14 DAY TRIAL // Micro Star International (MSI) unveiled its new lineup of motherboards based on the latest AMD 790GX chipset. The company also announced plans for the release of three boards under the new design, namely the DKA790GX Platinum, the DKA790GX and the entry level KA790GX.
The top offer, MSI DKA790GX Platinum, comes with the Radeon HD 3300 integrated graphics, MSI DrMOS, MSI Circu-pipe cooling, dedicated SidePort memory, and four DDR2-1066 memory slots. The motherboard also features 5-phase PWM that, coupled with the MSI DrMOS, allows it to support 140W CPUs. Other specifications include Power/Reset/Clear CMOS buttons, Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1-channel audio, one eSATA and five SATA ports and VGA, DVI and HDMI ports on the back panel.
Both DKA790GX Platinum and DKA790GX will feature two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots with support for CrossFireX. The entry level KA790GX will be the only to come with Hybrid CrossFire and a single PCI-Express x16 slot. The DKA790GX Platinum motherboard alone will feature a SidePort memory. The cooling system will also differentiate the three motherboards. The "Flat Circu-Pipe" will come with the DKA790GX Platinum, simple heatpipe cooling is included in the DKA790GX, while the KA790GX will only have a heatsink cooling.
The MSI DKA790GX Platinum motherboard is expected to arrive in stores pretty soon, while the DKA790GX and the entry level KA790GX should come later on.
Other MSI-related news come from the graphics market area, where the company seems to have lowered the price for its Radeon HD3870 X2-based card R3870X2-T2D-OC to a merely $225. This looks like a pretty good deal right now, as the card features an overclocked 850MHz processor. It is cheaper than the HD4870 with $75, and with about $30 than the HD4850. The price cut comes at a time when the vendors are beginning preparations for the launch of ATI's new flagship R700.
Those interested in a good bargain can find the prices listed here.
