Overclocking can be an important consideration for gamers who are looking at buying a new motherboard. Whether you’re planning on breaking out the liquid nitrogen and chasing for world records, or you just want a good motherboard to bump up your CPU’s clock speed just enough to make your system feel more responsive, buying a popular overclocking board is always a good investment.
HWBot.org is an online ranking system which “gathers specifications and benchmark performance results of computer hardware, as well as serving a non-stop overclocking competition platform for amateur and die-hard overclockers.”
The system categorises hardware as well as overclocking results for systems worldwide, running the most popular benchmarking software. Using the HWBot system, we can see how many submissions have used a specific motherboard for the overclock, showing which boards are most popular among casual and hardcore overclockers.
AMD AM3
Socket AM3 was released by AMD in February 2009 alongside the first batch of AMD Phenom II processors. Some AM3 motherboards also support AM3+ CPUs, meaning users can upgrade to the latest AMD processors without having to upgrade their entire motherboard.
Below are the most popular motherboards used by AMD’s most popular platforms:
| AMD Socket AM3 | |||
| Manufacturer | Model | Chipset | # of submissions |
| Asus | Crosshair IV Formula | AAMD 890FX | 2,785 submissions |
| MSI | 790FX-GD70 | AMD 790FX | 1,596 submissions |
| Gigabyte | GA-MA790FXT-UD5P | AMD 790FX | 1,494 submissions |
| Asus | Crosshair III Formula | AMD 790FX | 1,326 submissions |
| Asus | M4A79T Deluxe | AMD 790FX | 792 submissions |
| Gigabyte | GA-890FXA-UD5 | AMD 890FX | 705 submissions |
| Asus | M4A89GTD Pro | AMD 890GX | 678 submissions |
| Asus | M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 | AMD 890GX | 664 submissions |
| Gigabyte | GA-890GPA-UD3H | AMD 890GX | 639 submissions |
| Asus | Crosshair IV Extreme | AMD 890FX | 615 submissions |
Asus dominate the top 10 AM3 motherboards list, taking position 1, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 10. MSI’s 790FX-GD70 proves to be a popular board in second place, while Gigabyte are also present with boards in position 3, 6 and 9.
AMD AM3+
Socket AM3+ is a modified version of socket AM3, and was released with the AMD Bulldozer series of processors. It retains backwards compatibility with AM3 processors, so those who aren’t able to upgrade their processor and motherboard at the same time can buy a new board and use their current AMD chip.
| AMD Socket AM3+ | |||
| Manufacturer | Model | Chipset | # of submissions |
| Asus | Crosshair V Formula | AMD 990FX | 1,482 submissions |
| Gigabyte | 990FXA-UD7 | AMD 990FX | 299 submissions |
| Asus | Sabertooth 990FX | AMD 990FX | 226 submissions |
| Gigabyte | 990XA-UD3 | AMD 990X | 212 submissions |
| Gigabyte | 990FXA-UD3 | AMD 990FX | 136 submissions |
| Gigabyte | 990FXA-UD5 | AMD 990FX | 124 submissions |
| Asrock | Fatal1ty 990FX | AMD 990FX | 115 submissions |
| Asus | M5A99X Evo | AMD 990X | 112 submissions |
| MSI | 990FXA-GD80 | AMD 990FX | 43 submissions |
| Asrock | 970 Extreme4 | AMD 970 | 41 submissions |
An Asus motherboard holds the top position, similar to the most popular Intel overclocking motherboards. Two other Asus motherboards are also in the top 10, occupying spots 3, and 8.
Gigabyte have a strong presence in the AM3+ market, taking position 2, 4, 5 and 6 with their Ultra Durable (UD) series of motherboards. Asrock and MSI round out the top 10 with two and one boards respectively.
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