DFI LanParty DK 790FXB Motherboard Review

We have reviewed quite a few 790 based motherboards from DFI and while each one has featured a different processor the overall features we have come to expect from the LanParty series are all there.  Some of the major things to notice are the motherboard cooling options which in the case of the 790FXB DK seems to be a little undesized when it comes to overclocking however installing a dedicated fan over the Northbridge and PMW helped keep things cool.  As with all DK edition motherboards the onboard power supply is an analog design, while it remains to be seen if this design is any better than the digital PMWs found on the UT boards it is a cheaper alternative to help make the LanParty DK 790FXB affordable.

In our various DFI 790FX motherboard reviews we have seen a wide variety of overclocking ability.  The single UT motherboard featured a dual core black edition that also posted some insanely high HTT overclocks.  The 790GX Jr board featured a DDR2 Phenom black edition that did an ok job overclocking but nothing like the dual core system.  The latest 790FXB featured in this review was running the new triple core Phenom II and DDR3 memory controller.  Sadly this newest processor refused to run above 220Mhz HTT however with it being a black edition we could alter the CPU multiplier and got some decent speeds from it.  While it would have been nice to get more from the HTT we feel the end result is very respectable and appeared to be limited by our cooling method.

Some of you may be wondering about our Triple Core experience and well it was great.  The system ran smooth thru all of our benchmarks and aside from the obvious overclocking limitations we are happy with the outcome.  We did try the ACC trick to enable the 4th core in the processor; however we didn't post any scores from that venture.  Windows did see the 4th processor and used it when needed but as with most things silicon based there is a reason it was disabled to begin with.  Once we started overclocking the system again the 4th core started to limit our overclocking ability and was no longer stable much beyond 3Ghz.  All in all we wouldn't recommend the X3 to X4 modding especially if you plan to overclock your system.

Now for the ever popular list of Good things and Bad things.

Full-Sized Motherboard
Overclocking Pedigree
DDR3 Memory Support
3 PCIe Video Slots
ACC Support (BIOS)
3-Way CrossFire Support

Had issues reaching high HTT
Only 3-way Crossfire supported
Onboard cooler needs to be upgraded

We would like to thank DFI Inc. for helping to make this review possible.