With the Sabertooth 990FX, ASUS show a TUF-Series motherboard which is based on AMDs 990FX chipset. For example the Thermal Rader is a quite interesting feature which allows user to monitor temperature all over the board and adjust fan RPMs accordingly. 
The Sabertooth 990FX belongs to ASUS' TUF-series motherboards regarding which the manufacturer focuses on the boards durability. As always we're very curious what this thing is capable of from a layout and design perspective.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Specifications / Delivery
| CPU | AMD AM3+ FX/Phenom II/Athlon II/Sempron 100 Series Processors |
| Chipset | AMD 990FX/SB950 |
| Memory | Dual Channel DDR3, 4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB DDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz |
| Multi-GPU | Supports NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI Technology Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX Technology |
| Slots | 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (dual x16 or x16, x8,
x 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 1 x PCI |
| Audio | Realtek ALC892, 7.1 Channel |
| Storage | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s port (RAID 0, 1, 5, 10) 2 x SATA 3Gb/s port 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s port 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s port |
| I/O internal / Connectors | 1 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 2.0 1 x COM port 6 x SATA 6Gb/s 2 x SATA 3Gb/s 1 x IEEE 1394a 1 x CPU Fan connector 4 x Chassis Fan connector 1 x Optional Fan connector 1 x S/PDIF out header 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector 1 x Front panel audio connector 1 x System panel 1 x MemOK! button 1 x Clear CMOS jumper |
| I/O external | 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s) 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s 1 x Power eSATA 3Gb/s 1 x IEEE 1394a 1 x LAN (RJ45) port 2 x USB 3.0 10 x USB 2.0 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 6 x Audio jack |
| Formfactor | ATX (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm) |
| BIOS | 64Mb Flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS GUI |
| Warranty | 3 years |
Regarding the delivery you find everything you need. Next numerous manuals there is a SLI bridge, SATA cables, a Q-connector as well as an I/O shield. The one thing we mess is the CrossFire bridge.
Features
| TUF Thermal Armor | The TUF Thermal Armor is a thermal design for the entire motherboard, not just for selected critical areas. It safeguards the system against hot air generated by connected cards and components, keeping temperatures low. With its integrated shunt design, the Thermal Armor improves air circulation, directing it towards important components. It effectively conducts hot air away and out of the case through special airflow channels, contributing to enhanced system stability and extending component lifespan. |
| TUF Thermal Radar | The TUF Thermal Radar monitors temps in critical parts of the motherboard in real time, automatically adjusting fan speeds to make sure the system maintains high stability without overheating. It consists of multiple sensors for various components on the motherboard, giving users the ability to monitor each one individually. The Thermal Radar automatically calculates ideal fan speeds based on different parameters selected by users for each component, keeping everything cooler and longer lasting. |
| Digi+ VRM | Meanwhile ASUS also provides its boards with digital power designs. Using the the right software, in this case ASUS DIGI+ VRM Utility it is not only possible to adjust voltages whilst being in Windows on can now also control impedances. |
| ASUS Update | Allows us to check and update the latest available BIOS directly from ASUS website. |
| ASUS FAN Xpert | FAN Xpert allows you to adjust both the CPU and chassis fan speeds according to different ambient temperatures and your PC's system loading. The various fan profiles affer flexible controls of fan speed to achieve a quiet and cool system environment. |
| ASUS MyLogo | Allow you to change the POST Logo at system startup with any pic you want. |
| ASUS TurboV EVO | Allows you to overclock the bus frequency, CPU voltage, IMC voltage and DRAM Bus voltage in Windows and takes effect in realtime without exiting and rebooting the OS. |
| ASUS DIGI+ VRM | Meanwhile ASUS also provides its boards with digital power designs. Using the the right software, in this case ASUS DIGI+ VRM Utility it is not only possible to adjust voltages whilst being in Windows on can now also control impedances. |
| ASUS TPU | As soon as one activates the TPU this chips monitors all possible voltages and clock speeds using the according software. The difference to the EPU is that TPU will provide as much performance as possible. Therefore it can increase clock speeds and voltages. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Layout
The Sabertooth 990FX comes in the typcial military look ASUS provided their TUF series motherboards with. Therefore the manufacturer uses colors like olive-green, black and grey. Generally it is the goal to achieve a look that automatically suggests that this is a high quality and "tough" product. The different cooling blocks also consist of ceramic. Altogether ASUS succeeded in generating a homogenous look but one really needs to like the color scheme and we think that not everybody will enjoy the military looks.
ASUS provided their latest TUF board with a digital power design, whereas the CPU gets eight phases and the memory gets two phases. Looking at the capacitors themselves you'll find ML caps around the CPU socket. These multilayer polymer capacitors offer advantages over ceramic capacitors. Therefore super ML caps remain stable under regular as well as AC voltage, doesn't have an aging mechanism and are resilient under thermal shock.
Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX. Officially supported are DDR3 1866 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz with up to 32 GByte capacity. There is plenty of space to install even big aircoolers and they shouldn't interfere with memory.
The current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via a passive heatpipe cooling solution. The southbridge got a passive cooling block which has not been integrated into the heatpipe loop of northbridge and VRM. The fact that the cooling blocks around the CPU socket aren't too big makes it comfortable to install a big aircooler. We also noticed the very high manufacturing quality of the cooling blocks and their weight which is quite immense.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Anschlüsse und I/O
Totally ASUS equipped the Sabertooth 990FX with eight angled SATA ports which should be enough for any office PC or gaming system. Unfortunately you won't find practical onboard power- and reset-buttons. ASUS also didn't equip the Sabertooth 990FX with a debug display which would have been useful if you should once have issues with one of the components in your system. It is quite common that the last PCI-Express x16 slot is also the expansion slot the closest to the bottom edge of the board. That has the consequence that the connectors at this place aren't accessible anymore. With the Sabertooth 990FX you find this very scenario.
Totally you'll find six fan headers on the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX which is more than enough, to provide a well equipped midrange or even a high-end-system with fresh air. The fanheaders are located around the CPU and their also spread over the whole board which makes them easily accessible from any position in an enclosure.
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel ASUS equipped the Sabertooth 990FX with two USB 3.0/2.0 ports, ten USB 2.0 port, two eSATA 3 Gbps ports, one gigabit ethernet port, one firewire port and an analogue audio panel as well as an optical out.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums
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Fazit
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| The Sabertooth 990FX generally is an interesting board. In combination with a down-draft CPU cooler this motherboard will be cooled very efficiently. This will, as a consequence, extend the components lifespan. With the "Thermal Radar" the Sabertooth 990FX offers good possibilities to control the temperatures and airflow in your case. Using the corresponding software one can control the fans connected to the board and therefore realize highly efficient cooling. | - Design - Cooling concept |
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| Layout | + | - | |
|
Generally the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX layout is well thought. Once more very practical are the angled SATA connectors. Unfortunately there are no practical power/reset buttons onboard and also for a debug LED you'd be looking in vain. Unfortunately the last expansion slots is a PCI-Express x16 slot, which means that if you choose to install a dual slots graphics card at this place you're going to cover the connectors at the bottom edge of the board. |
- Angled SATA connectors |
- No Power/Reset-Button onboard - NoDebug display - PCI-Express x16 as last slot |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums
Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch