Asus M4A89TD PRO
Introduction
Published: 2nd June 2010 | Source: Asus | Price: £160.99 |
Introduction
One month on since the release of AMD's flagship chipset and Hex Core processors, it's quite clear that today's performance users are gifted with a substantial choice of hardware to form the basis of their new machines. Despite the fact that AMD are using six cores to fight against the Intel Core i7, it still remains the case that the underdog is a valid choice for even the performance obsessed.
Our previous testing has already indicated that the range topping X6 1090T processor can pack a mighty punch under a variety of applications, but as always it's important to ensure that your system is well balanced in order to make the most of what it has to offer. In particular it is vital that you don't underplay the importance of motherboard selection. Thankfully you can rely on Overclock3D to test just about any worthwhile set of components to exhaustion. Today we'll be putting Asus' M4A89TD PRO Motherboard to the test.
Not to be confused with the M4A89GTD PRO, today's test motherboard features the new 890FX and SB850 core logic. Akin to it's predecessor, the flagship chipset boasts ATi CrossfireX Multi GPU capability with dual 16x/16x lane speeds. However minor changes have been made, resulting in the introduction of native SATA3 6.0Gbps support and the removal of Advanced Clock Calibration. Thankfully the removal of the latter feature is of no concern as Asus have implemented their very own core unlocking function. Enough chit chat for now, here are the full specifications of the M4A89TD PRO.
Specifications
| Form Factor | ATX, 12" x 9.6" (30.5cm x 24.5cm) |
| Processor Support | AMD Socket AM3 Sempron 100/Athlon II X2/X3/X4 and Phenom II X2/X3/X4 Processors |
| Chipset | AMD 890FX / SB850 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 16 GB 2000(OC)/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel memory architecture |
| Expansion Slots | 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (Dual 16x/16x) |
| Multi-GPU Support | ATi CrossfireX Supported |
| Storage | AMD SB850 Southbridge JMicron 363 SATA Controller. |
| LAN | One Marvell 8059 PCI Express LAN 10/100/1000 |
| Audio | Creative ALC889A |
| AMD SB850 Southbridge - 14 x USB 2.0 ports (8 x Rear, 6 x Internal) | |
| Firewire | 2 x 1394a ports (1x Rear I/O, 1x Onboard) |
| Back Panel I/O | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x e-SATA 1 x LAN 6 x USB2.0/1.1 ports 1 x IEEE1394a port 1 x Clear CMOS switch |
On face value, the M4A89TD PRO appears to have a lot in common with it's more "extreme" sibling, the Crosshair IV Formula. Let's investigate...
Most Recent Comments
If I'm building a new rig I would want native 3.0. I just need to mug some grannnies first.Quote
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