Wrapping up the MSI 890FXA-G70
There are, without a doubt, flashier motherboards out there that will tempt users.  More LED’s, unique cooling solutions, exotic colors, etc.  But when it comes down to usable features, stability, overclocking, and the ability to run 4x CrossFire, then the MSI 890FXA-G70 is really the only solution out there.  As of this writing, Asus is introducing a new Crosshair IV with Lucid Hydra which can support up to four cards, but the price of that board will be significantly higher than what we are seeing today (and is as of yet unreleased).

The retail price of the 890FXA is officially $199.  This is $30 less than a standard Asus Crosshair IV’s MSRP.  It is not uncommon to see the 890FXA for $20 below MSRP online.  Today I was browsing Newegg, and after the special and MIR it was $159.  The pricing on this does fluctuate quite a bit, but it can generally be had for well under $199.

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Here is the MSI 890FXA-G70 compared to the Asus Crosshair IV (which will be reviewed at a later date).

The only issue I had with this board is that there seemed to be a strange short in the audio out.  It would, now and then, report that I had unplugged an audio device and plugged a new one in.  This was easily fixed in software, as I disabled the automatic audio jack sensing.  The audio worked perfectly fine, but it was annoying at first.  This is most likely a one off issue, as I have not seen it widely reported when reading about this board.

Overclocking was a surprise for me.  I did not expect to be able to take the board to 318 MHz HTT.  This is pretty hefty for me, as I am far from being a talented overclocker.  If I can do it, then pretty much anyone can.  I only had a few hiccups at the usual spots between 245 MHz and 256 MHz, as well as 285 MHz to around 296 MHz.  These are somewhat “dead” zones where the board will not want to boot up.  Anywhere outside of these ranges, the board had no problem with.

The build is good, and the chip selection and features MSI implemented on the board are all above average.  SATA 6G and USB 3.0 are the main selling points, but decent audio, Firewire, and a separate e-SATA controller are all positives.  I found no layout issues worth mentioning.

MSI designed a very good board, and the price is one of the best in the class.  While the MSRP is higher than some of the competition, it is still well below the top products from Asus (and is comparable to in performance and features).

Green Power was not something I delved into extensively, but it does help to shave around 10 watts at the wall off of an idling system.  If a user leaves their computer on for extensive periods of time, this is probably a good idea to enable.  It may save a few dollars a year, but it certainly will not cut your power bill in half.  It should run cooler as well, but the differences between Green Power and standard idle will be minimal in terms of thermal production.

Overall it is an excellent board at a very competitive price.  MSI did a very nice job on this one, and I am seriously considering using this particular board as the basis for upgrading my primary machine (it is running one of the first 790FX AM2+ motherboards with the not-so-impressive SB600 southbridge).  So with that particular recommendation, it is a no brainer that it receives the Gold Award from PCPer.com.


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