790i Ultra SLI Motherboards Compared

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Benchmark Settings

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3D-GamesRow 0 - Cell 1
CrysisVersion: 1.1
Row 2 - Cell 0 Video Modes: 800x600 (low), 1920x1200 (high)
Row 3 - Cell 0 Video Quality: Low Details (low), Very High Details (high)
Row 4 - Cell 0 Anti-aliasing: Off (low), 8x (high)
Row 5 - Cell 0 Benchmark: Benchmark_CPU.bat
Supreme CommanderVersion: 3.220
Row 7 - Cell 0 Video Modes: 1024x768 (low), 1920x1200 (high)
Row 8 - Cell 0 Video Quality: Lowest Details (low), Highest Details (high)
Row 9 - Cell 0 Anti-aliasing: Off (low), 8x (high)
Row 10 - Cell 0 Graphics: Medium
Row 11 - Cell 0 Test Path: Options/Performance/Test Settings
Unreal Tournament 3Version: 1.2 (Dual-Core Patch)
Row 13 - Cell 0 Video Modes: 640x480 (low), 1920x1200 (high)
Row 14 - Cell 0 Video Quality: Lowest Details (low), Highest Details (high)
Row 15 - Cell 0 Post Processing: Default (low), Intense (high)
Row 16 - Cell 0 Benchmark: 16-bot botmatch (war-marketdistrict)
ApplicationsRow 17 - Cell 1
Grisoft AVG Anti-VirusVersion: 7.5.467
Row 19 - Cell 0 Virus Base: 269.6.1/776
Row 20 - Cell 0 Benchmark: Scanning 3.82GB Application Folder
Maxon Cinema 4DVersion: 10.008
Row 22 - Cell 0 Resolution: 1280x1024
Row 23 - Cell 0 Benchmark: Rose Drop, 8 bits (50 Frames)
Adobe Photoshop CS3Version: 10.0x20070321
Row 25 - Cell 0 Filtering from a 69 MB TIF-Photo
Row 26 - Cell 0 Benchmark: Tom’s Guide-Benchmark V1.0.0.4
Rarlab WinrarVersion 3.70 BETA 8
Row 28 - Cell 0 Compression = Best
Row 29 - Cell 0 Dictionary = 4096 kB
Row 30 - Cell 0 Uncompressed Folder Size: 642 MB
VideoRow 31 - Cell 1
TMPEGEnc 4.0 XpressVersion: 4.2.10.211
Row 33 - Cell 0 Import File: Terminator 2 SE DVD (2 Minutes)
Row 34 - Cell 0 Resolution: 720x576 (PAL) 16:9
Row 35 - Cell 0 Audio: Dolby Digital, 48000 Hz, 6-Channel, English
Row 36 - Cell 0 Advanced Acoustic Engine MP3 Encoder (160 kb/s)
DivX 6.6Version: 6.6.1
Row 38 - Cell 0 Profile: Home Theater Profile (720x576)
Row 39 - Cell 0 1-pass, 780 kb/s
Row 40 - Cell 0 Encoding mode: Insane Quality
Row 41 - Cell 0 Enhanced multithreading
XviD 1.1.2Version: 1.1.2
Row 43 - Cell 0 Target quantizer: 1.00 (maximum quality)
Clone DVD 2Version: 2.908
Row 45 - Cell 0 DVD "Terminator II SE" (English version)
Row 46 - Cell 0 Transcoding from DVD-9 to DVD-4.7
Row 47 - Cell 0 Audio: English Dolby AC-3/6 (surround) - DTS
Row 48 - Cell 0 Subtitles: None
SyntheticsRow 49 - Cell 1
SiSoftware Sandra XIIVersion 2008.4.14.20
Row 51 - Cell 0 Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark
Hard Drive PerformanceRow 52 - Cell 1
Low Level Performanceh2benchw 3.6 (by c’t Magazine)
I/O PerformanceIOMeter 2003.05.10
Row 55 - Cell 0 Fileserver Benchmark
Row 56 - Cell 0 Webserver Benchmark
Row 57 - Cell 0 Database Benchmark
Row 58 - Cell 0 Workstation Benchmark
AudioRow 59 - Cell 1
Rightmark Audio AnalyzerVersion: 6.0.6
Row 61 - Cell 0 Stream Quality: 16 bits, 44.1 kHz
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
59 Comments Comment from the forums
  • trainreks
    FINNALY !!!! A Review on the 790i
    Reply
  • doxicity
    Mystery Motherboard = GA-N780Ultra-DQ6?
    Reply
  • Crashman
    This was ALL OF THE AVAILABLE 790i Ultra SLI MOTHERBOARDS: Other graphics brands with NVIDIA reference boards INCLUDING EVGA are selling the same unit as XFX, even with the same BIOS (except for the boot logo). XFX was the only one who cared to send one.
    Reply
  • giovanni86
    Thats what i was going to say!!! Thank god. Well i guess i made the right choice. XFX 790i, exactly what i am going to buy in the coming month. Just need to save for it XD.
    Reply
  • jaragon13
    Who would pay four hundred dollars,when you can just buy a P45 for 100-150 dollars which has roughly the same real world experience as an X48 or 790I?
    Nah,I'd rather buy better and more reliable parts-such as power supply,processor,GRAPHICS CARD,and maybe go buy a rifle :P
    Reply
  • kitsilencer
    $400 for a motherboard? What the hell is wrong with the X48 Express that people would rather consider buying a 790i? And it can't be because of SLI. Makes more sense to buy the X48 and Crossfire.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    jaragon13Who would pay four hundred dollars,when you can just buy a P45 for 100-150 dollars which has roughly the same real world experience as an X48 or 790I?Nah,I'd rather buy better and more reliable parts-such as power supply,processor,GRAPHICS CARD,and maybe go buy a rifle
    If you want SLI you're going to need an SLI motherboard. The article specifically stated that the reference design motherboard was almost as good in many ways as the winning board, but far cheaper.

    The site only has two awards, one is for top value and the other is for "best of the best". It's hard to award a $350 motherboard for top value, but it's not so difficult awarding the "best of the best" even if the price is outrageous
    Reply
  • Crashman
    kitsilencer$400 for a motherboard? What the hell is wrong with the X48 Express that people would rather consider buying a 790i? And it can't be because of SLI. Makes more sense to buy the X48 and Crossfire.
    It does! Well, sorta. If you want the absolute fastest rig on the planet, you're going to need at least two, possibly three, GTX280's. But if you can wait a few days or maybe a couple weeks, you might be surprised at how well a Crossfire set of HD4870X2's can perform using an X48 motherboard.
    Reply
  • jaragon13
    My point is that,even though you could theoritically have 3/4 GPU's all at once,you won't get nearly as much performance as you'd want.A simple 750I or P45 chipset will do nearly the same job.
    Reply
  • zer00000
    It is a foxconn board i bet.I just read a review elsewhere with same stuff except it had an x48 chipset."All manner of goodies are bundled with the Black Ops: a 120MM fan, a plastic dry ice cooling pot for the Northbridge, and a Plexiglas "benching table" for open-air use."
    Reply