Possible upgrade?!

[Grozdan]

Hi there, it's me again
I may have found he buyer for my MB, CPU and RAM and I was thinking what to buy to replace them? I currently have AMD PII X4 955BE, 2*2 GB Mushkin Blackline Stiletto and GB GA-790XTA-UD4 ( as I mentioned in my previous topic ).
I'm thinking of buying AMD X6 1090T (because it's cheap in this time and I wouldn't rush to Bulldozer immediately as it goes to sale), 2*4 GB of RAM (don't care much of which because it's all cheap) and GB GA-990FXA-UD3?
What do you think of this motherboard? Would it be better to put a little bit more cash and buy UD5 version? I'll probably never use more than one Graphic card...

If you have any other recommendation for MB, please don't keep it ti yourself. I like the looks of new GB motherboards and I have to ask will they switch to black PCB in Graphic card segment? I currently have GB GeForce GTX 460 768MB and I must say that Windforce 2 is awesome!

And in the end, the last question:
What do you think of switching back to Intel platform? I kind of prefer Intel but I can't deny AMD's power to price ratio because it's massive! That's why I went for 955BE previous time. If I go for Intel, will I be able to put new gen of Intel processors (Ivory if I'm not mistaking) on current MB - 1155 lga? If not, than I think that AMD is better solution...again.

Thanks

[absic]

Hi there,

the GA-790XTA-UD4 is an excellent motherboard and I used one of those for quite some time and put it through a lot of abuse and it is still running perfectly. I ran with a 1090T and 8GB of RAM (Dominator4x2GB kit) and it is curretnly running with a 965 and 8GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM.

If you can get hold of one the GA-890FXA-UD5 (rev3.1) motherboard would also be a good choice as it has the AM3+ Socket and is again, a motherboard I have put through a lot of heavy loading without any issues (although the board I used was Rev 2.1).

Personally I would wait and see how the AM3+ CPU's, when they come along, actually perform on the 9 series boards before jumping on that particular bandwagon.

If you have a lot of cash to spend then going for an Intel based system is obviously an option but I will let others guide you in the dark arts if you wish to procede down that path. 

[Grozdan]

I had a lot of things but huge pile of cash was never among them!
I just browsed through Intel segment of MBs and CPUs and I must say that I'll probably stay with the AMD because I must pay something like 70e more for Intel equivalent... I can buy RAM for that money

So, AMD it is... (unless I hit the lottery or something)

What's the main difference between the GA-990FXA-UD3 and GA-990FXA-UD5 motherboards? I almost never OC any component, never had any crossfire or sli (I prefer one stronger graphic card so I can easily switch to next gen graphic card), I use up to 6 sata connectors...
Is it in build quality or thermal solutions that UD5 is better/more expensive or just in more equipment? 40e is not a small amount of money if I'm just paying for things that I actually don't need...

As for Bulldozer, I'm not planning on buying one immediately as they go for sale. I'll wait for prices to go down and to see some tests actually - they might not be as good as everyone is saying. They are definitely not cheap
That's why I was thinking about stronger Phenom II x6 CPU because I'll have a lot of power until I switch to Bulldozer or even its second generation...

Thanks

[absic]

I'm using the GA-990FXA-UD5 and the main difference between this board and the GA-990FXA-UD3 is with the PCI slots check here for more info: http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/comparison/list.aspx?ck=2&pids=3894,3891

There are still a few glitches with these boards which are more noticeable if you embark on overclocking but at default settings they are solid. I am currently running a 1090T with 16GB of RAM and have yet to experience a BSOD. I have 6 drives attached to the AMD SATA Controller and a DVD/CD writer on one of the Marvell GSATA Ports.

If you are not going to use lots of PCIe based add-on cards then the UD3 will probably be more than enough for your needs.

[Grozdan]

Well, I'm thinking the same. I believe that UD3 will be enough for my needs if the build quality and thermal/cooling solutions are the same as UD5.  Beside graphic card the only other PCIe card might be sound card but on that later on...

Now, at least, I know what to look for

Thanks