Solved Motherboard for AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE

[dorian hawkmoon]

Considering my present hardware config, how would a AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE and GIGABYTE-MA78LMT-S2 sound? I do not have the proper budget for it, but maybe...maybe GIGABYTE 880GM-USB3

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I like MSI but that's just me.
MSI 760GM-E51 Motherboard - AMD 760G, Socket AM3, USB, PCIe, RAID, LAN, DDR3, SATA2 at TigerDirect
But consider only mobo's with DDR3 slots and again I prefer 4 slots.

 

[dorian hawkmoon]

Looks like none of the mobos are available , I'm going for a stability upgrade anyway,so I'm thinking of Athlon II X2 265 (or if not available at all x2 260 )and GIGABYTE-MA78LMT-S2

 

[dorian hawkmoon]

Went and updated what u see in specs! nothing spectacular, just a decent upgrade from what i had.

 

[Britton30]

Good job, the MA78LMT-S2 isn't available here in the US.

 

[dorian hawkmoon]

Thanks , strange that it's not available there!
Apart from a few hiccups (once the screen went into standby while restarting and cpu just kept running/while booting screen went into a pleasant shade of blank black like p.o.s.t and stayed there, had to ctrl+alt+del and restart) its running ok I guess. Ran prime95 blend for 25 mins. and furmark (1366x768 burn in,post fx) for 5 mins. seemed okay-no restarts/hangs/etc.

 

[dorian hawkmoon]

Seems like the board was buggy,going to RMA it tomorrow-replaced it with asus M5A78L-M LX

 

[seekermeister]

I like MSI but that's just me.
MSI 760GM-E51 Motherboard - AMD 760G, Socket AM3, USB, PCIe, RAID, LAN, DDR3, SATA2 at TigerDirect
But consider only mobo's with DDR3 slots and again I prefer 4 slots.

It's not just you, othewise they couldn't make those MBs, but I wouldn't touch another one with a ten foot pole. I'm talking about brand, not just the model.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Funny as it's all I use and recommend to friends, all without a hitch. I also have to say that MSI's customer support is top flight but again that's my experience and your mileage may vary. I sent a mobo back thinking it was the problem and it turned out it wasn't at all. MSI checked it out and rather than risk any problems they sent me a re-manufactured board back that had been fully tested for performance.....all for free. Lot's of good choices out there with ASUS and EVGA coming to mind. I even considered a ASRock for bang for buck and can't recall what turned me away from them? I'm glad you're having luck with them and sorry you didn't with MSI but I think yours is a rare situation......IMHO.

 

[seekermeister]

Not all that rare! Actually, your experience surprises me...but then perhaps MSI has turned a new leaf. Whether they have or not, I'm not going to find out.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Classic !

 

[seekermeister]

Classic? It comes by learning from experience...mine, not someone else's. Been burned too many times.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

You are welcome to your opinion and I'm sure if I had the issues that you infer with a particular brand I would be put off as well.

 

[dorian hawkmoon]

Got a noob question for ya'll! Can I even (if yes, then how?) turn on Hybrid CrossfireX on my setup?

 

[Britton30]

Darn good question.

I had a look at the motherboard manual and there is nothing on Hybrid Xfire in it, typical mobo manual.
try the mobo CD, maybe it has something or the GFX card documentation.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Notes say refer to Global Provider of Innovative Graphics, Processors and Media Solutions | AMD for hybrid crossfire GPU choices. So I take away that it's referring to your crossfire choices and note what I think as a mobo and GPU hybrid configuration.
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A78LM_LX/#specifications

 

[Britton30]

Oops, I missed that tiny *1 in the graphics specs.

 

[dorian hawkmoon]

Researched a little bit and came up with this:-

http://sites.amd.com/PublishingImag.../WebBannerJPEG/AMD_CrossfireX_Chart_1618W.jpg

According to this chart, I don't think i can even do mobo+gpu hybrid cfx

 

[stormy13]

Correct you can't. Then again why would you want to when you consider that your current HD 6770 is faster than any card that does work with the onboard in Hybrid Crossfire. Hybrid Crossfire was designed to only work with a few low end cards as once you get to the mid range, the single cards are faster than any combo that does work.

You may not be able to use the hybrid Crossfire (which would be a waste of the HD 6770), but you can if you want use both the onboard and HD 6770 to run up to 4 (or possibly 5) monitors using the Surround View option in the bios.

 

[dorian hawkmoon]

True and to the point Stormy. Nothing can be said after that Case closed. For those who have low-mid end cards,check out the chart to ascertain whether or not you can Hybrid CrossfireX (Mobo+discrete gpu)