Asus AMD Gamer Bundle (Includes M5A97 PRO S/L Motherboard, FX-6100 & 4GB DDR3 Memory)

Got this together with Corsair 550W PSU and GFX560.
and 4 GB DDR3 same brand that comes with set. Easy to set up, had problems with RAM its not runing at 1600Mhz had to drop it to 1333 to prevent Blue screen.
Fx6100 is nice got it OC at 4.1ghz with stock Cooler and 2 120mm case side fans.
Mobo is upgrade friendly for future 6GB/s sata USB 3.0 7.1 HD sound!

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Bought this to move up to 64-bit Win7, my system is constantly evolving and being improved, this seemed the best value for money going. The price was significantly less than buying the parts separately, even on my trade account at a well-known MC/R supplier. The new UEFI bios mobo was a revelation, though I had to use a USB keyboard and mouse, as the M/S wireless 5000 kbd/mouse I use weren't recognised. As mentioned, you need to up date the bios before using it, which might seem a bit tricky, but d/loading from Asus and storing on a USB stick for installation in the bios itself works painlessly. No complaints about the 6 core CPU, despite reviews being not very enthusiastic, it has got plenty of grunt for gaming or Photoshop, and if you feel lucky, you can overclock the CPU and memory both on the desktop and in the bios. No guarantees it will be stable, but at least AMD unlock the black edition CPU's and give you the option. Just need 4Gb more memory now, but not in stock at present!

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The components described all arrive unassembled (obviously in most cases, but it might not have been so obvious to all that the CPU is not attached, either), but assembly is not difficult and the instructions provided are clear and satisfactory. The motherboard came with a couple of SATA cables, which was appreciated, but I only write this here because I personally didn't notice that little detail and bought some extras. /facepalm. The RAM was a little bit finicky to install and it took a few attempts to get Windows to register both, but I got there in the end. The BIOS is easy to use and the Motherboard's self-diagnostics - to help you pinpoint problems (e.g, RAM problem, no video-out, etc) if the thing won't boot - are extensive and appreciated. You will need a graphics card, as the motherboard cannot output video by itself. Currently, I'm playing Skyrim and SWTOR. It manages both on Ultra. I've forgotten to check the former, but the latter gets ~40FPS. Great value for money.

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You will need a graphics card. The board has no VGA out put. But as this is a gaming package you should have a card anyway. I am using this with a HD6770 GIGABYTE over clocked that I also got here at Dabs a few months ago. (Using any HD6000 card with the bulldozer CPU gives you a Scorpius (FX) Platform.) Was pretty amazed that when Windows 7 loaded it installed all the drivers and was up and working again after a reboot. Last time I replaced a board was on a XP system. I had to re-install XP to get it working again. Having only 4GB of memory seems a bit low. Next Month I plan on getting the Kingston 16GB HyperX package. Once I have got that I don't plan on changing anything else to the system. This is truly a great future proof package and with the offer of £15 back you really don't have anything to loose. If you are planing on getting yourself a new PC don't, save yourself the money and get this instead. Don't be put off having to fit it. Its very easy.

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I bought this to build my sons first gaming PC, along with a Asus GeForce GTX 560 graphics card and an EZcool case.

It was a breeze to set up, however i would recommend buying a better CPU cooler than the stock one supplied. The CPU temps are on the high side (50-60 degrees) when playing games.

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Bought this for my first build along side the AMD Radeon HD 6770 and it was very easy to put together. Runs very very fast and can handle every game I've tested on it so far.

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I originally had a problem with my Arctic Cooling CPU cooler not being compatible with this ASUS motherboard causing Windows to hang. Swapped it out for the included stock AMD cooler and everything works fine.
Now I just have to find a quiet aftermarket cooler that works.
Overall I am pleased with this bundle, good performance at a great price and only one small problem.

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• Value for money

As always DABS delivers quality bundles, i would of given this 5/5 but for one thing, UEFI bios requires either displayport or DVI to be able to display its 1024*768. (older bios specs require a 640*480:VGA, HDMI). Although you can get around this by pressing F8 and manually selecting a boot device, it does make ease of use for those of us with legacy hardware less than perfect, hence the score.

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This Package will not BOOT the Bios is 0705 and it needs 0815. I cannotflash the bios because the computer is not working? A web search indicates that this board and CPU combo can be a real problem with the older BIOSOn turning on the computer winds up motherbourd info flashes onto the screen the the monitor goes black. I have tripple checked everything. I am not to sure where to go from here. I Emailed DABs three days ago and had no reply. would it be possible for any of you who have got this package to work to check you original bios number for me it is located on the paper sticker down on the bottom right of the motherboard the last four digits on the tape Any advise on this would be of great help Graham

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The memory supplied with this bundle is not on the ASUS QVL approved list for this motherboard. The bundle is easy to put together but will not boot reliably and has a total CPU halt on around 50% of bootups making a promising bundle unusable.

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