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MSI 790FX-GD70 ATX motherboard, black PCB with blue slots and silver heatsinks

MSI

MSI 790FX-GD70 AMD motherboard Socket AM3 DDR3 16GB

SKU CH-PQK9-459X8

Socket AM3 board with AMD 790FX chipset supports Phenom II CPUs, DDR3 memory up to 16GB, four PCIe x16 slots for CrossFire, eight SATA II ports with RAID, dual Gigabit LAN.

  • CPU Socket TypeSocket AM3
  • CPU TypeSupports 64-bit AMD Phenom II processors
  • ChipsetAMD 790FX
  • Memory StandardSupport DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600 (OC)/1800 (OC)/2133 (OC) mem
  • Maximum Memory Supported16GB
  • PCI Slots4 PCI Express x16 slots - Two slots (PCI_E1 and PC_E4) for P
  • Supports 64-bit AMD Phenom II processors on Socket AM3
  • DDR3 memory up to 16GB with speeds from 800 to 2133 (OC)
  • Four PCI Express x16 slots for AMD CrossFire multi-GPU setups
  • Eight SATA II ports with RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 and JBOD
  • Dual Gigabit LAN plus 8-channel Realtek ALC889 audio with Blu-ray sound output

Socket AM3 DDR3 platform

This MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard uses the AMD 790FX chipset and a Socket AM3 interface to support 64-bit AMD Phenom II processors. It accepts DDR3 memory at 800, 1066 or 1333 speeds natively, with overclocked steps at 1600, 1800 and 2133. The board provides four DIMM slots for a maximum of 16GB total capacity.

Four PCI Express x16 slots and eight SATA II ports

Four full-length PCI Express x16 slots allow multi-GPU configurations; the first and fourth run at 2.0 x16 while the third and fifth operate at 2.0 x8 when all are populated. Eight SATA II connectors on the board support RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 or JBOD arrays without an additional controller card. Dual Realtek 8111DL Gigabit LAN controllers and eight rear USB 2.0 ports handle networking and peripherals directly.

16GB memory ceiling and CrossFire headroom

The 16GB DDR3 limit suits mainstream workloads and older game titles, but modern applications will exhaust that headroom quickly. CrossFire scaling works across the four x16 slots, though the two x8 lanes reduce bandwidth when every slot is filled. Onboard Realtek ALC889 audio delivers 8-channel output with Blu-ray sound support, while the ATX form factor fits standard chassis without special clearance requirements.

Highlights

  • Supports 64-bit AMD Phenom II processors on Socket AM3
  • DDR3 memory up to 16GB with speeds from 800 to 2133 (OC)
  • Four PCI Express x16 slots for AMD CrossFire multi-GPU setups
  • Eight SATA II ports with RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 and JBOD
  • Dual Gigabit LAN plus 8-channel Realtek ALC889 audio with Blu-ray sound output

Specifications

BrandMSI
SeriesMSI 790FX-GD70
ModelMSI 790FX-GD70
CPU Socket TypeSocket AM3
CPU TypeSupports 64-bit AMD Phenom II processors
ChipsetAMD 790FX
Memory StandardSupport DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600 (OC)/1800 (OC)/2133 (OC) memory, up to 16GB
Maximum Memory Supported16GB
PCI Slots4 PCI Express x16 slots
- Two slots (PCI_E1 and PC_E4) for PCIE 2.0 x 16 speed (AMD CrossFire technology)
- Two slots (PCI_E3 and PC_E5) for PCIE 2.0 x 8 speed (AMD CrossFire technology)
When all four slots are fully plugged, the PCIE x 16 pipeline will automatically change from x16/0/x16/x0 to x8/x8/x8/x8 rate
1 PCI Express x1 gen2 slot
2 PCI slots, supporting 3.3v/5v PCI main bus interface
SATA RAID8 SATA II ports with RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 or JBOD support
Audio ChipsetRealtek ALC889 Chip
- Support Blu-ray sound output
- 8-channel sound effects that support intelligent sound interface detection
- Compatible with Azalia 1.0 specifications
LAN ChipsetDual Realtek PCI-E GbLAN Controller 8111DL Chip
- Integrate fast Ethernet MAC and PHY into a single chip
Supports 10Mb/s, 100Mb/s and 1000Mb/s
Compliant with PCI-Express bus specification v1.0a.
Onboard USB8 USB 2.0 ports (backplane)

Questions about this item

How much DDR3 memory can the board address before hitting its ceiling?

The board supports up to 16GB of DDR3 across its four slots, with speeds from 800 up to 2133 when overclocked.

What thermal or acoustic load should I expect when the system runs continuously?

The board uses passive chipset cooling and standard fan headers; sustained load noise and heat depend on the CPU cooler and case airflow you provide.

Which processor and memory must I already have for this board to function?

You need a Socket AM3 AMD Phenom II processor and DDR3 modules; the board will not work with other socket types or memory generations.

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