Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Overall the MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 790FX-based motherboard is a good all around motherboard that presents a wonderful selection of features for a good price. The numbers posted seem to right where they should be, and the extras like overclocking work well. There are a few downsides, some minor and some not so easy to dismiss.
The most significant benefit shown by the MSI board is the price tag. The board is as good as the GIGABYTE board, and better then the ASUS board we last reviewed, in many areas. This is important as the MSI board is sometimes $10 cheaper or more then its two cousins. When you factor in the overclocking ability, this board starts to encroach on the territory occupied by the GIGABYTE board.
There are still some minor issues with performance though. At stock speeds the MSI board is slower then the GIGABYTE and ASUS boards in more then a few tests. There’s also the middling hard drive I/O performance, which on a platform that already has some questions being asked about it’s I/O performance, coming in last place isn’t a good thing. Still the gaming performance on this board isn’t anything to sneeze at. Perhaps the one saving grace of this board.
Actually no, I can’t be that acerbic about the MSI 790FX-GD70. In the end this board is a decent performer at a good price point. It doesn’t require any ridiculous processes to get it going like having to update the BIOS to make the CPU work. It just comes ready to do your bidding. It can even overclock with the best of them and quite easily thanks to the tools provided by MSI. If you need an inexpensive high end AMD Socket AM3 board to satisfy your tweaking jones, this is the board for you.
Pros
- Satisfactory performance
- Excellent overclocking ability
- Low price
- Extensive features list (including quad Crossfire)
Cons
- Only satisfactory performance
- Poor front panel connector placement
- OC Dial is neat, but needs side panel to be removed
Overall Rating: 8.5/10.0
Discuss This Review in the Futurelooks Community Forums