I'm disassembling/returning in one hour, which of these two AM3+ boards should I get?

[soccerballtux]

due to behaviors in this thread-- http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2422347

Microcenter is accepting return.

I was going to choose either of these boards--
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P, or this board
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3.

which should I get, and why?
the 970 has a 3 year warranty, only 1 on the 990FXA. I won't make use of the SLI or Crossfire on either. I think I'm preferential for the warranty. That, and whichever has better VRMs, but I don't think either will be an issue both are 8+2 phase.

 

[schmuckley]

out of those the 990 chipset..
Asus is better for AMD though..
Sabertoof or CHV or..eh..
M5a99x pro i guess..
All are ...wut..4-5 years old now?

 

[denis280]

out of those the 990 chipset..
Asus is better for AMD though..
Sabertoof or CHV or..eh..
M5a99x pro i guess..
All are ...wut..4-5 years old now?

+1 I never add problem with am3+ and asus

 

[DenyGFX]

990 is definitely the better chipset. Like shmuckley said you can't go wrong with ASUS either.

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Good luck with the USB 3.0 on the 990 board. It's been a nightmare for me.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2422345&highlight=

 

[soccerballtux]

+1 I never add problem with am3+ and asus

990 is definitely the better chipset. Like shmuckley said you can't go wrong with ASUS either.

came from ASUS, _definitely_ had a problem. Their software is shady, and the BIOS is even shadier. I'm not touching them ever again. They have serious code stability issues.

 

[soccerballtux]

Good luck with the USB 3.0 on the 990 board. It's been a nightmare for me.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2422345&highlight=

you know I never really cared about USB 3.0 and probably won't for a good long time. Hopefully in 3 years it'll be worked out.

 

[DalonFalco]

Definately the 990. I don't have the Gigabyte but on my ASRock 990 board the USB 3 works fine with the correct drivers from the manufacturer.

 

[Ranulf]

The only issue I've had with the gigabyte 970-UD3 has been the usb3 drivers going wonky and requiring a reinstall. Its happened maybe 3 times in 3 years.

 

[soccerballtux]

does anyone have a good reason for 990? I'm not hearing anything just a bunch of marketing heads running around saying it's better for gaming.

I don't use crossfire, and won't use SLI, so the 970 makes a lot more sense for the money.

 

[schmuckley]

does anyone have a good reason for 990? I'm not hearing anything just a bunch of marketing heads running around saying it's better for gaming.

I don't use crossfire, and won't use SLI, so the 970 makes a lot more sense for the money.

O ok./.welp..get the 970 then..
Why even bother suggesting something?
Actually Haswell is better for gaming.

 

[soccerballtux]

O ok./.welp..get the 970 then..
Why even bother suggesting something?
Actually Haswell is better for gaming.

I thought there might have been a legit reason but I couldn't find any-- surely I'm missing something? $40 just for sli?

 

[schmuckley]

I thought there might have been a legit reason but I couldn't find any-- surely I'm missing something? $40 just for sli?

You are..It's late, though..
Good Luck.
790>970

 

[DrMrLordX]

990 chipset is probably better for max overclocking. Board power draw will be higher though.

 

[soccerballtux]

990 chipset is probably better for max overclocking. Board power draw will be higher though.

why?

 

[DrMrLordX]

why?

Might be overall cleaner power delivery to the socket, though that's more of an OEM design decision than a chipset issue. Might also have to do with the usual BIOS/UEFI options available for the chipsets. But overall I'm going to go with an "I don't know", just like I'd have to say that I didn't know why Z97 might be a better OC chipset for a Haswell quad than Z87 (which I guess it is, but I'll be darned if I could tell you why).

 

[squirrel dog]

The last board I did an rma on was an asus , bad socket . That 970 gigabyte is a solid board . I have one with a fx8520 and it's exceeded my expectations for years now . Gigabyte boards are my go to board . I had an asrock that smoked , as I was browsing the web , I have no need for a 220 volt cpu , so a 990 would be a waste for me . I put an intel i5 4690k in a msi z97 for my son , he loves it , he plays some games .