Foxconn A79A-S SB750 Rocks

[Particle]

As many of you know, I blew through two motherboards in the last few weeks. As a replacement for both my ASUS M3A78-T and MSI K9A2 Platinum, I ordered a Foxconn A79A-S (the SB750 revision). It was on sale on Newegg for $169 at the time, so it was attractively priced. It has four full-length PCIe 2.0 slots as well as a x1, so I can do 3-way Radeon 4850s, use my Areca PCIe x8 RAID controller, and the ASUS Xonar DX that I've long since fallen in love with.

So far, results are promising! I'm actually able to boot 100% of the time for the first time in forever. No more 1-in-4 chance of actually starting up BS like on my K9A2 or 3-in-4 chance like on the ASUS. It's just solid...it just works. Every time I press power or reset, it comes on. It can take a curiously long amount of time for video to sync up, but the system is fine. Overclocking and ACC also appear to be top-notch. Support for AMD's AOD software is present, so I'm golden.

On a chip that I previously had trouble getting to 2.8GHz, I was able to do the following with at least modest stability (only Prime tested for 5-10 minutes, but it never crashed while playing at these speeds, 32-bit):



Fusion is installed on that test system, but it wasn't in use for the 3DM run.

If anyone is looking for another option to the ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe when motherboard shopping, this should be a serious choice.

[charged3800z24]

I haven't decided on which 790fx/SB750 to go with yet...I am moving the 790gx to the main TV MCE soon. That board has shown promis. I would like to see if we can get the CPU V-Core adjustment in AOD and not just CPU VID.
Nice results tho man

[blah4u3]

Just FYI this board is crazy cheap at zipzoomfly right now. $100. I was gonna make another thread in a day or two about my new uber budget AMD build (last package with CPU due to arrive from newegg today...) but I thought I'd give everyone a heads up in this thread.

I was kinda worried about the board after reading some less than flattering reviews but good to know some people are having good experiences with it. I'll let everyone know my experience in a few days or so.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=10009147

[merkk1]

Grats i'am glad you found your self a mother board you like . I like my Foxconn a79a-s to it been a soild board for me from the frist day i hit the start botton on the pc .It also look to be a good OC board for you to . My best on my old board was 2.7 ghz on my 9850 i now got 3.1ghz work out for a 24/7 clock on the foxconn .

[keithlm]

As many of you know, I blew through two motherboards in the last few weeks. As a replacement for both my .

Yay! I another Conned Fox on this forum!!!!!

And that's a LOT better than my 9850 which couldn't run stable on the Gigabyte at stock. I'm tempted to buy a 9950 NOW but I can wait......


===================
I've posted my issues with this board in another post but I'll do a quick summary. Do you see these same issues?

1. Using the OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE MODE bios option which is supposed to tell it to read the EPP memory timings causes the board to lock up and only a bios reset can restart it.

2. The fan spins at full speed at all times regardless of cool'n'quiet or the temperature of the CPU.

3. You can not adjust the HT speed. So if you increase the NB speed the HT stays at the default. You can not decrease the NB speed because it will reset to stock since HT can not be lower than NB. (Foxconn don't appear to acknowledge this as a bug.)

4. If I try to disable the JMicron SATA ports the board will not boot. (Not a big deal... but I like to disable things I do not use.)

[demonkevy666]

my ASUS M3A79-T Deluxe will be here tomorrow.

I was looking at that board but didn't since it only had 1 pci slot, and I wanted 2.

I'm not going to use my msi 650 pro theater now.

I'm using on board sata with 1 HD and 1 DVD drive. I don't' see the need for a $449 raid card.

anyone think that might hold back over clocks ?

[MattiasNYC]

Does anybody have any updates on the transfer speed of the eSATA connection? It was claimed in this review that the eSATA controller performed miserably. The USB 2.0 was also sub-par.

Is this something that would normally be fixed through BIOS updates?

[keithlm]

Particle: How did you change the NB VID?

The bios only has the "NB VOLTAGE CONTROL" which defaults to 1.815V. (I think it might be NB PLL voltage or something.)

(And HT Voltage Control which default to 1.19V.)

Did you use AOD to get your NB to 1.3375V?

[Particle]

Yes, I used AOD. As with my last couple of boards, I boot at stock. Since it's such a pain to clear CMOS (though, this board has a clear CMOS button so it wouldn't be bad) traditionally, I've just been using AOD exclusively for everything. Also helps prevent the kind of crashes that can kill Windows the easiest (crash during boot).

[ChrisB17]

I just ordered this board. I hopes its good. Thanks for the review.

[keithlm]

I just ordered this board. I hopes its good. Thanks for the review.

I think you'll like it. It is one of the best boards I've ever had.

Sure I listed a few things that were bad... but in reality I can:
a. set the memory timings by hand,
b. use a manual fan control anyway,
c. the only reason the HT speed is an issue is because I have a cruddy with overclocking issues 9850.

I must say that I have very happy that this board makes that "bad" chip stable at 3.0Ghz-3.1Ghz with a NB at 2.2Ghz. My old Gigabyte DS5 board couldn't handle it at stock stock setting without rebooting after 5 hours.

(And I'm seriously looking at getting a 9950 for the next 2 or 3 months so that I can play.)

[cbjaust]

Foxconn A79A-S pricing in Australia as of 21-Oct-2008. Needless to say I'm waiting for a DFI DK 790FXB-M2RSH to become available at the end of October for half the money of the A79A-S.

I'm not a fan of Asus so I'm not considering the M3A79-T Deluxe at this point.

And that basically rounds out the options for a 790FX/SB750 board which is what I'm after.

Cheers

[Daveburt714]

Just FYI this board is crazy cheap at zipzoomfly right now. $100. I was gonna make another thread in a day or two about my new uber budget AMD build (last package with CPU due to arrive from newegg today...) but I thought I'd give everyone a heads up in this thread.

I was kinda worried about the board after reading some less than flattering reviews but good to know some people are having good experiences with it. I'll let everyone know my experience in a few days or so.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=10009147

WOW!! Nice find....
I would have to think that's a mistake, but if I had the extra cash I'd order it!

Particle: Glad you finally found a board you like man. Very nice clocks at those voltages btw...

Keep us posted during your adventures, this new MSI 780GX board has been treating me pretty well but I had always intended to hand it down the HTPC and go for the 790/750 combo eventually.

[blah4u3]

WOW!! Nice find....
I would have to think that's a mistake, but if I had the extra cash I'd order it!

Particle: Glad you finally found a board you like man. Very nice clocks at those voltages btw...

Keep us posted during your adventures, this new MSI 780GX board has been treating me pretty well but I had always intended to hand it down the HTPC and go for the 790/750 combo eventually.

It's legit, it's been that price for over a week. I ordered my A79A-S from there and I'm testing my new rig as we speak (5400+ Black Edition, waiting for Deneb like everyone else).

Experience so far: After rig was setup nothing happened on power on, was afraid something was fubar. Took me almost half an hour to notice the CMOS reset jumper was set wrong from the factory, after switching it everything was a-ok. LOL

I have the same RAM EPP and Jmicron problems as well. Hope Foxconn gets that sorted out. The EPP is no biggie but I can't get the esata to work at all without random resets.

More testing to come...............

[merkk1]

Blah4u3
Hi have you flash the mother board to the new bios yet ? P05 should help http://www.foxconnchannel.com/suppor...D=en-us0000003

[ChrisB17]

Can anyone explain to me the bios. How do I change the multi and Vcore?

[equinox1]

so far this board has been great, you will like it particle. i think some of these pricing posts are a little off though. i paid $230.00 us for this board and the egg still has it listed there.

[nanohead]

Just FYI this board is crazy cheap at zipzoomfly right now. $100. I was gonna make another thread in a day or two about my new uber budget AMD build (last package with CPU due to arrive from newegg today...) but I thought I'd give everyone a heads up in this thread.

I was kinda worried about the board after reading some less than flattering reviews but good to know some people are having good experiences with it. I'll let everyone know my experience in a few days or so.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...tCode=10009147

That price is simply NUTSSS much cheaper than the less capable 790GX boards if you're a clocker and want an SB750. I take it they are getting ready to phase out the board, otherwise this price makes zero sense. I may have to get one, just because.......... (I'll tell my wife it was Particle's fault)

[merkk1]

ChrisB17
Hi just pop in from playing some dead space (good game) . See if this helps multi is none in Hex here some to get you going A=13.0, B=13.5, C=14.0, D=14.5, E=15.0, f=15.5 . Now Vcore voltage control is 1=1.35v, 2=1.37v, 3=1.40v, 4=1.42v, 5=1.45v, 6=1.47v, 7=1.5v that should get you going hope it helps.

[RiverRicer]

so far this board has been great, you will like it particle. i think some of these pricing posts are a little off though. i paid $230.00 us for this board and the egg still has it listed there.

Not off! Click the ZZFly link........$100!
If I needed another board I'd be all over this!
Xtreme teeth gnashing begins! The little man on my shoulder says 'maybe you DO need another board! Think about it. Deneb is just around the corner!' Thanks little man......bought one!

[ChrisB17]

ChrisB17
Hi just pop in from playing some dead space (good game) . See if this helps multi is none in Hex here some to get you going A=13.0, B=13.5, C=14.0, D=14.5, E=15.0, f=15.5 . Now Vcore voltage control is 1=1.35v, 2=1.37v, 3=1.40v, 4=1.42v, 5=1.45v, 6=1.47v, 7=1.5v that should get you going hope it helps.

Hmm why no 16x multi?

Ok so 215 x 15.5 should be good. Can you help me with some settings you thing would make me stable. I am completly new to AMD overclocking. I dont know what my voltage should be etc.

[blah4u3]

Blah4u3
Hi have you flash the mother board to the new bios yet ? P05 should help http://www.foxconnchannel.com/suppor...D=en-us0000003

Yeah, BIOS update was first thing I did after getting vista installed. Never even tried it with the P03 BIOS.

After some more testing I just think the Jmicron might just be finnicky. My Seagate external drive goes bonkers but my roomates WD drive works just fine. I have no idea why that is.

Besides the jmicron issue I'm pretty satisfied. My last AMD system was a XP and it was a total breeze to set this system up. AOD works great.

[Glow9]

How did you blow 2 boards? What are you doing to them?

[Oese]

very nice results! unfortunately that board is a bit more expensive in germany (~180€ thats almost double the price ) but whatever, seems to be an alternative as there are no UT boards from dfi and the DK boards lack the nb-vid option in the bios.

I hope nb-vid is implemented in the foxconn bios??

[Daveburt714]

Not off! Click the ZZFly link........$100!
If I needed another board I'd be all over this!
Xtreme teeth gnashing begins! The little man on my shoulder says 'maybe you DO need another board! Think about it. Deneb is just around the corner!' Thanks little man......bought one!

Dammit man.... $100 IS crazy for this board!! I actually have the cash... One more beer and I'm gonna order it too...