14 DAY TRIAL // Advanced Micro Devices may no longer make it a point to have processors capable of battling Intel's on the top-tier market, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have high-end CPUs and APUs. There definitely are such chips, which means there need to be motherboards ready to receive them.
ASUS has just introduced one such motherboard, called TUF Series Sabertooth 990FX/GEN3 R2.0.
As the name might make it clear to some people, this is actually a revision of sorts of the previous-generation TUF Sabertooth.
Based on the 990FX chipset, it has four DIMM memory slots wired to the AM3+ CPU socket (frequency rated at 2,400 MHz per module).
Spec-wise, ASUS outfitted the mainboard with three PCI Express 3.0 slots, for NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFireX multi-video card setups.
One can only imagine what could happen if three NVIDIA GeForce Titan boards were installed, assuming it will even be possible for one person to get three of them.
But we digress. ASUS made sure the black and brown newcomer had Gigabit Ethernet support, six USB 3.0 ports, 12 USB 2.0 connectors and eight SATA 6.0 Gbps ports (for storage via HDDs, SSDs or HHDs).
Then, there is the eight-layered PCB, which “promotes faster memory performance while ensuring stability and compatibility with improved cross-component signal quality.”
ASUS even went a step further and included dual-heatpipe heatsinks with CeraM!X micro-ridged coating on the northrbidge and southbridge chips (better heat dissipation than normal, by about 50%).
Finally, the Sabertooth 990FX/GN3 R2.0 ships with TUF Thermal Radar, a technology that tracks motherboard heat via a few sensors and enables real-time temperature monitoring. Automatic or independent fan speed control can be set according to these readings.
Availability of the new high-end ASUS motherboard is set for the middle of March 2013. Prospective buyers can spend the time between now and then picking out an AMD AM3+ CPU (Vishera, Steamroller).
