MSI 790FX-GD70 - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 4th May 2009, 10:21

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/mot...i-790fx-gd70/1

MSI's delicious new AM3 motherboard is set to be a stunner. We've been testing this board for a few weeks now and we've finally come to a verdict - it's a cracker! But by just how much? Read on to find out!

The boy 4rm oz · 4th May 2009, 10:48

I must say that's a pretty nice mobo. Both visually and performance wise.

Sim0n · 4th May 2009, 11:26

Its a bank holiday... STOP WORKING !!!!!

Nice review :P

tejas · 4th May 2009, 11:41

Great mobo review Richard. Just ordered one of these boards up after reading this review by yourself. This is my first AMD board ever so I am looking forward to the new architecture over Intels old FSB! Will miss SLI but am happy to run my Nvidia cards through this board.

Well done on working on a Bank Holiday too. I am as well so I know how you feel/ felt!

Bindibadgi · 4th May 2009, 12:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by tejas

Great mobo review Richard. Just ordered one of these boards up after reading this review by yourself. This is my first AMD board ever so I am looking forward to the new architecture over Intels old FSB! Will miss SLI but am happy to run my Nvidia cards through this board.

Well done on working on a Bank Holiday too. I am as well so I know how you feel/ felt!

I still prefer Intel's tbh - feels more natural to me, but it takes time to learn the ropes of feeling of a new architecture so I encourage patience

No holiday for me right now - spent the last 2 hours doing PRs and helping organise an upcoming competition

(Also, Tim probably spent about 3hrs reading it this morning too :P poor sod haha)

leexgx · 4th May 2009, 13:40

this or the older one be very good for folding (4x video cards 9600GSO, GTX295 9800GX2), this one at last thay put the SATA ports on the side as on the older board thay the video cards whould block the SATA ports

Ross1 · 4th May 2009, 13:56

Looks very good, its taken a while for the Am3 board reviews to surface. I bought the GA-MA790FXT-UD5P basically 3 months ago now, and I have still barely seen a review of it.

The board layout for this board is one of the best ive ever seen. Despite the mention of the northbridge/drmos heatsink getting a bit warm, its in an ideal position, and the combo heatsink frees up more room for the expansion slot (something that seems to be an issue on the x58 boards).

other thing was the SB750 sata ports were tested, as was the JMB362 esata port.... but not the JMB322. You seemed to suggest that the two jmicron chips are the same, or at least give the same performance. Any clarification on that?

null_x86 · 4th May 2009, 14:03

have to say, it looks really nice, but the two PCI-e x16 / x8 electrical slots are a bummer... This could be MSI's/AMD's version of the skulltrail

Bindibadgi · 4th May 2009, 14:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ross1

other thing was the SB750 sata ports were tested, as was the JMB362 esata port.... but not the JMB322. You seemed to suggest that the two jmicron chips are the same, or at least give the same performance. Any clarification on that?

I'll fish out the numbers, but I didn't put them in.

Null - two x16 or four x8. Normal for the 790FX. The Skulltrail has an extra PCI-Express multiplier from the NF200 chipset, but x8 vs x16 doesn't make much difference at all.

null_x86 · 4th May 2009, 14:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bindibadgi

I'll fish out the numbers, but I didn't put them in.

Null - two x16 or four x8. Normal for the 790FX. The Skulltrail has an extra PCI-Express multiplier from the NF200 chipset, but x8 vs x16 doesn't make much difference at all.

ok, well it was to my understanding that you cant use a full pci-e gfx card in a pcie x16 /x8 electrical because its only half the performance...

[USRF]Obiwan · 4th May 2009, 14:57

Nice review and concrats to MSI for finally make a good looking motherboard. Now make a lite version without ide/floppy...

docodine · 4th May 2009, 15:05

I always liked MSI, their P35 boards were great IMO.

I'm dying for AMD to release their 6-core CPUs so I can warrant an upgrade!

D-Cyph3r · 4th May 2009, 15:08

£140 for a top end AM3 board.... Jesus AMD really are offering a much more credit crunch-friendly platform option over Intel.

tejas · 4th May 2009, 15:44

lol. I agree with you Richard tho and I was only kidding about the old FSB thing!

1333FSB is still plenty esp with the large L2 cache on the Intels.

I currently run an Intel Yorkfield QX9650 and it is super with no problems. Just curious to try out AMD on my second folding/ part time gaming rig to see how it compares in day to day operation. Good luck with the PR's and competition.

I better get back to work myself!

Zurechial · 4th May 2009, 17:10

That board is gorgeous, I wish other companies would put as much consideration into the visuals of their boards.
Yellow/Orange/Red headers on a Black/Blue board? Fail.

Kudos to MSI for making a board that doesn't look like it was put together from the scrapings of Foxconn's factory floor.

Andreoid · 4th May 2009, 17:32

the nb and the pwms are very well positioned to watercool it easily

Bindibadgi · 4th May 2009, 17:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-Cyph3r

£140 for a top end AM3 board.... Jesus AMD really are offering a much more credit crunch-friendly platform option over Intel.

I have to admit - I haven't even taken the cheaper GD65 (790GX) out the box yet...

Andreoid - Gorgeous mate!! Looking lovely.

Bindibadgi · 4th May 2009, 17:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by null_x86

ok, well it was to my understanding that you cant use a full pci-e gfx card in a pcie x16 /x8 electrical because its only half the performance...

x16/x8 at PCI-E 2.0 spec is ~1-0.5FPS difference. I got the slots wrong the first time because they are all the same colour and rechecked my results.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tejas

lol. I agree with you Richard tho and I was only kidding about the old FSB thing!

1333FSB is still plenty esp with the large L2 cache on the Intels.

I currently run an Intel Yorkfield QX9650 and it is super with no problems. Just curious to try out AMD on my second folding/ part time gaming rig to see how it compares in day to day operation. Good luck with the PR's and competition.

I better get back to work myself!

Actually higher FSB = better memory write/copy performance so the more the merrier.

leexgx · 4th May 2009, 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by null_x86

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bindibadgi

I'll fish out the numbers, but I didn't put them in.

Null - two x16 or four x8. Normal for the 790FX. The Skulltrail has an extra PCI-Express multiplier from the NF200 chipset, but x8 vs x16 doesn't make much difference at all.

ok, well it was to my understanding that you cant use a full pci-e gfx card in a pcie x16 /x8 electrical because its only half the performance...

pci-e 2.0 slot in 8x mode same speed as an PCI-e 1.0 16x slot, most video cards at the time only need PCI-e 1.0 8x, even with the GTX295 as it only copys the data to one video GPU the SLI built into the GTX295 does the copy command over to the other GPU

frontline · 4th May 2009, 21:54

Nice review, wish i could afford an upgrade to Socket AM3 at the minute

There's a nice article here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...0,1915-11.html which shows that fps doesn't really drop-off significantly on pcie 2.0 until you drop down to x4 speed at higher resolutions, and even then some games won't be affected.

4th May 2009, 10:21	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	MSI 790FX-GD70 http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/mot...i-790fx-gd70/1 MSI's delicious new AM3 motherboard is set to be a stunner. We've been testing this board for a few weeks now and we've finally come to a verdict - it's a cracker! But by just how much? Read on to find out! __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

4th May 2009, 13:40	#6
leexgx CPC hang out zone (i Fix pcs i do ) Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: uk Posts: 571	this or the older one be very good for folding (4x video cards 9600GSO, GTX295 9800GX2), this one at last thay put the SATA ports on the side as on the older board thay the video cards whould block the SATA ports __________________ Qx6850 (OC 3.3Ghz) <> 120 extreme<> rampage forumla <> 9800GX2 <> 8gb 4x2gb (2x gell / 2x adata)<> SSD powered Corsair S128 / WD Black 1TB <> Crative X-fi FalTy FPS <> TK 1000w Toughpower <win7 x64> Click me for folding stats greenfrog.biz / 35947

4th May 2009, 14:57	#11
[USRF]Obiwan Ultramodder Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,220	Nice review and concrats to MSI for finally make a good looking motherboard. Now make a lite version without ide/floppy... __________________ Mascleta: "The most accurate simulation of thunder, humans can simulate..." The answer is 42, so... whats the question again? If you know what 'Peek' and 'Poke' represents, then you are probably as old as me.

4th May 2009, 15:05	#12
docodine Truly truly truly outrageous Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 1,505	I always liked MSI, their P35 boards were great IMO. I'm dying for AMD to release their 6-core CPUs so I can warrant an upgrade! __________________ Armagetron Advanced! ~~[ Cooler Master Elite 310 \| Intel E5200 \| Zotac 9600GT \| broken MSI G31 mobo \| Corsair 2x2GB DDR2-667 ]~~

4th May 2009, 17:10	#15
Zurechial Elitist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 886	That board is gorgeous, I wish other companies would put as much consideration into the visuals of their boards. Yellow/Orange/Red headers on a Black/Blue board? Fail. Kudos to MSI for making a board that doesn't look like it was put together from the scrapings of Foxconn's factory floor. __________________ www.valyr.net Core i7 920 @ 4GHz <-> 8800GTS 512 @ 785/1946/1990 <-> GA-EX58-UD5 <-> 3GB Dominator 1600 <-> Xonar D1

4th May 2009, 11:26	#3
Sim0n Ahhh Jimlad Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Nottingham, UK Posts: 1,109	Its a bank holiday... STOP WORKING !!!!! Nice review :P

4th May 2009, 11:41	#4
tejas Multimodder Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 94	Great mobo review Richard. Just ordered one of these boards up after reading this review by yourself. This is my first AMD board ever so I am looking forward to the new architecture over Intels old FSB! Will miss SLI but am happy to run my Nvidia cards through this board. Well done on working on a Bank Holiday too. I am as well so I know how you feel/ felt!

4th May 2009, 13:56	#7
Ross1 Minimodder Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 46	Looks very good, its taken a while for the Am3 board reviews to surface. I bought the GA-MA790FXT-UD5P basically 3 months ago now, and I have still barely seen a review of it. The board layout for this board is one of the best ive ever seen. Despite the mention of the northbridge/drmos heatsink getting a bit warm, its in an ideal position, and the combo heatsink frees up more room for the expansion slot (something that seems to be an issue on the x58 boards). other thing was the SB750 sata ports were tested, as was the JMB362 esata port.... but not the JMB322. You seemed to suggest that the two jmicron chips are the same, or at least give the same performance. Any clarification on that?

4th May 2009, 15:08	#13
D-Cyph3r I 'aint got time to bleed Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Over the hill Posts: 356	£140 for a top end AM3 board.... Jesus AMD really are offering a much more credit crunch-friendly platform option over Intel.

4th May 2009, 15:44	#14
tejas Multimodder Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 94	lol. I agree with you Richard tho and I was only kidding about the old FSB thing! 1333FSB is still plenty esp with the large L2 cache on the Intels. I currently run an Intel Yorkfield QX9650 and it is super with no problems. Just curious to try out AMD on my second folding/ part time gaming rig to see how it compares in day to day operation. Good luck with the PR's and competition. I better get back to work myself!

4th May 2009, 17:32	#16
Andreoid Minimodder Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Germany, Cologne Posts: 28	the nb and the pwms are very well positioned to watercool it easily

4th May 2009, 21:54	#20
frontline Multimodder Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 209	Nice review, wish i could afford an upgrade to Socket AM3 at the minute There's a nice article here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...0,1915-11.html which shows that fps doesn't really drop-off significantly on pcie 2.0 until you drop down to x4 speed at higher resolutions, and even then some games won't be affected. __________________ Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.2ghz \| Asus Crosshair III Formula \| Coolermaster V8 CPU Cooler \|4Gb Corsair Dominator DDR3 at 1333mhz \| Sapphire Radeon 5870 \| Crucial M225 128Gb SSD \| Samsung SyncMaster 226BW