One of the great things about high-end AMD motherboards is that enthusiasts can get top features at mid-market prices. Today’s 790FX Socket AM3 models are all available for under $200, whereas similarly-featured LGA 1366 parts typically cost over $300.
| 790FX Socket AM3 Motherboard Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus | DFI LANParty DK | Gigabyte | MSI |
| Northbridge | AMD 790FX | AMD 790FX | AMD 790FX | AMD 790FX |
| Southbridge | SB750 | SB750 | SB750 | SB750 |
| Voltage Regulator | 10 Phases | 5 Phases | 10 Phases | 5 Phases |
| BIOS | 0902 (03-26-2009) | 306 (03-06-2009) | F4 (03-13-2009) | V1.1 (03-13-2009) |
| 200 MHz Base Clock | 200.7 | 200.0 (+0.0%) | 200.9 (+0.45%) | 200.0 (+0.0%) |
| Clock Generator | ICS 9LPRS477CKL | ICS 9LPRS477CKL | ICS 9LPRS477CKL | RTM880N-793 |
Internal Interfaces | ||||
| PCIe | 4 (2x x16 or 4x x8) | 3 (x16/x16/x4) | 2 (x16/x16) | 4 (2x x16 or 4x x8) |
| PCIe x1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Legacy PCI | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| USB 2.0 | 3 (6 ports) | 3 (6 ports) | 2 (4 ports) | 2 (4 ports) |
| FireWire | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Serial Port | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Parallel Port | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Floppy | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ultra ATA-133 | 1 (2-drives) | 1 (2-drives) | 1 (2-drives) | 1 (2-drives) |
| SATA | 5 | 6 | 10 | 8 |
| 4-Pin Fan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| FP-Audio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CD Audio | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | None | Both | Output Only |
| Power Button | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reset Button | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CLR_CMOS Button | Jumper Only | Jumper Only | Yes | Yes |
| Diagnostics Panel | None | 2-Character | None | 2-character |
I/O Panel Connectors | ||||
| PS/2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| USB 2.0 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
| FireWire | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Network | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| eSATA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| CLR_CMOS Button | None | By Jumper | None | None |
| Digital Audio Out | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Digital Audio In | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Analog Audio | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Mass Storage Controllers | ||||
| Chipset SATA | 6x SATA 3.0 Gb/s | 6x SATA 3.0 Gb/s | 6x SATA 3.0 Gb/s | 6x SATA 3.0 Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD | 0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD | 0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD | 0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD |
| Add-In SATA | None | None | JMB363 PCIe to | JMB362/JMB322 |
| Add-In RAID Modes | None | None | 0, 1, JBOD | 0, 1, JBOD |
| FireWire | VT6315N PCIe | None | TSB43AB23 PCI | VT6315N PCIe |
Gigabit Ethernet | ||||
| Primary LAN | RTL8112 PCIe | 88E8056 PCIe | RTL8111DL PCIe | RTL8111DL PCIe |
| Secondary LAN | None | None | RTL8111DL PCIe | RTL8111DL PCIe |
Audio | ||||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC1200 | ALC885 | ALC889A | ALC889 |
- 790FX Is Still The King
- Socket AM3 Motherboard Features Comparison
- Asus M4A79T Deluxe
- DFI LANParty DK 790FXB-M3H5
- Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P
- MSI 790FX-GD70
- Test Settings
- Benchmark Results: 3D Games
- Benchmark Results: A/V Encoding And Productivity
- Benchmark Results: Synthetic
- Overclocking, Power, And Heat
- Conclusion
