Asus Striker II Extreme 790i DDR3 Motherboard
3D/Rendering Results
Published: 18th March 2008 | Source: Asus | Price: ~£260-280 |
Cinebench 10 is a benchmarking tool based on the powerful 3D software Cinema 4D. The suite uses complex renders to guage the performance of the entire PC system in both single-core and multi-core modes. Testing was performed a total of 5 times with the highest and lowest results being omitted and an average created from the remaining 3 results.
3DMark is a popular synthetic gaming benchmark used by many gamers and overclockers to gauge the performance of their PC's. All 3DMark runs were performed a total of 5 times with the highest and lowest results being removed and an average calculated from the remaining 3 results.
Result Observations
Once again the 790i based Striker II Extreme manages to hold its ground against the Intel based boards in both 3DMark and Cinebench. This is quite a turnaround from the results of the Striker II Formula which consistently ended up as one of the lowest two performing boards in every test.
Most Recent Comments
Feels like years I've been waiting for this NDA to drop and its not a disappointment!
Can't wait or somebody to give 790i some stick with a few 9800GTX's when they arrive. Assuming the GTX is as cheap as rumored, that will be a major temptation if it performs, assuming the price tag doesn't send you screaming
Can't wait or somebody to give 790i some stick with a few 9800GTX's when they arrive. Assuming the GTX is as cheap as rumored, that will be a major temptation if it performs, assuming the price tag doesn't send you screaming
As you may have already guessed, I'm really really impressed with the board/chipset.
Up until now I've avoided the nVidia boards like the plague, but I think you're going to be seeing people breaking some OC records on this board.
Up until now I've avoided the nVidia boards like the plague, but I think you're going to be seeing people breaking some OC records on this board.
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
As you may have already guessed, I'm really really impressed with the board/chipset.
Up until now I've avoided the nVidia boards like the plague, but I think you're going to be seeing people breaking some OC records on this board. |
As for the board, well, its got everything ya want apart from the price.. Its shocking to be honest. Almost twice as much as slightly lower performing boards.. Dunno that its justified. For those wanting best of the best though its very very good.
They gonna make DDR2 boards on the 790 chipset?
that is one good board!!with one VERY heavy pricetag.that has restored my faith in ASUS+Nvidia
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Originally Posted by name='Bungral'
They gonna make DDR2 boards on the 790 chipset? |
You guys getting any other 790i mobos in for review do you know? DFI say? I Always value your reviews above all others 
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Originally Posted by name='Havok'
You guys getting any other 790i mobos in for review do you know? DFI say? I Always value your reviews above all others
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If there's any 790i's from other manufacturers you'd specifically like to see, let me know and we'll get something lined up.
eVGA and/or XFX please 
That board is awesome 
Shame about the price though
Shame about the price thoughnice detailed review! hope i can afford one ..
Nice review...
The price made my balls jump into my stomach!
The price made my balls jump into my stomach!
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Originally Posted by name='BloomerzUK'
Nice review...
The price made my balls jump into my stomach! |
Looks like the exact board I've been waiting for 
Nice review Jim!
Not really enough bang for buck.. but nice board none the less.
-cough- Maximus Formula is the bees knees- cough-
Not really enough bang for buck.. but nice board none the less.
-cough- Maximus Formula is the bees knees- cough-
wow nice! this is what iam going to get together with a 9800 gtx, even if i have to wait a little longer becouse of the price
i just go no words for such a awsome mobo.
even if i have to wait a little longer becouse of the pricei just go no words for such a awsome mobo.
Very nice review Jim, and positive results for the 790i. Although the price of it as well as the current price of DDR3 will massacre the bank balance.
Ooh, now all we need is quad sli and get crysis on max
Luckily I can afford to buy this mobo if I wished, it is SO overpriced but I always wanted sli with a big OC... I think nvidia know this about the community and are charging a premium for it :/
If I decide to get an sli rig I'll have to get one.
The mobo rocks.
The price sucks.
Awesome review as usual Jim
If I decide to get an sli rig I'll have to get one.
The mobo rocks.
The price sucks.
Awesome review as usual Jim
Nice Jimbo, good job matey
Looks a sweet board, bout time
Looks a sweet board, bout time
Okay, screw the price, I'm hereby selling my P5N-T Deluxe and RAM to the highest bidder, I want this one instead. Crap, and I just bought a new PC. :P
Crap, and I just bought a new PC. :Pokay I read your review and WOW this mobo is sick, if I was a nVidia SLI fan I would be all over this board....
Ohhhhhh very nice board indeed...and there I was considering flogging some of my kit...
Awesome review Jim, cracking shots of the board - thorough job as ever!!
Pricey tho innit.
Awesome review Jim, cracking shots of the board - thorough job as ever!!
Pricey tho innit.
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Originally Posted by name='Mullet'
Ohhhhhh very nice board indeed...and there I was considering flogging some of my kit...
Awesome review Jim, cracking shots of the board - thorough job as ever!! Pricey tho innit. |
He he he... I see you've eclipsed me in ye olde 3D Mark 06 benchie....
I've had 8800GTX Sli running for about 12 months now, and am well happy to be honest. Opens up some additional settings in COD4 graphics and seems to cope with Crysis pretty well at 1920x1200 with everything set to "high".
Bang for buck...this new striker is a crock of ROG sheeeite, but, me being me I am sort of tempted to ditch DDR2 and hop on the pricey Taxi to a new life with DDR3 arm in arm with the new striker.
Only problem is this, if anything I need to downsize bud as my kids need somewhere to eat the grub as much of the dining table is being hogged by my l33t G70.
I've had 8800GTX Sli running for about 12 months now, and am well happy to be honest. Opens up some additional settings in COD4 graphics and seems to cope with Crysis pretty well at 1920x1200 with everything set to "high".
Bang for buck...this new striker is a crock of ROG sheeeite, but, me being me I am sort of tempted to ditch DDR2 and hop on the pricey Taxi to a new life with DDR3 arm in arm with the new striker.
Only problem is this, if anything I need to downsize bud as my kids need somewhere to eat the grub as much of the dining table is being hogged by my l33t G70.
Its the price Asus put on it, not Nvidia.I think nvidia know this about the community and are charging a premium for it :/
The thing is, that this is quite normal price behavior.
First, very high end part with lot of unnecessary features.
Second, same chipset/performance board with affordable price.
Exactly like it was with 680i.
First there was Striker Extreme,
then just Striker,
and then, P5N32-E SLI, which even has same PCB as strikers.
From my personal experience with the cheapest 680i from Asus, this one is perfect 680i board. It's cheaper then reference boards, and still has many Striker bonuses
The same will happen with 790. There is 790i Ultra, and just 790i.
First, very high end part with lot of unnecessary features.
Second, same chipset/performance board with affordable price.
Exactly like it was with 680i.
First there was Striker Extreme,
then just Striker,
and then, P5N32-E SLI, which even has same PCB as strikers.
From my personal experience with the cheapest 680i from Asus, this one is perfect 680i board. It's cheaper then reference boards, and still has many Striker bonuses
The same will happen with 790. There is 790i Ultra, and just 790i.
Mmm... everyone seems to be going crazy over this board. Im not sure why?
Can someone enlighten me as of why this majorly overpriced motherboard is so good when it was getting beaten by x48 chipset board which is a fraction of the price?
The only up side to it is SLI.. which lets be honest doesn't have the price/performance ratio.
But as I said earlier.. NICE REVIEW JIMBO!
Can someone enlighten me as of why this majorly overpriced motherboard is so good when it was getting beaten by x48 chipset board which is a fraction of the price?
The only up side to it is SLI.. which lets be honest doesn't have the price/performance ratio.
But as I said earlier.. NICE REVIEW JIMBO!
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Originally Posted by name='Toxcity'
Mmm... everyone seems to be going crazy over this board. Im not sure why?
Can someone enlighten me as of why this majorly overpriced motherboard is so good when it was getting beaten by x48 chipset board which is a fraction of the price? The only up side to it is SLI.. which lets be honest doesn't have the price/performance ratio. But as I said earlier.. NICE REVIEW JIMBO! |
It also overclocks better than any of the others on that chip with a brand new bios so with updates to that there could be even higher results.
And the option of SLI is nice even if you don't currently plan on using it.
Just my thoughts
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Originally Posted by name='Bungral'
Well it trashes the other chipset on the memory fronts and now its caught up with all the other aspects its a serious contender apart, obviously, from the price.
It also overclocks better than any of the others on that chip with a brand new bios so with updates to that there could be even higher results. And the option of SLI is nice even if you don't currently plan on using it. Just my thoughts |
Still personally the place to be for overclocking is Intels side.
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Originally Posted by name='Toxcity'
Mmm... everyone seems to be going crazy over this board. Im not sure why?
Can someone enlighten me as of why this majorly overpriced motherboard is so good when it was getting beaten by x48 chipset board which is a fraction of the price? The only up side to it is SLI.. which lets be honest doesn't have the price/performance ratio. But as I said earlier.. NICE REVIEW JIMBO! |
Even ECC. It automatically select the best profile (even on non SLI/EPP memory). The overclocking to 450 (1700) (on dual cores) FSB is simple selecting the desired FSB.
Easy life for lazy people that do want to get all possible of there hardware
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Originally Posted by name='Toxcity'
Well said Bungral!
Still personally the place to be for overclocking is Intels side. |
Anyway aint you a green lover??
I sure am a Green lover.
But after the 680s not so much a fan of their chipsets. GPUs oh yes.
I just encountered little problems that annoy.
You don't spend loads of money on a board that has lots of errors/boundaries.
So Jim advised me on my next motherboard (some awesome advice) and switched to intel.
But after the 680s not so much a fan of their chipsets. GPUs oh yes.
I just encountered little problems that annoy.
You don't spend loads of money on a board that has lots of errors/boundaries.
So Jim advised me on my next motherboard (some awesome advice) and switched to intel.
Not unless your using 9600GTs. About 80% scaling on any res. Im thinking of going this route.
The only up side to it is SLI.. which lets be honest doesn't have the price/performance ratio.
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Originally Posted by name='PP Mguire'
Not unless your using 9600GTs. About 80% scaling on any res. Im thinking of going this route.
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
"Is nVidia's latest 790i chipset an X48 killer? We put it through its paces on Asus' latest Republic of Gamers motherboard."
http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...140119339s.jpg Asus Striker II Extreme Review Digg It |
I have just purchased one of these boards. I have water cooled the Chipset too as I am aiming to push my Q6600 to the limit. However I cannot even get it to run stable at 3.2Ghz
I have had the chip running stable in a Striker II 780 at 3.2 but that was the max I could get - I thought this was down to the incredible heat from the NB etc so I opted to RMA the board and swap it for the 790Can I ask what settings you used for a 3.2 - 3.4 and 3.6 Ghz overclock please
I am using Corsair 1333mhz Memory
Asus Striker II 790i
Q6600 G0 Stepping
4 x 250GB Hard Drives RAID 5
900W Targan PSU
2 x Geforce 8800 GTX
Sound Blaster Xfi Platinum
I cannot even run a memory test @ 3.2 Ghz without the machine resetting
Prime 05 crashes the machines (it hangs or resets)
However the machine seems to run fine using stock clock of 2.4Ghz
I have tried setting the NB to 1.5V memory to 1.7V and 1.45V/1.5V for CPU
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Have you tried upping the FSB voltage?
Hi breadloaf. What BIOS are you running on the board. I might be able to give you some nice beta ones if Asus give me the thumbs up.
Another thing. Are you sure its not just a real dodgy CPU you've got there? I can get past 3.2 with a retail Q6600 on an ancient chipset.
Another thing. Are you sure its not just a real dodgy CPU you've got there? I can get past 3.2 with a retail Q6600 on an ancient chipset.
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
Hi breadloaf. What BIOS are you running on the board. I might be able to give you some nice beta ones if Asus give me the thumbs up.
Another thing. Are you sure its not just a real dodgy CPU you've got there? I can get past 3.2 with a retail Q6600 on an ancient chipset. |
I have had the chip up to 3.2 on another board
I can get 3.4 and 3.6 but not stable
I think I have had a probem with the memory
just tested it as 3.4 Ghz and it crashed - set the correct timings for it manually test is running now and has been for 40 mins (before it crashed before 5)
I am hoping that the memory has been my problem - I am sure the chip will go higher - just need to get it stable
Thanks for the rapid reply too - how can I get the bios updates off you ?
Breadloaf
Thats wierd, the memory is unlinked on nvidia chips so that shouldnt matter
let us know your thoughts on the board.
let us know your thoughts on the board.
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Originally Posted by name='teknokid'
Have you tried upping the FSB voltage?
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Is it the CPU PPL ?
Not sure if I have changed that or not ?
I will have a look
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Originally Posted by name='teknokid'
Thats wierd, the memory is unlinked on nvidia chips so that shouldnt matter
let us know your thoughts on the board. |
as this is what the memory is supposed to run at and it seems have made a diffence on a straight memory test but I am getting no luck with the overclock still
I kinda like the board so far although my old 780i board was able to overclock the same CPU to 3.2
( One thing I had problems with is the Fusion block connections were a nightmare to fit I was hoping to get a lot more out of the chip but so far it does not look good
more later ......
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Originally Posted by name='teknokid'
Thats wierd, the memory is unlinked on nvidia chips so that shouldnt matter
let us know your thoughts on the board. |
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
Default setting is linked on the Striker II, but obviously you can change that/
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Windows Vista locks up all the time and www.memorytest.org fails although I have had this working @3.4 Ghz but then Vista still crashed
- I am now going to try a new installation of Vista (stock speed for the install)Can you post the settings that you used please so I can give them a try -
Thanks
Breadloaf.
Feel free to mail that BIOS to Breadloaf, Jim.
The new BIOS is a big improvement.
The new BIOS is a big improvement.
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Originally Posted by name='-VK-'
Feel free to mail that 790i to Mr. Smith, Jim.
The new BIOS is a big improvement. |
Jim, where is it?
nice, i need to check for bios's for my board, it never was asus's strong point.
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Originally Posted by name='-VK-'
Feel free to mail that BIOS to Breadloaf, Jim.
The new BIOS is a big improvement. |
I have managed to get the CPU up to 2.8Ghz (Stable)
I am still trying now settings but there are a couple of things I would like to point out :-
The V Core Voltage required seem to be much less than I would expect
The tube and clips included with the board are rubbish (well worth buying some better ones)
Auto Settings make the system unstable unless running at stock speed
At the moment I have still not reached a verdict on this board - I am hoping that in time BIOS updates etc will make things better
I will post more information soon
Breadloaf.
OK - I have just fitted my new QX9650
Basically as with the Q6600 the chip runs fine at stock speed but again will not overclock one little bit whilst remaining stable
I am starting to think the the board is at fault as I very much doubt that the chip will not overclock.
If I change the mutiplier to just 9.5 or 10 (from 9) the system will not run Prime 95 for more than 30 mns without hanging.
I have returned to Asus after having many many problems with previous boards and I have to say that so far I am not impressed with this board one little bit !!
Asus have no sign of any updates for the BIOS etc and actually point to the old 780i board for any drivers etc !!!!!
Hoping for more but I just don't see it happening
Basically as with the Q6600 the chip runs fine at stock speed but again will not overclock one little bit whilst remaining stable
I am starting to think the the board is at fault as I very much doubt that the chip will not overclock.
If I change the mutiplier to just 9.5 or 10 (from 9) the system will not run Prime 95 for more than 30 mns without hanging.
I have returned to Asus after having many many problems with previous boards and I have to say that so far I am not impressed with this board one little bit !!
Asus have no sign of any updates for the BIOS etc and actually point to the old 780i board for any drivers etc !!!!!
Hoping for more but I just don't see it happening
what sort of drivers did you take from 780i?
That does seem like the board fault, although did you up volts at all or anything?
That does seem like the board fault, although did you up volts at all or anything?
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Originally Posted by name='teknokid'
what sort of drivers did you take from 780i?
That does seem like the board fault, although did you up volts at all or anything? |
Thing is the machine runs perfectly stable at stock - I think I have managed to get the system working OK at 3.3 ghz now.
Not taken any drivers for the 780i board - full fresh install of Vista (stock speed for that) then used the CD that came with the motherboard
I am using a Targan 900W PSU too so I do not think it's a PSU issue !!
Why does the back of the box say "780i chipset" ?
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Originally Posted by name='man_in_africa'
Why does the back of the box say "780i chipset" ?
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Back of the Box I have is different and says 790i Ultra Sli
I might be a bit late to the table with this lads, but this thread has just reminded me about the BIOS I promised you all.
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
I might be a bit late to the table with this lads, but this thread has just reminded me about the BIOS I promised you all.
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Asus probe keeps giving warnings though - saying that the CPU PPL voltage has dropped- is this normal ?
Also my CPU temp is around 59 - 63 degree fully loaded - is this normal ? I have a liquid cooled chipset and CPU
Motherboard temp is 36 degrees which is miles better than the old Striker II
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Originally Posted by name='breadloaf'
Awesome - testing the machnie now on 3.66 and it's been stable so far - I have never got this high before
Asus probe keeps giving warnings though - saying that the CPU PPL voltage has dropped- is this normal ? Also my CPU temp is around 59 - 63 degree fully loaded - is this normal ? I have a liquid cooled chipset and CPU Motherboard temp is 36 degrees which is miles better than the old Striker II |
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Originally Posted by name='Jim'
Great stuff. I think there may even be a newer version than this one - I'll ask Asus.
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I think I might have spoken too soon as the machine rebooted shortly after my last post
Still I think with a little bit of tweaking I can sort the problems out I am concerned about probe showing the voltage droping as it's also happening on my memory now !!!
What do you think ?
Latest BIOS attached
mmm pricey but very very nice indeed..
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Asus Striker II Extreme Review
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