{Review} ~ D.F.I LanParty DK 790FXB-M3H5 ~ "Flight Of The Dragon"

[Brother Esau]

After a Year and a Half since the initial release of the 790FX Platform & Quad Core Phenom Processors we Finally see the Tides Turning Drastically in AMD's Favor. For those of us who have been on the 790FX Platform since its release and debugging the problems associated with Phenom and the 790FX Platform Bios we can all agree that all of our collective hard work has paid off. I would like to take the time to acknowledge and thank all of you who have contributed many, many hard intensive hours in debugging this Platform and you should all be congratulated for your dedication and hard work because together we have turned what was considered the Red Headed Step Child of the tech industry into a major contender against AMD's Rival Intel !

Now we Take a Closer Look at THE "New" D.F.I LanParty DK 790XB-M3H5 the first Release in a Series of 3 Motherboards to be Released from D.F.I based on the the AM3 Platform SB750 with DDR3 Memory Support. I will be reviewing the CPU , NB , RAM Performance of this Motherboard and the quality of Workmanship of the Bios.
This Review is Dedicated to Franky HSIEH & his Mom






BOX & ACCESSORIES




~ 4 x SATA cable
~ 2 x Molex to 2 x SATA connector
~ 1 x Pata HDD cable
~ 1 x Crossfire link cable
~ I/O back panel
~ Package of Easy Grab Cmos jumpers
~ User manual
~ ABS installation guide
~ Driver disk



The Motherboard












Product Specs


CPU

* AMD® Phenom™ II processor
* HyperTransport 3.0 (5200MT/s) HyperTransport 1.0 (2000/1600MT/s)
* AMD OverDrive provides tuning options using the new “Advanced Clock Calibration” overclocking feature.
* Socket 938 AM3 45nm

CPU Socket

* Socket AM3

Chipset

* AMD chipset - Northbridge: AMD 790FX - Southbridge: AMD SB750

System Memory

* Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM sockets
* Supports DDR3 1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz
* Delivers up to 21Gb/s bandwidth at 1333MHz
* Supports dual channel (128-bit wide) memory interface
* Supports non-ECC unbuffered DIMMs
* Supports up to 16GB system memory Windows® 32-bit operating system is unable to accurately detect more than 4GB system memory. Therefore, if you are using this operating system, we strongly recommend that you install a less than 3GB system memory.

Expansion Slots

* 3 PCI Express (Gen 2) x16 slots - 2-way CrossFire at x16/x16 or x16/x4 bandwidth - 3-way CrossFire at x16/x16/x4 bandwidth
* 3 PCI slots

BIOS

* Award BIOS
* CMOS Reloaded
* CPU/DRAM overclocking
* CPU/DRAM/Chipset overvoltage
* 8Mbit SPI flash memory

Audio

* Realtek ALC885 8-channel HD Audio Codec
* High-performance DACs with 106dB dynamic range (A-Weight), ADCs with 101dB dynamic range (A-Weight)

LAN

* Marvell 88E8056 PCIE Gigabit LAN controller
* Fully compliant to IEEE 802.3 (10BASE-T), 802.3u (100BASE-TX) and 802.3ab (1000BASE-T) standards

Serial ATA with RAID

* Supports up to 6 SATA devices
* SATA speed up to 3Gb/s
* RAID 0/1/0+1(10)/5/JBOD/AHCI

IDE

* One IDE connector allows connecting up to two UltraDMA 133Mbps hard drives

Rear Panel I/O Ports

* 1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 mouse port
* 1 mini-DIN-6 PS/2 keyboard port
* 1 optical S/PDIF-out port
* 1 coaxial RCA S/PDIF-out port
* 6 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
* 1 RJ45 LAN port
* Center/subwoofer, rear R/L and side R/L jacks
* Line-in, line-out (front R/L) and mic-in jacks

I/O Connectors

* 3 connectors for 6 additional external USB 2.0 ports
* 1 connector for an external COM port
* 1 front audio connector
* 1 CD-in connector
* 1 IrDA connector
* 1 CIR connector
* 6 Serial ATA connectors
* 1 40-pin IDE connector
* 1 floppy connector
* 1 24-pin ATX power connector
* 1 8-pin 12V power connector
* 2 4-pin 5V/12V power connectors (FDD type)
* 1 front panel connector
* 6 fan connectors
* 1 diagnostic LED
* EZ touch switches (power switch and reset switch)

Power Management

* ACPI and OS Directed Power Management
* ACPI STR (Suspend to RAM) function
* Wake-On-PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse
* Wake-On-USB Keyboard/Mouse
* Wake-On-Ring
* Wake-On-LAN
* RTC timer to power-on the system
* AC power failure recovery

Hardware Monitor

* Monitors CPU/system/chipset temperature
* Monitors 12V/5V/3.3V/Vcore/Vbat/5Vsb/Vdimm/Vchip voltages
* Monitors the speed of the cooling fans
* CPU Overheat Protection function monitors CPU temperature during system boot-up

PCB

* ATX form factor 8 Layer PCB
* 24.5cm (9.64") x 30.5cm (12")




Bios


Screen Shots

[Brother Esau]

Genie Bios

[Brother Esau]

Bios Testing ........D.F.I is Back!

For those of you that know me you are aware that my primary role on the Debugging the Phenom /790FX Platform has always been in the Bios Department and we are also aware of the constant Bugs that have Plagued the AMD Platform from all Board Makers since the Initial Launch a Year and a Half ago of Phenom and the 790FX Platform. Well since the original 790FX SB600 Release there has been a major improvement in Bios Development form D.F.I and also a major contributing Factor to that has also come from AMD themselves through AGESA Capsule Update and Micro Code Updates over the past year and a half. The Bios that I have been testing for D.F.I for the LanParty DK 790FXB-M3H5 have been nothing short of Brilliant Bios Programming Workmanship!
I have to admit The Bios have been nothing short of Rock Solid and Stable and of the Old NF4 Days Quality......Yes they are that Good! So far I have been testing Three Bios for this Board the 3/06/2009 "Official" Bios and the 4/15/2009 & 4/24/2009 "Beta" Bios and I have searched and searched but I have yet to find anything wrong to any degree no matter how insignificant on any of these Bios that I have been testing.......Way to Go D.F.I

I have taken the Time to Compile a List of DMM Read Outs for the CPU / NB Voltages Idle and under load with OCCT High Priority for testing and all Voltages have Been double checked for consistency and accuracy!

All Voltage Measurements were take with a FLUKE 179 Digital Muti Meter and the Grounding Source is from the Black Wires on the P.S.U itself so if any wish to test for Voltage read out it should be grounded to the P.S.U not the Motherboard Screws as the Motherboard screws or any other location other then the P.S.U will give a inferior read out.


All three Bios DMM Read Out Lists are taken to more then reasonable levels of voltage for most users that will either be on Air or Water Cooling any further unless on Phase Change or LN2 , DICE would not be advisable!






FLUKE 179 DMM Readings DK 790FXB-M3H5 3-06-2009 Bios




CPU Special Vid Add


AUTO= idle = 1.338v Load = 1.348v Bios = 1.31v Smart Guardian = 1.31v


+25mv= idle = 1.364v Load = 1.374v Bios = 1.32v Smart Guardian = 1.32v

+50mv= idle = 1.390v Load = 1.400v Bios = 1.36V Smart Guardian = 1.36V

+75mv= idle = 1.415v Load = 1.426v Bios = 1.39V Smart Guardian = 1.39V

+100mv= idle = 1.440v Load = 1.453v Bios = 1.40V Smart Guardian = 1.40V

+125mv= idle = 1.466v Load = 1.480v Bios = 1.44V Smart Guardian = 1.44V

+150mv= idle = 1.491v Load = 1.506v Bios = 1.45V Smart Guardian = 1.45V

+175mv= idle = 1.517v Load = 1.533v Bios = 1.48V Smart Guardian = 1.48V

+200mv= idle = 1.543v Load = 1.559v Bios = 1.50V Smart Guardian = 1.50V

+225mv= idle = 1.569v Load = 1.586v Bios = 1.53V Smart Guardian = 1.53V

+250mv= idle = 1.595v Load = 1.612v Bios = 1.55V Smart Guardian = 1.55V

+275mv= idle = 1.622v Load = 1.640v Bios = 1.58V Smart Guardian = 1.58V

+300mv= idle = 1.647v Load = 1.666v Bios = 1.60V Smart Guardian = 1.60V





CPU/NB Vlotage



AUTO= idle = 1.217v Load = 1.223v

1.300v= idle = 1.306v Load = 1.314v`

1.3125v= idle = 1.322v Load = 1.328v

1.3250v= idle = 1.334v Load = 1.341v

1.3375v= idle = 1.350v Load = 1.359v

1.3500v= idle = 1.363v Load = 1.373v

1.3625v= idle = 1.377v Load = 1.387v

1.3750v= idle = 1.390v Load = 1.400v

1.3875v= idle = 1.404v Load = 1.415v

1.4000v= idle = 1.417v Load = 1.429v

1.4125V= idle = 1.432v Load = 1.444v

1.4250V= idle = 1.444v Load = 1.457v

1.4375V= idle = 1.458v Load = 1.472v

1.4500V= idle = 1.468v Load = 1.479v






FLUKE 179 DMM Readings DK 790FXB-M3H5 4-15-2009 "Beta"Bios





CPU Special Vid Add


AUTO= idle = 1.338v Load = 1.348v Bios = 1.31v Smart Guardian = 1.31v


+25mv= idle = 1.364v Load = 1.376v Bios = 1.32v Smart Guardian = 1.32v

+50mv= idle = 1.389v Load = 1.401v Bios = 1.36v Smart Guardian = 1.36V

+75mv= idle = 1.415v Load = 1.428v Bios = 1.39v Smart Guardian = 1.39V

+100mv= idle = 1.440v Load = 1.453v Bios = 1.40v Smart Guardian = 1.40V

+125mv= idle = 1.465v Load = 1.479v Bios = 1.44v Smart Guardian = 1.44V

+150mv= idle = 1.491v Load = 1.505v Bios = 1.45v Smart Guardian = 1.45V

+175mv= idle = 1.517v Load = 1.531v Bios = 1.48v Smart Guardian = 1.48V

+200mv= idle = 1.542v Load = 1.557v Bios = 1.50v Smart Guardian = 1.48V

+225mv= idle = 1.568v Load = 1.585v Bios = 1.53v Smart Guardian = 1.53V

+250mv= idle = 1.594v Load = 1.611v Bios = 1.55v Smart Guardian = 1.55V

+275mv= idle = 1.621v Load = 1.639v Bios = 1.58v Smart Guardian = 1.58V

+300mv= idle = 1.646v Load = 1.664v Bios = 1.60v Smart Guardian = 1.60V






CPU/NB Vlotage



AUTO= idle = 1.218v Load = 1.223v

1.300v= idle = 1.306v Load = 1.316v

1.3125v= idle = 1.323v Load = 1.331v

1.3250v= idle = 1.335v Load = 1.343v

1.3375v= idle = 1.349v Load = 1.358v

1.3500v= idle = 1.362v Load = 1.371v

1.3625v= idle = 1.375v Load = 1.385v

1.3750v= idle = 1.389v Load = 1.398v

1.3875v= idle = 1.402v Load = 1.413v

1.4000v= idle = 1.416v Load = 1.427v

1.4125V= idle = 1.430v Load = 1.441v

1.4250V= idle = 1.442v Load = 1.454v

1.4375V= idle = 1.456v Load = 1.469v

1.4500V= idle = 1.470v Load = 1.483v





FLUKE 179 DMM Readings DK 790FXB-M3H5 4-24-2009 "Beta" Bios




CPU Special Vid Add


AUTO= idle = 1.338v Load = 1.348v Bios = 1.31v Smart Guardian = 1.31v


+25mv= idle = 1.364v Load = 1.376v Bios = 1.32v Smart Guardian = 1.32v


+50mv= idle = 1.389v Load = 1.401v Bios = 1.36v Smart Guardian = 1.36V


+75mv= idle = 1.415v Load = 1.428v Bios = 1.39v Smart Guardian = 1.39V


+100mv= idle = 1.440v Load = 1.453v Bios = 1.40v Smart Guardian = 1.40V

+125mv= idle = 1.465v Load = 1.479v Bios = 1.44v Smart Guardian = 1.44V

+150mv= idle = 1.491v Load = 1.505v Bios = 1.45v Smart Guardian = 1.45V


+175mv= idle = 1.517v Load = 1.531v Bios = 1.48v Smart Guardian = 1.48V


+200mv= idle = 1.542v Load = 1.557v Bios = 1.50v Smart Guardian = 1.50V


+225mv= idle = 1.568v Load = 1.585v Bios = 1.53v Smart Guardian = 1.53V

+250mv= idle = 1.594v Load = 1.611v Bios = 1.55v Smart Guardian = 1.55V

+275mv= idle = 1.621v Load = 1.639v Bios = 1.58v Smart Guardian = 1.58V


+300mv= idle = 1.646v Load = 1.664v Bios = 1.60v Smart Guardian = 1.60V





CPU/NB Vlotage



AUTO= idle = 1.218v Load = 1.223v

1.300v= idle = 1.306v Load = 1.316v

1.3125v= idle = 1.323v Load = 1.331v

1.3250v= idle = 1.335v Load = 1.343v

1.3375v= idle = 1.349v Load = 1.358v

1.3500v= idle = 1.362v Load = 1.371v

1.3625v= idle = 1.375v Load = 1.385v

1.3750v= idle = 1.389v Load = 1.398v

1.3875v= idle = 1.402v Load = 1.413v

1.4000v= idle = 1.416v Load = 1.427v

1.4125V= idle = 1.430v Load = 1.441v

1.4250V= idle = 1.442v Load = 1.454v

1.4375V= idle = 1.456v Load = 1.469v

1.4500V= idle = 1.470v Load = 1.483v



ALL DMM READINGS HAVE BEEN DOUBLE CHECKED FOR CONSISTENCY & ACCURACY & BOTH IDLE & LOAD!


As we can see through the DMM Readings the Bios Overvolts when Comparing the Readings on the Charts for what Bios & Smart Guardian are Reading.

These Readings for for DMM on any particular Bios will differ for each CPU & P.S.U which will also have a impact on DMM Read Out. When speaking with Oese who is running a 955 BE and also Testing this Board and Bios with me for D.F.I Taiwan his readings are pretty much Spot on with DMM Read out for Voltage set in Bios so once again things will vary dependent upon which CPU is being used on the Board but Bios and Smart Guardian Read Outs are consistent with what I get on my end . So as we see that needs some adjustment in future Bios Releases to re calibrate Bios & Smart Guardian to be a little more accurate to actual Voltage set in Bios.


These DMM Read Outs have all been forwarded to D.F.I Taiwan where the Bios Engineers will use these Reference Charts from me to make the necessary adjustments to the voltage table for this Particular Processor. As I have stated I have looked high and low for Bugs and inconsistencies in these Bios Releases and have yet to find or have a complaint to any degree on any of these Bios Releases other then what I have mentioned above which is being worked on right now by D.F.I Taiwan.

If this is any indication of what we can expect to see in up and coming Future Bios Release I will say that we will be seeing some very serious and Impressive Bios Work from D.F.I for their New AM3 Series Motherboard Line Up!

[Brother Esau]

The System


Motherboard........D.F.I LanParty DK 790FXB-M3H5
CPU.........AMD Phenom II 720 Black Edition
RAM.........2x2gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3 1333mhz 6-6-6-20
GFX..........POWERCOLOR AX3870 X2 CROSSFIRE
Cooling....Custom Water
HDD.........1x 74gb WD Raptor
P.S.U........ULTRA X3 1000w

[Brother Esau]

Now lets see what we can expect on average @ Stock Vcore for Clock Frequency from these 720 BE Processors with the NB Clock Frequency @ 2.6ghz


Not to shabby coming in at 600mhz above Rated Clock Frequency @ Stock Vcore I think most would be very Pleased with a 600mhz Clock Core Increase for 24/7 Overclock at stock Voltage especially now that summer is encroaching and Temps will be warming up quite considerably any time soon

[Brother Esau]

Now lets see what this sub $140.00 Processor can bring to the table in terms of Max (Stable) Overclock Frequency @1600mhz RAM Divider

3600mhz NB@ 2.6ghz RAM @ 1600mhz Divider
























3700mhz NB @ 2.6ghz RAM @ 1600mhz Divider

















3.8ghz NB@ 2.6ghz RAM 1600mhz Divider
























Coming i at a Full 1000mhz Stable over the Rated Clock Speed of 2800mhz I would have to say that's impressive for a very moderately priced CPU from AMD!




MAX Oveclock

















3.9ghz is a far as I could go and it will need some tweaking in Bios for me to be able to get some other Benches out of it. But I would imagine with enough time and tweaking in Bios 4ghz should be doable at least for a Validation Screen Shot and some Benches but highly unlikely that it would be even a fraction of Stable without the Aid of Phase Change keeping the CPU @ Sub -0c

[Brother Esau]

Thoughts & Conclusion




After Putting this Motherboard through the Paces with three different Bios Releases and extensively testing each Bios for Bugs & short comings I think its safe to say D.F.I has a Winner on their hands with the Release of the DK 790FXB-M3H5. Armed with only a Sub $150.00 CPU and a very reasonably priced 4gb Kit of DDR3 Memory from CRUCIAL making the Transition to the AM3 Platform is very Cost Effective considering what we were looking at cost wise to get on the DDR3 Band Wagon not that long ago I would say the Crucial Sticks Performed very well on this Board considering they were only $100.00 for a 2 X 2 gb Kit of DDR3.


As a Point of interest for those considering getting on the AM3/ DDR3 Bandwagon in terms of what DDR3 Brings to the table Performance wise the added benefit of moving to DDR3 on the AMD Platform is not all to significant and only slightly faster compared to its predecessor DDR2. However there are other more important things to be considered when thinking of making the transition to AM3 first of all lets talk about Motherboard and Bios Maturity that is what should be the deciding factor when considering AM3 /DDR3 Platform. Considering that I have Run D.F.I Motherboards pretty much exclusively for 4-5 years now and I have been on the 790FX/ Phenom Platform since initial launch of the D.F.I LanParty UT 790FX-M2R SB600 and then moved to the D.F.I LanParty JR 790GX SB750 and am now currently on the D.F.I LanParty DK 790FXB-M3H5 there has been significant improvement with each Motherboard in the Bios Department and it just keeps getting better. My personal conclusion on the D.F.I LanParty DK 790FXB-M3H5 is that the Board absolutely Screams and is Rock Solid Stable and very fluent performance wise regardless of the 4+1 Phase Digital PWM that is obviously not a issue or hindrance to the Performance and reliability of this Motherboard!

[eligray]

You're the man! Insanely great review!

I love to see DFI do well. I've got the p45 T2RS+ and I love it to death. Their boards are very good if you really love tweaking down to that last little latency

[vinister]

I'm still not sure this board is any better than the MSI GD-70. The bios is still un-organized looking with huge long lists of settings not broken down into sub-sections. The big problem I had with the DFI bios is that there is no indication of what the original setting was, once you change it, the only way to know is to reset to defaults. The MSI bios highlights the default setting so that you can revert back at any time.

I also don't see the feature that allows you to update the bios directly from a USB drive without having to boot from it. What a timesaver that feature is, I will personally never go back to a board that doesn't allow that.

Another thing I worry about is S3 standby support and using CoolnQuiet while overclocking. I have had 2 DFI motherboards and neither of those features have ever worked properly for me, on any bios version. I know they are not important for many people, most overclockers will disable cnq and will do a full boot every time they use their computer. But honestly its just so convenient to just walk away from your computer and know that it will go into a low-power state, and not having to wait for it to boot everytime you need to google something to settle an argument lol.

Lastly, I see no real innovative features. The MSI board has some VERY useful overclocking features. The ability to turn a knob in real-time while benching to adjust the FSB is extremely liberating and makes it much faster to find your max OC, as you don't have to exit windows or run any buggy programs. It always works and is just way more useful than I ever thought it would be.

I don't mean to sound so negative, I really do like DFI, I just wish they would look at what the other companies are doing and try to compete a bit more feature-wise.

[Brother Esau]

I don't and wont run M.S.I there support is non existent and a joke and their Forum is full of Rude People even the Admin Bas is a douche so no M.SI for me!

D.F.I's Bios are much better then M.S.I's in terms of quality and tweak ability always have been

I am Old School and Prefer entering the Switching commands manually from DOS and I flash 2 times always so no chance of previous code not being overwritten which yield a cleaner and more reliable flash always.

The Fastest way s not always the best way!

[cstkl1]

hi ts
yeah would like to know what happened to frankie

jimmy said he left.