AMD 890GX Unveiled: Three Motherboards Compared

AMD's chipsets have long provided great features for the money, especially compared to high-end platforms like X48 and X58 from its chief rival, Intel. Everything between the mid-priced (still high-end) 790FX to its more commonplace integrated-graphics products can be attractive, depending on your usage model.

The entire range provides expanded PCIe 2.0 pathways for multi-card configurations, and its integrated-graphics parts actually deliver reasonable 3D performance and an option for multi-monitor support. If you love building productivity-oriented machines at an affordable price or need the ultimate in configurability, AMD might be your best choice. After all, we've yet to be bowled over by Intel's CPU efforts between $100 and $200, while AMD continues to offer a number of compelling quad-core models.

Today's launch focuses on two components, the 890GX northbridge with its revised Radeon HD 4290 graphics engine and the SB850 southbridge. Upgrades include DX10.1 graphics, SATA 6Gb/s, two additional USB 2.0 ports, and integrated gigabit networking.

But our emphasis here is on a trio of motherboards emerging alongside the new core logic from Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI. Note that you'll see USB 3.0 support in the pages to come. However, the 890GX platform does not natively support USB 3.0; rather, it's added via an on-board controller.

Motherboard Features

890GX Motherboard Features
	Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB3	Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H	MSI 890GXM-G65
PCB Revision	1.01G	1.0	1.0
Chipset	AMD 890GX/SB850	AMD 890GX/SB850	AMD 890GX/SB850
Voltage Regulator	Ten Phases	Five Phases	Five Phases
BIOS	0402 (02/09/2010)	F3 (02/08/2010)	V1.0B18 (02/22/2010)
200.0 MHz BCLK	200.7 MHz (+0.35%)	200.0 MHz (+0.0 MHz)	200.0 MHz (+0.0 MHz)
Clock Generator	ICS 9LPRS477CKL	Realtek RTM880N-793	Realtek RTM880N-793
Sideport DRAM	H5TQ1G63BFR-12C 128MB DDR3-1600	H5TQ1G63BFR-12C 128MB DDR3-1600	H5TQ1G63BFR-12C 128MB DDR3-1600
Internal Interfaces
PCIe x16	2 (x16/x0, x8/x8)	2 (x16/x0, x8/x8)	2 (x16/x0, x8/x8)
PCIe x1/x4	1/1	3/0	1/0
Legacy PCI	2	2	1
USB 2.0	4 (8-ports)	4 (8-ports)	4 (8-ports)
IEEE-1394	1	2	None
Serial Port	1	1	1
Parallel Port	None	None	1
Floppy	No	Yes	No
Ultra-ATA 133	1 (2-drives)	1 (2-drives)	1 (2-drives)
SATA 3.0 Gb/s	None	None	None
SATA 6.0 Gb/s	6	6	5
4-Pin Fan	2	2	1
3-Pin Fan	2	2	1
FP-Audio	Yes	Yes	Yes
CD-Audio	No	Yes	Yes
S/PDIF I/O	Output Only	Both	Output Only
Power Button	No	No	No
Reset Button	No	No	No
CLR_CMOS Button	Jumper Only	Jumper Only	Jumper Only
Diagnostics Panel	Pass/Fail LEDs	Pass/Fail LEDs	Pass/Fail LEDs
I/O Panel Connectors
P/S 2	1	1	1
USB 2.0	4	4	4
USB 3.0	2	2	2
IEEE-1394	1	1	None
Network	Single	Single	Single
eSATA	1	None	1
CLR_CMOS Button	No	No	No
Digital Audio Out	Optical	Optical	Optical
Digital Audio In	None	None	None
Analog Audio	6	6	6
Video Outputs	DVI, HDMI, VGA	DVI, HDMI, VGA	DVI, HDMI, VGA
DVI Dual Link	Yes	Unverified	Yes
Dual Monitor	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mass Storage Controllers
Chipset SATA	6x SATA 6Gb/s	6x SATA 6Gb/s	6x SATA 6Gb/s
Chipset RAID Modes	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10
Add-In SATA	JMB361 PCIe 1x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s	JMB363 PCIe 1x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s	None
Add-In Ultra ATA	JMB361 PCIe	JMB363 PCIe	JMB368 PCIe
USB 3.0	NEC D720200F1	NEC D720200F1	NEC D720200F1
IEEE-1394	VT6308P PCI 2x 400 Mb/s	TSB43AB23 PCI 3x 400 Mb/s	None
Gigabit Ethernet
Primary LAN	RTL8111E PCIe	RTL8111D PCIe	RTL8111DL PCIe
Secondary LAN	None	None	None
Audio
HD Audio Codec	ALC892	ALC892	ALC889
DDL/DTS Connect	Unspecified	Dolby Digital Live	Unspecified

AMD's multi-monitor advantage comes from the way it separates PCIe and GPU functions to deliver sixteen PCIe 2.0 lanes to graphics cards (up to two) without sacrificing integrated graphics functionality. Its Catalyst driver package controls both onboard and discrete Radeon graphics controllers simultaneously, seamlessly managing multiple desktop configurations. The three boards in today's roundup have another advantage over those of our recent H55 comparison, in that those products didn't support DVI dual-link mode for extra-large displays.

Unfortunately, while Gigabyte's dual-link mode appeared to accommodate our lab's 2560x1600 display, loading the driver seemed to break this feature. This is most likely a driver bug, since AMD's Catalyst 10.3 Preview package is not yet finished.

Another advantage today's motherboards have over the Intel H55-based competition is the chipset's additional PCIe 2.0 lanes, one of which supplies each of today's motherboards with the same USB 3.0 controller at its full 5.0 Gb/s interface bandwidth. Intel's chipset lanes run at half-speed, so that two lanes and a costly PCIe switch are required to reach the controller's maximum throughput.

Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB3

Asus' full-sized board provides the extra space needed to access most 890GX chipset functions, including two of the chipset's six PCI slots and five of its eight PCIe 2.0 lanes. Much of the chipset's remaining connectivity is tied to on-board controllers.

Only four of the chipset's USB 2.0 ports are found on the I/O panel, as the area is far too laden with other connections to allow for more. Two USB 3.0, FireWire, eSATA, digital and analog audio, gigabit networking, and triple-format display output round out the rear.

Builders looking for the best performance from a single card need to pay close attention to the included VGA switch card, which is used to control the number of lanes fed to the dark-blue slot. Sixteen lanes are shared across two graphics card slots in x8 mode, but placing the card into the light-blue slot redirects its eight lanes to the dark-blue slot for full x16 connectivity to a single card. This low-cost switching method eliminates the need for more expensive devices, such as the electronic switches used by its competitors.

Four USB 2.0 headers support up to eight front-panel ports or devices, but the add-in ATA controller supports only Ultra ATA drives. All ATA connectors including the chipset's six SATA 6Gb/s ports are found near the bottom edge, which could make cable installation difficult for the top-bay drives in mid-tower cases.

Front-panel audio is found in its usual bottom-rear-corner position, where it will usually be difficult to reach with the cables of top-bay connections.

BIOS

Reference Clock	100-600 MHz (1 MHz)
CPU Multiplier	Yes
iGFX Clock	400-1500 MHz (1 MHz)
DRAM Data Rates	REF x4-x8 (x1.33)
PCIe Clock	100-150 MHz (1 MHz)
CPU Vcore	0.65-2.05V (3.125mV)
IMC Voltage	0.4-1.8V (3.125mV)
890GX Voltage	0.8-2.0V (6.25mV)
SB850 Voltage	1.10-1.40V (50mV)
DRAM Voltage	1.20-2.50V (6.25mV)
CAS Latency	4-12 Cycles
tRCD	4-12 Cycles
tRP	5-12 Cycles
tRAS	15-30 Cycles

The M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 provides a fairly long list of overclocking controls, supporting even sideport memory overclocks (DDR3-1333 to DDR3-2000) and over-voltage (from 1.50 to 1.80 volts).

A fairly short selection of DRAM timings still provides all the settings most tuners will need.

Asus is proud of its Core Unlocker feature, which is meant to enable the disabled cores of Phenom II X2 and X3 processors. This is notable since the SB850 southbridge does not include ACC as a built-in feature. Nevertheless, while we've had minor luck randomly unlocking a handful of retail-purchased CPUs, we wouldn't recommend you buy a cheaper processor hoping for an unlock when you really want the higher-end CPU. It's not like we're dealing with the difference between a Core i5-750 and a Core i7-975 Extreme or anything, cost-wise.

Asus includes four SATA cables with its M4A89GTD Pro/USB3, but only two are marked as SATA 6 Gb/s capable.

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H

Gigabyte's first entry into the 890GX world comes with a few extra features compared to chief-rival Asus, with a full seven expansion slots, automatic PCIe x16 to dual x8 slot switching, and an added SATA connection.

Except for its missing eSATA port, the 890GPA-UD3H I/O panel could have been lifted directly from the Asus board. Gigabyte seems to be of the opinion that most eSATA users would rather connect their devices via the front panel ports of select cases, placing both additional connections internally. Two USB 3.0 ports highlight the I/O panel's added features.

BIOS

Reference Clock	200-500 MHz (1MHz)
CPU Multiplier	Yes
iGFX Clock	200-2000 MHz (1 MHz)
DRAM Data Rates	REF x4-x8 (x1.33)
PCIe Clock	100-150 MHz (1MHz)
CPU Vcore	-0.6 to +0.6V (25mV)
IMC Voltage	-0.6 to +0.6V (25mV)
890GX Voltage	0.90-1.60V (20mV)
SB850 Voltage	Not Adjustable
DRAM Voltage	1.28-2.45V (15mV)
CAS Latency	3-11 Cycles
tRCD	3-15 Cycles
tRP	3-15 Cycles
tRAS	3-31 Cycles

Overclockers will love the variety of configurable settings provided in Gigabyte's GA-890GPA-UD3H BIOS. We prefer to see actual (rather than offset) voltage listed, but Gigabyte makes it easy to see "where you're going" by also listing the expected result.

Memory timing selections are only mildly advanced beyond the basic overclocker's needs, but do include drive-strength control.

Eight custom BIOS configurations can be saved in a protected area of the BIOS IC as user profiles.

Users who forget to save a user profile in BIOS can still retrieve previous settings, since the motherboard automatically retains the "last known good" configuration.

Accessories

We were disappointed to find only two SATA cables in Gigabyte's installation kit, though retail samples might contain more.

MSI 890GXM-G65

MSI was the only company to provide a microATX board for AMD's chipset launch, though this particular form factor is the most likely place to find an upper-range integrated-graphics chipset. Its 890GXM-G65 still provides most of the features of the full-sized Asus rival, minus an eSATA controller and two expansion slots.

The rear panel does contain a single eSATA connection, improved to the 6Gb/s standard because it uses the chipset's integrated controller. Like its rivals, the 890GXM-G65 also provides two USB 3.0 ports.

We think it's a little humorous that all three motherboards provide HDMI display output, but not DisplayPort, since this AMD-backed interface is found on so many Intel-based motherboards. Yet, this particular board will likely find its way into many home-theater systems, where HDMI is the most common HDCP-compliant standard.

The 890GXM-G65 actually looks like a compact game system motherboard with its short and fat heat pipe cooler, dual PCIe x16-length slots and electronic pathway switches for dual x8 or single x16 slot modes, and many among the AMD faithful will certainly see fit to use it as such. Game performance is an area where AMD processors remain competitive, though the chipset's Radeon HD 4290 integrated graphics will likely be of little use to value-seeking gamers.

The 890GXM-G65 lacks the FireWire controller builders rely on to activate the often-unused front panel connection of most media-center cases. Its forward-facing SATA ports are likewise unsuited for many of those cases, since the motherboard's front edge will often be blocked by drive bays. On the other hand, compact game system builders will often find its outward-facing SATA port blocked by the heatsink of large graphics cards, so it appears that MSI's only solution would have been to eliminate the Ultra ATA connector and try to place its SATA ports there.

Like Asus, MSI positions its front-panel audio connector in the motherboard's bottom rear corner. MSI moved it slightly forward, however, and we've encountered many builds where the extra inch solves cable installation woes.

BIOS

Reference Clock	190-690 MHz (1 MHz)
CPU Multiplier	Yes
iGFX Clock	150-1500 MHz (1 MHz)
DRAM Data Rates	REF x4-x8 (x1.33)
PCIe Clock	90-190 MHz (1MHz)
CPU Vcore	1.02-1.97V (10mV)
IMC Voltage	0.39-1.46V (1mV)
890GX Voltage	1.05-21.65V (6.25mV)
SB850 Voltage	0.89-1.40V (5.3mV)
DRAM Voltage	0.97-2.45V (~8mV)
CAS Latency	4-12 Cycles
tRCD	5-12 Cycles
tRP	5-12 Cycles
tRAS	15-30 Cycles

MSI applied full-sized overclocking features to its microATX 890GXM-G65, making it easy to extract peak performance from a portable gaming system. Underclocking is also possible, allowing reduced-noise cooling for "silent" PCs and media centers.

The 890GXM-G65 has a relatively broad selection of memory timings, which can be configured separately per-channel. MSI adds several drive-strength controls for enhanced stability when operating memory beyond its intended parameters.

Accessories

The 890GXM-G65 we received included an incomplete cable kit that doesn't support an SATA hard drive and optical drive simultaneously. While many builders have cables to spare, those who don't should take a second look at production samples to see if the package has been tweaked.

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