Five AMD 890FX-Based Motherboards Compared

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Adding SATA 6 Gb/s and two more USB 2.0 ports, AMD’s flagship northbridge has evolved into the 890FX. Just as important are the evolutionary steps several manufacturers have taken in motherboard design. Today we examine five examples.

Features Comparison

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890GX Motherboard Features
Row 0 - Cell 0 ASRock 890FX Deluxe3 Asus Crosshair IV Formula Biostar TA890FXE Gigabyte 890FXA-UD7 MSI 890FXA-GD70
PCB Revision 1.03 1.01G 5.0 2.0 1.1
Chipset AMD 890FX/SB850 AMD 890FX/SB850 AMD 890FX/SB850 AMD 890FX/SB850 AMD 890FX/SB850
Voltage Regulator 10 Phases 10 Phases 6 Phases 10 Phases 5 Phases
BIOS P1.40 (04/23/2010) 0801 (05/03/2010) 506 (05/06/2010) F1 (04/06/2010) V1.2 (04/26/2010)
200.0 MHz BCLK 200.0 MHz (+0.0 MHz) 200.7 MHz (+0.35%) 200.0 MHz (+0.0 MHz) 200.0 MHz (+0.0 MHz) 200.0 MHz (+0.0 MHz)
Clock Generator ICS 9LPRS477CKL ICS 9LPRS477CKL Realtek RTM880N-793 Realtek RTM880N-793 Realtek RTM880N-793
Internal Interfaces
PCIe x16 (lanes) 3 (16/16/4) 4 (16-1-16-4 or 16-8-8-4) 4 (16-1-16-4) 6 (16-4-0-1-16-0 or 8-4-8-1-8-8) 5 (16-0-4-16-0 or 8-4-8-8-8)
PCIe x1/x4 2/0 0/0 0/0 0/0 1/0
Legacy PCI 1 2 2 1 1
USB 2.0 2 (4 ports) 3 (5 ports) 3 (6 ports) 3 (6 ports) 3 (6 ports)
IEEE-1394 1 1 1 1 2
Serial Port 1 None 1 1 1
Parallel Port None None None 1 None
Floppy Yes No No Yes No
Ultra ATA 133 1 (2 drives) None 1 (2 drives) 1 (2 drives) 1 (2 drives)
SATA 3 Gb/s None 1 None 2 1
SATA 6 Gb/s 8 6 5 6 6
4-Pin Fan 2 8 1 2 1
3-Pin Fan 3 None 2 3 4
FP-Audio Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
CD-Audio Yes No No Yes No
S/PDIF I/O Output Only Output Only Output Only Both Output Only
Power Button Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reset Button Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
CLR_CMOS Button Jumper Only Jumper Only Jumper Only Yes Jumper Only
Diagnostics Panel Numeric Pass/Fail LEDs Numeric Numeric Numeric
I/O Panel Connectors
P/S 2 2 1 2 1 2
USB 2.0 4 7 6 6 (2 Shared w/eSATA) 6 (1 Shared w/eSATA)
USB 3.0 4 2 None 2 2
IEEE-1394 1 1 1 2 None
Network Single Single Single Dual Dual
eSATA 1 1 1 2 1 (Shared w/USB)
CLR_CMOS Button Yes Yes No No Yes
Digital Audio Out Optical + Coaxial Optical Optical + Coaxial Optical + Coaxial Optical + Coaxial
Digital Audio In None None None None None
Analog Audio 6 6 6 6 6
Mass Storage Controllers
Chipset SATA 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s
Chipset RAID Modes 0, 1, 5, 10 0, 1, 5, 10 0, 1, 5, 10 0, 1, 5, 10 0, 1, 5, 10
Add-In SATA 88SE9123 PCIe 2 x SATA 6 Gb/s JMB363 PCIe 1 x SATA 3 Gb/s 1 x eSATA 3 Gb/s None JMB363 PCIe 2 x SATA 3 Gb/s JMB362 PCIe 2 x eSATA 3 Gb/s JMB363 PCIe 1 x SATA 3 Gb/s 1 x eSATA 3 Gb/s
Add-In Ultra ATA VT6330 PCIe None VT6330 PCIe JMB363 PCIe JMB363 PCIe
USB 3.0 2x NEC D720200F1 4 x 5.0 Gb/s NEC D720200F1 None NEC D720200F1 2 x 5.0 Gb/s NEC D720200F1
IEEE-1394 VT6330 PCIe 2 x 400 Mb/s VT6315N PCIe 2 x 400 Mb/s VT6330 PCIe 2 x 400 Mb/s TSB43AB23 PCI 3 x 400 Mb/s VT6315N PCIe 2 x 400 Mb/s
Gigabit Ethernet
Primary LAN RTL8111E PCIe Marvell 88E8059 PCIe RTL8111DL PCIe RTL8111D PCIe RTL8111DL PCIe
Secondary LAN None None None RTL8111D PCIe RTL8111DL PCIe
Audio
HD Audio Codec VIA VT2020 VIA VT2020 ALC892 ALC889 ALC889
DDL/DTS Connect Unspecified Unspecified Unspecified Dolby Digital Live Unspecified
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.
75 Comments Comment from the forums
  • makwy2
    Great article. Very informative!

    One little suggestion, in the features comparison it would be nice to include a row on the cost of these mobos. As one eventually reads in the Conclusion there is quite a bit of difference between them in this area but if this 'stat' was featured I would be able to focus only on the boards within my price range. I know that it would be hard to keep up to date and such but it would really be a service to those of us who are not made of money.
    Reply
  • wintermint
    I own a gigabyte mobo and I'm happy with it :)
    Reply
  • Lmeow
    I'd personally go for the Crosshair IV Formula simply because of the kickass colour scheme. :D
    Reply
  • xurwin
    uhuh! i really like the crosshair IV formula for its design and Awesome color! wish every mobo has a creativity design
    Reply
  • joytech22
    Ugh this year i already made some horrible decisions, honestly didn't think the Asus board would look so beautiful! i really wanted that board too but i already ordered a different Asus board for SLi support (with AM3)..

    *Sigh*
    Reply
  • liquidsnake718
    interesting and very persuasive article as i was seriously thinking of getting an AMD based system instead just a few weeks ago until I finally bought a new processor. I still dont have the mb yet but reading this article made me want to get the Asus or the Gigabyte board. I would have possibly gone for a phenom II x4 or even x6 but its too late! What a good read this was and I am slowly understanding the value oriented target market that AMD and ATi offer to beginners and enthusiast builders and overclockers.

    Truly.... if not for getting my i7930 I would have bought these motherboards first!

    I have just purchased a i7 chip x58 chip but reading this article actually made me regret it! I have yet to buy a mb as the ud4 isnt available in Manila yet.

    I will build this pc slowly but make it the best possible in the timeframe while I eke out the best of my current c2d system and netbook in the meantime.
    Reply
  • alexcheng
    URRGH!!! X58 or 890FX?!?!! AMD and Intel are causing me a mental breakdown!!!!!!!
    Reply
  • dEAne
    I have a gigabyte mobo and Its good, One thing I don't like is that DDR3 cannot use past 1333 range if you want to use 1600 only few slots are available.
    Reply
  • aquicl
    wow
    Reply
  • xurwin
    dEAneI have a gigabyte mobo and Its good, One thing I don't like is that DDR3 cannot use past 1333 range if you want to use 1600 only few slots are available. now now. breathe slowly. ASUS CROSSHAIR IV FORMULA 890FX!!!
    Reply