Today we have two 790FX based motherboards with which to test this new CPU on and will compare the performance of both motherboards with an X58/Intel i7 combination which is thrown in for good measure. The two boards we will be looking at will be like a throwback to the top performing motherboards of yesteryear. Anyone who had the fortune to enjoy the NForce 4 platform will remember the two top performing motherboards of the day, the Asus A8n32SLI Deluxe and the DFI Lanparty Ultra/Expert. Both of these motherboards could overclock socket 939 CPU's to amazing speeds, and the performance of these setups were enough to make Intel enthusiasts cry into there Pentium boxes. DFI, most would agree, were the victors in that previous battle so today it only seemed right that we pitch both manufacturers head to head once more.Both the Asus Crosshair III and DFI DK 790FX M3H5 are targeted toward the overclockers and gamers, much the same as the NF4 boards of yesterday so it will be good to see how each manufacturer has progressed in the AMD sector.

ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO is not just another AMD 785G board. ASUS has engineered it to be one of the best boards available. Firstly, if you look at the PCB, you would notice the word 2oz copper PCB. Looks like ASUS has followed Gigabyte's footstep in lowering the temperature of the board. On top of that, it has 8+2 phase power degisn, EPU, Express Gate, Q-Fan, CrashFree BIOS3, Mylogo2, ezflash 2. For overclockers, there is Turbo V utility which you can tune the voltages and clks within Windows. There is GPU NOS for auto overclocking your GPU, turbo key for one key overclocking. There are also large ranges of voltage and clock adjustments in the BIOS.

Even though the formal release of the AMD 785G chipset is not set to occur until sometime in August, the first 785G motherboards have been shipping to retailers for weeks and one managed to find its way to our front door here at Legit Reviews. Today, we have the ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO motherboard to take a peek at. This socket AM3 motherboard uses the AMD 785G and SB710 chipsets and is packed full of features that one wouldn't expect on an entry level AMD motherboard that will range from $70-$90 if the price leaks are correct.

We've seen a steady stream of Biostar motherboards that support Phenom in recent times and in many respects they feel as though they have been leading up to the TA790GX A3+. The Biostar TA790GX A2+ that we reviewed last year uses a 790GX chipset with SB750 Southbridge but it supports Socket AM2+ with DDR2 memory. Meanwhile, the Micro-ATX TA790GX XE that we saw more recently is effectively a smaller and cheaper version of the TA790GX A2+ as it continues to use Socket AM2+ with DDR2.

You can pick this board up here for $107.

Gigabyte's GA-MA785G-UD3H, being flogged at AUS$129, integrates the ATI Radeon HD 4200 (DX10.1) graphics engine and supports AMD's AM3 Phenom II, Phenom and Athlon processors. It also boasts HyperTransport 3.0 technology links, DDR2 memory and a PCI Express 2.0 graphics interface. The board also boasts Gigabyte's flagship 2oz copper PCB, which the firm reckons boosts performance whilst reducing system temperature. The specs up on PCcasegear also allude to an "Easy Energy Saver technology" which it claims helps "reach the maximum system performance" while saving power.