790i Ultra SLI Motherboards Compared

Features
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Software and Accessories

The MSI Core Center software includes basic voltage and clock speed settings to allow overclocking for improved performance, and underclocking for improved power savings. The home panel provides chipset, FSB and CPU clock settings, but the temperature reading isn’t anywhere close to being accurate.

Another panel reveals additional details, with fan speeds and CPU FSB clock adjustments.

Any large increases in FSB clock speeds will also require increased voltage to stabilize related components. Clicking a button reveals core voltage, memory, and northbridge adjustments, along with chipset and highly inaccurate CPU temperature displays.

Unfortunately, this software version doesn’t appear to be geared towards this specific motherboard, as even the smallest changes would crash the system. The driver CD also included Nvidia’s NTune utility, which has some similar features.

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Documentation & SoftwareQuick Installation Guide
Row 1 - Cell 0 X-Fi Xtreme Audio Driver CD
Row 2 - Cell 0 Motherboard Driver CD’s (Windows XP, Vista)
Hardware3x SLI Bridge
Row 4 - Cell 0 6x SATA Data Cable
Row 5 - Cell 0 1x M-Connector Kit
Row 6 - Cell 0 3x 4-pin to SATA Power Adapter
Row 7 - Cell 0 1x 80-conductor Ultra ATA cable
Row 8 - Cell 0 1x Floppy Cable
Row 9 - Cell 0 1x I/O Panel Shield
Row 10 - Cell 0 1x SATA to eSATA Breakout Plate (2-ports)
Row 11 - Cell 0 1x eSATA (port) to SATA (drive) Data Cable
Row 12 - Cell 0 1x 4-pin to SATA Power Adapter (External)
Row 13 - Cell 0 1x Port Breakout Plate (2x USB, 1x IEEE-1394)

MSI’s accessory kit is fairly comprehensive, with bonus cables that allow you to connect internal drives externally. Three SLI bridges allow 2-way or 3-way SLI configuration, where the longer bridge cable must be placed across the top and bottom cards.

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