790FX and 790X....whats exactly is the difference?

[shugs]

Hi,

I've been doin some research on the potential motherboards I want to get for my new comp, I am going to get the Phenom x4 9950 BE and I am doubting between 2 Mobo's that fit perfectly into my budget namely:

Gigabye - GA-MA790X-DS4 ( http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2695 )

and

MSI K9A2 Platinum ( http://global.msi.eu/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=171&prod_no=1332 )

I am tending more towards purchasing the gigabyte board, however there is one thing that is holding me back. According to the AMD spec info for the chipset on the site(see http://www.amd.com/us-en/0,,3715_15337_15354_15358,00.html#770 ) the 790FX that is present on the MSI board is supposedly designed "PC enthusiasts and performance seeking overclockers and the 790X is for "intense gamers and power users".

Yet the specs presented are exactly the same, and I can't find any info that shows what differences there are between the two.

Can anyone please help me? I am planning on OCing my CPU, yet the different chipsets are providing doubt to which motherboard I should purchase since it is not clear to me what the differences exactly are.

Thanks in advance. I hope someone can help me.


- Shugs

PS I also do not understand why there is at least at my store a €20 difference between the two. Can someone explain what makes the MSI board more expensive? Is there something that makes it superior to the gigabyte board? Or is the price difference merely caused by the differing chipset?

 

[B-Unit]

Important Fact #1) Get a board with the SB750 if you intend to overclock a Phenom.

I was gonna pass this off as Important Fact #2, but Im not certain its fact:

790FX has 4 PCI-E slots for super-duper extreme crossfire setups. 790X only has 2 for 'regular' crossfire.

Long story short, dont get either board, find one with SB750. And the difference is how many PCI-E slots they have.

 

[shugs]

Thanks B-unit for the help & info.

I will start lookin for a different board, i checked the AMD site for the 750 and definitely looks better. Strange that I didn't come across that earlier.