AM3 recommendations?

Gohan · Post by **Gohan** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:31 am

I haven't used an AMD setup for a while so iâ€™m looking for motherboard recommendations.

I need the following features:
785G + DDR3 support
Sideport would be nice but not needed.
Good range of undervolting options
eSata
IGP overclocking support
MATX

Any ideas?

Anodyne · Post by **Anodyne** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 1:46 pm

I've been looking at AM3 micro-ATX 785G mobo's also, I'm planning on building a Phenom II rig soon. The boards I've looked at include:

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128397

MSI 785GM-E65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130233

ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131406

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128399

ASRock M3A785GMH/128M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157168

I'd be interested in any opinions/advice/experience as well. I've owned MSI and Asrock mobos in the past and they were OK but I'm not stuck on them. I'm more interested in reliability and stability than anything else.

I can't really see much difference feature-wise with any of these. The only difference I can find in the two Gigabyte boards is that the GPMT version has sideport memory. I've also noted that the two Gigabyte boards seem to only have two fan headers while all all the others appear to have three. Also, the CPU power header on the Gigabyte boards is an 8-pin plug and the other manufacturers seem to use a 4-pin plug. I'm not sure what that means. Finally, the Asus uses a Via sound chip and all the others use Realtek.

Anyone have any experience with any of these boards?

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 3:25 pm

The MSI 785GM-E65 always looked like a really nice board. SPCR has a review of it as well.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article967-page1.html

I have a Gigabyte 785G AM2+ board, and the northbridge heatsink will get pretty warm when you're using the onboard graphics. Temps are probably within tolerances, but it still kind of bothers me. A heatpipe system like what the MSI has would probably help a lot to keep the NB cool.

Gohan · Post by **Gohan** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:50 am

Thanks for the input, I'll order the MSI 785GM-E65.

Anodyne · Post by **Anodyne** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:49 am

For what it's worth, according to their 'supported CPU list' the Gigabyte boards apparently can't handle 140w CPUs and the others can. Not that I want to use a 140w CPU but knowing that the board is rated for that much power is somehow comforting.

GavinAshford · Post by **GavinAshford** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 5:07 am

Anodyne wrote:For what it's worth, according to their 'supported CPU list' the Gigabyte boards apparently can't handle 140w CPUs and the others can. Not that I want to use a 140w CPU but knowing that the board is rated for that much power is somehow comforting.

I believe that this is what the 8pin 12v CPU socket is for - though I believe it can function with just a 4pin 12v according to page 24 of the manual which says:

The power connectors are compatible with power supplies with 2x2 12V and 2x10 power connectors. When using a power supply providing a 2x4 12V and a 2x12 power connector, remove the protective covers from the 12V power connector and the main power connector on the motherboard. Do not insert the power supply cables into pins under the protective covers when using a power supply providing a 2x2 12V and a 2x10 power connector.

The Gigabyte boards do have 3 fan headers, CPU is definitely PWM.
The SYS header is 4pin, however page 25 of the manual shows there is no speed control on the 4th pin, its labeled as "Reverse"

Finally there's a 3pin north bridge header, but this runs at 12v all the time - no bios control.

I was holding out for the sideport enabled 'P' gigabyte board but since it appears absolutely no where other than in the hands of reviewers i went for the non sideport enabled version. I'll be combining this with the 405e when that eventually becomes available to form the start of a htpc.

Double check the supported cpu lists depending what Phenom II chip you're thinking about to ensure that it supports that processor's wattage.

Anodyne · Post by **Anodyne** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:01 am

Double check the supported cpu lists depending what Phenom II chip you're thinking about to ensure that it supports that processor's wattage.

That's how I came up with my notion about the 140w support - the Gigabyte CPU support for those two boards does not seem to list the 140w X4 965. The Asrock, MSI and Asus CPU lists do however list that CPU. Those guys also specifically mention '140w support' under their features list, and Gigabyte doesn't.

Again, not sure if that should be important to me if I don't anticipate using a 140w CPU, but you never know what the next upgrade might require so it's a nice warm fuzzy to have.

Anodyne · Post by **Anodyne** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 6:04 am

The Gigabyte boards do have 3 fan headers, CPU is definitely PWM.
The SYS header is 4pin, however page 25 of the manual shows there is no speed control on the 4th pin, its labeled as "Reverse"
Finally there's a 3pin north bridge header, but this runs at 12v all the time - no bios control.

Thanks, I was just counting from the photos and must have missed one. Good to have 3 headers but too bad only the CPU can be controlled. Wonder if the Asrock, MSI and Asus are similar - maybe I can download their manuals to find out.

Vicotnik · Post by **Vicotnik** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:25 am

Anodyne wrote:That's how I came up with my notion about the 140w support - the Gigabyte CPU support for those two boards does not seem to list the 140w X4 965. The Asrock, MSI and Asus CPU lists do however list that CPU. Those guys also specifically mention '140w support' under their features list, and Gigabyte doesn't.

Are you talking about Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H?

The product page has that nice 140W CPU Support "sticker" and Phenom II X4 965 is indeed listed in the CPU Support List.

It's the same for GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H btw. I'm pretty sure it's the same board as GA-MA785GMT-UD2H but with sideport memory.

Anodyne · Post by **Anodyne** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:57 pm

Are you talking about Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H?

The product page has that nice 140W CPU Support "sticker" and Phenom II X4 965 is indeed listed in the CPU Support List.

D'oh! How did I miss that? I hadn't noticed the '140w CPU' logo to the side, I was just reading the text.

In my defense, they don't mention the 140w support in the text, and the CPU support page lists only the new 125w version of the X4 965 (not the 140w version).

GavinAshford · Post by **GavinAshford** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 1:16 am

Anodyne wrote:
The Gigabyte boards do have 3 fan headers, CPU is definitely PWM.
The SYS header is 4pin, however page 25 of the manual shows there is no speed control on the 4th pin, its labeled as "Reverse"
Finally there's a 3pin north bridge header, but this runs at 12v all the time - no bios control.
Thanks, I was just counting from the photos and must have missed one. Good to have 3 headers but too bad only the CPU can be controlled. Wonder if the Asrock, MSI and Asus are similar - maybe I can download their manuals to find out.

Sorry, i appear i wasnt as clear as i had hoped - CPU and SYS can be controlled, though CPU is PWM contollable but it appears SYS is not - it is just normal voltage control through BIOS.

barefootzero · Post by **barefootzero** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 11:43 am

I got a MSI 785GM-E65. I really like it. Only the cpu fan is actively controlled. The case fan voltage can be set manualy. On my system I have the cpu fan ducted to take outside air. I use the case fan to give a little air flow over the hard drive. It is a 80mm panaflow on the lowest bios setting (I think 6v) and is inaudible.

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:28 pm

I have the GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H with an Athlon II 240. Works fine using a passive Ninja Mini, with 2 80mm fans running <900rpm and the Corsair PSU nearby.

Anodyne · Post by **Anodyne** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 3:53 pm

Well, I had to bite on some Black Friday deals. I ordered a Phenom II X4 955BE and the MSI 785GM-E65 from ZipZoomFly for about $235 shipped (combo deal). Also got 4Gb of GSkill DDR3 from NewEgg for $70 shipped. After I receive them it may be a few weeks before I get my system rebuilt, but I'll try to report back my impressions...

The 955BE was more CPU & heat than I planned on buying, but it seemed like a really good combo deal. Maybe prices are being dropped due to new steppings coming out? Oh well, there's always a better deal if you wait forever!