 |
|||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||
The ASUS M4A79T Deluxe features the AMD 790FX chipset along with the SB750 south bridge chip. However unlike most 790FX motherboards, the M4A79T Deluxe features exclusive support for AMD’s new AM3 processors. This means AM2/AM2+ processors cannot be used on this motherboard, as they are first and foremost not pin compatible, and even if they were a DDR3 memory controller is required.  Despite being quite old now, the AMD 790FX chipset still holds its own, and with the updated SB750 south bridge chip it is up there with the best of the best. Board features include quad PCI Express 2.0 x16 ports (CrossFireX), twelve USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, SATA RAID, eSATA (SATA on the Go), 8-channel HD Audio and Express Gate.  The M4A79T Deluxe features four DDR3 memory DIMM slots, with official support for 1600/1333/1066 memory (non-ECC, un-buffered), though DDR2-1600 memory support can only be achieved through overclocking. ASUS claims that the board can support up to 16GB of memory, for which you would need four 4GB memory modules.  The board also features four PCI Express x16 slots, providing the M4A79T Deluxe with impressive multi-GPU capabilities. However please note that if all four slots are populated the effective bandwidth of each slot will be reduced from 16x to 8x. When using three graphics cards the configuration will change to 16x/8x/8x, and finally with just two graphics cards the full 16x/16x bandwidth will become available. The High Definition Audio is supported by the Realtek ALC1200 HD Audio codec, featuring optical S/PDIF support via the I/O panel. The Realtek ALC1200 audio codec has been heavily used by ASUS in the past, and we are quite accustomed to finding it on their more high-end motherboards. ASUS has gone with a single Realtek 8112 Gigabit Ethernet controller which uses the PCI Express bus for maximum throughput. There is no wireless LAN support included on the M4A79T Deluxe, so users will have to look to include this feature using an expansion card.  Although wireless LAN may not exist, Firewire certainly does, thanks to the inclusion of the VIA VT6315N controller supporting two IEEE 1394a ports, one of which is located on the I/O panel. Additionally there are also six USB 2.0 ports found on the I/O panel, with the rest connecting via the motherboards onboard headers.  As mentioned previously, the SB750 south bridge chip improves upon storage, offering support for six SATA devices. Furthermore, support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID5, RAID 10, and JBOD is also included, providing users with a great deal of flexibility. There is also a single IDE port, which provides support for two ATA-133/100/66/33 devices. The unique ASUS “Express Gate” is also included on the M4A79T Deluxe and this feature makes it possible to surf the Internet after a 5-second-bootup time without entering Windows. Using an embedded Linux environment it allows users to enjoy instant access to commonly used functions like accessing the Internet, VoIP, and Web emailing without entering the OS.   ASUS Express Gate is powered by the Splashtop instant-on Linux desktop environment by DeviceVM, which will offer a way to surf the web with Firefox or make VoIP phone calls through Skype within five seconds of pushing the PC’s start button, and without fully booting the computer. Splashtop is also able to access and use the built-in 802.11n wireless adapter right out of the box. |
|||||
|