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Even after the launch of Sandy Bridge from Intel, there are still a lot of users out there who will opt for an AMD based system so it is our duty, as Gurus of Kit, to review some of the latest and greatest AMD based motherboards.
Today we are going to be looking at the M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 motherboard from Asus which is geared for users who want to overclock their system. It features their ‘Xtreme Design' and dual intelligent processors design which we've seen on most of their latest motherboards so users can squeeze every possible ounce of performance from their system.
Specification
| CPU | AMD Socket AM3 ;Phenom™II /Athlon™II /Sempron™ 100 Series Processors AMD 140W CPU Support AMD Cool ‘n' Quiet™ Technology Supports 45nm CPU |
| Chipset | AMD 890GX/SB850 |
| System Bus |
Up to 5200 MT/s ; HyperTransport™ 3.0 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 16 GB, DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1333/1066 ECC,Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel memory architecture *AMD AM3 100 and 200 series CPU support up to DDR3 1066MHz **Due to OS limitation, when installing total memory of 4GB capacity or ***Refer to www.asus.com for the memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists). |
| Expansion Slots |
2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 support ATI CrossFireX™ technology(@dual x8 speed) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 2 x PCI |
| VGA | Integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 4290 GPU
Multi-VGA output support: HDMI, DVI-D and RGB ports Supports HDMI with max. resolution 1920 x 1200 (1080P) Supports DVI with max. resolution 2560×1600 @60Hz Supports RGB with max. resolution 2560×1440 @75Hz Support H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, DirectX10.1 and OpenGL2.0 Support Shader Model 4.1, Universal Video Decoder (UVD) 2.0 Max. UMA Memory Size: 512 MB 128MB DDR3 1333 sideport memory support Hybrid CrossFireX support |
| Storage | SB850 Chipset 6 xSATA 6.0 Gb/s ports Support RAID 0,1,5,10 JMicron® 1 xUltraDMA 133/100 for up to 2 PATA devices 1 xExternal Power eSATA 3.0Gb/s port |
| LAN | Realtek® 8111E Gigabit LAN controller featuring AI NET2 |
| Audio | ALC 892 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC – BD Audio Layer Content Protection – Support 192khz/24bit True BD Lossless Sound – DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC – Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-Streaming, and Front Panel – Optical S/PDIF Out ports at back I/O – ASUS Noise Filter |
| IEEE 1394 |
VIA® 6308P controller supports 2 x 1394a port(s) (1 at mid-board; 1 at back panel) |
| USB | 12 x USB 2.0 ports (8 ports at mid-board, 4 ports at back panel) 2 x USB 3.0 ports (2 ports at back panel) |
| ASUS Unique Features |
ASUS Xtreme Design ASUS Hybrid Processor — TurboV EVO – Turbo Unlocker, Auto Tuning, TurboV, CPU Level UP and GPU Boost ASUS Hybrid Switch – Core Unlocker – Turbo Key II ASUS Hybrid OS — Express Gate ASUS Power Solutions – 8+2 Phase Power Design – ASUS EPU ASUS Exclusive – MemOK! ASUS Quiet Thermal – ASUS Fanless Design: Heat pipe solution – ASUS Fan Xpert ASUS EZ DIY – ASUS Q-DIMM – ASUS O.C. Profile – ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 – ASUS EZ Flash 2 – ASUS MyLogo 2 – Percision Tweaker 3 – Multi-language BIOS |
| Overclocking Features |
Precision Tweaker 3 – vCore: Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.003125V increment – vDDNB: Adjustable CPU NB voltage at 0.003125V increment – vCPU PLL: Adjustable CPU_PLL voltage at 0.00625V increment – vHT bus: Adjustable PCH voltage at 0.00625V increment – vDRAM Bus: Adjustable DRAM voltage at 0.00625V increment – iChipset: Adjustable iChipset voltage at 0.00625V increment SFS (Stepless – PCI Express frequency tuning from 100MHz up to 150MHz at 1MHz – Internal Base Clock tuning from 100MHz up to 600MHz at 1MHz increment Overclocking – ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall) |
| Back Panel I/O Ports |
1 x DVI 1 x D-Sub 1 x HDMI 1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical) 1 x IEEE 1394a 1 x LAN(RJ45) port 8 -Channel Audio I/O 1 x PS/2 Keyboard (Purple) 1 x Power eSATA 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 2 x USB 3.0 ports |
| Internal I/O Connectors |
4 x USB connectors support additional 8 USB ports 1 x IDE connector 1 x IEEE 1394a connector 1 x CPU Fan connector 1 x Power Fan connector 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x Chassis Fan connector (4-pin) 1 x Chassis Fan connector (3-pin) 1 x S/PDIF Out Header 1 x Core Unlocker Switch 1 x Turbo Key II Switch 1 x MemOK! Button Front panel audio connector 1 x COM connector 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x 24-pin ATX Power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector System Panel |
| BIOS | 16 Mb Flash ROM , SPI, AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 |
| Manageability | WfM 2.0,DMI 2.0,WOL by PME,WOR by PME,PXE |
| Accessories | 1 x Ultra DMA 133/100 cable 2 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s cables 2 x Serial ATA 6.0Gb/s cables 1 x Q-Shield 1 x VGA Switch card 2 in 1 Q-connector (USB, System panel; Retail version only) User's manual |
| Support Disc |
Drivers
Anti-virus software (OEM version) ASUS Update ASUS Utilities |
| Form Factor |
ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x24.4 cm ) |
Asus have used a pale green theme for the motherboard box which of the standard variety. As usual the top of the box sports a myriad of different logos and stickers which elude to various features of the board packaged within. Turning the box over reveals a much more detailed breakdown of the board's features and specifications.
The included bundle is very much what we would expect from a class leading manufacturer like Asus and contains almost everything we could reasonably ask for. The bundle consists of four SATA cables, an IDE cable and a selection of user guides. They also include a VGA Switch adapter and their innovative Q-connector which makes installation even simpler.
I know ASROCk get a lot of praise recently but im still not sold, id rather pay extra for something like this ASUS product for quality.
Can anyone answer if ASROCK and ASUS are the same company? I heard they were the same parent owned company.
It shows how little the pCIe x16 slot really does. always believed it.
I like these lower cost boards, its always nice to focus on the ultra high end things for the wow factor, but they dotn sell much.
Great review, like the pictures. good layout, but weird choice on the addon for 16x, most boards are self switching.