Recommend Me OC'ing AM2 mATX Board

[_WBaS_]

Now that I've looked around a bit, I see where you guys are coming from... there are basically NO mATX boards that are meant to OC with. I find this pretty disappointing... enough that it might turn me away from mATX

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by _WBaS_

Now that I've looked around a bit, I see where you guys are coming from... there are basically NO mATX boards that are meant to OC with. I find this pretty disappointing... enough that it might turn me away from mATX

Don't get too discouraged just yet. If you're just using the stock heatsink, you aren't going to get much of an overclock anyway before your temps start getting out of control; especially in a cramped little mATX case. Just take a step back and look at your needs. Are you depending on overclocking to get you the performance you absolutely have to have or just for fun? What is this system being used for. Most people who choose mATX accept the fact that it's not going to be setting any benchmark records, it's meant to take up less space, be more portable, and/or quieter than the typical mid or full tower setup..

[_WBaS_]

True... these are good words of advice. Thanks blake... needed a little refresher. I'm looking at mATX because I want it to take up less space, be more portable and more fun. I don't really care about benchmarks. I guess the reason why I wanted to OC was for fun. I like to know that I'm getting more performance than I paid for. I take pride in whatever little bit I can sqeeze out... but you're right. I do plan on sticking with the stock HSF (AMD's stock isn't bad actually), and my chip doesn't have a lot of headroom anyways.

So maybe I should redefine what kind of mATX mobo I am looking for. I don't plan on using onboard video or sound. I have dedicated cards for each. I would like the option of overclocking, but that is only an option. I would like to keep this board as cheap as possible while still having good quality and stability (I am willing to sacrafice money for stability to an extent). I've noticed that on some mATX boards, the PCI slots are pretty close together, I'd like to make sure that it has enough room for both my VGA and sound cards. My current VGA only takes 1 slot, but I know some take 2 with certain coolers... so I'd like to make sure there is enough room for that as well incase I decide to upgrade my card before anything else in the system. Did I forget anything? lol

Thanks for all your help everyone and please if you have another suggestion, do tell!

[One4yu2c]

It just depends on how heavily you plan to overclock. A mATX certainly isn't as flexible as an ATX foundation, but you can still get decent, if not very good, results. Case in point, in that MicroPwn system Left-Click sent us for review, it took minimal effort to push that 2.4GHz Q6600 processor to 3.06GHz (with more headroom available), making the $280 chip run faster than any stock clocked Core 2 CPU available.

[_WBaS_]

Yeah... that's one of the reasons I wish I had gone with intel. Oh well...

Basically I just want to get the best performance with the system I have, without spending extra money. I figured if I was going to switch to mATX, then I might as well get a board that would help me do that.

My average everyday use consists of browsing internet, listening to music, chatting online, playing video games and school work when I'm at college. If I had to put myself in a category I would say I'm a high-end mainstream user. Not having a lot of money, I like to go for the biggest bang for the buck.

The GA-MA69GM-S2H seems to be a very good board. The only thing I don't like about it is the voltage. I haven't emailed any reviews about it, but it looks like that problem has been fixed with the bios updates. Maybe that's the board for me. I only question the fact that the board seems to offer a lot, probably more than I'd use.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by _WBaS_

My average everyday use consists of browsing internet, listening to music, chatting online, playing video games and school work when I'm at college. If I had to put myself in a category I would say I'm a high-end mainstream user. Not having a lot of money, I like to go for the biggest bang for the buck.

If it's any consolation (and it should be), overclocking that 6000+ X2 isn't likely to yield noticeable performance benefits outside of benchmarking, as that processor's pretty zippy to begin with. Even when you factor in game playing, you'll get a bigger boost from pushing your videocard as opposed to your CPU.

That said, I certainly understand the enthusiast aspect of OCing and the desire to maximize performance, whether it's noticeable or not. Just be cautious in how big a role that ends up playing in your purchasing decisions - as Blake touched on, a microATX foundation holds some distinct advantages, the most obvious being portability, which I imagine would pay higher dividends for a college student than overclocking would.

And finally, it's worth mentioning that there are standard ATX enclosures available that aren't real bulky. Some, like the Antec Super Lanboy, are geared towards portability, or you can pick up a carrying strap on your own for use with just about any chassis. Point being, you can make a compromise in the other direction (cases, instead of motherboards), which would open up your motherboard choices considerably.

[_WBaS_]

Once again, thanks for the great advice! I'll only be in college for another year, but I think portability still takes priority over overclocking. Like you said... with this cpu, I would benefit more from a VGA overclock.

So then I guess all that I'm looking for is a mobo that will fit and run my hardware. Does the chipset really matter to me if I plan on using my 7900GS card and X-fi card? I would be fine with a cheaper board as long as it is stable and reliable. Do you still recommend the GA-MA69GM-S2H? Is there something else I should be looking at?

Thanks again Blake and One4yu2c for all your help! Keep it coming :)

[gvblake22]

I forgot you were using an X2 6000+, those are already near the top of the K8 performance realm for stock cooling anyway (like Paul mentioned). As for chipsets, it is what is going to give you different features and options on your motherboard (like how many SATA ports, how many USB ports, what type of controller for them, etc). But the other side of it is that the different chipsets have slightly different power requirements and, as a result, will produce different levels of heat (as you would imagine is not desirable for a small form factor system). From what I've seen, the newer AMD/ATI chipsets seem to run a little cooler than the nVidia. But I have a slightly older nVidia nForce6100 based chipset and it really doesn't get that hot. I don't have much experience with the VIA chipsets, but they are usually a little cheaper. Also not sure if you are a Linux man, but VIA appears to have better Linux support too. If there are any next-gen AMD chipsets out by the time you get this board, then I would go with that. Otherwise, the nVidia 7 series or AMD 690G chipsets should be just fine. Just make sure that is has all the features you want...

As for the dual slot graphics cooler question, it "should" technically work with the stock nVidia or AMD dual slot video card coolers. But if you get something else like an Arctic Cooling Silencer or whatever, don't count on it only taking up exactly two slots (sometimes just the fan hub is too big to fit a card in the third slot). It's definitely not ideal since you've got a big wall in front of the card's cooler, but it is possible. you might want to look into one of those coolers that can be installed on the backside of the card, like the Thermalright HR-03.

[_WBaS_]

Alright so in general you recommend going with the newest chipsets? I really don't use many features at all when it comes to mobos. A plain jane board that I could plug all this stuff into would work just fine. I just want to make sure it has stability and reliability. It looks though like most mATX boards just come with a bunch of features whether you need them or not. I suppose that's fine as well.

As for the vga slots, something like the HR-03 is probably a good idea. TBH I hadn't thought of that. Do you think it would get too close to the cpu HSF when the HR-03 has a fan attached to it? I probably won't be getting a new VGA cooler since the one I have now is a single slot solution, but these are things to consider. Thanks Blake! :)

I'm going to jump off topic for a second and ask about names... it seems everyone here knows everyone else by name lol. Just so that I don't confuse anyone, you are Blake, One4yu2c is Paul and Capper is Rich?

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by _WBaS_

Just so that I don't confuse anyone, you are Blake, One4yu2c is Paul and Capper is Rich?

Correct! And come to think of it, we should probably incorporate our forum nicks in our About Us page.