Hello everyone. First let me thank the administrator for creating a public forum in which we may post questions for our various computer issues. I work in tech support, and know how many people have issues they need resolved, and recognize the necessity for places like this. Anyway, I'm planning on a new computer build which I will purchase from newegg.com in 2-6 weeks (whenever my tax return payment arrives :chk: ) After months of fine-tuning parts, I have almost everything picked out, but there's still a couple issues I have: 1) I'm getting one of the new Phenom II 940's, but it's my understanding most BIOS's on the market need to be flashed before they can accept the Phenom II's. Are there any (preferably available on newegg.com) 790GX chipset mobos that can accept the Phenom II out-of-the-box? 1a) If I do end up needing to flash a BIOS to get it to work, will I need an old AM2+ socket CPU? I do not have one, thus my desire to find a mobo that doesn't require flashing. On the other hand, will an unflashed BIOS run with a Phenom II long enough to flash it? I know where I can find documents on how to make a bootable flash drive w/ a BIOS update. 1b) Does anyone know when the MSI 790GX-G65 will be available? :chk: If it comes out soon, that would pretty much eliminate the need for questions 1 & 1A to be answered (although it would alter question #2 below as I'd be looking for DDR3!) 2) Can anyone recommend some good RAM? Trying to find DDR2 1066 for 790GX chipsets is a nightmare! I'm looking to spend $60-90USD for a 4GB (2GB x 2) set, and I'm especially interested in any high-performance (for gaming) Mushkin kits that would be compatible. Note that I'm not into overclocking, however, so modules that perform well without overclocking are prefered. 3) [This question is rather low-priority and off-topic, but if someone can answer it, I'd appreciate it, and if not, then so be it] Does anyone know if AMD will be making their Dragon Platform logo into decals for my case? My build is centered around the Dragon Platform, so the only real requirement for the mobo is a 790GX northbridge. I'm currently considering these four (mainly for the # of USB ports available), but I'm willing to sacrifice a couple USB ports in exchange for a mobo that would be compatible with my Phenom II out-of-the-box. * ASRock AOD790GX/128M * MSI DKA790GX AM2+/AM2 MSI DKA790GX Platinum DFI LANPARTY DK 790GX-M2RS (* = prefered for price considerations) Thank you all for reading, and especially thank you for any and all answers posted here.
P.S.: Here's some of the other parts I have on the table: MD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz (as previously stated) SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 (May or may not upgrade to crossfire a 2nd one sometime in the future) Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB 7200 RPM Antec 900 Case SILVERSTONE ST70F 700W PSU And unless I receive better advice ( ) : ASRock AOD790GX/128M mobo mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit (Only one kit to start -- that can easily be upgraded in the future) My first build (and current rig) was built from 3/4 used ebay parts, and now it's time for something that'll kick butt
Okay, I'm answering most of my own question here, but for users interested in this thread, here's what I've found so far: Question #1: is still more-or-less unanswered. My guess is that you need an AM3 mobo for it to be out-of-the-box compatible, but I haven't heard a definitive answer if any AM2/AM2+ mobos can. Question #1a: has been answered -- at least for the ASRock AOD790GX/128M. According to their forums (and an e-mail I just received), you can get to POST with a new AOD790GX & Phenom II, but you would need to flash your BIOS at that time (not a problem!) I cannot speak for other mobos, and it seems to be hit-or-miss (long-story-short: do your research). Question #1b: has not been answered, and from what I've learned would be kind of moot. There's a difference between the AM2+ and AM3 Phenom II's (and from what I understand, the AM3's are not yet available), therefore I'm led to believe that I'd need to upgrade my build plan to an AM3 mobo, AM3 CPU, and DDR3 before I could take advantage of that new trinity -- which would likely take me over budget. But I'm still curious. Question #2: Still stands! I'm still a little confused about what determines mobo / memory compatibility. Because of ASRock's timely answer (and the fact that I'd like to experiment with their Instant Boot feature) I'm likely to go with that mobo at this time, so my recommendation request should consider that board as a determining factor. Question #3: Also still stands! I'd LOVE to get a big decal of that dragon!!! Again, thanks for reading, and all responses are appreciated.
In either case, I would flash the CMOS to the latest BIOS version available before installing the OS. At least that way you avoid any bugs that've already been fixed, and you can potentially save yourself trouble down the road. Also, I'd use a non-floppy method of flashing if one is available. There seem to be two different basic variations on the Phenom II. One uses the socket AM2+ as the first-gen Phenoms did, the other uses AM3. If you are getting an AM2+ mobo, make sure you get an AM2+ Phenom to match. Likewise if you choose an AM3 motherboard, pick up an AM3 Phenom II. I don't know about ASRock's quality, we've had a lot of complaints about that brand here over the years. But in most motherboards, it's simply a matter of choosing RAM which matches the speed, latency and voltage specified for the mobo in question. Sorry, no idea! But there are tin sticker manufacturers who can create decals for you if you want a certain design that badly.
My first build was all new, cheap, entry level parts like ASRock, generic this and that. My suggestion to you is - don't cut corners. If you are looking for something to kick butt use the best you can get. ASRock is not it! :dry: Personally, I would go with MSI, Asus or DFI. If only I could..... :doh:
Thanks for the responses, guys! Yes, I'd decided after the first response to NOT go with ASRock. I had a BIOSTAR on the list for a while, but . . . It seems AM3 processors and mobos are available!!! This changes things somewhat. First of all, I'm getting the 2.8GHz tri-core socket AM3 Phenom II, which is about $100 less than the 3.0GHZ quad I was looking at. This gives me a little more leeway for motherboards. Right now, on my newegg.com wishlist ( ) is the GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P board, along with some OCZ Reaper DDR3 1333MHz RAM (the Gigabyte mobo is really just a placeholder -- I AM going to wait for an AM3 mobo with a 790GX NB, and preferably MSI [I tend to have brand loyalty to AMD, MSI, and Radeon, as that combo has served me well for about five years now ]). So I guess really the only questions I still have are: 1) I'm *STILL* kinda fuzzy about memory/mobo compatibility. I've decided to skirt the issue by getting a combo mobo/memory deal with newegg. But I'm still curious about how to determine voltage compatibility, as I don't believe I've ever seen posted stats on a mobo that show memory voltage. Am I just looking in the wrong spot? 2) Here's a couple motherboards that have been announced, but are not yet available (at least not on newegg.com): MSI AM3 790GX-G65 (First choice) Asus M4A78T-E (2nd choice) Since I like MSI and have heard good things about ASUS, I suppose whichever is released sooner will get my dollar. All I've heard about the MSI mobo is that it'll be available "in February." Anyone happen to know anything more specific? 3) Still looking for a cool dragon decal. Anyway, thanks again for your responses, and my apologies for taking so long to deliver that thanks.
Oookay! I finally made my purchase, and despite my enthusiasm in the last message for the AM3's, I decided against after hearing that DDR3 still hasn't really been mainstreamed yet. I'm still getting the AMD Phenom II, and finally chose the ASUS M3A78-T motherboard, and I found a dragon decal on e-bay that I'll be putting on my case. (It's not the AMD dragon logo, but it'll do) So once again thanks for your advise, but I posted this final question on the ASUS forums, and it still hasn't been answered, so if I could please get some feedback before Wednesday (when my parts will be here!) I'd be very grateful: Is the CPU not being recognized by BIOS a "problem"? I've always heard that one simply doesn't flash a BIOS unless there is a "problem." I have the proper BIOS version on a flash drive, which I will use with ASUS's EZ Flash 2 to upgrade, and it doesn't seem to complicated, but I'd rather not do it unless I really needed to do so. Thanks for any and all advice, and be sure to check out My Computer for full specs!
It can be. Essentially what you're looking for is correct clocks, timings, buss speed and voltage. If you have that all set manually to correct values, it should be fine. But it's probably best to get your motherboard flashed to the latest firmware to recognize the processor correctly if possible.
