940 Questions [Archive] - XtremeSystems Forums

Halk

12-09-2008, 05:10 AM

I'm currently running an Opteron 185 with 2GB of Mushkin redline on an A8N32 Deluxe, on water. I've got blocks on the CPU, full cover GFX card, both SB and NB and 2 VRM blocks.

I had ordered another 2GB of Mushkin Redline pre-upgrading to Vista. However the company I ordered from (it's old stuff so there's not a lot of choice) seems to be dodgy, so I've filed a dispute with Paypal, and it looks like I'll just get a refund rather than the RAM.

I've been looking at the Phenoms and I'm thinking of going for a 940 when they come out.

That means I'll head for 2 by 2GB of 1066, and an AM2+ board.

I'm struggling to tell the differences between the boards, although I do understand I'll want a board with ACC. It seems the three boards to look at are the Asus M3A79T, Diamond Flower DK 790FXB-M2RSH and Foxconn A79A-s boards.

The Asus looks most likely as there's a chance I could use my existing VRM blocks on it. But I'm struggling to find any information on that.

So some questions...

Asus and Diamond Flower have decent reputations, I remembered Foxconn as being late to the market with budget boards... are they any good?

Clearly I intend to overclock, are any of the boards head and shoulders above the rest?

And does anyone know if VRM blocks that fit an A8N32 would fit an M3A79T?

Pointers to any decent comparison reviews would be good. I've tried reading a few reviews, but nothing of any value.

Finally, I've got an 8800 GTX, which is obviously an nVidia card, and as I understand the AMD chipsets open up a lot of overclocking doors, however they're designed for Crossfire. Can I assume since I'm not going for SLi that a crossfire board won't make a bit of difference to me?

cbjaust

12-09-2008, 05:48 AM

Reviews are very thin on the ground regarding these 790FX/SB750 boards, perhaps this will change as they in theory should be the choice for the Phenom II (integrated graphics is just wrong for an OC board - hell I'd be happy with a PCI slot that is 3 spaces away from any PCIe x16 for a sound card and NO on board sound)

Anyway I like the DFI 790FXB-M2RSH as the Foxconn A79A-S was unobtanium for me (even if the price was in the stratosphere) and the ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe was significantly (35%) more expensive plus it is an ASUS and while it should be a fine board I'm not really a fan of the the two mainstream brands (Gigabyte and ASUS) even though I was happy enough with an ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe for about a year before I bought the DFI.

So I lean toward the DFI for their history of great BIOSes and also surprisingly with the DARK range of boards, a very competitive (read way less expensive) price.

As far as SLI or CrossfireX are concerned, if you are going to stick with one card it'll make no difference and the 8800GTX will be just fine - with faster CPU you may even be surprised at the reserves the card has. If later on down the track you want to go multiple cards then Crossfire is not a bad way to go.

Cheers

Halk

12-09-2008, 05:54 AM

Thanks for the reply! Answered many of the questions and confirmed the GFX card thing.

Did I read somewhere that there's VRM problems with the Diamond Flower board though, or am I imagining it (Can't find anything on a search).

Russ_64

12-09-2008, 05:54 AM

cbjaust

12-09-2008, 06:02 AM

First comparative review of the Asus and Foxconn that I have found is here:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Phenom-790FX-SB750,review-31417.html

I am also keen on the DFi as I think they are good OC'ers boards but the Asus looks like it could be the top choice.............

not for the money I don't reckon it is. At least in Australia, that is.

DFI AUD$245 (http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=790fxb-m2rsh), Foxconn AUD$311 (http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=a79a-s), Asus AUD$323 (http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=m3a79-t+deluxe)

Halk

12-09-2008, 06:05 AM

not for the money I don't reckon it is. At least in Australia, that is.

DFI AUD$245 (http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=790fxb-m2rsh), Foxconn AUD$311 (http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=a79a-s), Asus AUD$323 (http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=m3a79-t+deluxe)

Strange prices in the land of Oz.

Over here in Blighty it's 207 quid for the Foxconn, 127 for the Diamond Flower and 138 for the Asus.

The Foxconn is so much more expensive.

Halk

12-09-2008, 06:08 AM

First comparative review of the Asus and Foxconn that I have found is here:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Phenom-790FX-SB750,review-31417.html

I am also keen on the DFi as I think they are good OC'ers boards but the Asus looks like it could be the top choice.............

Yeah, I'd read that review, and didn't feel it was a good one from Toms Hardware... The overclocking results don't seem to hold with what I've seen here.

Halk

12-09-2008, 08:10 AM

Looks like the Asus is the board for me.

Any suggestions on memory?

A 4GB (2x2GB) would be nice. Mushkin is hard to get in the UK.
Corsair Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX - Has those silly fins though, but it's black to match the board.
Gskill is the only other one I can see with fast enough memory at tight timings and 4GB, unless I'm missing some.

Is it really just between GSkill and Dominator?

Halk

12-09-2008, 08:08 PM

Well, I got a refund for the RAM. The RAM for the 940 I've been looking at is the Mushkin Accent 2x2GB.

It's between the Diamond Flower and the Asus board, I guess it depends on which I can get VRM cooling for.

Daveburt714

12-09-2008, 09:07 PM

The G.Skill's have worked very well for me on the Asus 79-T, and I'm using the PC2-8000 kit...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145

No problem running @ 1100Mhz with 5-5-5-15-24 2T using 2.0v.
Really nice Mem for the price..

Rammsteiner

12-10-2008, 10:10 AM

Foxconn was the brand chosen to release RD790/SB750 boards, they were the first. Although expensive.

DFI is fine, but do change the cooling on MOSFETs and chipset, the default cooling is seriously considered to be the stock cooling for Prescott and then to look weird when it burns down:p:

Other best choice would be Asus. Foxconn is nice but seriously quite overpriced sadly.

Halk

12-10-2008, 10:21 AM

Yep, stock cooling would be going straight off the bat. The issue I have just now is finding mosfet blocks, but I've read somewhere that Koolance do a universal block, I'll need to look into that a bit more.

I've decided on 4GB Mushkin Ascent, since it seems to beat everything else in any tests I've seen. Although that's dependant on being able to get hold of it, you can't buy it from any UK retailer, although Mushkin do seem to have a Euro site, which looks to be in some kind of beta as it's not working properly. If I can't get that then it'll be Corsair Dominator.

http://forums.koolance.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=201

Seems to be a bit more information on the VRM cooling if anyone else is reading this looking for the same information. Sadly I won't be able to get hold of the curved arms, so it doesn't settle that completely.

Chris_redfield

12-10-2008, 11:20 AM

I'd go with the DFI. I have one and I have been really happy with it. I am running a pants 9850 at 3.1GHz with it at the moment. The stock cooling on it is a bit pants but tbh, its the cheapest of all the SB750 790FX motherboards (well between the Foxconn and the Asus.) I haven't replaced the heatsinks yet though as I do not know whether or not this board will go on to live in my future watercooling project. I've just zip tied a few tiny fans for the moment being and they seem to hold the temps down for the time being.

I was originally wanting to go with the foxconn as I have had a lot of fun and some good results from the Black Ops motherboard, but like yourself I couldn't afford it. I' went for the DFI over the Asus because of its price, nice layout and UV slots. I had also recently fallen out with Asus whilst trying to RMA a P5W DH Deluxe (worse board I have ever owned.)

With regards to memory, I have a kit of 1066mhz tracer ballistix that runs OK but there is room for improvement. As I am also in the UK I will keep an eye on this thread to see what ram you have chosen and how it works for you. I could do with a good kit of DDR2.

Halk

12-10-2008, 11:54 AM

Thanks Chris.

All I need to do is settle on VRM cooling and I can get the orders in... and then cross my fingers that the 940 is out before Christmas.

I'll have the PC built and ready for the 940 before it arrives though, I've bought a second hand CPU for a tenner. I can't even remember if it's single or dual core.. it's AM2 anyway, and it'll do for a couple of weeks at a push.

Rammsteiner

12-10-2008, 12:34 PM

cbjaust

12-10-2008, 05:56 PM

As Ive decided to do with the DFI, get a M2RSH. Leave the heatpipe system on it and replace thermal paste with AS5. Get the NB coolblock which says 'Lanparty' off and fit a HR-05 SLI/IFX, with the heatsink hanging over top PCI-e slot. Fit a HR-05 IFX horizontal on the SB. Although, this only work if you dont need the top PCI-e slot. Otherwise try a low profile thingy with a small fan or so. But definately I ain't trusting the standard cooling of it anymore.

Also bad news, ETA for PhII 940 is now 24th:( ffs, wtf is happening:mad:

On my 790FXB-M2RSH I had an AlthlonXP 60x10mm fan blowing over the PWM heatsink and since the NB heatsink is connected to the PWM heatsink I would think that the temperatures of the two components under them would stabilise and be approximately the same.

With this setup at idle with my Windsor 6000+ at 3510MHz for a CPUz screenshot cooled by a TRUE the chipset was 47ºC, 7ºC above the CPU temperature according to Smartguardian. See here (http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~cbjaust/images/ADX6000IAA6CZ%20CPUz%203510%20&%20502MHz.png) and here (http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~cbjaust/images/DFI_DK_790FXB-M2RSH%5b2%5d.JPG).

My published 24/7 overclock under 100% load (Orthos) with this setup shows the CPU at 54ºC and the chipset was 51ºC. See here (http://www.amdgeeks.net/overclock/level3/792_3.jpg?nocache=122896061014607300).

Cheers

Halk

12-11-2008, 06:11 AM

With regards to memory, I have a kit of 1066mhz tracer ballistix that runs OK but there is room for improvement. As I am also in the UK I will keep an eye on this thread to see what ram you have chosen and how it works for you. I could do with a good kit of DDR2.

Ordering from Germany was a nightmare :P

Cost 125 Euro for the Mushkin RAM. Which is pretty much on par with high end UK prices for 4GB.

Placed the order, couldn't work out how to pay for it. Emailed them, they said they'd changed my order. Then I had to log into their site and navigate to put my address in, then change my payment details, then got an email with payment instructions and sent it by paypal.

Fingers crossed it's now on it's way though!

I've been looking at the thread from that German dude that runs the small watercooling company. It seems he makes blocks for pretty much any board - including both the Diamond Flower and the Asus I've been looking at. I think since there's more information on the Asus (and because the Lanparty one is screaming with UV badness) it'll be the Asus, but I need to make sure I can fit everything in.

I have an 8800 GTX which is a long card, meaning I'm very restricted on which slots I can use because my res hangs from the roof of my case. It's cut into the case so it's not something I want to move.

Russ_64

12-11-2008, 06:23 AM

Halk

12-11-2008, 06:39 AM

Yeah, my order for Phenom II 940 is now showing delivery date of 24 Dec and I received an invoice by email - have to pay next week before they will ship - total with shipping to UK and tax (MST @19%) is 302 Euros :eek:

On the plus side my 790FXB-M2RSH arrrived today, so hopefully it should be all systems go for a New Year build :yepp:

PS - Halk - do you know which NB waterblock will fit on DFi ?

Yeah, reply to the PM I sent you and I'll spill the beans :)

Edit : Whoah. I expect to get mine 40 quid cheaper... I'll just be watching UK sites, I don't imagine the place you order from will get it any quicker than anywhere else... so as long as I get an order in before they go out of stock...

Rammsteiner

12-11-2008, 10:39 AM

Yeah, my order for Phenom II 940 is now showing delivery date of 24 Dec
You and me both have this date then, sounds a bit more reliable then;)

Now I hope for one more thing, let 24th be the day it gets delivered at my house and not the day it gets send by the shop. Stupid postmen in this country have like 25th and 26th free, 27th most likely they all take a free day... !!!

This country now and then has this huge amount of phaggotry in the atmosphere where people who you've to depend on all just put up their finger to you:mad:

Halk

12-11-2008, 10:49 AM

They give postmen the day off on Christmas Day? The lazy :banana::banana::banana::banana:s!

Rammsteiner

12-11-2008, 01:40 PM

They give postmen the day off on Christmas Day? The lazy :banana::banana::banana::banana:s!
Indeed, xmas is useless crap anyway:rolleyes: Another reason for gouvernment jobs to take off a day and strike all the other days of the year to get more free and more money:shakes:

Mav451

12-11-2008, 01:45 PM

Hah - for a second I got some Speak Freely nostalgia there :(

Yeah, hopefully you get it before x-mas - exactly 1 day before at that (cutting it freakin' close).

Halk

12-11-2008, 09:46 PM

Ordered...

Cheapo AM2 CPU
Asus M3A79-T Deluxe board
2x2GB Mushkin Ascent DDR2 PC8500
Anfi-tec VRM block
AS5 paste
Mounting screws for CPU waterblock
Thermal pad for VRM block

And my supplier has said they'll put a pre-order up for the 940 II as soon as they're able to.

Russ_64

12-12-2008, 07:24 AM

Yeah, my order for Phenom II 940 is now showing delivery date of 24 Dec and I received an invoice by email - have to pay next week before they will ship - total with shipping to UK and tax (MST @19%) is 302 Euros :eek:

You and me both have this date then, sounds a bit more reliable then;)

Here we go - today ETA is 25th :mad:

My guess is it will keep slipping until launch on 8th Jan - these guys just want money upfront :down:

LC_Nab

12-12-2008, 08:30 AM

Interesting I read that the release date was on the 20th mmm I could be wrong

Halk

12-12-2008, 08:40 AM

Interesting I read that the release date was on the 20th mmm I could be wrong

I've read the
18th (European release)
20th (Release date mentioned several places)
22nd (US release)
and the 8th of January

And there's no real way to find which is the truth.

LC_Nab

12-12-2008, 08:54 AM

Yeah that is true only way to find out is either to wait or for some one to do a cover op in AMD labs and steal their release date :D

Rammsteiner

12-12-2008, 10:12 AM

Here we go - today ETA is 25th :mad:

My guess is it will keep slipping until launch on 8th Jan - these guys just want money upfront :down:
Same here.

As said multiple times before, I do not care as long as it's here 8/9th of Jan though. Earlier is of course better, in the end it's coming anyway;)

LC_Nab

12-12-2008, 10:38 AM

I think in Feb or March was it , they are releasing the AM3 version with DDR 3 capabilities .

Halk

12-12-2008, 11:00 AM

According to all information available those ones will not have a higher clock speed. The DDR3 platform is considerably more expensive than DDR2. So while the 945 (same as the 940, but on DDR3) will have a modest speed increase over the 940, it means a longer wait, and significantly more expensive hardware.

Plus, it's unclear what the motherboards will be like for that platform, and how long they take to reach maturity. I think the current crop of motherboards we have at the moment, while slim pickings, will be enough to see us through.

Finally I hope AMD have seen the folly in changing sockets so often. The change from Socket A to 754 or 939 was necessary. They could have gotten by without either 754 or 939.

Now they've gone to DDR2 and they've only used one socket - AM2/AM2+ just means it supports the newer CPUs, doesn't mean major architecture changes).

Hopefully AMD will stick with AM2+ and AM3 for a very long time. I guess the step up from SDR to DDR is a bigger speed increase than DDR to DDR2, and from DDR2 to DDR3 is smaller again. (I'm guessing!) So hopefully they won't see a need for DDR4.

DDR3 will not be for value conscious consumers for a long time - prices for RAM and boards need to hit the floor first. So AM2 will be around for a while yet.

In retrospect though I wish it had gone Socket A > AM2 > AM3 :)