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The Best AM3+ Motherboards TODAY! (TOP 5)
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Feb 21, 2025
The best AM3 motherboards we reviewed in our video: 5. Gigabyte GA-78LMT: https://amzn.to/3KDlOvN 4. ASRock 970 Pro 3 r2.0: https://amzn.to/3OQRe52 3. ASUS M5A78L-M Plus: https://amzn.to/3y8fmKx - Best Budget AM3+ Motherboard 2. ASUS Crosshair V Formula Z: https://amzn.to/3OVwt8f - Best Premium AM3+ Motherboard 1. MSI 970 Gaming: https://amzn.to/3y8ftpr - OUR CHOICE [paid links] ►Check Compatibility and Build Your Own Custom PC HERE: https://howl.me/ckYtzElZbSF (NEWEGG LINK) ============================ ►NewEgg Today's Best Deals: https://howl.me/ckVxW6ryvQl ►Best Sellers In Motherboards On Amazon: https://amzn.to/45yST6r ►Amazon Today's Top Deals On Computer Components: https://amzn.to/3r85HSH =================================== [paid links] In this video, we review the top 5 AM3 motherboards and discuss all their key features and what things to consider before you pick the best one for you. Check the detailed buyer guide and reviews of the top 9 AM3 motherboards for offshore fishing here: https://bestmotherboardzone.com/best-am3-motherboard/
View Video Transcript
0:00
the am3 plus platform builds upon the
0:02
fundamentals of the am3 socket it has a
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faster serial link between the cpu and
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power controller as well as a larger pin
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socket diameter while this platform is
0:11
quite old at this point it is great for
0:13
people who want to put together a home
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theater pc a streaming rig or a computer
0:17
for their children we wouldn't recommend
0:18
processors from this arrow for serious
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gaming but we'll get to that later on
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for now let's talk about our top picks
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for the best am3 plus motherboards we
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focus on parameters such as value design
0:29
connectivity network and other key
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features the motherboards are scored on
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these parameters and then ranked
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accordingly before we dive in make sure
0:36
to subscribe and hit the bell icon so
0:37
you never miss a video from us price
0:39
information and all motherboards
0:41
mentioned in the video are available in
0:43
the description so let's get started
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number five gigabyte ga 78 lmt for our
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fifth pick we have a micro atx
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motherboard serving as an entry level
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pick this one is the ga 78 lmt from
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gigabyte the 760g motherboard is by far
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the best for those who just want to get
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their foot in the door with a very low
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cost gaming rig of course the 760
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chipset is one that has fewer features
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than the 970 and 990 fx chipsets the
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practical performance will not differ
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much but future proofing could be an
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issue due to a few lacking features in
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terms of design there's not much to say
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here about the ga-78 lmt this is a very
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barebones motherboard in the best way
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possible it's not intended to look
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unique or interesting being functional
1:24
and reliable is the key here as such
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these two things are what end up taking
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the main stage here don't get us wrong
1:30
this is a decent looking motherboard
1:31
just not one that holds up to other am3
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plus boards in this list it features a
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coffee colored pcb something you don't
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see these days fortunately the power
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delivery and vrms do feature an aluminum
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heatsink and that helps out with the vrm
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cooling surprisingly the thermal and
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overall performance in terms of power is
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quite decent for an entry-level board
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you normally wouldn't get full usb 3.0
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support with a 760g series motherboard
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the gigabyte has added that
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functionality here this extends the
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lifespan of the motherboard as you won't
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feel the slowdown of old reports bios is
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intuitive and very easy to navigate
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something worth giving credit for
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overall construction is also quite solid
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which helps the long-term reliability of
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the board ram maxes out at 300 megahertz
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but that's fine for an older affordable
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am 3 plus motherboard while there's not
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a whole lot going on with this
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motherboard it's a decent pick for the
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price especially considering you can
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find it for next to nothing these days
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to sum up what we like here is that it's
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simple yet functional reliable power
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delivery design and the usb 3 support on
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the downside the design is generic
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substandard overclocking and it doesn't
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support faster memory our rating for vrm
2:34
design is 7 out of 10 aesthetics 7 out
2:37
of 10 connectivity 8 out of 10 value for
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money 8 out of 10 for an overall rating
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of 7.5 out of 10 number 4 asrock 970 pro
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3r 2.0 just because we're taking a look
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at older hardware today doesn't mean
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that performance does not matter the
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asrock 970 pro 3r 2.0 is proof of that
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as it's the best am3 plus motherboard
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for overclocking this motherboard is a
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part of the am 3 plus pro 3 lineup from
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asrock this lineup includes an extreme
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version and in micro atx version as well
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however the pro 3r 2.0 is by far the
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best pick this is because this is one of
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the few am3 plus motherboards that
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features a very robust six plus two
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phase design for the vrms the power
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delivery performance is on point and
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serves its purpose well in terms of
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overclocking most of this is thanks to
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the excellent use of the vrm heatsinks
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as well they do a great job of
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efficiently dissipating heat at idle and
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max load the vrm cooling on here is
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impressive especially considering this
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is an older am3 plus motherboard it is
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also one of the few am3 plus
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motherboards that support 64 gigs of ram
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at 2100 megahertz most am3 plus boards
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top out at 32 gigs but if you can find
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the right modules 64 gigabytes should
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not be an issue with this board at all
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perfect for performance enthusiasts
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apart from that you get an interesting
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assortment of features for overclocking
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both in the presence of onboard buttons
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and extensive software support always
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great to see on older hardware design
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wise the pro 3r 2.0 might not blow you
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away but it serves its purpose well
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asrock is using a plain black pcb with
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minimal styling here providing the board
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with a more modern look the chipset
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heatsink and black accents on the dim
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slots provide a nice contrast to the pcb
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apart from that you get usb 3.1 support
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a reliable gigabit ethernet connection
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and wide compatibility with various amd
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processors while pricing is a bit high
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it is well worth it for someone who
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wants enthusiast features on an old
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motherboard to sum it up we like the
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premium power delivery system the
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excellent enthusiast features the superb
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vrm cooling and performance and the
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support for 64 gigabyte ram on the
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downside the design is uninteresting and
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the price is high our ratings for prm
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design are 8 out of 10 aesthetics 7 out
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of 10 connectivity 8 of 10 value for
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money 8 out of 10 for an overall rating
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of 7.75 out of 10. number three asus
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m5a78lm plus putting the unconventional
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naming scheme aside asus
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m5a78lm plus is by far the best budget
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motherboard for the am 3 plus socket
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this is because it does not scam out on
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many features and instead cuts corners
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on the bells and whistles that most
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people won't care for the result is a
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motherboard that still happens to be a
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decent option in 2022 not bad for an
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affordable pick the design of this
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motherboard screams basic and old so if
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you're someone who wants to make an
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impression by showing off your build you
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might have to look at other options
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mentioned in this guide although keep in
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mind this is a micro atx motherboard we
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figured most people will not mind the
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bland design as many people are buying
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an am3 plus motherboard for the
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abundance of features and not for
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aesthetics you still get two full-length
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pcie slots which is not bad for the
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price the motherboard is equipped with
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integrated radeon 3000 graphics meaning
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you could get by without a graphics card
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video output can be easily configured
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thanks to the hdmi port on the back
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general performance is quite on par with
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other best am3 plus motherboards as well
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so if you're looking for the perfect
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budget am3 plus motherboard that doesn't
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cut too many corners this is the one to
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buy lastly the whole overclocking
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experience isn't exactly pleasant as the
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bios feels very basic and dull you also
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get limited rear usb ports take all of
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this into consideration before making
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your purchase decision to sum up what we
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like in this board is the excellent
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value for money the decent feature set
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for an m80x board the surprisingly good
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vrm design and the usb 3.1 gen1 support
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on the downside lackluster overclocking
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experience the design may not be for
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everyone and there are few rear usb
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ports our rating for vrm design is 8 out
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of 10 aesthetics 8 out of 10
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connectivity 8.5 out of 10 and value for
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money 8.5 out of 10 for an overall
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rating of 8.25 out of 10 number two asus
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crosshair 5 formula z asus crosshair
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lineup of motherboards is known for
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being top of the line products this
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story was no different several years ago
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as the crosshair 5 formula z is our pick
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for the best premium am3 plus
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motherboard the crosshair motherboards
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are known for their excellent
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performance good overclocking support
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and high-end looks even though this
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board is several years old it still
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holds up well thanks to those aspects
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this can immediately be seen with the
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design the black and red aggressive
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aesthetic is something that was quite
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common in the day it features a plain
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black pcb with silver stenciling for
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some extra contrast this pcb looks quite
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crowded but that is common with am3 plus
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boards the power delivery heatsinks use
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red accents to complement the pcb these
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accents almost have a metallic-like
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finish to them providing a premium look
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to the overall board the combined vrm
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heatsinks are quite large apart from
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that the chipset heatsink features a
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gigantic rock logo contrasted by the red
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accents on the sata ports to the right
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of it this playful design can further be
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seen on the dim slots as well as the
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pcie slots enough about the design let's
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talk about the enthusiast features for a
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second this board features hardware
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buttons for power reset and overclocking
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it features an eight plus two design for
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the vrms which is quite overkill for
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more than half of the am3 plus
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processors it does not end there this
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motherboard features three pcie 2.0
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slots two of which can run at dual time
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16 speeds the rest of the slots can be
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used for capture cards storage adapters
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external adapters etc potentially you
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can also do quad gpu sli with this
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motherboard on the rear panel we get
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four usb 3.0 ports as well as eight 2.0
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ports this sort of port combination is
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more than enough even for modern needs
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additional usb headers are present on
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the motherboard as well for further
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expansion i am sure you can figure out
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why this motherboard is one of the
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choices by now it deserves the award for
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best premium am 3 plus motherboard as
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everything it represents lives up to
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that pricing may still be an issue as
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this one is hard to find however at this
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price segment enthusiasts may find the
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lack of wi-fi and bluetooth as a deal
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breaker so decide accordingly to sum up
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we like the premium fit and finish the
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excellent vrm cooling they're perfect
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for overclocking the enthusiast level
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features and the abundance of usb ports
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on the downside it's expensive and it
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lacks wi-fi and bluetooth our rating for
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vrm design is 9 out of 10. aesthetics is
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9 out of 10 connectivity 9 out of 10
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value for money 8.5 out of 10 for an
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overall rating of 8.87 out of 10. number
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one msi 970 gaming the msi 970 gaming is
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our editor's choice for the best am3
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plus motherboards this is because this
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is one of the few motherboards that
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still hold up in the modern era
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something worth applauding on its own
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the 970 gaming might be the perfect
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choice for people who want to put
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together an entry-level gaming rig while
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the previous asus motherboard is a
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higher end choice people will have an
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easier choice tracking this down it
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doesn't cut down on many features either
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and costs less while this is a
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motherboard from a different era of pc
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hardware it still holds its own in terms
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of design this is apparent from the
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sleek black pcb and subtle appearance
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this pcb does not look crowded which was
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a common thing in this era of
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motherboards stenciling is kept at a
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minimum and it manages to have a sleek
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overall look the oversized heatsinks on
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the power delivery system as well as the
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chipset provide an interesting look the
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vrm heatsink has a ribbed design and an
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interesting red accent along with it
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this contrasts the stealthy black pcb
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beautifully the classic msi logo and
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branding on the chipset heatsink is also
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a nice touch what it may be lacking in
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terms of rgb or lighting it makes up for
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with its subtle design something you
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rarely witnessed on the 970 chipset
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motherboards the msi gaming is also our
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top choice due to its compatibility this
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motherboard works flawlessly with amd fx
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phenom 2 and athlon 2 processors
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furthermore this atx motherboard is
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ready for multiple graphics cards it
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came out back when sli and crossfire
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were a big deal if you want to
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experiment with multiple gpus this
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motherboard is a good way to do so apart
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from that you get support for 32 gigs of
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ram with speeds as high as 2133
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megahertz when overclocked while that
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can't hold a candle to ddr4 it should be
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great for indie games or if you want to
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use it as a home theater pc network
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connectivity is handled by the killer
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e2205 lan providing you with a reliable
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gigabit connection in conclusion this is
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an excellent am3 motherboard in terms of
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workability and compatibility and you
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even get a few overclocking features if
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you want to tweak your processor but
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beware of the bland and very basic bios
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and the common red and black aura of
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this motherboard red and black pc builds
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were a thing of the early 2000s if you
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want a unique pc build you might have to
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look elsewhere to sum up we like it for
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the sleek and subtle design the support
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for high frequency memory the reliable
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gigabit internet connection the
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excellent performance for the price and
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the decent overclocking performance on
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the downside the bios could be more
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intuitive the red and black theme feels
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redundant today and the lack of rgb our
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rating for vrm design is nine out of ten
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aesthetics nine out of ten connectivity
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nine out of ten value for money nine out
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of ten for an overall rating nine out of
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ten so what do you think which of these
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five is the best motherboard for you
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what do you think another motherboard is
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better tell us in the comments section
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below and don't forget to like and
11:47
subscribe have an awesome day
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