Five AMD 890FX-Based Motherboards Compared

[deanjo]

[citation][nom]terrybear[/nom]with that said when sledgehammer hit next year your AM3 platform will have AM3 versions of the cpu for it.[/citation]

Sledgehammer was the codename for the AMD K8. I think your thinking of bulldozer.

 

[hallock]

About time!!! thanks for the comparison. I love the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula its a beauty, but in the end I plan to buy either MSI or the Biostar.

 

[terrybear]

[citation][nom]deanjo[/nom]Sledgehammer was the codename for the AMD K8. I think your thinking of bulldozer.[/citation]
Correct ... thanks

 

[cangelini]

[citation][nom]TA152H[/nom]890FX doesn't have USB 3.0, it has to be added with an external chip.But, I think what you're asking is the same thing I am curious about - are there any real changes to the Northbridge, or is it just an SB850 update.[/citation]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-phenom-ii-x6-1090t-890fx,2613-4.html

Covered when the platform actually launched. In short, it's largely the same northbridge with an A-Link connection sporting twice the data rate (presumably for the SATA6Gb/s connectivity added to SB850).

 

[falchard]

I think the thing everyone wanted to see was a Quadfire test using 4 HD5870, and 2 HD5970. There are 2 of the few boards on the planet that can quadfire with single GPU dual slot cards.

I particularly like the Crosshair because they got rid of all the useless crap like an ATA133 slot.

 

[whiteodian]

I just ordered the MSI board, a 1055t, and other things as part of my new build. Can't wait for UPS The board was 179.99 with a $20 mail-in-rebate. I also got another $20 off for buying with Win 7 (bundle deal). $139.99 for a $199.99 board. Whoot! I'll buy some more RAM, a SSD, and a new video card once I pay this off.

CPU COOL|ZALMAN CNPS10X PERFORMA
MEM 2Gx2|ADATA AX3U1600GB2G9-2G
PSU ANTEC|TP-750 BLUE 750W
CPU AMD|PH II X6 1055T 2.8 G AM3
MB MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3
Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB
Lian Li Lancool PC-K62
GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit (on loan from a buddy)

 

[victomofreality]

[citation][nom]kelemvor4[/nom]No SLI. Waste of time.[/citation]

STFU troll... Two angry camels in a tiny car.

While intel does have the undisputed best CPU's on the market they are overkill for most things outside of the professional world and you'll get more bang for your buck as a gamer with AMD.

 

[buzznut]

I have the same questions about performance vs 790fx. Also why not show us quad crossfire performance with boards that can handle it?

I am even more torn between 890gx and fx. I've never had more than one graphics card on my budget, but that could change when I move to a larger monitor. But my main desire for an fx board would be superior overclocking ability. Is it worth it?

 

[SubZ0]

AHHAHAAHAHA Biostar and its asian Overclocking Goodness kickin everyones azz in overclocking. i love my biostar LOL.

 

[CaptainBib]

Just how many SATA cables does it take to satisfy Tom's reviewers? 4 isn't enough?

Anyway; great article and an interesting read

 

[bdonedge]

[citation][nom]SubZ0[/nom]AHHAHAAHAHA Biostar and its asian Overclocking Goodness kickin everyones azz in overclocking. i love my biostar LOL.[/citation]


Did you even read the article? They didn't win these tests, and aside from that, biostar has proven to be the most reliable time and time again. You get what you pay for.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]CaptainBib[/nom]Just how many SATA cables does it take to satisfy Tom's reviewers? 4 isn't enough?Anyway; great article and an interesting read[/citation]
Six would be awesome, 4 is just acceptable.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]bdonedge[/nom]Did you even read the article? They didn't win these tests, and aside from that, biostar has proven to be the most reliable time and time again. You get what you pay for.[/citation]I'm not exactly sure any of us can interpret exactly what he was thinking of when he made that statement, but Biostar obviously has at least one great overclocker helping the firm to break LN2 records for PR.

 

[saint19]

Why isn't here the 890FXA-UD5? is more cheap that the UD7 and I think that can handle the same performance that the UD7 but with one PCI-E line less.

 

[Guest]

And where is the Asus M4A89TD PRO 890FX???

Good article!

 

[peteyfro87]

So.... If I buy one of these boards, will I be able to upgrade to a Bulldozer chip at some point in the future or will they have a different socket???

Will I want to? Will Bulldozer be the Intel killer I was hoping the 1090 was gonna be?

Damn! Why have I got my finger stuck in the question mark button on my keyboard????????????

 

[doron]

using its bottom slot to hold a double-slot graphics card requires a 10-slot case, since nine-slot models don’t exist

Actually one 9-slot model does exist, I accidently bumped into it just now - It's the new Coolermaster HAF X, which is btw an amazing case O_O (and i'm an antec guy...)

 

[NucDsgr]

As a mainstream user, I would prefer connectivity and future proof features of 890FX motherboards over P55 and X58 chipsets.

But I would purchase a 880G motherboard with an Athlon II X4 630.

 

[ta152h]

[citation][nom]bdonedge[/nom]Did you even read the article? They didn't win these tests, and aside from that, biostar has proven to be the most reliable time and time again. You get what you pay for.[/citation]

Where are the tests showing Biostar is the most reliable? I've always been partial to Supermicro, or Intel, but Biostar? I've never bought one because I always heard the opposite.

And if they were, why did you say you get what you pay for, since they are the cheapest? Between the two of you, I'm wondering if I'm in a Twilight Zone episode. Were you being sarcastic?

I do agree, to some extent, you're getting what you pay for with the Biostar. You get a nice low cost, with disgusting energy use and no USB 3.0.

Really, I don't think it's a bargain, but it does let people buy into a nice platform at a lower cost. I guess that's good, but I'm really put off by the power use. They cut corners.

 

[Guest]

Im not convinced that the FX is a better value than GX... dual 8x vs 16x isn't really a performance increase that warrants the extra price...

 

[tharkis842]

Very nice, can't wait for prices to come down a bit, and i'm in

 

[Poisoner]

Why did you guys vote me down just cause I'd like to see more nVidia chipsets for AMD? You know maybe I wanted to SLI to 9800GTXs or maybe I already had an nVidia card. While that is not the case, you fanbois need to lighten up.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]Ichabob[/nom]Im not convinced that the FX is a better value than GX... dual 8x vs 16x isn't really a performance increase that warrants the extra price...[/citation]

Do the math. Say you were using two 5870's. The FX gives you 5% better performance. The system costs $1200. 5% of $1200 is $60 Now, can you buy an FX motherboard for $60 more than a GX board? Probably.

 

[SubZ0]

imho biostar has been a very reliable brand for.what i meant was the price/performance ratio is "kickin everones azz. i do alot of liquid nitrogen testing etc..... but have yet to beat NameGt's record. im just really happy with the brand is all. for the price it really does kick azz.

 

[youssef 2010]

[citation][nom]Lmeow[/nom]I'd personally go for the Crosshair IV Formula simply because of the kickass colour scheme.[/citation]

Only if you're not doing a Quadfire build