ASRock’s latest AMD motherboard, simply named as the 890FX Deluxe3, sports many attractions like the Quad CrossFireX, AMD Core Unlocking for up to 140W (six-core) processors, SATA 6Gb/s, 10 (8+2)-phase voltage regulation, a large two-digit LED readout and red-backlit power, reset and clear-CMOS buttons.
The only board in today’s roundup to comprise two USB 3.0 controllers, ASRock’s 890FX Deluxe3 provides users with twice the 5.0 Gb/s connectivity, in adding up to a surprisingly large 10-phase CPU voltage regulator. Normally known as a value brand, a PCB designed to host only two high-end graphics cards is the 890FX Deluxe3’s biggest concession towards a lower price.
Gaming extremist can still get their quad-GPU fix using two Radeon HD 5970 graphics cards in CrossFireX, and the triple-spaced x16 slots even allow improved airflow to the top card in this type of construction. A third x16-length slot at the board’s bottom edge can still host a graphics card at reduced bandwidth, while its four PCIe 2.0 pathways are ample for most desktop-expansion needs.
ASRock continues its northward trend for front-panel connections, placing the front-panel button connector, internal FireWire, and a dual-port USB 2.0 header just below the 24-pin ATX connection. This allows for easy cable reach for cases that have ports and buttons near the top, and builders with excess cable length can usually stuff it behind an adjacent drive cage. The front-panel audio connector is placed ahead of the rear-panel analog jacks for similar reasons.
First impressions are a bit of a mixed bag. While its styling is not as aggressive as the MSI P55-GD65 or Asus ROG Maximus III Gene, it’s still an attractive board, with a complementary combination of white, blue and black that also serves as logical colour coding. Windows XP users who prefer AHCI mode will be happy to see that the 890FX Deluxe3 includes a floppy cable, which is necessary for loading drivers at the F6 prompt during setup. The installation kit is otherwise ordinary, including only four SATA cables.
Tags: 890fx, amd 890fx, asrock, asrock amd 890fx deluxe3, asrock deluxe3, core processors, cpu voltage, desktop expansion, floppy cable, high end graphics, Motherboard