DFI LANPARTY DK 790FXB-M3H5 Living Review

supershanks · #1 04-04-2009, 15:35

DFI LANPARTY DK 790FXB-M3RH5 Living Review

Thanks to DFI we've got a chance to review their new AMD3 board the LANPARTY DK 790FXB-M3H5 . The motherboard is based on the AMD 790FX chipset designed for AMD 45nm Phenom II CPUs.
The board uses DDR3 ram and is packed with the DK features we have come to love in this successful series of high performance, mid priced range of motherboards. See Official Specifications below for full details.

We'll be using the AMD Phenom™ II x4 945 which is also brand new, so much so there are no details up at the time of writing this.
The 945 (HDX945FBK4DGI) brief is:

3.0 GHz Rated (15x200mhz)
x4 Cores
Memory controller rated for DDR2-1066/DDR3-1333
Cache = L2 = 4×512 KB L3 = 6Mb
HT 4000Mhz
TDP= 125W
Socket - AM3

So let's get on:

Index
Useful Links

DFI LANPARTY DK 790FXB-M3H5 Bios Template

Motherboard
1) The Package
2) Official Specifications
3) Overview
4) Motherboard first look
5) Motherboard A closer Look
6) Motherboard - Detail
7) Motherboard - Close Up
8) Accessories and extras
9) Components and Test setup
Bios
10) Bios - General Bios 1 of 4 Dual Mode Access Easy & Advanced
11) Bios - General Bios 2 of 4 Standard Cmos Features, Advanced Bios Features, Advanced Chipset Features
12) Bios - General Bios 3 of 4 Integrated Peripherals
13) Bios - General Bios 4 of 4 Power Management Setup,PnP/PCI Configurations, PC Health Status ,Cmos Reloaded
14) Genie Bios - Main Menu 1of3
15) MCI Memory Timing 1of3
16) MCI Memory Timing 2of3
17) MCI Memory Timing 3of3
18) Dram Configuration ODC Sub Menu
19) Genie Bios - Main Menu 2of3
20) Genie Bios - Main Menu 3of3
21) CPU Features Sub Menu
22) PWM Settings
Clocks and Benching
Phenom II x4 945
23) 1st Shot stock voltages 3,150Mhz 15x210 @1333 1,400 6-6-6-20
24) Ganged v Unganged Ram
25) 3,300Mhz 220x15 @1333 1,466Mhz 7-7-7-19
26) 3,450 15x230 @1066 1,226Mhz 6-6-6-16
27) 3,600 15x240 @1066 1,279Mhz 6-6-6-16
Phenom II x4 955
Air
28) AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE Retail
29) Stock vcore 1.35v - 3,600 - 18x200 1600Mhz 8-8-8-21
30) 3,800 - 19x200 1600Mhz 8-8-8-21
water
31) 3,900Mhz 19.5x200 @1,333Mhz 6-6-6-17
32)3,900Mhz 19.5x200 @1,600mhz 8-8-8-21
33) 4ghz 20x200@1333 6-6-6-17
34) 4,00Mhz 20x200 @1,600mhz 8-8-8-21

Phenom II x4 965
35) Introduction
Air
36) 3.8Ghz 19x200 1600Mhz 8-8-8-21
37) 3.9Ghz 19.5x200 1600Mhz 8-8-8-21
Water
38) 4.0Ghz 20x200 1600Mhz 8-8-8-21

39) Conclusion and final thoughts

supershanks · #2 04-04-2009, 16:36

DFI's Artwork is always classy and the box for the 790FXB is no exception:
Front:

Rear, showing some key features:

Click to Enlarge

Motherboard is securely packed under a tray holding the manuals and accessories:

supershanks · #3 04-04-2009, 16:41

Official Specifications

CPU

AMD® Phenom™ II processor
HyperTransport 3.0 (5200MT/s) HyperTransport 1.0 (2000/1600MT/s)
AMD OverDrive provides tuning options using the new “Advanced Clock Calibration” overclocking feature.
CPU Socket 938 AM3 45nm

Chipset

AMD chipset - Northbridge: AMD 790FX - Southbridge: AMD SB750

System Memory

Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM sockets
Supports DDR3 1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz
Delivers up to 21Gb/s bandwidth at 1333MHz
Supports dual channel (128-bit wide) memory interface
Supports non-ECC unbuffered DIMMs
Supports up to 16GB system memory. Note:Windows® 32-bit operating system is unable to accurately detect more than 4GB system memory. Therefore, if you are using this operating system, we strongly recommend that you install less than 3GB system memory.

Expansion Slots

3 PCI Express (Gen 2) x16 slots - 2-way CrossFire at x16/x16 or x16/x4 bandwidth - 3-way CrossFire at x16/x16/x4 bandwidth
3 PCI slots

BIOS

Award BIOS
CMOS Reloaded
CPU/DRAM overclocking
CPU/DRAM/Chipset overvoltage
8Mbit SPI flash memory

Audio

Realtek ALC885 8-channel HD Audio Codec
High-performance DACs with 106dB dynamic range (A-Weight), ADCs with 101dB dynamic range (A-Weight)

LAN

Marvell 88E8056 PCIE Gigabit LAN controller
Fully compliant to IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T), 802.3u (100BASE-TX) and 802.3ab (1000BASE-T) standards

Serial ATA with RAID

Supports up to 6 SATA devices
SATA speed up to 3Gb/s
RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 0+1 and RAID 5

IDE

One IDE connector allows connecting up to two UltraDMA 133Mbps hard drives

Rear Panel I/O

1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port
1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
1 optical S/PDIF-out port
1 coaxial RCA S/PDIF-out port
6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 RJ45 LAN port
Center/subwoofer, rear R/L and side R/L jacks
Line-in, line-out (front R/L) and mic-in jacks

Internal I/O

3 connectors for 6 additional external USB 2.0 ports
1 connector for an external COM port
1 front audio connector
1 CD-in connector
1 IrDA connector
1 CIR connector
6 Serial ATA connectors
1 40-pin IDE connector
1 floppy connector
1 24-pin ATX power connector
1 8-pin 12V power connector
2 4-pin 5V/12V power connectors (FDD type)
1 front panel connector
6 fan connectors
EZ touch switches (power switch and reset switch)

Power Management

ACPI and OS Directed Power Management
ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse
Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
Wake-On-Ring
Wake-On-LAN
RTC timer to power-on the system
AC power failure recovery

Hardware Monitor

Monitors CPU/system/chipset temperature
Monitors 12V/5V/3.3V/Vcore/Vbat/5Vsb/Vdimm/Vchip voltages
Monitors the speed of the cooling fans
CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature during system boot-up

PCB

ATX form factor
24.5cm (9.64") x 30.5cm (12")

supershanks · #4 04-04-2009, 16:42

Overview

AMD 790FX with SB750
42 Lanes of PCIE 2.0

Supports CrossFire X
32 Lanes dedicated to Graphics, with compatible with 3 & 4x Crossfire configurations.

Features

4-Phase Digital PWM + 1-Phase NB Digital PWM

Replaceable Cooling System
One of DFI's best features , the Chipsey cooler is removable to let you add an after market cooler or waterblock.

LANParty adopts solid capacitors for the best stability.

Realtek ALC885 for 8CH HD Audio

Debug LED

Gigabit LAN by Marvell 8053

Fluorescent Slot & Connectors

Auto Boost System

Genie BIOS

CMOS Reloaded

3 PCI, 2 IDE

6 SATAII Ports with RAID Function
[B]
12 USB 2.0 Ports

supershanks · #5 04-04-2009, 17:12

Motherboard first look

Click pictures to Enlarge

supershanks · #6 04-04-2009, 17:44

Motherboard A closer Look
Click pictures to Enlarge

supershanks · #7 04-04-2009, 20:10

Motherboard - Detail
Click pictures to Enlarge

supershanks · #8 04-04-2009, 20:43

Motherboard - Close Up

Backside of board good to see both Chipset and PWM cooling heatpipes are bolted in place. Only the SB750 uses push pins.

PCI Slots from Left:

PCIE-1 x16
PCI-1
PCIE-2 x16
PCI-2
PCI-3
PCIE-3 x16 Note: PCIE 1 & 2 are served from the 790FX Chipset and can support 2x16 Crossfire. PCIE 3 is served from the SB 750 with x4 bandwidth. Options are controlled by the 3 jumpers JP11 ,JP 12 and JP14

Note: as usual on DK boards there are 2x floppy drive power sockets (see either side of PCI-1) , to provide additional power. DFI recommend connecting these if running multiple graphics cards. Personally I always connect them as it helps stability and probably helps getting the max out of the Hybrid 4 Phase PWM.

Rear Panel

From Left:

PS/2 Mouse
PS/2 Keyboard
Optical S/PDIF-Out
Coaxial S/PDIF-Out
Clear Cmos Jumper (Note: If your putting the motherboard in a case swap the jumper to one of the longer black ones. see Rear Clear CMOS Jumper )
USB 0-1
USB 4-5
Lan
USB 2-3
Sound - Center/subwoofer, rear R/L and side R/L jacks, Line-in, line-out (front R/L) and mic-in jacks

Sata
This must be one of the most uncluttered board I've seen with nothing to block add on cards.
6 Sata II Ports, supports Raid0 , Raid1, Raid0+1and Raid5
Sata ports from left 0-1, 2-3,4-5

CPU Socket

supershanks · #9 05-04-2009, 01:15

Components and Test setup
CPU - Phenom II 945 HDX945FBK4DGI

Cooling
Thanks to Noctua for sending us the AMD fitting kit:

I can use my favourite air cooler:
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366

DDR3
I'll be using the following during this review, stuff i've been running on P45/X48 and Nehalem :

Micron D9JNL
Cellshock DDR3 1600 7-7-7-14 2x1GB CS3222271
Cellshock DDR3 1866 8-8-8-16 2x1GB CS3222770
Samsung HFC-0
G.SKILL PI Black DDR3 PC 12800 CL8 6GB kit (F3-12800CL8T-6GBPI-B)

supershanks · #10 05-04-2009, 01:48

Accessories and extras

IDE & Sata Cables

Smart Connect
THe little black jumpers come in handy, use one on the raer clear CMOS jumper.

Manuals & DVD

Rear I/O Panel

Crossfire Bridge