MSI 790FX-GD70

MSI 790FX-GD70 @ Bjorn3D

“Our review of the 790GX-G65 left us with a nice taste in our mouth. Made us want the dessert of MSI motherboards. Well in this case, careful what you wish for because you just might get it! Today we are reviewing MSI’s latest in AMD motherboards; The MSI 790FX-GD70. There where a few things that snagged us from before and MSI fixed all these little problems in their enthusiast board and even added a whole lot more that we didn’t expect.”

ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo

ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo @ Motherboards.org

“ASUS motherboards are favorites of me and Doc Overclock. In fact, almost every motherboard in our personal systems has an ASUS motherboard installed on them. The P5Q Pro Turbo is a good motherboard, with performance, features and a great price. You can purchase this board online from Newegg for under $120, meaning that the board has the ASUS quality and features but for a mainstream price.”

ASUS P5Q-VM

ASUS P5Q-VM @ Digit-Life

“This motherboard has typical exterior and functionality for models with integrated graphics; it’s a standard microATX motherboard, not overloaded with controllers and connectors. This PCB layout has practically no drawbacks. We have only one ideological gripe with it — the single PCI slot.”

ASUS Maximus II Gene

ASUS Maximus II Gene @ Motherboards.org

“The fact of the matter is that the P45 chipset is delegated to the mainstream and value market right now. If you want the fastest CPU and best platform that is the Intel Core i7 and X58 combination as the AMD Phenom IIs is simply no CPU match speed-wise to the Intel Core i7 platform. The ASUS Maximus II Gene offers a lot of overclocking options and has the ability to run two ATI cards in CrossfireX mode, improving game performance while sacrificing little in terms of moving to a micro-ATX motherboard.”

Gigabyte EX58-UD3R & EX58-UD4P

Gigabyte EX58-UD3R & EX58-UD4P @ Hot Hardware

“But, it all starts with the motherboard and most of the X58-based offerings out there are not cheap. Simply put, being the latest and greatest always commands a premium and it doesn’t help when there’s no real competition (on the chipset level at least) to help keep prices in check.”

ASUS M3A78-T

ASUS M3A78-T @ FutureLooks

“With AMD’s latest move to DDR3 memory and the AM3 socket on the Phenom II, they’ve worked with some motherboard manufacturers to make that transition a little easier. They’ve managed to release motherboards that are both compatible with AM2+ and AM3 sockets, and support DDR2, and we are reviewing one of those boards today.”

ASUS M4A79 Deluxe

ASUS M4A79 Deluxe @ Neoseeker

“Overall, The ASUS M4A79 Deluxe is a great board. It offers a good performance and in many occasions it was able to beat the MSI 790FX-GD70 which sports the same chipset but uses DDR3 memory instead of DDR2.”

Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H

Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H @ Motherboards.org

“In terms of features, the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP UD4H motherboard has it all. It fully supports the new Phenom II CPUs on the market on the AM2+ Socket including the Phenom II X4 940 and Phenom II X3 710 CPUs we have in-house. The need for two AMD platforms is necessitated by the fact that the AM2+ CPUs do not work on AM3 motherboards meaning that to show the best performance; we need to use the fastest AM2+ CPU, the 940.”

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P @ OC Club

“Overall, it was a joy working with the EX58-UD4P. Overclocking was simple, but it also has the capacity to get complex for hardcore users. This board is third behind the top of the line EX8-EXTREME, which is aimed for the top of the line market, but this board still puts up great numbers.”

ASUS ROG Rampage II Gene

ASUS ROG Rampage II Gene @ TweakTown

“The Republic of Gamers or ROG based ASUS boards are what ASUS calls their cream of the crop boards; a lot of time and effort goes into them and so far all the boards we have tested under the ROG name have been impressive. However, none have been this small before; we are talking real small, MicroATX.”