x3 720 and an hd 4850. Crossfire would not be tight at all. If you have your card in the bottom slot (like you should) and its a dual slot card then it does cover up one pci slot. But who uses more than one pci slot really anyways?

I have overclocked the x3 720 to 3.2ghz. 3.4ghz was stable but just a little too hot for my taste. That's due in part to my case though. So to answer some questions, it;s not 50% for the 2nd card, not even close. crossfire will be fine and the same on the other board.

Also, you asked the difference between the 920 and 940. The 940 is a black edition processor. This means it has an unlocked multiplier which makes overclocking easier.

 

[Tenenbaum]

Yeah i'm losing my **** lol !

Can i use a am2+ phenom chip on an AM3 board with DDR3 ram ?

No, you can't use a AM2+ chip on a AM3 board.

You can use a AM2+/AM3 chip on a AM2+ board though, with a BIOS update. (If the BIOS supports it)

 

[MrFeetZ]

Can i use a am2+ phenom chip on an AM3 board with DDR3 ram ?

Strictly speaking; no. An AMD board that supports ONLY AM3 requires an AM3 chip and supports only DDR3. However there are mobo's that support both AM2+ and AM3 that use DDR2 (eg.: GIGABYTE GA-MA790FX-UD5P & ASUS M4N82 Deluxe). May have to do a bios update.

Quite confusing, huh???

If you want simple, stick w/ intel Core 2 w/ a P45 mobo. :-D