MSI 790GX-G65 ATX Motherboard Review

Board Images

The motherboard itself isn’t very flashy but it is quite functional. In this overview image you can see the general layout of the board, clean and clear to me.

The CPU socket is simple with a 5 phase PWM common on 790GX motherboards. Only a single 4-pin P4 connector is required for this motherboard, something I found odd given the trend towards using the 8-pin EPS connector. Please disregard the green clay, it is residue from my insulation for the overclocking segment.

The DDR3 slots are driven by a single phase PWM circuit. Near the edge of the board by the DIMM retention tabs are 5 status LEDs that indicate board functionality during boot.

The southbrige section of the board is rather sparse with 5 SATA II connectors and convenient power, reset, and CMOS buttons. There are also a slew of USB and 1394a headers if you need additional connectivity.

Even with two 2-slot GPUs you will still have access to a PCIe 1x and PCI slot. I can’t imagine many users having card placement issues with this standard setup.

This board has a cornucopia of options along it’s I/O area. You get an optical SPDIF-out port, a PS/2 port, VGA, DVI, and HDMI video output, 6 USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA port, RJ-45 gigabit ethernet port, and 6 customizable audio ports.