AMD Phenom II X4-810/MSI 790GX-G65

Today we take a look at two products in one- the new AMD Phenom 810 CPU which introduces AMD to the world of DDR3 and the MSI 790GX-G65 mothebroard, upon which we’ve tested this CPU. The Phenom II X4 8xx series reduces the L3 cache on the Phenom II platform from 6MB to 4MB which will result in a bit of a performance loss, but on the brighter side, it also reduces the TDP from 125W to 95W.

The Phenom II X4 810 that we have with us today is a Quad Core 2.6GHz CPU with dedicated L1 and L2 cahces of 4 x 128KB and 4 x 512KB for each core along with a shared L3 cache of 4MB. Using HyperTransport 3.0 that provides  21GB/s memory bandwidth for DDR3, you get 37GB/s of processor-to-system bandwidth. It requires an AM3 socket and DDR3 banks which the MSI motherboard happily provides.

Lets take a look at the MSI board features next. Full specs on MSI’s website.

-APS is Active Phase Switching is complete function to Control Power Demand with Switching Dynamically, it’s for CPU, Memory and Chipset PWM.
-Real Time FSB tuning- FSB value change in the BIOS instant!
• Unlimited Turning Segments
• Easy Use – Just Rotate the knob!!!
• Turn OC Beginner to OC Expert!!
• Save your time of trying
• Achieve OC goal in short time
• Faster and Flexible and instant
• If BIOS crash, it still can boot from USB Drive
• Update BIOS from USB Drive by M-Flash Fucntion
• Longer lifespan than electrolytic capacitors
• Endurable to operation under higher frequency & temperature
• Avoid exploding capacitors to cause mainboards failure
• A choke is an inductor responsible for storing power and regulates the current.
• All shielded choke could reduce core power loss, lower EMI interference.
• Store energy longer at higher frequency, achieving higher efficiency.
• Help end-users upgrade CPU FSB directly
• Buy an essential CPU but want to reach higher performance
• Skip the complicated BIOS OC setting and enjoy the higher level CPU performance
• equipped additional 1Gbit (128MB) DDR3 1333MHz IGP memory to accelerate onboard VGA 3D performance up to 15%.
• Independent IGP memory can reduce the consumption of system memory.
• Easy connect to front panel & chassis cable
• 2x USB, IEEE 1394, front panel (JFP1/2)& audio(JAUD1) M-connector in the package
• Easy to tell the definition of each pin
• Functions designed with button to be easy use.
• Help power-users tweaking process in-chasis enviornment
• Onboard SATA ports are stacked on the mainboard to avoid mechanical issue with giant graphic cards like 8800 Ultra.

Packaging

This is the first board we’ve received from MSI with their new logo and it can be seen on the 790GX-G65 box which comes in Orange / white theme- a big departure from their grey/dark or green boxes.

Package includes some manuals, drivers CD/DVD, 4x SATA cables, IDE cable, 1x 4-PIN HDD to SATA converter, Crossfire bridge, MSI M-Connecter and I/O back panel shield.