14 DAY TRIAL // If you have set your mind on upgrading your desktop computer rig with the latest Phenom II processors, recently released by AMD, you might want to take into consideration one of the latest motherboard releases from Sapphire. The company has just announced the latest addition to its AM3-supporting motherboard lineup, the new PURE CrossFireX 790GX mobo. Designed on AMD's 790GX chipset, the board is ready to provide its users with support for AMD's highest-performance desktop processors to date, also known as the Phenom II.
The board's 790GX chipset is paired together with the SB750 Southbridge, consequently providing support for a high-level of performance, featuring Hyper Transport Bus 3.0. Users will be able to pair AMD's latest Phenom II CPUs with up to 16GB of DDR2 memory and two CrossFireX-enabled Radeon graphics cards, for a level of performance previously unavailable on AMD-based boards.
Aside from the support offered for AMD's first 45nm Phenom processors, the new Sapphire motherboard can also be used with AM2 and AM2+ processors, which will basically allow for a more affordable upgrade option. In addition, users will be able to take advantage of the 6 SATA2 storage connectors, with support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 and for up to 12USB ports, 4 of which are available on the rear panel of the board.
Along with the 790GX chipset, users can also take advantage of the built-in RV610 graphics core, which will essentially enable the support for DirectX 10, and the use of ATI's Hybrid graphics technology, which can enable a performance boost of up to 80%, when coupled with an ATI Radeon discrete graphics solution, according to the company.
Sapphire is yet to detail on pricing and availability, but it will likely be showing off the board at this year's CeBIT show, held between March 3 and 8 in Hanover, Germany.
