Hi, I'm looking at an upgrade to my current system while reusing some parts. I am planning to upgrade my cpu and motherboard to something a bit more powerful but keeping everything else in the system, including the ddr2 ram as such the motherboard will probably be classed as am2+. I would like to use a Phenom II x2 555be as the processor but am trying to decide on a suitable motherboard. I would like to overclock this processor but also unlock the extra cores if possible, I'm not relying on being able to do this but if they are there and work then why not. As such the board would need ACC/NVCC (I don't know if either one is better than the other) Budget: Upto around £60 Main uses of intended build: Gaming (Bfbc2, GTA IV, Fallout 3, probably the highest end I play), music, film/tv, web browsing document handling etc. Parts required: Motherboard Previous build information: To reuse; 4Gb(2x2GB) Corsair xms2, Gtx 260, 2x spinpoint f3 1tb, 2 ide dvd drives, wirelss card, sound card, arctic cooling freezer pro 7, xfx 750w modular psu, standard atx case, usb keyboard and mouse, 1440x900 19" screen To be replaced; Athlon x2 5200+, Msi K9N6PGM2-V Will you be overclocking: yes Any motherboard requirements: usable space for dual slot graphics, a x1 pci-e card and a pci card, IDE slot. Atleast 4 rear usb ports and 4 internal sata ports One board I have so far considered is the Gigabyte GA-M720-US3
You can get AM3 boards with DDR2 support. Would be better to have the AM3 board for the Phenom II as the AM2+ will limit it somewhat. My search with a local supplier lists the following AM3 with DDR2: Asrock N68-S UCC Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2 Asus M2N68-AM PLUS Asus M4N78 SE Asus M4A78L-M LE Asus M4A785D-M PRO Asus M4A785-M Asus M4A785G HTPC/RC
In what way? The HT support is the same on AM2+/AM3, is it not? I thought the only real difference was the SB and DDR3 support...? I may be entirely wrong, I'd had a fair quantity of beer... Edit: Okay, looks like HT support is increased from 2.6 to 3.2Ghz. According to Google some people seem to have managed 2.8-3.0Ghz with the x2 555, so if the OP wants to be in that club then yes, AM3 is required. If you're happy with 2.6Ghz for an HT/CPU-NB OC then AM2+ will work fine, and probably save you quite a bit of cash if you're not intending to upgrade to DDR3 as well.
You want to get an AM2+ board with HT 3.0. The AM3 and AM2+ are pretty much the same except the ram slots. The memory controller is on the CPU. The NB/SB combos are identical. AFAIK the 800 series of mobo chips are limitrd to AM3 (DDR3 boards). Theres NVCC and ACC; other boards have a core unlocking facility specific to the manufacturer.
