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Thread: Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

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    Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

    I just picked up a bargain and got a new AMD FX-4170 for £85. And I was wondering if there are any particular favourite socket A3+ motherboards out there? I'm building my rig on the budget end of the spectrum. It's mainly for day-to-day office work with a sprinkling of Shogun 2/Civ 5/Battlefield 3.

    I'm hoping to get a Sata 3 SSD and a Radeon HD 7770 when the price falls a bit further. My hope is to get a second 7770 in 12 months time, and potentially replace the CPU with another AMD 24 months down the line.

    My ideal budget for a motherboard is around £90. I can however stretch up to £110.

    I'm also a patient bargain hunter who can wait for a bashed box to come along.

    Any thoughts?

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    Re: Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

    Well, just to give you an update.

    I've done a pretty hefty bit of digging around and I've come across the ASRock 970 Extreme 4 for £68.36 at Scan. It seems to meet all my requirements: Sata III, 2x PCIe 2.0 lanes capable of 8x in each (with a 3rd that can be 4x) and USB 3. The only catch is that at launch the motherboard wouldn't support the new FX chips. A few recent bios updates have rectified this, but there is a risk the board I purchase won't have the latest bios. In which case ASRock are able to send out a replacement bios chip.

    You can find the board here on Scan: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asroc...n-usb-30-esata

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    Re: Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

    There's also a really helpful review of the ASRock 970 Extreme4 board here: http://www.ocinside.de/html/results/..._extreme4.html

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    Re: Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

    Are you overclocking??

    If you if want Crossfire,I would look at getting a 990X or 990FX based motherboard and these probably will overclock better than a 970. However,a single card setup is preferable to a dual card setup IMHO. Also,an HD6850 1GB is cheaper and faster than an HD7770.

    Edit!!

    The 970 chipset supports Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 16X/4X,so I would confirm with AsRock if that motherboard does indeed support PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X Crossfire.

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    Re: Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    Are you overclocking??
    I will give the machine a mild overclock. Nothing serious. Just to see what extra juice is hiding. I intend to see what I can get on the stock voltage and leave it at that.

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    If you if want Crossfire,I would look at getting a 990X or 990FX based motherboard and these probably will overclock better than a 970. However,a single card setup is preferable to a dual card setup IMHO. Also,an HD6850 1GB is cheaper and faster than an HD7770.
    I agree a single GPU setup is preferable. Unfortunately budgetary constraints make that too difficult at the time of build. So instead, I want to build a rig that has an upgrade path, hence the nod to Crossfire. I have looked at the 6850, it's a great card. I'm just wondering how much the 7770s will fall in price over the next few months.

    Quote Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH View Post
    The 970 chipset supports Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 16X/4X,so I would confirm with AsRock if that motherboard does indeed support PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X Crossfire.
    Yes. According to their website specifications and what I've read elsewhere. This boards does upport PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X Crossfire. See here: http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970%20E...Specifications

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    Re: Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

    his is what im getting for Birthday

    http://www.ebuyer.com/349910-gigabyt...rd-ga-970a-ds3 Not for overclocking but a good bang for buck

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    Re: Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

    Quote Originally Posted by MrNeil View Post
    his is what im getting for Birthday

    http://www.ebuyer.com/349910-gigabyt...rd-ga-970a-ds3 Not for overclocking but a good bang for buck
    That won't quite suit me as it can't support two PCIe 2.0 slots at 8x/8x. According to the specs it would be 12x/4x.

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    Re: Suggested Motherboard for an AMD FX-4170

    By the way, there's an MSI HD 6850 for £88 (although it was £85) on Scan.

    It is mostly 990X boards that support x8/x8. I don't know if that Asrock is good, they've scimped somewhere to support crossfire.

    970 chipset boards are very cheap, 990X usually start at £80+ along with better phases for better overclocking and stability. The FX-4170 is already good at 125W TDP? You may be able to get a mild overclock on a 970 board such as Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 (8+2 phase).

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