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AMD 790GX Motherboard Roundup
[Abstract]
The Mainstream AM3 Shootout With the recent launch of the Phenom II X4 955, AMD has arguably its strongest processor lineup in years. Able to stand toe to toe with Intel's Core 2 Quads and even...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
The ASUS M4A78T-E
Unlike some of its other chipsets where there are numerous models, there are only two 790GX chipsets on ASUS' website. And of the two, just one, the ASUS M4A78T-E is a Socket AM3 board. Perhaps we are used to the premium, deluxe motherboards from ASUS. But the M4A78T-E certainly seems like a step down from the usual ASUS motherboard that lands in our lab.
A bird's eye view of the ASUS M4A78T-E, which comes in ASUS' usual colors. |
Like all the AMD 790GX boards we have in this roundup, there are three video output options, from the analog VGA to the latest digital HDMI output. An optical S/PDIF connector ensures that the audio channel has a digital alternative too. |
For one, we didn't find any onboard power and reset buttons. There's no clear CMOS switch either (rear I/O panel or otherwise) and we had to make do with an 'old-school' jumper. Yes, we are pampered like that. In any case, the manual reassuringly had multi-page descriptions of the many ASUS proprietary features found on this board.
So we can assure you that features like 8-phase variable phase power design, ASUS EPU (Energy Processing Unit), a system power management tool and even Express Gate, ASUS' Linux-based OS are all present. Its appearance may not be anything special but those handy overclocking tools (TurboV, Turbo Key, etc) are all here, though software installation is required before using them.
Surprisingly, this ASUS board did not have onboard power and reset buttons. Instead you have to attach the chassis power and reset headers to the board. Also, clearing the CMOS is done via jumpers (the leftmost jumper in the image). The other jumper on the right removes the voltage limit for CPU overclocking, allowing it to go up to 1.90V from the default 1.7V limit. |
The hardware onboard features the standard integrated audio, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet and FireWire besides the Radeon HD 3300 graphics engine (with 128MB DDR3 SidePort memory) from the 790GX chipset. All these features are accompanied with solid polymer capacitors of course for the added assurance in reliability where power regulation is concerned. The motherboard heatsinks are modest and rather understated, which says as much about the heat generated by this chipset and the processor that is easily controlled.
The integrated audio is a new VIA VT1708S HD audio CODEC that we haven't seen before but we aren't too picky about onboard audio unless it fails completely. An optical S/PDIF is present at the rear I/O panel for those who need a digital connection. Other features that you may want to know is that CrossFireX is supported and despite ASUS dropping one legacy PS/2 port, the company has stuck with a floppy drive connector. There's even a COM port present!
We didn't quite like the top facing alignment of the SATA ports on this board but since they are not located in the direct path of a graphics card, they should not interfere with most PCI expansion cards. The blue IDE connector meanwhile is aligned just right, at the edge of the board. |
A rather standard configuration for the expansion ports, with sufficient space between the PCIe x16 graphics slots for a pair of dual-slot CrossFireX graphics cards. |
Solid capacitors are a standard feature nowadays while the modest heatsinks mean that there should be no problems fitting your choice of CPU heatsink. |
The standard 4 DIMM slots for DDR3 memory. The inner DIMMs can be a bit too close to the CPU socket and our CPU cooler fan was actually in the way. But this distance was uniform throughout all the 790GX boards tested. |
We were generally pleased with the layout of the board, since both connectors lined the edges of the board. The orientation of the SATA ports was not exactly optimal but we could ignore that since there are few PCI expansion cards that are of a length to be affected.
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