Best AMD CPU/RAM to pair with a Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3?

FX-8120, I believe that's ~$170 now, and any 2x4gb 1600mhz RAM set, most of those are in the $30-40 range.

Since you don't have it yet, I would suggest going Z77 with a 3570K.
 
Definitely an 8120 especially if you're gonna overclock. If you are, I suggest a beefier CPU cooler like a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ at least. As for RAM, I prefer Corsair and their Vengeance low profile is a very good choice and wont interfere with your CPU Cooper's air flow.

Now all that being said, I am obligated to tell you that since you're building from scratch and assuming you haven't bought the motherboard yet, a good Z77 and i5-3570K is the better way to go as it is a better processor. That's not to say the AMD rig wont perform well, just that the Intel rig will perform better albeit at a $70 price difference as the i5's are currently running $240 compared to the $170 of the 8120.
 
if you can hang on, PD for desktop (vishera on AM3+ socket) will be out later this year.

if you can't hang on, get the cheapest FX processor you can find or perhaps even a deneb x4 or thuban x6 if you can still find 'em. then get PD when released (FX8350?) later on.

Gigabyte MB's are solid (i've got a few floating about) tho personally i prefer the Asus 990FX MBs (CHV, Sabertooth). one of the reasons i went with Asus for my 990FX MB is b/c it uses the newer UEFI bios while i believe Gigabyte didn't adopt for their 990FX/990X/970 chipset boards. that and the fact Asus uses a intel NIC instead of the marvel/realtech garbage (at least on the CHV).

can't go wrong with G.Skill/Corsair RAM tho preferably 1600 @1.5v. lots of people are praising the samsung low voltage RAM (1.35v) tho i've had no experience with it.

Tsumi right, you should be considering IB/Z77 rig unless you specifically want AMD over Intel.
 
Tsumi said:
FX-8120, I believe that's ~$170 now, and any 2x4gb 1600mhz RAM set, most of those are in the $30-40 range.

Since you don't have it yet, I would suggest going Z77 with a 3570K.
Click to expand...

I as thinking about that, but that might push me over the budget, or i'd have to get everything separately.

Got any suggestions? I was looking at this that someone else suggested:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116505
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544



MacLeod said:
Definitely an 8120 especially if you're gonna overclock. If you are, I suggest a beefier CPU cooler like a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ at least. As for RAM, I prefer Corsair and their Vengeance low profile is a very good choice and wont interfere with your CPU Cooper's air flow.

Now all that being said, I am obligated to tell you that since you're building from scratch and assuming you haven't bought the motherboard yet, a good Z77 and i5-3570K is the better way to go as it is a better processor. That's not to say the AMD rig wont perform well, just that the Intel rig will perform better albeit at a $70 price difference as the i5's are currently running $240 compared to the $170 of the 8120.
Click to expand...

No, I dont overclock. I tried it a few times but had no luck lol.

I'm not building from scratch, just replacing the mobo/CPU/RAM.

I cant find a mobo for a phenom x4 9950 BE, so I have to get new stuff.

How is the trio I linked above?
 
Spend the extra ~$20 and get the K version. Overclocking on those is extremely easy, and practically foolproof.

That board and RAM are fine.
 
Being a long time AMD user myself, the system in my sig is my first Intel setup since before my K6-2 450. I will concur and say the little bit extra the 3570K/Z77 will cost you will be well worth every penny as more demanding applications and games come out over the next couple/few years.

The FX will do just fine, it's just a proven fact that SB and IB do it a bit better for a small marginally higher investment.

Go with whatever your budget allows and your gut tells you.
 
Tsumi said:
Spend the extra ~$20 and get the K version. Overclocking on those is extremely easy, and practically foolproof.

That board and RAM are fine.
Click to expand...

Right on, thanks.

I might PM you for some OC'ing tips if you dont mind.
 
DejaWiz said:
Being a long time AMD user myself, the system in my sig is my first Intel setup since before my K6-2 450. I will concur and say the little bit extra the 3570K/Z77 will cost you will be well worth every penny as more demanding applications and games come out over the next couple/few years.

The FX will do just fine, it's just a proven fact that SB and IB do it a bit better for a small marginally higher investment.

Go with whatever your budget allows and your gut tells you.
Click to expand...

I'd stick with AMD if I could, mainly cause it'd be cheaper to replace a mobo then all 3, but, I cant find a mobo that will still take a phenom x4 9950 BE anywhere. I've been looking all day.
 
Dunan said:
I'd stick with AMD if I could, mainly cause it'd be cheaper to replace a mobo then all 3, but, I cant find a mobo that will still take a phenom x4 9950 BE anywhere. I've been looking all day.
Click to expand...

Simply because the IMC on the 9950 only supports DDR2, while all motherboards today uses DDR3.

You would need an older AM2+ board with DDR2 to be able to use the 9950, and the latest chipset that uses DDR2 is the 7xx series.
 
DejaWiz said:
$360
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.951181

$43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544

That memory is a prime example of what typical DDR3 1600 pricing is. But really, any decent 1.5V 1333 or 1600 speed will be perfectly fine, as you won't be able to tell any performance difference at all.

After a while of saving up some extra cash, then get a good HSF. The stock unit will be fine for stock speed or very light OC'ing.
Click to expand...


That's a sweet deal, do you know how long it's going on for?
 
Dunan said:
That's a sweet deal, do you know how long it's going on for?
Click to expand...

By no means a sweet deal, pretty much just a standard Newegg combo discount that's ongoing until the hardware is outdated.
 
Tsumi said:
By no means a sweet deal, pretty much just a standard Newegg combo discount that's ongoing until the hardware is outdated.
Click to expand...

Considering the price/performance that sounds good to me :D

I remember paying 500+ for a dual core opteron by itself.
 
Prices have fallen a lot, and there's a reason why the 2500k, and now the 3570k, are the go to processors for most users. Easily overclocks to 4.5 ghz, and easily drives any SLI setup.

Now, if you're nearby a Microcenter, you can pick up a 3570k for $190 with a $50 discount on a motherboard of your choosing.
 
That's just what I was about to suggest. If you're near a Microcenter, they've got the i5-2500K for like $180 or something plus $40 off on a motherboard so you could get a CPU and mobo for well under $300.
 
MacLeod said:
That's just what I was about to suggest. If you're near a Microcenter, they've got the i5-2500K for like $180 or something plus $40 off on a motherboard so you could get a CPU and mobo for well under $300.
Click to expand...

2500k is $169 last time I looked.
 
Tsumi said:
Prices have fallen a lot, and there's a reason why the 2500k, and now the 3570k, are the go to processors for most users. Easily overclocks to 4.5 ghz, and easily drives any SLI setup.

Now, if you're nearby a Microcenter, you can pick up a 3570k for $190 with a $50 discount on a motherboard of your choosing.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there isn't one in az. There's a frys electronics here, that's it as far as where to buy motherboards and pc parts. Wish there was a microcenter here, looks like a good store and frys has pretty limited stock.
 
DejaWiz said:
Are you a Newegg newsletter member?

Check out these sale prices on the motherboard in your thread title as well as the FX-8150:

MoBo

CPU

Combo MoBo and 8120
Click to expand...

Actually that's the wrong board, the one I was looking at has 2x eSata included, the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3. I'll have to look to see what's its going for on newegg, I didnt check if they had it.

How is that CPU for gaming? It's getting rave reviews on mewegg but the benchmarks are horrible from the reviews I've seen.
 
Dunan said:
Actually that's the wrong board, the one I was looking at has 2x eSata included, the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3. I'll have to look to see what's its going for on newegg, I didnt check if they had it.

How is that CPU for gaming? It's getting rave reviews on mewegg but the benchmarks are horrible from the reviews I've seen.
Click to expand...

For gaming, you're better off with an OC'd 1090T/1100T from what I've seen. But unless you're using dual video cards or extreme resolutions, I doubt you'd notice a difference.
 
Dunan said:
Actually that's the wrong board, the one I was looking at has 2x eSata included, the GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3. I'll have to look to see what's its going for on newegg, I didnt check if they had it.
Click to expand...

Yep, looks like we both posted at exactly the same time. :)

How is that CPU for gaming? It's getting rave reviews on mewegg but the benchmarks are horrible from the reviews I've seen.

kirbyrj said:
For gaming, you're better off with an OC'd 1090T/1100T from what I've seen. But unless you're using dual video cards or extreme resolutions, I doubt you'd notice a difference.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Here's a [H] review of the FX gameplay experience.
My take: the AMD or Intel will provide perfectly acceptable gaming experiences. However, there are some games that the AMD FX seems to stuggle with, and there's been little if any explanation as to why. Even though it may struggle, this struggle is only in comparison to what the Intel CPU is providing, and gameplay is still perfectly acceptable with either brand.

Keeping an eye to the future, we do not know how upcoming games will behave on either the latest AMD or Intel, but it's generally a much safer bet (to me, anyway) to stick with the Intel or, as kirby stated, the AMD 1090T/1100T.

Just keep in mind the aspects of whatever platform you research, such as price, availability, performance with what you do, etc.

Here are the 990FX board combos on NE:

with 8150
$328

with 8120
$298

with 4170
$277
 
Last edited:
kirbyrj said:
For gaming, you're better off with an OC'd 1090T/1100T from what I've seen. But unless you're using dual video cards or extreme resolutions, I doubt you'd notice a difference.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about going crossfire but I can't yet, this will cost me for a while lol. Right now I'm using an ati sapphire 6950.

DejaWiz said:
Yep, looks like we both posted at exactly the same time. :)



Here's a [H] review of the FX gameplay experience.
My take: the AMD or Intel will provide perfectly acceptable gaming experiences. However, there are some games that the AMD FX seems to stuggle with, and there's been little if any explanation as to why. Even though it may struggle, this struggle is only in comparison to what the Intel CPU is providing, and gameplay is still perfectly acceptable with either brand.

Keeping an eye to the future, we do not know how upcoming games will behave on either the latest AMD or Intel, but it's generally a much safer bet (to me, anyway) to stick with the Intel or, as kirby stated, the AMD 1090T/1100T.

Just keep in mind the aspects of whatever platform you research, such as price, availability, performance with what you do, etc.

Here are the 9900FX board combos on NE:

with 8150
$328

with 8120
$298

with 4170
$277
Click to expand...

Thanks, you guys got me pretty much convinced to go the intel route, after looking at the benches, I think the higher cost justifies the performance. I'm just not very impressed with the benchmarks but I will say that the amd based motherboards sure look sweet though!
 
Yeah, it's probably worth it to go Intel unless you have a board or chip lying around. Only thing is this round of Intel sockets is the last of LGA1155 while AM3+ should be viable for Piledriver and possibly Steamroller.
 
I agree, some of them do look pretty nice. But then, so do the intel-based boards, albeit generally at a higher cost for the equivalent brand series.
 
kirbyrj said:
Yeah, it's probably worth it to go Intel unless you have a board or chip lying around. Only thing is this round of Intel sockets is the last of LGA1155 while AM3+ should be viable for Piledriver and possibly Steamroller.
Click to expand...

The flipside is that the 1155 platform with a quad core is fast enough to last us gamers for at least the next 2-4 years, I reckon. When it starts showing it's age with future games and programs and an upgrade is warranted, then I'm sure chipsets beyond 990FX for PD and SR will be out, as well as Intel's Haswell or maybe it'll last as far out as Skylake.
 
kirbyrj said:
Yeah, it's probably worth it to go Intel unless you have a board or chip lying around. Only thing is this round of Intel sockets is the last of LGA1155 while AM3+ should be viable for Piledriver and possibly Steamroller.
Click to expand...

I would stick with amd because I have a working 9950 BE laying around but I can't find a board for it. :(
Beats replacing the main 3 components.

I would probably go the amd route if I knew they would eventually compete with intel in the future. From what I understand the 9950 is about as fast as a Q6600 but look how long it took them just to reach that, it was years.
 
DejaWiz said:
The flipside is that the 1155 platform with a quad core is fast enough to last us gamers for at least the next 2-4 years, I reckon. When it starts showing it's age with future games and programs and an upgrade is warranted, then I'm sure chipsets beyond 990FX for PD and SR will be out, as well as Intel's Haswell or maybe it'll last as far out as Skylake.
Click to expand...

The 5 year old Nehalems are only finally starting to show their age, but only in quad-SLI/crossfire situations. They're going to remain viable for most users for at least another 2-3 years, well into Haswell.
 
Dunan said:
I would stick with amd because I have a working 9950 BE laying around but I can't find a board for it. :(
Beats replacing the main 3 components.
Click to expand...

Try looking on eBay.
 
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DejaWiz said:
The flipside is that the 1155 platform with a quad core is fast enough to last us gamers for at least the next 2-4 years, I reckon. When it starts showing it's age with future games and programs and an upgrade is warranted, then I'm sure chipsets beyond 990FX for PD and SR will be out, as well as Intel's Haswell or maybe it'll last as far out as Skylake.
Click to expand...

Yes, there will likely be new AMD chipsets, but with SATA 3 and USB 3 on the current crop of boards, there is no real reason to upgrade as long as the processor support is there and they need an AM3++ or something ridiculous like that. There isn't THAT much difference between a 790 and a 990 board.

Realistically, an Ivy Bridge CPU will still be equal to whatever Steamroller is 2 years from now anyway.
 
kirbyrj said:
Try looking on eBay.
Click to expand...

I did, all I found were used boards :(

I might as well go for the new stuff, if anything went wrong with it it'll be a lot less expensive to replace.
 
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DejaWiz said:
The flipside is that the 1155 platform with a quad core is fast enough to last us gamers for at least the next 2-4 years, I reckon. When it starts showing it's age with future games and programs and an upgrade is warranted, then I'm sure chipsets beyond 990FX for PD and SR will be out, as well as Intel's Haswell or maybe it'll last as far out as Skylake.
Click to expand...

don't think any gamer/overclocker will be ever pleased, people would upgrade everything for a few extra mhz overclock..
 
Dunan said:
I did, all I found were used boards :(

I might as well go for the new stuff, if anything went wrong with it it'll be a lot less expensive to replace.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't know that I'd have quite an aversion to used boards, especially for the price (and eBay's buyer protection is completely slanted against the sellers anyway). You're looking at somewhere around $25-50 depending on the board vs. spending $300+ on a totally new setup. But you're right. You're not going to find too many new AM2+ boards out there.
 
asdf123 said:
don't think any gamer/overclocker will be ever pleased, people would upgrade everything for a few extra mhz overclock..
Click to expand...

You mean, only a few select hardcore gamers/overclockers would upgrade everything every year. There are many of us in the enthusiast community constrained by budget, and are more on 2-3 year upgrade cycles.
 
Tsumi said:
You mean, only a few select hardcore gamers/overclockers would upgrade everything every year. There are many of us in the enthusiast community constrained by budget, and are more on 2-3 year upgrade cycles.
Click to expand...

That would be me lol. I'm actually unemployed at the moment. :(
 
DejaWiz said:
$360
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.951181

$43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148544

That memory is a prime example of what typical DDR3 1600 pricing is. But really, any decent 1.5V 1333 or 1600 speed will be perfectly fine, as you won't be able to tell any performance difference at all.

After a while of saving up some extra cash, then get a good HSF. The stock unit will be fine for stock speed or very light OC'ing.
Click to expand...

Damn, the mobo/CPU combo is no longer valid :(
 
That's because the 3570K is on sale this weekend for $220. Better jump before they sell out!
 
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