Mobo for AMD Phenom II 125W

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mydartswinger

New Member
I've recently been looking at upgrading my AMD Socket 939/DDR memory system to a new AMD AM3/DDR3 memory system. I'm looking at the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4Ghz 125W chip.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Every mobo I've looked at has been reviewed as needing a BIOS update before accepting the 125W chip, including the board that New Egg includes in their "combo deal" system for the chip. These reviews have cited freezing issues and no POST issues. An ASUS rep confirmed the issue in a reply to one of the reviews posted in November, but did not state a timeframe for when boards with the BIOS update to accept the new processors would be available. The higher rated reviews were all using the 955 Phenom chip.

I'm not looking to have to purchase a 955 chip just to update the BIOS so I can install the 965 chip. I went to ASUS's website to search for a board compatible, but all gave the warning that a BIOS update would be required if the BIOS version as shipped was below the recommended BIOS version to accept the chip. Since New Egg does not list BIOS versions in the specs, it seems as though I'd be taking a gamble on getting the right version.

I'm not looking to OC at this time. I do mainly productivity, internet, photos, videos, and simulators with some 1st person shooter gaming. This machine is also the file server, print server, and network management console for my home network. Decent (doesn't have to be the greatest) on-board sound is a must, as I'm not looking to add a separate sound card at this time. This will be going into a Thermaltake Armor+ VH6000BWS case, powered by a XClio 1000W PSU, cooled with a Koolance liquid cooling system, Patriot G Series "Sector 5" 4Gb (2 x's 2Gb) memory (P/N: PGV34G1333ELK), and graphics provided by a Gigabyte nVidia 9800GT (GV-N98TOC-1GI Rev 2.0) card.

Anyone have any recommendations for an ATX board for this system? Or would the rest of the system's components be a bottleneck for the CPU? If the other components would provide a bottleneck, what processor/mobo should I go with?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations you may be able to provide.
 
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craneop1985

New Member
This is the board that I'll probably be getting for my upgrade---http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176. According to the support page-find that herehttp://www.asrock.com/mb/cpu.asp?Model=M3A770DE It supports the 140 w version with the first bios and the 125W with the second. You might be able to find out what bios is on the board before you buy it from the manufacturer-but I know my Gigabyte board had an updated bios on it when I got it. From the bios update page---updated bios was released in 9-09 to Modify for "ACC" function.
 
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mydartswinger

New Member
Thanks for the tip. I looked at it, and it seems like it's a bit tight. I will definitely keep it in mind though.

My original thought was to go for the ASUS M4A79T Deluxe, but as stated in my original post, most using this board with the 125W 965 chip were getting the BIOS issue. From the specs and images, it looks to have plenty of space and uprade paths for future upgrades.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131363

Maybe when I go to order whatever board I do end up getting, I can get New Egg to check for the updated BIOS prior to shipping and update it if needed. If they can't check it, maybe I could get them to send it to the manufacturer for BIOS update prior to shipping it to me.

Thanks again.
 
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mydartswinger

New Member
I'm still searching, since it'll likely be at least late March or early April before I buy. I'll take a look at that board. I'm trying to see it now, but the network I'm currently on is about dial-up slow (after about 5+ minutes of loading it hasn't got past the URL). It's not my choice of network, but it works for where I'm at (deployed).

Thanks again for the suggestions.
 
2048Megabytes

2048Megabytes

Active Member
I think the Phenom II 955 Quad-Core Black Edition is a better deal than the Phenom II 965 Processor. It is $19 less in price and only runs at a 200 megahertz lower clockspeed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...74&cm_re=Phenom_II_955-_-19-103-674-_-Product

I just got my Phenom II 940 Quad-Core Processor last week. It has a lot of processing power. You will love your purchase. The only reason I bought it was I had a $65 coupon for Amazon.com. I got my Phenom II 940 from TigerDirect for about $94.
 
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