july 31 2010

hardocp reviewed the MSI 890FXA-GD70

Conclusion:

The MSI 890FXA-GD70 is an amazing board, with good looks and a well implemented layout and overall design, the overclocking potential of the board was very good. This mainboard was one of the most enjoyable AMD based motherboards the reviewers worked with lately. This board is future proof and a powerful tool for the AMD hardware enthusiast and it also includes native SATA3 and NEC's USB3 controller.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II x6 1055T CPU was overclocked @3.9GHz, FSB 360MHz. The 2x2GB DDR3 Patriot VIPER PVV34G2000LLK memory was running at 1440MHz and the water cooling used was a Koolance 345 CPU water block and a tri-fan radiator.

Compared to:

Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3, Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD7, MSI P55-GD80, ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution.....More

july 30 2010

futurelooks reviewed the ASRock X58 Extreme3

Conclusion:

This mobo is solid, extremely stable and attractive looking, offering the latest expansions and high end level performance. There are some things that aren't so high end, like the audio and OC capabilities. It's still an attractive board especially when you consider the low price and the decent quality components.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i7-980X Gulftown was overclocked @4180.2MHz stable with a 190MHz bus clock. ASRock's OC Tuner was also tested.

Compared to:

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5....More

july 30 2010

ocaholic reviewed the ASUS Rampage III Extreme

Conclusion:

ASUS really fullfilled the very high expectations by producing an absolutely solid board. With the layout there's nothing ASUS didn't think about. The color scheme of this mobo fits perfectly into the ROG series. With the nice heatpipe and chipset cooler the board really looks amazing. This board was able to produce very high scores in all the benchmarks, especially 2D benchmarks and Futuremark. When OCed tt was able to reach a high BCLK and using the iROG connector. The reviewers got another 100 MHz more out of the processor which simply wasn't possible with the other boards in the test.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i7 Xeon 3565 was OCed @4603.9 MHz, with base clock overclocking the reviewers reached a maximum of 230 MHz.....More

july 30 2010

tbreak reviewed the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9

Conclusion:

The basic performance of Gigabyte's latest X58 based mainboard is barely an improvement over the previous X58 boards from ASUS. Bandwidth capabilities of X58 boards were already maxed out before the UD9 showed up. A truly unlocked CPU along with 4 graphic cards are things hardware enthusiast are waiting for. This expenive mobo has a lot of power and a huge potential.

Compared to:

ASUS Rampage II Extreme.

Overclocking:

The reviewers did not perform any overclocking.....More

july 28 2010

techwarelabs reviewed the MSI Big Bang-XPower

Conclusion:

This mainboard can be considered an enthusiast board worth every penny, with a fantastic overclocking capability. The BIOS needs a little update, but MSI is allready working on this. You'll have the option to use 6 graphics cars at once. This is one of those mainboards that will get the most out of your machine.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i7-920 was OCed @ 4.0 GHz, 20x200MHz, because of thermal issues with the GlacialTech cooler the reviewer was not able to get a higher overclock.

Benchmarks:

3D Mark Vantage, H.A.W.X, PC mark vantage, STALKER: Call of Pripyat. In the gaming benches a Palit Radeon 4870 X2 graphcis card was used.....More

july 28 2010

hardwaresecrets reviewed the MSI P55A-GD65

Conclusion:

This mainboard is basically the same as the P55-GD85 with only one VRM heatsink and one LAN port, with no voltage measuring points. The other features and layout and are the same. It is a lot chaper though. A PLX chip for SATA3 drives and USB3 devices is still present.

Voltage Regulator :

This mobo comes with a VRM, called DrMOS, with ten phases, 8 for the CPU (Vcore) and 2 for the integrated memory controller (VTT rail). The manufacturer promises an efficiency up to 96%, an increase of 38% over the traditional design.....More

july 28 2010

ocia reviewed the MSI Big Bang-XPower

Conclusion:

This mainboard is a new X58 built from the ground up, with USB3 and SATA3 added. Of course it will work with the new Core i7 980X Extreme Gulftown. The accessory bundle is very large and includes a SoundBlaster EAX 5.0. MSI is using Mil-Spec components, 8mm heatpipe and Dr MOS. The OC Genie is a one-second overclocker, by the push of a button you'll activate the onboard chip. The reviewer gave it the Gold Seal of Approval.

Overclocking:

A Core i7 920 was OCed @ 4.225gHz with a BCLK of 211MHz and a multiplier of 20, the VCore @ 1.485v. The OC Dashboard LED display serves as a remote overclocking tool and a hardware monitor.....More

july 27 2010

funkykit reviewed the Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3

Conclusion:

This mobo is packed with features like USB3, USB on/off charge, Smart 6 software utilities, Ultra Durable 3, Dynamic Energy Saver 2 and 2oz copper PCB. The BIOS has a wide range of options for adjusting and tweaking. This mainboard has a very good price/performance ratio and offers good performance. USB3 was not tested by the reviewers, who gave this board a nine out of ten.

Compared to:

An X58 Motherboard and Core i7 920.

Overclocking:

The reviewers did not perform any overclocking.....More

july 26 2010

tweaktown reviewed the ASUS Rampage III Gene

Conclusion:

This board did not perform as well as the reviewers would have liked, because there were some HDD issues. If you are looking for a rendering workstation this is not the right mainboard. This mobo is a great gaming platform, small enough to build in a small case. The level of component quality is as goood as found on other ROG motherboards. It's probably not as good as the Rampage III Extreme, but differences are small, while the price is a lot lower.

Overclocking:

A Core i7 980X was overclocked @4.36GHz.

Compared to:

• ASUS P6X58D Premium
• Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7
• MSI Big Bang Xpower

....More

july 24 2010

ixbtlabs reviewed the Foxconn H55MX-S

This mainboard is a cheap H55 board which has been stripped a bit. It has a minimum of slots, 2 DDR3 dimm slots, 1 PCI Express x16, 2 PCI slots and a PCIe x4 slot instead of the regular PCIe x1. This mobo has a legacy FDD connector but surprisingly no support for IDE.

Conclusion:

The Foxconn H55MX-S is priced below $100, which can be considered very cheap, it has basic functionality and is probably not a very good overclocker. There are only two memory slots and there's no VGA connector, on the other hand this mobo is equipped polymer capacitors and a HDMI as well a DVI-I output.....More

july 23 2010

tweaktown reviewed the ASRock 890GM Pro3

Conclusion:

The performance of this mobo was a bit disappointing given the performance other ASRock boards deliver. It was app. the average performance for an 890GX based mainboard. The more creative layout may be the cause of some of the performance issues, this impacted the memory and HDD performance which in turn impacted the performance of other benchmarks. The reviewer gave it an overall rating of 80%.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II X6 1095XT was overclocked @3872.25 MHz (242.02 BCLK X 16).

Test Setup:

• Memory: 2x2GB Kingston KXH12800D3T1K3/6GX.
• SSD: Kingston SSDNow 80GB.
• Air Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 with 2 fans.
• PSU: Cooler Master UCP1100.
• OS: Windows 7 x64.

....More

july 22 2010

pcstats reviewed the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6

Conclusion:

This mainboard goes beyond Intel's specifications for what a motherboard based on the P55 Express chipset should be, USB3 and SATA3 are included, build and manufacturing quality is top-notch and next-generation features will open your computer system for future upgrades.

Overclocking:

With a Core i5 750 the reviewers reached a max bus speed of 210MHz with base clock overclocking.

Benchmarks:

Sysmark, PC mark Vantage, Power Consumption, 3D Mark 2006, 3D Mark Vantage, Sisoft Sandra, FEAR. In the gaming benchmarks an ASUS ENGTS250 DK was used. ....More

july 22 2010

modders-inc reviewed the Jetway NC63-330-LF

Conclusion:

There were no issues with this board, the layout is great, the video connections are OK and Jetway added a fan to the Nvidia ION chipset heatsink. This mobo is geared for a HTPC setup but could also be used for a small home computer and perhaps even some light gaming. YouTube videos had no issues, and were streaming well as was DVD playback. The reviewer gave it a 10 out of 10.

Benchmarks:

PC Mark 2005, SuperPi, AquaMark3, Windows Experience Index score.....More

july 21 2010

benchmarkreviews reviewed the ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO-USB3

Conclusion:

The performance of this mobo was excellent with easy access to overclocking thanks to the 8+2 power supply. The next generation of SSD drives will probably benefit from the the SATA3 capabilities and the USB3 performance is great. The Turbo Unlocker and Core Unlocker with the 'right' CPU could boost performance dramatically. Turbo Unlocker can also give an extra boost to a Black Edition CPU. The appearance of this motherboard is very nice and construction quality was excellent. This board has everything a budget enthusiast want, except for CrossFireX x16.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II 555 Black Edition was overclocked @4017.9 20x200.9, the air Cooler used was a CoolerMaster Hyper Z600.

Compared to:

ASUS P7P55D-E PRO, ASUS M4A79T Deluxe.....More

july 20 2010

pureoverlock reviewed the MSI Big Bang-XPower

Conclusion:

In terms of quality, features, performance and price MSI has a winner here. The MSI Big Bang XPower is an excellent motherboard especially for those people who want a multiple card setup. In terms of layout and design, the Big Bang XPower is extremely good except for a few things, such as the 8-pin power connectors positioned slightly away from the board's edge and a lack of an additional fan header on the right side of the board. A graphics card installed in the bottom PCI-E slot could block the Direct OC and Genie buttons. Direct OC is extremely handy when fine tuning your overclock. For novices the OC Genie could be useful, by the press of a button your sytem will be overclocked. OC Genie uses conservative presets rather than dynamically-adjusted settings, thus limiting the overclock results. If the SATA3 and USB3 are also on your wish list, the Big Bang XPower should definitely be on your purchase shortlist.

Overclocking:

An intel Intel Core i7 980X was overclocked @5.53GHz, the cooler used to reach this result was a Koolance CPU-LN2 V2 Evaporator Liquid Nitrogen cooler.....More

july 19 2010

techgage reviewed the Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5

Conclusion: The 890FXA-UD5 offers a lot of functionality, like the 4x PCI-E x16 slots and the 5 fan ports. The addition of SATA3 and USB3 make the entire deal even better. Price-wise this board is in par with other mainstream 890FX boards with app. the same feature-set. There are a few cheaper 890FX boards, but some features are sacrificed. If you don't want the dual-GPU x16 capability, you could choose an 890GX board that will cost a lot less.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II X6 1090T was OCed @3.92GHz, the vCore was raised from 1.475v up to 1.600v.

Compared to:

Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P.....More

july 19 2010

ocia reviewed the MSI 890FXA-GD70

Conclusion:

With CrossFireX, the 890FX chipset offers twice the bandwidth of the 890GX or 880G boards, unlike the 890GX, there's no onboard graphics, but you'll get more USB ports, dual NICs, OC Genie controls and an external CMOS reset button. There's no floppy controller and minimal voltage monitoring capabilities. Although the 890FXA-GD70 is a full-featured board, you are paying a premium over other similar competing products from ASUS, Gigabyte and BIOSTAR, the reviewer gave it a Silver Seal of Approval.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II X6 1090T X6 BE reached a 4GHz stable overclock, the air cooler was a Kingwin XT-1264.

Compared to:

This board was not compared to another moterboard, instead it was compared to a Phenom II X4 965.....More

july 17 2010

thinkcomputers reviewed the ASUS P6X58D-E

Conclusion:

This 'Gulftown ready' mainboard has new features like a PLX Bridge which makes True USB3 and SATA3 possible, MemOK, a solution to memory compatibility issues and a 16+2 Phase power for stable overclocks and long component life. Asus eliminated the IDE and floppy ports to increase the amount of space on the motherboard. Legacy connetors like PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports are still on the back panel. An Excellent mobo for an Excellent price, the reviewer gave it a 10 out of 10 score.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i7 920 was overclocked @ 3.9Ghz overclock running stable.

Benchmarks:

PT Boats, 3D Mark 2006, 3D Mark Vantage, Call of Juarez, Cinebench, Crysis, PC mark vantage, Sisoft Sandra, SuperPi. In the gaming benchmarks a Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 graphics card was used.....More

july 17 2010

madshrimps reviewed the ASRock P55 Deluxe3

Conclusion:

This mobo has lots of BIOS options and pre-defined settings for the novice. The MOSFET cooling is very good and only when stressed it got a little warm. With the bundled utilities you can overclock on-the-fly, save energy, save the BIOS settings and share them with others. There's SATA3, USB3 and eSATA III. This mainboard hovers between value and mid-range, not quite the budget board we’re used to from ASRock, but the higher price also gives you a more feature rich product.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i5 750 was OCed @ 3999.9 MHz, there's also an image of the OC tuner software.

Compared to:

• ASROCK P55 Extreme, ASRock P55M Pro
• ASUS P7P55D EVO
• ECS H57, ECS P55H-A
• Foxconn Bloodrage

....More

july 16 2010

pcstats reviewed the BIOSTAR TA890FXE

Conclusion:

If you want a low-cost approach to a high-end AMD chipset the TA890FXE will be your motherboard. This mainboard also has a bare set of overclocking features. Unfortunately it lacks USB3 and the SB850 southbridge misses one of its SATA 6Gb/s ports, which has been converted into an eSATA port on the I/O panel. Furthermore it's equipped with the AMD core unlocking technology.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II X6 1090T with standard cooler was tested with BUS overclocking, a final stable bus of 260MHz was reached without raising the voltage. ....More

july 16 2010

tweaktown reviewed the ASRock 880G Extreme3

The 3 at the end of extreme3 stands for USB3 and SATA3, eSATA 3.0 and finally three way CrossfireX.

Conclusion:

This mobo was a solid performaner for most tasks, there were some issues with the ram and IGP in case of overclocking, hopefully a future BIOS update will resolve these problems. The reviewer gave it a 95% 'value for money' rating.

Overclocking:

An Phenom II X6 1090T was OCed @4015.96 MHz stable 251x16, the RAM was hard to overclock, The RAM/IGP issue was so bad that during overclocking session we ended up with double digit scores for 3DMark and Far Cry 2 would not load!. The reviewer also explains the OC Tuner.....More

july 15 2010

benchmarkreviews reviewed the Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3

Conclusion:

The performance of the GIGABYTE H55N-USB3 motherboard was outstanding. This mobo is an excellent solution for a media center with a cheap processor like the Pentium G6950. This board could even be used as a budget gaming PC, paired with a Core i5 and an ATI HD5850 or an NVIDIA GTX 465. Additional PCI/PCI-e cards cannot be used with this board. It didn't only perform better than the other mini iTX mobos in the majority of the tests, but also has very good overclocking capabilities not seen with the other manufacturers.

Construction quality is very good, but the overall PCB design was not so good, front panel cables as well as the 24-pin ATX connector are difficult to connect to this mainboard. The reviewer struggled with 3 different cases and all of them had problems to reach certain parts of the motherboard with the standard cables. Also, it would be nice to see a wireless network adapter since that's the only feature Gigabyte didn't include when compared with the competition.

Overclocking:

The maximum CPU frequency was 4.2GHz for a Core i3 530 with the vCore at 1.35v using an Intel stock cooler.

Benchmarks:

Lavalys EVEREST Ultimate, PC Mark Vantage, CINEBENCH x64 R11.5, Passmark Performance Test, Street Fighter IV, Power DVD 10 Full HD 1080p H.264 playback, Power Consumption.....More

july 15 2010

aphnetworks reviewed the Jetway NC84E-LF

Conclusion:

The Jetway NC84E-LF is a very capable performer and you can even overclock it. It comes with an ATI Radeon HD 4200 IGP for better media handling and light gaming. Jetway has managed to implement all the necessary components and ensures that the board layout is optimized for good cabling. There's no PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot.

Overclocking:

Raising the bus speed to 240MHz and the multiplier at stock speed 11.5x with the vCore @1.3V , the reviewer reached a 2.76GHz stable overclock for an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+. In 2008 the reviewer was able to clock it up to 3GHz @1.45V with an Asus M3N-HT Deluxe mainboard.

Compared to:

Jetway NC96FL-510-LF, Jetway NC94FL-510-LF.....More

july 14 2010

legitreviews reviewed the BIOSTAR TA890GXB HD

Conclusion:

The reviewer wouldn't recommend the BIOSTAR TA890GXB HD if you are planning any heavy overclocking, the BIOS was a bit tough to navigate, the Voltage Configuration page for example was hard to find. This is a mainboard designed for the mainstream market, for people who are looking for a board that will support the latest processors from AMD and has integrated graphics without breaking the bank, at the time of the review it was the cheapest 890GX chipset mobo on the market and gives you value for money.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II X4 910e had a stable OC of 3536MHz, app. 500MHz short of what this processor is capable of with some other mainboards.

Benchmarks:

superPi, 3D Mark Vantage, Cinebench, DiRT 2, H.A.W.X, PC mark vantage, Sisoft Sandra, x264 HD. In the gaming benches the HIS Radeon HD5870 was used, the Radeon HD 4290 IGP was tested with 3D Mark Vantage.....More

july 13 2010

bjorn3d reviewed the ASUS P6X58D-E

Conclusion:

The lay-out of this mobo is very good and when all three PCI-E ports are used there's still enough room for a Creative X-FI sound card. This board is also a good overclocker and has many features, with extras like RAID support on the SATA3 controller.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i7 930 was OCed @ 4.3GHz 205X21.

Compared to:

ASUS Rampage II Extreme, Gigabyte X58A-UD3R.....More

july 12 2010

ocaholic reviewed the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula

Conclusion:

This mobo has a good layout, but the overclocking results stay behind, even though the ROG series are known for high overclockability. This board is also very intuitive in the process of setting up the BIOS, but it wasn't able to convince with a BCLK of 239 MHz, when compared to the 274 MHz of the Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II 955 BE was OCed @3832MHz.

Compared to:

• Asrock M3A790GXH/128M
• ASUS M4A78T-E, ASUS M4A78 HTPC/RC
• DFI Lanparty DK790FXB
• Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P

....More

july 9 2010

tweaktown reviewed the Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD7

Conclusion:

When compared to the Intel P55 boards this mainboard performs well, besides that it has six SATA3 connectors. This mobo is also a good gaming machine with the option of a Quad Crossfire setup. The reviewers gave it a 95% value for money rating, which is a very good deal for the hardcore gamer and overclocker.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II X6 1095T was OCed @4016.07MHz. There was an issue with the Hardware Thermal Control setting, which had to be disabled to reach a higher BCLK.

Compared to:

• ASRock P55 Deluxe, ASRock P55DE3
• ASUS Crosshair IV Formula, ASUS P7F7E WS Supercomputer, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro, ASUS Maximus III Extreme
• EVGA P55 FTW

....More

july 8 2010

pureoverclock reviewed the ASUS P6X58D-E

This mobo is very similar to the ASUS P6X58D Premium, but has some minor differences. The Premium has eSATA, dual LAN, better heatsinks and a Reset button.

Conclusion:

The design is very good, with enough room for large components and this board has a great layout with well placed power connectors and large CPU coolers will be no problem. The SATA ports at the bottom of the board are not accessible with a (large) video card installed in the bottom slot. The P6X58D-E is very stable and the functionality is enough for extreme users. In short this mobo is a very good feature-rich all-around board.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i7 980X was overclocked @ 4.15GHz on air with a Xigmatek Balder cooler, and with water cooling the reviewers reached 4.55GHz. TurboV is still the most user-friendly OC utility among all board manufacturers. ....More

july 7 2010

PC Perspective reviewed the MSI H55M-ED55

Conclusion:

The H55M-ED55 is a well constructed quality board for overclockers and gamers. There were good performance result and the BIOS was flexible and feature rich. This board was a stable overclocker and the OC Genie button is feature that can be used for novice PC builders to get started with overclocking.

Overclocking:

An Intel i7-860 was OCed @ 4.010GHz with the baseclock @ 200.5MHz.

Compared to:

ASRock H55DE3, Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6.....More

july 6 2010

tweaktown reviewed the ASUS P7H55D-M EVO

Conclusion:

This mobo is a mid-range product with TurboV software, O.C. Profiles, Express Gate, 7.1 audio and EPU-6 software. Although it does clock well, it's not a high-end board, but an inexpensive base for your system.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i5 661 was OCed @ 4.415GHz with a base clock of 176MHz and 25x multiplier.

Benchmarks:

HyperPi, Lightwave 3D, AutoGK, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, SIMS 3, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Temperature, Power Consumption, 3D Mark Vantage, Cinebench, Far Cry 2, Lavalys Everest Ultimate, PC mark vantage, PC mark vantage x64, Sisoft Sandra. In the gaming benchmarks an AMD Radeon HD 5870 1GB was used.....More

july 2 2010

overclockersclub reviewed the ASUS P7H55D-M EVO

Conclusion:

This board has almost the same features as the more expensive ASUS P7H57D-V EVO, except for CrossFireX/SLI support and some extra expansion options. However, they both have a robust VRM area, great on-board cooling and USB3. it couldn't match the H57 model in overclocking, allthough they both use the Xtreme Design and share a very similar VRM area. With 4.3GHz the P7H55D-M EVO was 200MHz behind. This mobo has a strong performance at a reasonable price, but lacks raid support.

Overclocking:

An Intel Core i5 was OCed @ 4298.8MHz with the memory at 1652MHz.

Benchmarks:

WinRAR, Office 2007, POV Ray 3.7, PC Mark Vantage Professional, Sisoft Sandra, ScienceMark, Cinebench R10 , HD Tune 2.55, Far Cry 2, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Batman Arkham Asylum, 3DMark 06 Professional, 3DMark Vantage. In the gaming benches an XFX Radeon HD5870 was used.....More

june 30 2010

overclockers.com reviewed the MSI 890FXA-GD70

Conclusion:

At no point the performance was limited by the board, but by the rest of my components, like the memory and processor. Using the same Kingwin Dock Master and a Samsung 1TB HDD for USB3 testing there was a 68MB/s higher burst speed when compared to the 890GXM-G65.

Overclocking:

A Phenom II X6 1055T was overclocked @ 4.2GHz running stable. With LN2 testing 5500MHz was reached.

Benchmarks:

HD Tach, 3D Mark 2005, 3D Mark Vantage, Cinebench, Lavalys Everest Ultimate, wPrime.....More

june 29 2010

overclock3d reviewed the ASUS Rampage III Gene

Conclusion:

The results in the tests were almost indentical between the Gene and the Extreme. So in every-day use this will be OK, it will do everything you want it to do. There are a few small problems in the MOSFET area with a heat-pipe and fin arrangement that doesn't fit with the rest of the boards design and the Republic of Gamers branding. This mobo gives you the quality you expect from a RoG branded board, and yet at a reasonable price. It's a good overclocker and as quick as the Extreme. The Rampage III Gene is an affordable alternative when compared to the Rampage III Extreme.

Overclocking:

An Intel core i7-930 was OCeed @4.2 GHz, 21x200......More

june 29 2010

hexus.net reviewed the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9

Conclusion:

The board's layout is very good, the onboard cooling performs admirably, it included SATA3, USB3 and a BIOS made for overclocking, this mobo offers an excellent all-round performance. The very high asking price is a bit of a disappointment, taken the lack of performance gained from a four-way HD 5870 configuration into consideration.

Overclocking:

Intel Core i7 980X was OCed with a 20x multiplier in Turbo mode and reached 4.4GHz.

Benchmarks:

HEXUS.PiFast, Geekbench, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Power Consumption, Cinebench, Crysis: Warhead, Elevated, Far Cry 2, H.A.W.X, Sisoft Sandra, wPrime. In the gaming benches an ATI Radeon HD 5870 was used. ....More

june 28 2010

overclockers.com reviewed the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula

Conclusion:

Allthough various BIOS issues need to be ironed out, there is barely anything at all negative to say about this board. The northbridge and southbridge could use a proper TIM application and this board could really use a multi-BIOS system. Where is the POST code reader? AMD has a winner on its hands with the 890FX/SB850 chipset and the Athlon II 640. It's not the most expensive 890FX board, but the feature set and abilities definitely make it worth every penny.

Overclocking:

An Athlon II 640 was OCed @4138.9MHz. 3DMark 2006 overall score increased 25.99%, with a CPU score increase of 26.66%. Likewise, Vantage scores increased 13.52% and an impressive 30.61%, respectively.....More

june 4 2010

kitguru reviewed the MSI 890FXA-GD70

Conclusion:

This mobo has a good PCB layout and many features including DrMos. Core unlocking is also available for X2 and X3 CPUs. The PCIe slots support the x16 dual mode or you can have a quad CrossFireX in x8/x8/x8/x8 mode. The USB 3 and SATA3 in combination with raid also needs to be mentioned. This mainboard is not cheap, but you'll get value for money with a great featureset and high levels of performance.

Overclocking:

An AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE was OCed @4GHz.

Compared to:

Gigabyte 890FXA-UD7 and AsRock 890FX Deluxe 3.....More

june 3 2010

benchmarkreviews reviewed the BIOSTAR TA890GXB HD

Conclusion:

This mobo is an entry-level motherboard, that only provides the basic features. The board performed slightly under the expectations of the reviewers, in every benchmark it was slower than the ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO. The layout of this well constructed motherboard is clean and organized. The onboard reset and power buttons add to the functionality and the SATA3 ports are ready for upcoming fast SSDs. On the other hand there are only only 4 USB ports on the back panel, 5.1 Channel HD Audio instead of 7.1 Channel support and no sideport memory. This motherboard is the least expensive of all AMD-890GX products available.

Overclocking:

An Athlon-II X3-445 was OCed @3.9GHz, vCore 1.6v, BCLK 245MHz. Automatic overclocking resulted in 3.4GHz.

Compared to:

ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO.....More

june 2 2010

tweaktown reviewed the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula

Conclusion:

This mobo is a very capable gaming system at relatively low costs. Allthough the Phenom II X6 1090T was not highly overclockable, it's still an interesting niche. The addition of features like Turbo Key II, Gaming First LAN connection, X-Fi audio and CrossfireX add to the value here.

Overclocking:

A Phenom II X6 1090T was oced @3.981GHz a gain of 700MHz which can be considered a low result. The reviewers also had a look at TurboV and ROG connect.

Compared to:

ASRock P55DE3, ASUS P7P55 WS Supercomputer, ASUS Maximus III Extreme, EVGA P55 FTW.....More

june 1 2010

pureoverclock reviewed the ASUS Rampage III Extreme

This review focuses on overclocking, but there are also three pages dealing with the layout and on the hardware installation page you can see a setup with three video cards and a Xigmatek Balder Air cooler, the tweaking options in the BIOS are reviewed extensively.

Overclocking:

The reviewers prepared for overclocking with liquid nitrogen or dry ice and used a Koolance CPU-LN2 evaporator, there is a dedicated page for the preparation of the board. They used dry ice and were able to overclock a core i7 Extreme 980X @5.7GHz. With base clock overclocking the reviewers reached a BCLK of 219MHz, which is an increase of 65%. The G.Skill PI Black Series DDR3-1600 memory modules were OCed @1827MHz, @CAS7.

Conclusion:

This mobo has a lot of amazing features, the usability is great and the stability is rock solid. It had no problems with the stress tests, and with manual overclocking some of the highest numbers ever were achieved. This board comes at a premium price and is at the very top of the X58 pricing heap. Many other mainboards cost considerably less, if you don't plan any extreme overclocking then there are certainly better options.....More

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