790i Ultra SLI Motherboards Compared

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]NYKJ[/nom]I was a die-hard ASUS person...I purchased the XFX 790i MB because it costs around 25% less than the ASUS... I installed an Intel E8400 with G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 144000). The XFX 790i MB would not POST... I spent 10 workdays with XFX Tech support to get this MB up and running. They told me it was a BAD MB can you ship back to XFX so they can check it out. I said NO... I am going to RMA the MB.... I purchased the ASUS 790i Striker II Extreme. Used the same CPU and DDR3...computer started up with no issues... Yes, you do pay a little more for the ASUS...But it does come with a sound card and a Game... The ASUS MB is the best thing I purchased in a long time...It runs great...I highly recommend this MB to anyone who wants a true gaming MB...[/citation]

A little balance please! Loads of buyers haven't had a problem with the XFX/EVGA product. Loads of buyers have had problems with the Asus. The same can be said the other way too.

 

[chaohsiangchen]

[citation][nom]NYKJ[/nom]I was a die-hard ASUS person...I purchased the XFX 790i MB because it costs around 25% less than the ASUS... I installed an Intel E8400 with G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 144000). The XFX 790i MB would not POST... I spent 10 workdays with XFX Tech support to get this MB up and running. They told me it was a BAD MB can you ship back to XFX so they can check it out. I said NO... I am going to RMA the MB.... I purchased the ASUS 790i Striker II Extreme. Used the same CPU and DDR3...computer started up with no issues... Yes, you do pay a little more for the ASUS...But it does come with a sound card and a Game... The ASUS MB is the best thing I purchased in a long time...It runs great...I highly recommend this MB to anyone who wants a true gaming MB...[/citation]

I had the same XFX MB and it works fine to me. XFX 790i has some trouble with PC3-144000 or anything runs higher than 1600MHz. The mem bus is not as solid as Asus one, I presume. Funny thing is that I ran with the cheapest DDR3-1333 I can find on newegg and it runs just fine. OCed the RAM to 1600MHz with 10-10-10-24 setting without a problem. E8200 at 3.2GHz runs cool with cheapest Coolermaster HSF I can find that the time. A lot of people have trouble with higher speed RAM with XFX 790i.

 

[hellwig]

Why does the XFX nVidia reference board use two Broadcom PCIe chips rather than the onchip nVidia network controllers? I would think nVidia would prefer their own network interfaces, and shouldn't a Realtek PHY be cheaper than a fully-functioning PCIe chip? Is there something wrong with the nVidia network controller that even they won't use it?

 

[dragonsprayer]

Just confirms all my posts that Nvidia mobo's are terrible, your forced to buy them if you want to offer SLI. Asus is best as always, as it should be for $100 more. The audio of asus is very impressive! Finally an nvidia mobo that is stable above 400fsb? I beleive it after i see more tests, time and time again, nvidia mobos tend to get woarse with time. With in 7-10 days most nvidia mobos degrade. They still seam to eat ram, they run hot - and they are super over rated by most reviewes. THG is on the ball starting out with the fact nvidia makes quesitonable mobos at best!
Yes, i own many nvidia mobos and all stink! I do have several striker II extremes laying around - i just hope that THG is right and i squeze 4.2GHz on this water cooled baby! After you spend $5000 on parts, only to have nvdiia rain on your party with bios issues and false advertising is getting a little old!
Looks like i be loading the new bios and seeing if this qx9770 can get past 400fsb - 100% stable for life not for screen shot of cpuz!

 

[sirrell]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]The EVGA motherboard WAS tested. It's the same motherboard as XFX sells. EVGA has never made a motherboard, it buys them from other companies, and in this case XFX and EVGA buy the SAME motherboard from the SAME company. Even the BIOS is the same, which you'd probably know if you read a little more of the article.XFX wants your business more than EVGA, which is why XFX sent a motherboard when EVGA did not. In fact, EVGA wouldn't even respond to the request.[/citation]

Well in that case I got one off ebay cheaper than you say an XFX is ($350?) Paid only ($345) US, so maybe everybody should be buying an EVGA

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]sirrell[/nom]Well in that case I got one off ebay cheaper than you say an XFX is ($350?) Paid only ($345) US, so maybe everybody should be buying an EVGA[/citation]

Maybe everybody should buy whatever is cheapest? EVGA won't discuss motherboards with me, and that makes them a little hard to recommend specifically, though it's a good motherboard no matter what label it carries. $350 was an average web price and I've seen the XFX for $320. Depending on where and when you look, you might find the EVGA even cheaper.

 

[otheos]

Great timing to release a 790i roundup. Apparently most motherboard manufacrurers are pulling their 790 based boards due to tne known nVidia problems.

Poor timing? hardly Tom.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/31/nvidia-790i-board-pulled-makers

 

[Guest]

"But if you want to buy now and instead wait for the next big thing...perhaps you'll see something else on the horizon by then, and never buy anything."

The best approach ever - saves money.

 

[otheos]

Oh, and BTW if nVidia does exit the chipset market, don't expect them to keep supporting their chipsets with new drivers. They haven't done so even without exiting the market. Just imagine.

 

[chaohsiangchen]

This is not good. VIA and SIS were forced out of the market, and now NVIDIA is seemingly out of the chipset business. If NVIDIA is out again, then we'll likely be choosing between all Intel and all AMD products in the future. Certainly not a good sign.

 

[Falthon]

Yes, there are a lot of stories about 790i problems, such as this one.

http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/604554/foxconn-drops-nforce-790i-saying-chipset-is-unreliable.html

This isn't a new issue, though. AnandTech reported on it in April.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3279&p=4

Personally, I wouldn't be willing to buy a board with any Nvidia chipset until these issues are fully resolved. Data corruption is nothing to take lightly.

My question is: How reliable is the nForce 200?

 

[Guest]

The mystery motherboard is FOXCONN DREADNOUGH , as the ln2 cooling pot watercooling ready chipset sink and 8 phase digital pwm ..... all the same as the BLACK OPS ) Is very sad to see that nforce 790 ultra from FOXCONN is discontinued before release. (Maybe with a mature bios it would have given better results).

 

[cesthree]

Why even put a 790i Ultra up against an X48 when it's an X48 Express Reference mobo? Why not an ASUS X48 or DFI's X48-T3RS?

All of those 790i Ultra boards are equipped with a BIOS that can OC. The X48 Express Reference is an orange being compared to a group of apples.

Oh, and XFX's 790i Ultra mobo might be a decent Nvidia reference mobo, but the EVGA variant is not worth the time. Good job on not including that piece of junk even though it's essentially the same thing.

So in summary:
-When OC capable BIOS's are involved, all test subjects should have OC capable BIOS's thus making the results fair and subjective.
-Thanks for not stinking up any more pages on your site with that EVGA piece.

 

[cesthree]

Oh, one more thing. After reading the first page of the article how is it that anyone would ever purchase a 790i Ultra chipset? The NF4's, 5's, 6's, and 7's were all trash, what would make anyone want to buy Nvidia's latest?

I have a DFI NF4 Ultra D. It is "OK" because AMD didn't have to rely on Nvidia to come up with a chipset that needed to support a MCH. That and DFI doesn't mess around when it comes to making a quality motherboard with solid Japanese capacitors and BIOS's that aren't placebos for a mobo released for beta testing...cough..Nvidia..790i ULtra..cough..cough.

Having a FSB on an Nvidia chipset was the worst thing to ever happen to Intel CPU's. I spent $350 on that EVGA 790i Ultra pile of junk and toiled for 3 months, sold it on ebay for $200 and got an X48-T3RS. I have had nothing but fun since getting my DFI.

I know that many have had "sucksess" with the 790i Ultra, but look at what Tom's Guide used to set the record for an OC. It wasn't an Nvidia chipset that's for sure.

Sure EVGA has a good warranty but talking to their tech support is like talking to a broken record. Yes I know how to reinstall drivers, yes I checked all the connectors, yes my PSU is on the recommended list, etc., etc., etc.

There are plenty of people who have had to spend double on their motherboards in RMA costs due to the shottyness of Nvidia's chipsets. Their reference boards from XFX and EVGA take 80,000 years to release. the ASUS is the only one I would pick if I would dare tempting the gimmick known as SLI again.

ASUS is the best pick of the 790i Ultras, but it is still only winning the Special Olympics with the horrible driver support from Nvidia and having a CPU and RAM support list that is rediculous and not accurate whatsoever.

Q6600 on a 790i Ultra anyone? I don't think so, unless you want to drop your multiplier to x1 and jack the FSB up to 3000 because of the humongous FSB hole with 65nm parts on the790i Ultra, LAME!

P1 and P2 for BIOS settings anyone? I thought it was lame too, what with absolutely no explanation anywhere as to what you would actually be adjusting with those settings. Retarted!

Nvidia, you still have my permission to make GPU's, just don't come stepping with another chipset until you graduate from Pre-School. You might need to borrow some notes from Intel and stop being so stingy and lazy.

 

[mr roboto]

Read this before you piss away $375.00 on a garbage Nvidia motherboard. Believe me I know about Nvidia's poor chipsets, I'm on my 4th 680i.

http://www.ngohq.com/news/14398-nvidia-790i-board-pulled-makers.html

 

[fps_dean]

lol this is typical for toms hardware as they fail to mention this board can't run your RAM at its rated timings even with an overvolt.

Or it likes to randomly freeze up. This usually happens when watching movies or gaming but can happen doing just about anything. RMAs, massive underclocking of CPU and RAM, drivers, and BIOS updates to this day do not fix it.

Stick with the X48. Not only does it overclock better, but it overclocks and does not crash.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]cesthree[/nom]Why even put a 790i Ultra up against an X48 when it's an X48 Express Reference mobo? Why not an ASUS X48 or DFI's X48-T3RS?All of those 790i Ultra boards are equipped with a BIOS that can OC. The X48 Express Reference is an orange being compared to a group of apples.Oh, and XFX's 790i Ultra mobo might be a decent Nvidia reference mobo, but the EVGA variant is not worth the time. Good job on not including that piece of junk even though it's essentially the same thing.So in summary:-When OC capable BIOS's are involved, all test subjects should have OC capable BIOS's thus making the results fair and subjective.-Thanks for not stinking up any more pages on your site with that EVGA piece.[/citation]

Actually if you read the rest of the article you'd see it was the best suited X48, Gigabytes X48-DQ6, because it's the only X48 that consistently finished in the upper half of the X48 comparison. It's only called "Reference" because it's the one the 790i is being referenced to.

 

[Crashman]

lol this is typical for toms hardware as they fail to mention this board can't run your RAM at its rated timings even with an overvolt.

Or it likes to randomly freeze up. This usually happens when watching movies or gaming but can happen doing just about anything. RMAs, massive underclocking of CPU and RAM, drivers, and BIOS updates to this day do not fix it.

Stick with the X48. Not only does it overclock better, but it overclocks and does not crash.

Failing to mention? You mean lying? Because you failed to mention something, in fact it's worse than that you stated a falsehood.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/NVIDIA-790i-SLI,1977-27.html

It looks like all the boards ran the DDR3-1600 CAS 7 at more than 1600 MHz at CAS 7. The Asus actually ran four modules at data rates higher than 1700MHz, CAS7, beating the best previous score set by the X48.

Reread: It beat the X48.

The X48 is great, but the Striker II Extreme still beat it in memory stability.

 

[kellytm3]

After reading all this,and the links everyone posted to other sites,I feel very lucky.I got the ASUS P5NT-Deluxe 780i board back in January,and with my 8400 I can run at 4.05Ghz with bus at 1800fsb,while gaming with no problem.Everyone here has pretty much convinced me to not buy another Nvidia chipset.Oh well,I guess I'll get the X-58 when available.

 

[Gutiari]

STELLAR ARTICLE! I have been waiting anxiously to see a complete review of the 790i Ultra SLI and much more for a comparison not only within the nvidia chipset series, but for an x48 to be thrown in the mix as well. Once again, Toms Hardware has impressed and satisfied us and our high end gaming hardware needs. I can go to bed smiling again at night. And congratulations to the Asus Striker II Extreme as well. Excellent motherboard.

 

[kellytm3]

Some of you mentioned that the 790 boards were being pulled from the shelves,after looking at the major e/tailors they all are still selling them.
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/asus_striker_ii_extreme
According to this article the 790i boards fare better than the X-48's.

 

[rafer]

Please note, this article concerns the 790i Ultra, not the 790i - the distinction: the Ultra version of the chipset is more vigorously binned and is capable of DDR3 memory speeds in excess of 2GHz - essentially meaning a better (or at least consistently better) board.

As for these new boards, I say who cares if nVidia has finally made something decent - at this point, it would make the most sense for anyone willing to pay $400 for a new mobo to wait for Nehalem boards.

 

[cesthree]

Why even put a 790i Ultra up against an X48 when it's an X48 Express Reference mobo? Why not an ASUS X48 or DFI's X48-T3RS?All of those 790i Ultra boards are equipped with a BIOS that can OC. The X48 Express Reference is an orange being compared to a group of apples.Oh, and XFX's 790i Ultra mobo might be a decent Nvidia reference mobo, but the EVGA variant is not worth the time. Good job on not including that piece of junk even though it's essentially the same thing.So in summary:-When OC capable BIOS's are involved, all test subjects should have OC capable BIOS's thus making the results fair and subjective.-Thanks for not stinking up any more pages on your site with that EVGA piece.

Actually if you read the rest of the article you'd see it was the best suited X48, Gigabytes X48-DQ6, because it's the only X48 that consistently finished in the upper half of the X48 comparison. It's only called "Reference" because it's the one the 790i is being referenced to.

Wow, I stand corrected. I really must have missed that. My experience with both chipsets has left me repelled from the whole enthusiast PC market. Don't get me wrong I really like the X48, but I would like to see more products on the market that aren't launched too quickly.

Nvidia can save money not finishing a product when they can get us to beta test for them. The 790i Ultra was clear evidence to that fact. You would hope for a delayed launch and quality over a hasty launch with bugs.

I work for John Deere as a service technician. Deere does the same thing. It costs them less money, and with liability waivers they can ignore the customer. Luckily that's where service saves the day. Excellent training, and I also have the advantage to be on location for diagnostics and repairs.

Ultimately, I responded too quickly. If the Gigabyte X48-DQ6 was the best choice, so be it.

I think that an ALL X48 vs. 790i Ultra comparison would be awesome. Single GPU only, then with the best CPU on for each chipset and that chipsets native multi GPU solution. Leading up to the GPU showdown would be RAM and CPU combinations with 65nm and 45nm parts. I think that liquid cooling would be suitable since there are a few mobos with NB waterblocks from the factory.

Aliens 1986- CPL. Hicks: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

 

[thomasxstewart]

Here GOOD thing is Higher Internal MAIN Bandwidth. However, BAD thing is LESS Lanes, Although Each Lane should Have More data(Due to Higher Frequency), Good for Ultimate & Deep L1 Cacheing.

Think of 1 signal say 48 units per anything within, Each lane is 1 unit of time that signal carries one lane of info to comparrison unit, if computer is seeking data on that particular lane, it will activate gates starting up from L1 Cache. In other words if Signal where 480 units of X or O per anything, Each Lane would get 10 X or O, then gate flip to next lane, where its 10 units would hit comparrison unit. More Routing or discard, yet say lane one is display, two printer, three, front door bell, four all mysteries of universe. I think you see each is identifier & if needed, comparrison unit is sent needed (stored) signal string, EG: get ATI Catylist control center, so gates open, HDD dumpds files to DDRx memory & comparrison looks for what was requested. By then lanes are churning lots o' ati catylyst control center files as seperate lanes, probably all 32, waiting for which to react to & its Found instructions sets more gates. Until computer is so fine tuned, it squeeks. Then Ultiee' Licks Ice Cream Cone.

32 Lanes & 32 bits in Todays frequency just isn't enough for Ultimate, I have been SCREAMING this for Over Two Years, its in ORIGINAL White Papers from Microsoft on Vista, Way back Jan 2006.

You can Tell this particularly with Ultimate 64, as of course each bit string is longer, using extra bandwidth, yet NOT Having enough Lanes & bandwidth for so Much Needed software/hardware Control.

More Bandwidth Now Needs ALL New Controllers, its 40 or 48 bit Today in enviorment Called ia64, NOT True 64 bit. Thats LAW Today. So to go as Fast AS Possible to 48 Lane Controllers & mere two 16X cards plus all other slots & plugs, would be BEST Bet for Well organized Vista Ultimate Main, However, ITS INSUFFIENT.

Better CPU is more instruction sets, yet it takes PINS, Making comparrison & Reaction Faster & Higher Speed Reaction & action I/O better. Faster Unit can Handle bettter(c+) naturally todays software, NOT with Other Side of MOON Cold, Better, Smoother & Stable Machine Will run & More Modules Each Software Package Can Handle When More is More thruout.How? Tell You..

For what appears all Writers in general sales point Pcie X, is full lanes & Fast, simplicity of Game Card Slot, EG ONE 32X slot beats ALL That Crump by ?Ultie Universe pundits & Good software needs ONE Slot, Not Million. ITS NOT THAT HARD, NOW THAT VISTA ULTIMATE IS OUT. Theres NO Choice, as xp is DEAD. Theres NO UP From Here WithOut Ultimate being Finalized & as certain poster in theINQ recently posted. BEST HOME BUILD IT YOURSELF Unit Today can I/O 500 Mb/s, while newness of SSD Brought forth to Public view two weeks ago SSD (by aggrevator search of the Register) SSD that STATED OUTPUT is 4.5 gb/s. So at BEST. Enthusist Child is Dabbing at 1/8 TOP Speed in Best of Worlds TOP Secret Labs, Yet Our Newbie Writers are obsessed by tweaking meaningless or Worse items, making confused mess out best their designed SLOw system can Muster.

ULTIEE' Best would be from: mouths of ULIEE' Ballmer year ago. This present ia64 is 32 bit with identifiers taken out. Something thomas stewart von drashek invented at George Mason Univesity in 1986 with CRAY XMP24 project, filling missing 8 bits with more true data bits, My latter invention: ia/ai 64 Formed From 2003 & by lastly taking out streaming idenitfiers year latter, to give effective 48 bitstring lenght every 40(bigger=Smoother) bit Blast to comparrisoon chip(faster=More Stable)), my idea as well, somewhere once in commentos disscussion in refining ia64 space, Now again Space Needs Redefining.

Yet heres point with Ballmer/Drashek ITS STILL NOT ENOUGH FOR TOP NOTCH COMPUTING, ESPECIALLY APPROACHING NT8 IN upcoming decade. Entire Machinerly needs to take next step, not 56, true 64 bitlength O/S not 32 + part of next, two full 32 bit strings blasting down multi pathway.
Copyright, Trademark & pat Pending. thomas stewart von drashek

SignedHYSICIAN THOMAS STEWART VON DRASHEK M.D.

To Reach 56 You'd add identifiers again, which corrects errors in first tests. yet As comparrison chip can be Bridged to work any bit string length it is designed to, from small to large, as long as ite in entire loom correctly, upswing dislocation could be minimalized. Ultiee' P>P> concept 2008.

 

[NYKJ]

[citation][nom]NYKJ[/nom]I was a die-hard ASUS person...I purchased the XFX 790i MB because it costs around 25% less than the ASUS... I installed an Intel E8400 with G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 144000). The XFX 790i MB would not POST... I spent 10 workdays with XFX Tech support to get this MB up and running. They told me it was a BAD MB can you ship back to XFX so they can check it out. I said NO... I am going to RMA the MB.... I purchased the ASUS 790i Striker II Extreme. Used the same CPU and DDR3...computer started up with no issues... Yes, you do pay a little more for the ASUS...But it does come with a sound card and a Game... The ASUS MB is the best thing I purchased in a long time...It runs great...I highly recommend this MB to anyone who wants a true gaming MB...[/citation]
[citation][nom]NYKJ[/nom]I was a die-hard ASUS person...I purchased the XFX 790i MB because it costs around 25% less than the ASUS... I installed an Intel E8400 with G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1800 (PC3 144000). The XFX 790i MB would not POST... I spent 10 workdays with XFX Tech support to get this MB up and running. They told me it was a BAD MB can you ship back to XFX so they can check it out. I said NO... I am going to RMA the MB.... I purchased the ASUS 790i Striker II Extreme. Used the same CPU and DDR3...computer started up with no issues... Yes, you do pay a little more for the ASUS...But it does come with a sound card and a Game... The ASUS MB is the best thing I purchased in a long time...It runs great...I highly recommend this MB to anyone who wants a true gaming MB...[/citation]
[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]A little balance please! Loads of buyers haven't had a problem with the XFX/EVGA product. Loads of buyers have had problems with the Asus. The same can be said the other way too.[/citation]
[citation][nom]hellwig[/nom]Why does the XFX nVidia reference board use two Broadcom PCIe chips rather than the onchip nVidia network controllers? I would think nVidia would prefer their own network interfaces, and shouldn't a Realtek PHY be cheaper than a fully-functioning PCIe chip? Is there something wrong with the nVidia network controller that even they won't use it?[/citation]

I did not say anything was wrong with XFX MB... I am just telling everyone about what I have experienced...Once I did get my hands on the Asus Striker II... I was pleased with all the features... It was well worth the money... The MB is been running solid for me...