AMD 790X or 790GX

[Brewster0101]

Hi

Looking for a new motherboard to go with my near purchase of the 720BE Phenom.

I can't decide what chipset to go for. Two boards I am looking at are

Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...3GB-s-RAID-ATX

or

Asus M3A78-T, AMD 790GX
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...A-RAID-ATX-VGA

Also considering

DFI DK 790GX-M2RS
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/DFI-D...-SATA-RAID-ATX

I am currently running a 3850 Gpu but will soon upgrade to a 4870 when the price comes down a little more.

Anyone have any thoughts. My rig will be water cooled so airflow will be slow, although my case is big.

[Sputnik]

I like this

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/JandW...Board-Graphics

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would probably go with the Asus or the J&W motherboard as both get good reviews.

[Brewster0101]

JW board only has 4 USB on back which is no good on a modern board, I need 6. Problem is I hear the Asus board gets very hot, which I can believe as my current Asus board gets hot too...

[Sputnik]

JW board only has 4 USB on back which is no good on a modern board, I need 6. Problem is I hear the Asus board gets very hot, which I can believe as my current Asus board gets hot too...

It's got 3 usb headers, You can always use a usb bracket thing(can't think of it's official name).

Or a cheap USB PCI card.

[Brewster0101]

I would probably go with the Asus or the J&W motherboard as both get good reviews.

Can't find any reviews of the JW board. I have never brought one from them. What are they like fopr support, updates etc etc. Also can't see anywhere that it confirms the bios has been made ready for AM3 Cpus.

[Sputnik]

Can't find any reviews of the JW board. I have never brought one from them. What are they like fopr support, updates etc etc. Also can't see anywhere that it confirms the bios has been made ready for AM3 Cpus.

This brand is mainly sold in Asia and mainland Europe. Good quality, Well manufactured boards at sensible prices. The BIOS 1.02 is AM3 ready and the ones Scan have are shipping with this BIOS.

This board (790GX Extreme) sells for €125 in Germany.

Manufacturer's website http://www.jwele.com/motherboard_detail.php?147

[Brewster0101]

Does anyone know the difference from the 790X and 790GX other than the inbuilt video on the 790gx?

Seems like the 790X would be a better buy if I don't need this. For two reasons, slightly cheaper and the 790gx seems to have heat issues.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would look at the specs of each board carefully. The 790GX boards that have been mentioned in this thread seem to have a better arrangement of PCI-E slots especially when in crossfire mode IMHO.

[Brewster0101]

Gigabyte board has better power distribution.

Crossfire is of no interest to me as I can't afford two graphics cards, as much as it would be nice to have two, I don't see the need.

[Brewster0101]

I would look at the specs of each board carefully. The 790GX boards that have been mentioned in this thread seem to have a better arrangement of PCI-E slots especially when in crossfire mode IMHO.

Just noticed that the 790GX boards have the worth layout. If I was too use crossfire on either board, and assuming the two cards where dual slot cards, I would have no PCi-E slot.. Gigabyte board with the 790X chipset is much better laid out.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Gigabyte motherboard



The Asus motherboard



The Asus motherboard has 3 PCI-E 16x slots.

Using a pair of dual slot cards means you will have a single PCI slot and one PCI-E 16x slot left. Due to the limitations of both the 790X and 790GX chipsets both graphics cards will run at x8 electrically and the vacant 16x slot will run at 4x electrically.

With the Gigabyte motherboard there will be a single PCI slot and a pair of PCI-E 1x slots left and one of these is behind a large heatsink too!