MSI 990FXA-GD65 motherboard: specifications and reviews

The motherboard with a rich functional set for building the most productive computer systems based on AMD processors is MSI 990FXA-GD65. Despite the fact that this product has been sold for almost five years, its specifications are still relevant, and the possibilities are more than enough to install the 8-core chips of the latest generation.

The niche of the motherboard. Technological aspects

The main name of this motherboard is MSI 990FXA-GD65. MS-7640 is the second designation of this product according to the manufacturer's specifications. The bundle, the set of system logic, the motherboard form factor and the support of AMD's most productive processor solutions clearly indicate that this is a premium product that allows you to create a gaming PC, a graphics station or even an entry-level server. Additional equipment of this computer component allows you to configure its parameters flexibly and thereby achieve additional performance gains.

On the other hand, the relatively low cost is another plus of this product. To increase the reliability of the manufacturer significantly replaced the element base. So, all solid capacitors are manufactured using Solid CAP technology based on aluminum, and plate-like capacitors are Hi-c CAP. In this case, the chemical element "Tantalum" is used, the presence of which allows to increase reliability in comparison with the usual solutions of this class by 8 times. In turn, the chokes on this motherboard are made using Icy Choke technology. Their distinctive features are reliability and improved cooling. All this in total allows to significantly increase the service life of such a computer component.

Equipment

Most often you can find this solution in the version of the MSI 990FXA-GD65 RTL. The last three letters are derived from the word "riteel", which indicates the complete package of the product and that it is intended for distribution through retail networks. The list of components in this case is as follows:

• Motherboard.
• A set of 4 SATA-wires.
• Cover for the rear wall of the system unit.
• Wires-adapters with a Molex connector on the SATA-port in the amount of 2 pieces.
• External panel with two USB ports.
• CD with drivers and additional software.

The documentation list is also impressive in the MSI 990FXA-GD65:

• Manual for installation and configuration.
• Warranty card.
• Advertising brochure with product specifications.

Design and layout

In the center of the upper half of the MSI 990FXA-GD65 is a universal processor socket AM3 / AM3 +. To the left of it is a radiator, which provides cooling of the power supply system of the CPU. To the right of the socket there are 4 slots for installing RAM modules. From the bottom there is a north bridge with another aluminum radiator. Below all the expansion slots are displayed. There is also a south bridge with a passive cooling system. All integrated wired ports are displayed in the upper left corner of the board. On the opposite side is the power connector and ports for connecting hard drives. Along the bottom edge is located the connection panel of the system unit and external ports of the USB. There are also mechanical control buttons.

System logic set

The motherboard MSI 990FXA-GD65, as it is easy to guess from its designation, is based on the set of 990 system logic from AMD company. This is the most productive and functional chipset for this platform. Unlike the most progressive at the moment, sets of system logic with a single-chip layout, it consists of 2 chips.

The north bridge in this case is 990FX, and the south bridge is SB950. The first one is oriented to peripheral devices, and the second one provides interaction with equipment installed in expansion slots.

Processor connector and supported CPU types

Two types of sockets support MSI 990FXA-GD65: AM3 and AM3 +. From an electrical point of view, these two processor connectors are compatible with each other. Therefore, this solution allows you to install an impressive list of central processing units, which includes such semiconductor chips from AMD:

• All models of the Athlon II family (X2, X3 and X4).
• A complete list of Phenom II solutions (X2, X3, X4 and X6).
• Chips "Septron" models x140, x145, x180 and x190.
• The complete set of CPUs of the Fix family of the first generation ("Bulldozer" architecture) - FX-41XX, FX-61XX, FX-81XX.
• The same can be said for the most recent models of AMD CPUs of the Fix line code-named "Vishera" - FX-42XX, FX-43XX, FX-62XX, FX-63XX, FX-83XX.

In the above list, only the most productive silicon chips from the AMD FX-9XXX series are missing. Their thermal package exceeds 200 W and as a result, to install such a semiconductor solution in the socket of this board is not allowed. But there is also a logical explanation for this. The motherboard itself appeared on sale in 2011, and the chips of this series were announced by the manufacturer much later.

Peripheral set

An impressive list of different kinds of ports is installed in the MSI 990FXA-GD65. The review of technical parameters indicates the following list:

• One combined port of the PS / 2 standard for connecting a wired manipulator or keyboard.
• 8 ports for connection of various peripherals of the USB 2.0 format. Also this list expands due to the availability of more advanced and high-speed 2 ports of USB 3.0.
• A socket of the network adapter for connection of twisted pair and computer network organization.
• Six 3.5 mm jacks integrated audio card.

Expansion Slots

An impressive number of various expansion slots are equipped with the MSI 990FXA-GD65 solution. This list includes:

• 4 slots for installing the slats of the random access memory standard DDR3. And all its possible types are supported: beginning with DDR3-1066 and ending with DDR3-1866. The more high-speed RAM type is used, the higher the speed of the computer system based on this solution as a whole.
• 1 PCI slot, which can be installed a different device, which will increase the level of functionality of this computer system. It can be a TV tuner, a card with various additional ports (for example, IDE, LPT or COM), an external additional network card or a modem.

• The presence of two slots PCI-Express 16X allows you to install in this board at once 2 graphics adapters and share their computing resources for processing the displayed graphic information. In this case, the video card of the first slot will work in any case in 16X mode, and the second one - 8X. If the graphics accelerator in the system is one, then it automatically operates in 16X mode.
• 4 PCI-Express 1x slots allow the installation of additional expansion cards in the same way as in the PCI slot.

BIOS and its update

A lot of useful functions are performed by the additional software that comes with the MSI 990FXA-GD65. How to update BIOS using it, for example? It's very simple: just install the tool like Live Update. When you install a connection to the World Wide Web, it will automatically check for the latest BIOS versions and not only, but if necessary - download the necessary software. Then, when the PC is restarted, the BIOS will be automatically updated. You can, of course, manually install updates, but the installation procedure for fresh versions is much more complicated, and this is more powerful for more advanced users.

Software package of the motherboard

An impressive set of software utilities comes complete with this motherboard. It includes the following:

• Live Update is a universal automatic update tool for various computer system components ("BIOS" or drivers, for example) associated with the motherboard.
• USB SafeGuard is a utility that checks connected to flash drives for various viruses.
• Winki 3 - operating system, which is based on the software kernel "Linux". It has initially a sufficient set of integrated applications, which immediately after the end of its installation allows the user to start working on a personal computer.
• Genie II - an ideal tool for overclocking and unblocking the unused computing modules of the central processing unit. The utility allows you to obtain in some cases an impressive increase in productivity (by 248%).

Reviews

There are no shortcomings in MSI 990FXA-GD65. Feedback proves it. And the functionality, and performance, and low cost, and high reliability of the radio-electronic component of the base, and a wide range of supported CPUs, and the ability to install two graphics adapters at once - everything is there. What after such an impressive list can there be shortcomings in this premium brand product?

The cost of the motherboard for today. Its relevance

Initially, at the start of sales, the cost of this payment was $ 120 (in 2012). In mid-2015, due to fluctuations in the exchange rate, its price increased to $ 180. But now it has been reduced by 20 conventional units. Despite the fairly solid age by computer standards, this motherboard continues to be still relevant and supports almost all the most productive processors for this platform. And this situation will be exactly preserved until the end of 2016. Although the announcement is expected in the second quarter of the AM4 platform, but initially in this socket it will be possible to install hybrid chips with a relatively small level of performance and performance.

And only in early 2017 AMD company plans to present its central processing units with unprecedented high speed on the basis of the Zen architecture. If you need a good and productive computer urgently, then this board is a worthy decision. Well, if you can postpone the purchase, it is better to wait for the upgrade of the platform and only then to improve the PC.

Results

Even now, four years after the start of sales, MSI 990FXA-GD65 continues to create the most productive and functional computer solutions based on AMD's semiconductor chips. At the same time, the cost of such a decision is more than democratic. And the level of functionality it pleasantly surprises. Here all at once. In this case, there is no need to install additional external controllers. And the availability of additional software allows you to overclock any processor in automatic mode. The same can be said about the blocked computing modules of the CPU. If you need an immediately available and productive PC, then this board can act exactly the component that will create an excellent personal computer based on the 8-core processor from AMD.