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AMD PHENOM II X4 955 3.2GHz +
GA-MA790FXT-UD5P

We all know that AMD
cannot compete against Intel's i7 architecture.
So why release this X4 955? Well, the premise
is that this CPU can deliver superb performance at
an attractive price. With i7s nearing $1000,
this baby is closer to $250! Four cores
humming at 3.2GHz at such a low price? Is
there enough performance? We shall find out.
Here is some info from AMD about the Phenom II
architecture, and we've highlighted the really cool
stuff:
Key Architectural
Features - AMD Phenom™ II processors
The industry's first
true Quad core
x86 processor
- True quad-core and triple-core
designed from the ground up for
better communication between cores.
- BENEFIT: Cores can
communicate on die rather than
on package for better
performance
AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture
- Helps improve system performance
and efficiency by directly
connecting the processors, the
memory controller, and the I/O to
the CPU.
- Designed to enable simultaneous
32- and 64-bit computing
- Integrated Memory Controller
- BENEFITS:
- Increases application
performance by dramatically
reducing memory latency
- Scales memory bandwidth and
performance to match compute
needs
- HyperTransport™ Technology
provides up to 16.0GB/s peak
bandwidth per processor—reducing
I/O bottlenecks
- Up to 37GB/s total delivered
processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport
bus + memory bus)
AMD Balanced Smart Cache
- Shared L3
cache (either 6MB or 4MB)
- 512K L2
cache per core
- BENEFIT: Shortened access
times to the highly accessed
data for better performance.
AMD Wide Floating Point Accelerator
- 128-bit floating point unit (FPU)
- High performance (128bit
internal data path) floating point
unit per core.
- BENEFIT: Larger data paths
and quicker floating point
calculations for better
performance.
HyperTransport™ technology
- One 16-bit link at up to
4000MT/s
- Up to 8.0GB/s HyperTransport™
I/O bandwidth; Up to
16GB/s in
HyperTransport Generation 3.0
mode
- Up to 37GB/s total delivered
processor-to-system bandwidth (HyperTransport
bus + memory bus)
- BENEFIT: Quick access times
to system I/O for better
performance.
Integrated DRAM Controller with AMD
Memory Optimizer Technology
- A high-bandwidth, low-latency
integrated memory controller
- Supports PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066);
PC2-6400 (DDR2-800), PC2-5300
(DDR2-667), PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) or
PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) SDRAM unbuffered
DIMMs – AM2+
- Support for unregistered DIMMs
up to PC2 8500(DDR2-1066MHz) and
PC3 10600
(DDR3-1333MHz) – AM3
- Up to 17.1GB/s memory bandwidth
for DDR2 and up to 21GB/s memory
bandwidth for DDR3
- BENEFIT: Quick access to
system memory for better
performance.
AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) With Rapid
Virtualization Indexing
- Silicon feature-set enhancements
designed to improve the performance,
reliability, and security of
existing and future virtualization
environments by allowing virtualized
applications with direct and rapid
access to their allocated memory.
- BENEFIT: Helps
virtualization software to run
more securely and efficiently
enabling a better experience
when dealing with virtual
systems
Cool'n'Quiet™ 3.0
technology
- Enhanced power management
features which automatically and
instantaneously adjusts performance
states and features based on
processor performance requirements
- For quieter operation and
reduced power requirements
- BENEFIT: Enables cooler and
quieter platform designs by
providing extremely efficient
performance and energy usage.
AMD CoolCore™ Technology
- Reduces processor energy
consumption by
turning off unused parts of the
processor. For example, the
memory controller can turn off the
write logic when reading from
memory, helping reduce system power.
- Works automatically without the
need for drivers or BIOS enablement.
- Power can be switched on or off
within a single clock cycle, saving
energy with no impact to
performance.
- BENEFIT: Helps users get
more efficient performance by
dynamically activating or
turning off parts of the
processor.
Dual Dynamic Power Management™
- Enables more granular power
management capabilities to reduce
processor energy consumption.
- Separate power planes for cores
and memory controller, for optimum
power consumption and performance,
creating more opportunities for
power savings within the cores and
memory controller.
- BENEFIT: Helps improve
platform efficiency by providing
on demand memory performance
while still allowing for
decreased system power
consumption
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So here is our test
system - our motherboard is
Gigabyte's AWESOME new
GA-MA790FXT-UD5P. Here are the
manufacturer's specifications:
GA-MA790FXT-UD5P
(rev. 1.0)
AMD
790FX + SB750 Chipset
- Ultra Durable 3
Technology with copper
cooled quality for lower
working temperature
- Revolution energy saving
design with Easy Energy
Saver technology
- Supports socket AM3 45nm
AMD Phenom II series
processors
- Advanced 8+2 power phase
design for 45nm CPU highly
efficiency support
- Dual Channel DDR3 1666+
for remarkable system
performance
- 2 PCI-E 2.0 x16
interface with ATI
CrossFireX support for
ultimate graphics
performance
- 2 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
with Teaming functionality
- Power/reset/Clr CMOS
onboard button for power
users
- Blu-ray playback
supported by high quality
106dB SNR ALC889A HD audio
- Supports Dolby Home
Theater audio to enjoy a
rich surround sound
experience
- Patented DualBIOS with
dual hardware BIOS
protection
* DDR3 1666+
is supported with combination of
AM3 processors and qualified
memory modules, please refer
"Memory Support List" for detail
memory support information.
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Specifications |
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CPU |
- Support for
Socket AM3
processors: AMD
Phenom™ II X4
processor / AMD
Phenom™ II X3
processor
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Front Side Bus |
- 5200 MT/s
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Chipset |
- North Bridge:
AMD 790FX
- South Bridge:
AMD SB750
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Memory |
- 4 x 1.5V DDR3
DIMM sockets
supporting up to 16
GB of system memory
(Note 1)
- Dual channel
memory architecture
- Support for DDR3
1666(OC)/1333/1066
MHz memory modules
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Audio |
- Realtek ALC889A
codec
- High Definition
Audio
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2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
- Support for S/PDIF
In/Out
- Support for CD
In
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LAN |
- 2 x Realtek
8111DL chip
(10/100/1000 Mbit)
- Support for
Teaming
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Expansion Slots |
- 2 x PCI Express
x16 slots, running
at x16 (The
PCIEX16_1 and
PCIEX16_2 slots
support ATI
CrossFireX
technology, and
conform to PCI
Express 2.0
standard.)
- 3 x PCI Express
x1 slots
- 2 x PCI slots
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Storage Interface |
South
Bridge:
- 1 x IDE
connector supporting
ATA-133/100/66/33
and up to 2 IDE
devices
- 6 x SATA 3Gb/s
connectors
supporting up to 6
SATA 3Gb/s devices
- Support for SATA
RAID 0, RAID 1,
RAID5, RAID 10 and
JBOD
GIGABYTE SATA2 chip:
- 2 x JM322 chips
(Smart Backup):
- 4 x SATA 3Gb/s
connectors
(GSATA2_0, GSATA2_1,
GSATA2_2, GSATA2_3)
supporting up to 4
SATA 3Gb/s devices
(Note 3)
- Support for SATA
RAID 0, RAID 1 and
JBOD
ITE 8720 chip:
- 1 x floppy disk
drive connector
supporting up to 1
floppy disk drive
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IEEE 1394 |
T.I.
TSB43AB23 chip
- Up to 3 IEEE
1394a ports (2 on
the back panel, 1
via the IEEE 1394a
bracket connected to
the internal IEEE
1394a header)
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USB |
Integrated in the South
Bridge
- Up to 12 USB
2.0/1.1 ports (8 on
the back panel, 4
via the USB brackets
connected to the
internal USB
headers)
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Internal I/O Connectors |
- 1 x 24-pin ATX
main power connector
- 1 x 8-pin ATX
12V power connector
- 1 x floppy disk
drive connector
- 1 x IDE
connector
- 10 x SATA 3Gb/s
connectors
- 1 x CPU fan
header
- 2 x system fan
header
- 1 x power fan
header
- 1 x North Bridge
fan header
- 1 x front panel
header
- 1 x front panel
audio header
- 1 x CD In
connector
- 1 x S/PDIF
In/Out header
- 1 x IEEE 1394a
header
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1
headers
- 1 x serial port
header
- 1 x parallel
port header
- 1 x chassis
intrusion header
- 1 x power LED
header
- 1 x power switch
- 1 x reset switch
- 1 x clearing
CMOS switch
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Back Panel Connectors |
- 1 x PS/2
keyboard port
- 1 x PS/2 mouse
port
- 1 x optical
S/PDIF Out connector
- 1 x coaxial
S/PDIF out connector
- 2 x IEEE 1394a
port
- 8 x USB 2.0/1.1
ports
- 2 x RJ-45 port
- 6 x audio jacks
(Center/Subwoofer
Speaker Out/Rear
Speaker Out/Side
Speaker Out/Line
In/Line
Out/Microphone)
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I/O Controller |
- ITE IT8720 chip
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H/W Monitoring |
System
voltage detection
- CPU/System
temperature
detection
- CPU/System fan
speed detection
- CPU overheating
warning
- CPU/System fan
fail warning
- CPU/System fan
speed control (Note
6)
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BIOS |
- 2 x 8 Mbit flash
- Use of licensed
AWARD BIOS
- Support for
DualBIOS™
- PnP 1.0a, DMI
2.0, SM BIOS 2.4,
ACPI 1.0b
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Unique Features |
- Support for
@BIOS
- Support for
Q-Flash
- Support for
Virtual Dual BIOS
- Support for
Download Center
- Support for
Xpress Install
- Support for
Xpress Recovery2
- Support for
EasyTune (Note 5)
- Support for Easy
Energy Saver
- Support for Time
Repair
- Support for
Q-Share
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Bundle Software |
- Norton Internet
Security (OEM
version)
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Operating System |
- Support for
Microsoft Windows
Vista/ XP
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Form Factor |
- ATX Form Factor;
30.5cm x 24.4cm
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Note |
(Note 1)
Due to Windows Vista/XP
32-bit operating system
limitation, when more
than 4 GB of physical
memory is installed, the
actual memory size
displayed will be less
than 4 GB.
(Note 2) A JM322 chip
supports two SATA 3Gb/s
connectors, so the four
SATA 3Gb/s connectors
are divided into two
pairs: GSATA2_0 and
GSATA2_1 as one pair and
GSATA2_2, GSATA2_3 as
another pair.
(Refer to Chapter 2,
“Integrated Peripherals”
and Chapter 5,
“Configuring SATA Hard
Drive(s),“ for how to
enable the Smart Backup
function.)
(Note 3) Whether the
CPU/system fan speed
control function is
supported will depend on
the CPU/ system cooler
you install.
(Note 4) Available
functions in EasyTune
may differ by
motherboard model.
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Remark |
- Due to different
Linux support
condition provided
by chipset vendors,
please download
Linux driver from
chipset vendors'
website or 3rd party
website.
- Due to most
hardware/software
vendors no longer
offer support for
Win9X/ME. If some
vendors still has
Win9X/ME drivers
available, we will
publish on website.
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Now we have some images of the
motherboard:

Complete with cables, and sticker too!

Nice blue PCB color. They should have put
the other PCIe x1 on the right side of the 2nd
PCIe x16

Rear panel has everything you can ever want.

Furthermore, there is also a bracket included
which gives you 2x eSATA ports and a 4-pin Molex
power connector too.

Slot arrangement detail

On-board USB ports, 1394, and front-panel
connector, all neatly and nicely labeled

CPU and memory slots surrounded by solid-looking
heatpipe and heatsinks.

A total of 10! SATA ports here, facing the
correct direction! Six are from the
southbridge, and four from added controllers,
all of which support RAID

Here's something really cool - on-board
illuminated POWER, RESET, and CMOS RESET
buttons. The CMOS RESET is covered by a
clear cover.
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