Final Words & Conclusion
Final Words & Conclusion
The AMD 890FX chipset itself is already string at mere baseline settings. We like the added bandwidth available on the PCIe slots, the sheer tweak-ability, the embedded gigabit NIC and sure, the integration of the SATA 6G controller. Speaking of which, we are still under whelmed by the AHCI performance of that controller when we peeked at the low file-size performance. The flip coin side however is that regular SATA/IDE mode performance really is fast, so just leave it at that for now, until AMD releases a driver that will improve AHCI mode.
Anyhow, the GD70 is certainly a good looking motherboard, the board is more expensive than your average 890GX/890FX motherboard alright but the investment might be worth your while if you crave the need for something extreme. Added features like overclock options, components usage, two gigabit NICs, but also USB 3.0 the massive amount of PCIe slots it just adds up to make the motherboard a little more special compared to say your average competition.
Two negatives we found ... The OC Genie light BIOS option is nice, unfortunately it failed dramatically on our end. Once activated in the BIOS the OC Genie light function tried to overclock the AMD six-core processor to 4 GHz, it did boot but crashed Windows startup. We tried several times and then decided to move forward with a manual overclock. I'm sure this will be fixed with future BIOS updated, but it is not the kind of thing you expect to happen with a 190 EUR motherboard.
Secondly, the unhandy conductive touch points for reset and power on. With each and every review I start to dislike them more and more, want to physical press buttons and feel it when I press reset. But as little as our comments are, overall this is a very good motherboard with a deep and extensive feature set that will be to the linking of many hardware enthusiast and aficionado's out there.
With the aforementioned minor quirks at best, we have to acknowledge that the 890FX really is a terrific chipset that ahead of what Intel brings to the table these days.
Summing it up, the MSI 890FXA-GD70 is a very nice motherboard with what we feel is a lovely AMD 890FX chipset.
Features wise this puppy is hard to beat, the baseline performance however is at the same level as any 890FX motherboard, as well as the reach in overclock. It is a good looking design and next the all the regular features you'll have the additional benefits of USB 3.0, SATA 6G, dual GBit NICs and a serious amount of PCI card ports. Currently the MSI 890FXA-GD70 is priced at 190 EUR/USD. We do feel that the price is a notch too much. At 150~175 EUR/USD this motherboard would be the way to go. The board deserves our recommended award for sure.
Oh and MSI one tip, if you design a Blue/Black two tone motherboard, then please also include black SATA and IDE cables ... and not red colored ones -- that's like blasphemy in what was a sweet color scheme.
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