790i Ultra SLI Motherboards Compared

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Test Hardware

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Socket 775 ProcessorIntel Core 2 Duo E6850
Row 1 - Cell 0 (Conroe 65 nm, 3.00 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache)
DDR3 System MemoryCrucial Ballistix BL12864BA1608.8SFB DDR3-1600
Row 3 - Cell 0 2x 1024 MB at DDR3-1066, CL 5.0-5-5-15
DDR2 System MemoryCrucial Ballistix BL12864AA804.16FD3 DDR2-800
Row 5 - Cell 0 2x 1024 MB at DDR2-1066, CL 5.0-5-5-15
Hard Drive (System)Western Digital WD1500ADFD-00NLR1, Firmware: 20.07P20
Row 7 - Cell 0 150 GB, 10,000 RPM, 16 MB cache, SATA/150
Hard Drives (Empty)2x Gigabyte I-RAM BOX (4 GB SATA150)
Graphics CardGigabyte GV-RX385512H (Radeon HD 3850)
Row 10 - Cell 0 670MHz GPU, 512MB GDDR3-1660
Sound CardAsus Xonar D2X (PCI-Express)
Power SupplyCoolermaster RS850-EMBA (850W, ATX12V v2.2)
System Software & DriversRow 13 - Cell 1
OSWindows Vista Ultimate 6.0.6000 (Vista Retail)
DirectX VersionDirectX 10.0
Platform DriversNvidia nForce Version 9.64
Graphics DriverATI Catalyst 8.4

We used the CPU, RAM and graphics from our most recent reference system.

The biggest challenge for Nvidia’s 790i Ultra SLI will be to match or exceed the performance and overclocking capability of Intel’s X48 Express. Representing Intel’s finest chipset is the most consistent performer from our X48 comparisons: Gigabyte’s GA-X48-DQ6.

The X48-DQ6’s high standing among X48 contenders seemed surprising since it’s a DDR2 motherboard. To make today’s benchmarks results compare accurately with prior shootouts, we set both the DDR2-equiped X48-DQ6 and DDR3-equiped 790i Ultra SLI motherboards to the same 1066 MHz data rate, at 5.0-5-5-15 latencies.

Overclock testing is an important part of today’s article, so we used Swiftech’s Apogee GTX water block, MCP-655b high-flow pump and 120 mm x3 fan radiator to keep temperatures near ambient conditions. This Swiftech kit has worked so well for us that it’s been used in four consecutive LGA775 motherboard shootouts.

Weary from waiting hours for each hard drive controller test to complete, we sped things up with two Gigabyte I-RAM units, each filled with Crucial PC-3200 CAS 3 modules.

With a superb signal-to-noise ratio on its line input, the Asus Xonar D2X served as the input device for audio testing.

Some testers don’t have access to some of the company’s software licenses, so we ran today’s benchmarks on Windows Vista Ultimate, Retail Boxed.

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