ECS A790GXM-AD3 Motherboard Review

As we look at the results, keep in mind that we are now running a Triple-Core Phenom II CPU instead of the Quad-Core Phenom that was used on all the other boards tested against this ECS A790GXM-AD3. Also, we need to keep in mind that this board is running DDR3 memory compared to the DDR2 kit that we have run on all the other boards. These differences certainly make it hard to compare apples to apples, but it will give you an idea of what you can expect when upgrading to the newest technology. With these changes, some of the results are certainly not a surprise.In our Sandra testing, we see lower scores throughout the results, which is certainly a result of one less core on the CPU.

Everest scores are much higher due to the use of the newer DDR3 memory and the higher speeds at which it runs.

In our POV testing, render time for the Beta test ties for the top spot, but the real-time rendering is much lower — again, the result of one less core. That would also be the reason for the longer render time in the Cinebench 10 results as well.

Burst speeds are faster on the ECS A790GXM-AD3 motherboard than any of the other boards tested, and the average speed is also right behind the leader.

The ECS board did extremely well in the 3dMark 06 benchmark. The CPU score was the only one it lagged behind in, and for good reasons (one less core). Other than the CPU score, it scored much better than the other boards here.

Now, on to gaming…

F.E.A.R. testing showed this board to be much faster than the other boards as it scored 4FPS faster than the next board.

Even with one less core, the ECS A790GXM-AD3 scored the best out of all the boards in the Company of Heroes testing, and also did better in the Call of Duty 4 testing in the 1280×1024 resolution. There was not even 1FPS different in it and the top board in the 1920×1200 resolution.

Overall, this setup is a great gaming setup and does it at a very good price, which we will look at in the conclusion.