They’ve been struggling with this for a long time—ever since the 8xx and 7xx chipsets came out. Honestly, ASRock and especially MSI are pretty much useless when it comes to overclocking or high-end builds on the AM3+ socket. If you're looking for stability, you can get a Gigabyte or an ASUS board for basically the same price that won't let you down. You have to look at real-world performance; on paper, everything looks identical, but that's not how it works in practice. To reiterate my point:
Has anyone here actually gotten hands-on experience with the 970A DS3P, UD3P, MSI 970A-G46, 970 Extreme 3, 970 Pro 3, M5A97, or the M5A97 EVO?
I can say from my own personal experience.
The 970A-UD3 Rev 1.1 features an 8+2 power phase, and we all know that’s a solid, reliable motherboard.
Running a 970A-DS3P paired with an FX 8320 overclocked to 4.8GHz at 1.406V. I've got an Antec H20 650 powering the build, and everything is running perfectly—zero throttling or issues whatsoever.
The 970A-G46 is a total freak of a motherboard, and honestly, that GD80 I tested was complete garbage.
The 970 Extreme 3 and the 970 Pro 3 both suffer from insane throttling—it’s enough to drive you crazy. Even when testing the 990FX Extreme 9, the socket temperature stays absolutely massive, and there is just no way to cool it down. At this rate, the whole launch is going to be a total disaster.
The M5A97 is top-tier, just like a major league LLC—it’s a must-have, period.
Look, this guy isn't some rookie; he’s successfully overclocked on pretty much every board available for the AM3+ socket.
Anyone have any experience running an fx 6300 on a Gigabyte DS3P? I'm currently torn between that and the ASRock Extreme3.
The first league, man—a buddy of mine is running an 8350 on it and everything works flawlessly. He’s even got it overclocked to 4.6GHz, and it runs perfectly without any throttling at all.
Avoid ASRock.
... Believe me, if I haven't tested pretty much every single revision of those 900 series boards out there, then I haven't really tested anything at all. ... The power delivery on this board is exceptionally well-engineered, which is a massive advantage.
The cable from the monitor needs to plug directly into the graphics card. Regarding the inside of the case—if your GPU has an extra power pin, you absolutely have to connect that to the power supply unit.
What kind of graphics card are you actually running?
What are you guys even talking about? For the price, the Gigabyte 970 A-DS3P is an absolute steal. It actually delivers more stable voltages than some of those supposedly "high-end" boards from ASRock or MSI built for the AM3+ socket. A massive Vdrop and inconsistent socket temperatures compared to the core are just typical flaws you see with those other brands.
On paper, the Gigabyte 970 A-DS3P might look similar to an ASRock board like the 970 extreme3, but in real-world testing, they are worlds apart. And honestly, the ASRock 990 FX Extreme 4 is probably one of the most overpriced boards out there—buying one new costs as much as a premium enthusiast board. It’s no wonder you can pick them up used for pennies on the dollar.
I can't recall the exact steps off the top of my head, but check if there's a utility you can use to cap the charging—something like limiting it to 50% when the laptop is plugged in. It acts as a safety buffer so you aren't constantly cooking the battery by keeping it at 100% while it's tethered to the wall. You might find those settings under the battery icon in your system tray.
It’s standard for laptop batteries to lose capacity over time, especially if you're running heavy games on battery power (which causes heat buildup) or if you leave it plugged in at 100% all day long.
As for the other issue, try reinstalling your audio drivers. Just go to the manufacturer's site, select your specific version of Windows, and download them again.
Add a power supply if you actually need one. Regarding the CPU, if you grab an unlocked Pentium for overclocking, you should be able to push it on this motherboard based on what these two guys say here: click Pick whatever case catches your eye; the cooler is an absolute steal for that price. As for the rest, you could definitely squeeze in a beefier graphics card if you plan on overclocking—think something like an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti, an HD7850, or an AMD Radeon R9 270.
If you don't think you'll ever bother with overclocking, you can just go with a cheaper Pentium click, which would let you cut the LC-CC-120 out of the budget entirely. Keep in mind, if you're paying cash, you might find better deals at other local retailers.
If you have Contac, feel free to drop the link. Even if it isn't some legendary tier product, it still outperforms the stock stuff, and most people end up doing some overclocking regardless of what they start with anyway.
David Sanders4 said:I'm currently scouring Benchmarks to find the most budget-friendly motherboard that can handle the CPU alongside 8GB of RAM and decent cooling. Is there any realistic way I can pull this off for less than $500?
Just reach out later; there’s really no point in putting a build together right now when we're expecting a totally different lineup, shifting prices, and a handful of new components hitting the market.
The FX 8370 isn't worth the jump from an 8320 If you aren't planning on overclocking, there’s really no point in splurging on such an expensive motherboard; besides, the M5A97 EVO R2.0 is more than enough for decent OC performance anyway. Buying 16GB of RAM specifically for gaming is just throwing money down the drain right now. In my opinion, that case is overpriced—but hey, aesthetics are subjective.
And honestly, the biggest mistake you could make is walking into Links with cash in hand. They are way too pricey. Check out prices on sites like Newegg instead—most major retailers will assemble everything for free and offer COD options anyway.
I think $1,500 is way too much to spend on a gaming rig. You could easily find a much more powerful machine at a different retailer for about $100 less. If I were in your shoes, I’d hold off for a few days until the NVIDIA GTX 970 stock stabilizes—it should be a solid choice very soon.
It would work without any issues, but honestly, there are quite a few parts here that just aren't worth the money. What kind of budget are we looking at? Are you paying cash or putting it on a credit card? Also, do you plan on overclocking?
That CPU is currently listed starting at $266, so you’re probably looking at a maximum of $200 For the GPU, maybe aim for up to $133 As for the power supply, I'd say maybe $33
Nice! That’s a solid deal for that price point. If you eventually find yourself craving much better gaming performance—specifically for the heavy hitters rather than just browser games—you could always pop in a dedicated graphics card like an AMD Radeon RX series with DDR5 memory later on.
