990FX Motherboard Roundup with Thuban and Bulldozer – A Second Wind for ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and Biostar
by Ian Cutress on April 5, 2012 11:00 AM ESTUSB Speed
For this benchmark, we run CrystalDiskMark to determine the ideal sequential read and write speeds for the USB port using our 64GB Patriot SuperSpeed USB 3.0 drive. Then we transfer a set size of files from the SSD to the USB drive, and monitor the time taken to transfer. The files transferred are a 1.52 GB set of 2867 files across 320 folders – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are the videos used in the Sorenson Squeeze test.
A lot of how the system deals with USB interactions is based on the hardware, including BIOS stated priorities, but also on the software and drivers supplied. This results in our spread on USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 speeds/times. On the whole the Sabertooth 990FX is a good performer, while the MSI tends to lag behind in real world testing.
SATA Testing
We also use CrystalDiskMark for SATA port testing. The operating system is installed on the SSD, and the sequential test is run at the 5 x 1000 MB level. This test probes the efficiency of the data delivery system between the chipset and the drive, or in the case of additional SATA ports provided by a third party controller, the efficiency between the controller, the chipset and the drive.
For SATA testing, again we get a processor independent spread. The interesting thing here is the SATA 6 Write results, in which the ASUS boards clearly have an advantage over the other products. This is most likely due to more agressive BIOS settings at default.
DPC Latency
Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests, such as audio, will be further down the line. So if the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled. If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time, resulting in an empty audio buffer – this leads to characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. Having a bigger buffer and correctly implemented system drivers obviously helps in this regard. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is processing DPCs from driver invocation – the lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds and taken as the peak latency while cycling through a series of short HD videos - less than 500 microseconds usually gets the green light, but the lower the better.
DPC Latency always shows the biggest differences between our motherboards. It is hampered by the fact that it can be disturbed by software. In particular, ASUS' AI Suite and Gigabyte's EasyTune software, when installed, initialise themselves on startup and continuously monitor the motherboard sensors (by pinging them every 3-5 seconds). This request for data has a higher priority, and thus when we do our DPC checks, those boards when the software is enabled shoot up to 3000 microseconds or more. For these tests, we disable the software (as it shows uncharacteristic spikes) to take a reading while playing HD video. In this case, we can confirm that ASUS do it best, and you get what you pay for with respect to the Biostar motherboard.
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geforce912 - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
Just so you know, the supremefx x-fi 2 on the crosshair v is still a realtek chip but with higher grade capacitors and a creative software overlay. Definitely not a creative chip. Please correct it.TerdFerguson - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link
Instead of repeatedly calling $130 cheap for a motherboard, why don't you step up and breakdown the costs associated with construction?This reviewer is backwards, as usual - the other boards are horribly overpriced, following the modern trend.
I'd like to see a cost breakdown for any of the very overpriced boards. Please show us how they justify their high costs. It looks to me like Biostar simply didn't get the price-fixing memo.
It's insane how many folks are continuing to support AMD because of its former stance as a budget option and how many of those purported fans seem to turn up their nose at any components that aren't marketed (and priced) as being premium-tier.
MadAd - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
sata 3, coolusb 3, cool
good overclocking, cool
dual channel ram, itll do
four graphics slots.....groan
am fed up paying out the wazooo for these so called enthusiast boards when I only intend to run 1 graphics card ... yes im a gamer, i want the best in all other areas (esp best sata 3 perfomance) but jeez can we have some 'normal' boards reviewed along with these high end monsters pls?
gilmoreisu - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
I'm a little disappointed in not seeing the ASRock Fatal1ty board. Any reason why this was left off? Otherwise, great round-up. Thank you!waldojim42 - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
One of the things I see skimmed over far too often these days are the actual audio capabilities. In the day of digital audio connections and receivers, why do we still have enthusiast level boards with stereo digital audio!? This is something That needs pointed out in the motherboard reviews. MSI makes such ridiculous claims, like "Lossless 24bit/192kHz HD Audio" and "THX TruStudio PRO", yet in the end mean NOTHING when you are playing a game, as you are still limited to 3(or 4) analog 3.5mm to RCA cables for your audio.So which boards support DTS/Dolby Digital encoding mid game?
funguseater - Friday, April 6, 2012 - link
Thank you for taking the time to review these motherboards. It is a relief to know that my old Gigabyte MA790X-UD4P still overclocks to the same levels with a thuban (1090t). It will be interesting to see if the next 1090 chipset will support the old Thubans.I only have DDR2 on my board but it doesn't seem to affect performance as much as I thought it would so I can wait for the next gen boards.
Anyway thanks for including the 1100t in the review!
ranger429 - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
It would have been nice to see how a FX-4170 or 4100 would do in this testbrahma - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
excelent job, congratulations! ,... but what a shame! do you forget the asrock 990fx fatality, the unique with a fase power 12+2 !!salutations.
Sunny129 - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
Ian,First of all, thank you for the informative review and comparison of 990FX boards. Is there any particular reason you reviewed Gigabyte's GA-990FX-UD5, and not their big dog, the UD7? would it be worth while to review the UD7, since you seem to have reviewed the top 990FX boards from ASUS and MSI? specifically, i'd like to see if the UD7 suffers from the same downsides that the UD5 does, for instance the VRM heat issues while under load, lack of decent fan control, etc.
thanks,
Eric
kukreknecmi - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link
What does this mean? Doesnt video encode is Floating Point intensive task??