The K9AGM2-FIH does have a couple of things working for it, but they're both stock features of all MSI products: MSI Update and the fan regulation. With them out of the equation, you're left with a motherboard without a bundle, a poor layout, and few features. Given the performance of the board, it's pretty hard to recommend it.

Spider is an ambitious attempt at an enthusiast platform, and while Phenom and the Radeon HD 3800 series might grab all the headlines, the 790FX chipset is undoubtedly a key component of the overall equation. With support for HyperTransport 3 and second generation PCI Express, the 790FX has the high-bandwidth connectivity needed to fully exploit Phenom processors on one end and Radeon HD 3800 series graphics cards on the other. In fact, the 790FX is the only chipset currently on the market that fully supports all the features packed into new Phenom processors. Couple that with excellent OverDrive tweaking and overclocking software that we're told will be widely-supported by motherboard makers, and the 790FX looks pretty good.

It seems like hardware companies are coming up with more and more reasons for the average consumer to use more power than ever before. Dual core, quad core, 4-way SLI, peltier cooling not to mention all the added wattage which overclocking brings to the situation. Power supplies have also been happy to more than keep up so far, perhaps sometimes even going beyond what is required.

Coolermaster is one of these companies to keep on top of things as the race to the highest wattage escalates releasing a 1000W PSU, the Real Power Pro

Here are the features of the product from Coolermaster:

1.World’s first six +12V rails for better power distribution in Quad-SLI
and 2 ways server system
2.Four 6 pin PCI-e connectors offer great future upgradeability
3.Two 8 pin PCI-e connectors are compatible with future graphic card
upgradeability
4.Compliance with the newest Intel standard ATX 12V V 2.3
5.Compliance with the newest SSI standard EPS 12V V2.91
6.Ultra-silent operation with intelligent 135mm fan speed control (< 16dBA)
7.Eco-design for energy and money saving by Active PFC.(>0.99)/
high efficiency(>85%)
8.High Power Density (150*180*86 mm)
9.Power Failure Detector will light up when Over-Voltage, Under-Voltage,
Over-Temperature, Over-Current, Over-Loading, and Short circuit occur.
10.Five-year warranty

Specifications:

Model RS-A00-EMBA
Type ATX Form Factor 12V V2.2 / SSI standard EPS 12V V2.91
Input Voltage 90~264V (Auto Range)
Input Current 15A@ 115 Vac / 8A@ 230 Vac
Input Frequency Range 47~63 Hz
PFC Active PFC(0.99)
Power Good Signal 100~500 ms
Hold Up Time >17 ms
Efficiency >85% Typically
MTBF >100,000 hrs
Protection OVP / OCP / OTP / OLP / Short / Full Protection
Output Capacity 1000 Watts Continuous
Max. Output Capacity 1,200 Watts
Dimension (inches) 150(W) x 180(L) x 86(H) (mm)
Operation Temperature 0~50?(Nominal Input Voltage)
Safety CE / cUL / TUV / NEMKO / BSMI / FCC
UPC Code 870423004691
Warranty 5 years

The cables include the 20+4 pin ATX cable, CPU power connection 4-pin, 8-pin CPU power connection, two 6-pin PCI-Express power cables, two 6+2-pin PCI-Expres power cables, 6 molex power connections, 2 floppy power sources, and eight SATA power connections. The PSU comes with a 5 year warranty and manual in the box as well as a power cable and screws. One neat little bonus is a Coolermaster keychain and bottle opener.

Now let's move onto the test system.

Here are the specs on the system we used.

The first crop of 790FX boards certainly has its share of problems, too. Gigabyte's GA-MA790FX-DQ6 suffers from a number of BIOS-related issues that really need to be fixed before we would even consider recommending the board. And it's not like this is a pre-release product whose kinks are still being worked out; the DQ6 was selling online before the 790FX officially launched. The DQ6 also suffers from a poor graphics slot layout and alarmingly high power consumption given the 790FX's 10W TDP. It's not cheap, either. With street prices currently hovering around $270, the DQ6 costs nearly as much as the fastest Phenom you can buy. Our problems with 790FX motherboards haven't been limited to Gigabyte, either. We haven't yet had the opportunity to test MSI's riff on the Spider platform, but we've found Asus' M3A32-MVP Deluxe to have numerous BIOS-related issues and questionable stability. The fact that the top two mobo makers can't get their initial 790FX offerings dialed for the chipset's launch doesn't give us a lot of faith in the platform.