TechRadar Verdict
A solid offering that will allow you to eek every last ounce of Mhz out of your CPU
Pros
- +
Great overclocking headroom
- +
Solid features
- +
Cheaper than the 790FX
Cons
- -
Will not suit those looking for more than two graphics cards
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Do you really give a pair of fetid dingo's kidneys about multi-GPU support? That's the key difference between AMD's M4A79T Deluxe 790FX and its Asus M4A79XTD EVO 790X boards.
Do you feel the need to spend out an extra £40 for the dubious pleasure of being able to slot more than two graphics cards into your waiting PCI-E rails?
With the improved scaling of multi- GPU setups recently, we're starting to come round to the idea that maybe two graphics cards isn't an altogether ridiculous idea. Indeed it's something that AMD is pinning its high-end graphics card hopes on, formerly with the 4870x2 and the 5870x2 coming soon.
The power of two
When you go over two cards, however, the performance gains drop off rapidly. Where you might get an extra 40-50 per cent with a second card, adding a third may only get you a single-figure percentage boost.
So in 790 terms it's all about the X rather than the FX then? Well, it certainly seems that way.
This Asus board is around £50 cheaper than its quad Crossfire sporting FX brethren and still gives the same or, in some cases better, performance.
Surprisingly, in view of the the other cheaper vs more expensive boards we've reviewed recently, this Asus board overclocks better than the pricier Gigabyte 790FX board we tested.
With the Evo we were able to push the aforementioned Phenom II up to its dizzy 4GHz heights, but the 790FX board struggled even to hit 3.8GHz.
If you're looking for a speedy, overclocking-friendly AM3 board, this is it. And all for less than a ton.
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