PSU for 5850

[michaelvvmm]

yea, that msi mobo supports cpus with a max tdp of 125w.

i see that it supports the pii x4 965 c3 stepping, which is the 125w version, but it does not support the c2 stepping, which is the 140w version.

What are the cheapest motherboards that support 140w cpus and has 2 pcie 2.0 x16 slots? Can you name a couple?

 

[Muffin Man]

What are the cheapest motherboards that support 140w cpus and has 2 pcie 2.0 x16 slots? Can you name a couple?

if you want to know if a certain mobo supports them or not, you can look at the manufacturer's spec page.

this is the cheapest one i came across
Newegg.com - ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

 

[michaelvvmm]

I dont know what to do, should I get the msi board which is this:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130265
it only supports 125w cpus and has two PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots or the asrock board which is this:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157180 the one of the two PCI-E slots is x4 but it supports 140w cpus. Which one should I get?

I also only have ddr2 ram so I cant get a ddr3 board

 

[Muffin Man]

oh, i forgot to ask in my previous post, why do you want a mobo with support for 140w tdp cpus?

your x3 720 has a tdp of 95w and the only other current amd cpu (i think... i'm almost completely sure) that has a tdp of 140w is the c2 stepping x4 965, but amd has already released a c3 stepping x4 965 with a tdp of 125w which costs almost the same.

also, even if you were to use two 5870s in crossfire, there would not be a huge difference in performance from running cards in crossfire at x16/x16 vs x8/x8.
ATI HD 5870 Scaling Performance: X58 vs P55 Showdown - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

but, if you still want a mobo with those req's, this is probably the cheapest one you'll find (on newegg anyway)
Newegg.com - DFI LANParty DK 790FXB-M3H5 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

 

[michaelvvmm]

I was going to get a phenom II 940 and overclock it a lot so would I need to get a 140 w motherboard to overclock a 125w cpu?(if I overvolt it)

 

[KSoD]

I have personally cleaned the thread. Lets keep it on helping this person get the right PSU. Enough bickering already.

 

[zmatt]

I was going to get a phenom II 940 and overclock it a lot so would I need to get a 140 w motherboard to overclock a 125w cpu?(if I overvolt it)

definitely wouldn't hurt. When you are building a pc your motherboard is not a place where you want to cut corners. When a mobo fails it could take out everything plugged into it.

 

[Apokalipse]

I'd try and aim for a 955 C3 stepping if you are getting a quad
The advantage of it is it can be used in socket AM3, and C3 stepping chips also overclock better.