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The ASUS M4A79T Deluxe is a well equipped motherboard that delivers excellent performance and supreme overclocking results. That said, at $190 US it is far from affordable, at least for an AMD motherboard anyway. Had the M4A79T Deluxe been a high-end Intel motherboard we would be raving about the price tag. Of course the M4A79T Deluxe is not an Intel motherboard, as it is designed for AMD processors using an AMD chipset. The fact remains that at $190 US this is one of the most expensive AMD motherboards on the market. As an example, DFI are flogging their flagship AM3 (790FX) board for just $140 US, and in many ways this board compares well to the M4A79T Deluxe. Then the M4A79T Deluxe also has to contend with the fact that there are plenty of cheaper AMD 790FX motherboards designed to use DDR2 memory with the AM2+ socket. Therefore, it is clear that the M4A79T Deluxe is not designed or intended to be used in budget systems. Rather, the M4A79T Deluxe is a no expenses spared motherboard, designed for Phenom II users trying to get the very best performance out of their processor. While the ASUS M4A79T Deluxe does present Phenom II users with a powerful solution, it also provides them with an upgrade path that will last for years, thanks to the AM3 socket. Although users may pay a slight price premium for DDR3 memory now, they do so knowing that they are investing in a platform that will offer them some kind of upgrade solution in years to come. When testing the M4A79T Deluxe we found that it offered a vast array of features, many of which we found very useful. There are also a lot of really cool unique features as well, such as the ASUS Express Gate. However, although the board did offer everything we could have asked for, it was still a little lacking in some areas. For example, the onboard SATA ports were few and far between, with a total of just five ports available. Honestly we felt that five SATA ports was a little dismal, particularly for an ASUS flagship board. When compared to the competition ASUS is seriously lacking in this department. For less money the Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P can be picked up and this board features twice as many ports onboard; that’s right, ten SATA ports!
Reviewed By Steven Walton |
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