Foxconn A79A-S (AMD 790FX)

Foxconn A79A-S based on AMD 790FX which, unlike AMD 790X, allocates 16 PCI Express v2.0 bus lanes to each of the PEG slots. Therefore, the developers has the option to fit 4 PEG slots onboard, but if more than two video cards are used, 8 PCI-E lanes will be allocated to each. This is just the scheme the engineers at Foxconn have implemented.

Besides, we note that the board uses the most recent south bridge SB750. It offers support for RAID arrays of level 5, and engineers at AMD have fixed the issue with internal clock generator malfunction ("SB700 internal clock generator malfunction fix"). At the same time, some reviewers note that motherboards with the SB750 run better at nonstandard frequencies (i.e. offer enhanced overclocking capability).

Foxconn A79A-S Specifications

Package

The board is packaged in a rather impressive box of stylish design and a handle to carry it around:

Package bundle

• motherboard;
• 1x software & drivers CD;
• User's Manual in English + brief usage guide;
• one ATA-133 cable, one FDD cable;
• Six SerialATA cables + six power adapters (6 connectors);
• a cap for the rear panel of the housing;
• bracket for 2 USB 2.0 and one Firewire ports;

We had nothing to complain about the package bundle. To start with, the manual reveals all the aspects of system assembly and setup. A brief guide complements it.

There is enough of SerialATA cables with the required adapters.

Finally, we note a bracket for 2 two USB 2.0 and one Firewire ports.

Foxconn A79A-S: Layout and Features

There is nothing to complain about the PCB design, since the first PCI-Express video card does not block the DIMM latches.

Besides, we note that the main 24-pin power connector is installed on the board's bottom edge, with the additional 8-pin connector (the backward compatibility to the PSU with a 4-pin cable has been preserved) - on the right-hand edge. There is also an additional 4-pin Molex power connector. It can be enabled if more than two video cards are installed in the system.

Near the CPU socket, there is a 4-pin CPU_FAN connector to plug a CPU cooler. Another 4-pin connector (SYS_FAN) is installed on the left-hand edge of the board.

Besides it, there are three more 3-pin connectors: FAN2 - near the power converter, FAN1 - near the south bridge, and FAN3 - near the DIMM slots.

On the north bridge, there is a small radiator connected to the massive radiator on the PWM with a heat pipe.

Then, there are four DIMM slots, and the maximum memory capacity makes 8 GB. We also note that DDR2-1066 memory is supported by AM2+ CPU only.

As regards the expansion options, the board uses four PCI Express x16 slots as well as one PCI Express x1 and one PCI slots.

Expansion options

Foxconn A79A-S supports 8 SerialATA-II links. Six of them have been implemented with the south bridge SB750. The matching connectors are positioned near the south bridge, with four of them are orientated in parallel to the board's plane.

Besides, there are two more SATA ports on the rear panel. They are served by the additional JMB 362 controller, with the total number of plugged in devices can be as many as ten (8 SATA + 2 PATA).

The board uses two Gigabit LAN RTL 8111B controllers, as well as a FireWire controller - VT6308P, made by VIA. One IEEE1394 port is on the rear panel, with the other connected through a bracket (available in the package bundle). The board supports twelve USB 2.0 ports, six of which are positioned on the rear panel, with 6 more plugged in via brackets (the board comes bundled with a bracket for 2 ports). The last thing to dwell on is the integrated audio - High Definition Audio. An ALC888SDD chip is used as the codec, which supports output to 8 channels.

The board's rear panel looks like this:

You can notice a complete lack of LPT and COM ports (one COM port is implemented via a bracket; missing in the bundle). Instead of them, there is an optical and coaxial SP-DIF outputs, as well as two USB2.0, two SATA II, and one FireWire port.

Note that the board uses a button to clear the CMOS settings (near the DIMM slots), as well as buttons two power-on and reboot the system (in the bottom-left corner):

all the buttons have illumination

Besides, the board uses a 7-stage POST indicator, as well as the TigerOne chip (a complete analog to the FoxOne; we have repeatedly mentioned in previous reviews).

Now on to the BIOS settings.

BIOS

The BIOS of Foxconn A79A-S is built on the AMI BIOS version.

The extended pack of memory settings is gathered in the "Advanced Chipset Features" section:

The parameters in charge of selection of the memory frequency and the 1T/2T are also over there:

Now move on to the section to do with the system monitoring.

The board keeps track of the CPU's and system's current temperatures, as well as rotational speeds of the two fans. Besides, the user can control the rotational speed of the CPU cooler with the Smart Fan feature.

Overclocking and stability

Now let's look at the power converter. It uses a 5-phase power scheme, in which there are four 330 mkF and thirteen 560 mkF capacitors.

Now on to the overclocking features:

First off, Foxconn A79A-S allows adjusting the HTT speed within 190 to 400 MHz in 1 MHz increments. Secondly, the user can adjust the HyperTransport bus multiplier between the NB and CPU:

Here are the remaining overclocking tools:

We attained the maximum stable HTT frequency which amounted to 246 MHz:

Performance tests

Foxconn A79A-S is very precise at setting the nominal HTT speed:

In our test setup, we used the following hardware:

Results for synthetic benchmarks

Tests of application software

Video encoding (DivX, Xvid) was measured in seconds, i.e. the less the better.

Data compression (WinRAR) was measured in Kb/sec, i.e. the more, the better.

Gaming benchmarks:

Final Words

We start with the shortcomings. First, the performance of Foxconn A79A-S lags well behind the competitors, in almost all the applications. There are evident BIOS flaws, which is rather strange because the product was first demonstrated half a year ago (at Cebit 2008). Secondly, the price is over 300$, which in view of all the specifications and the relatively good package bundle, is incredibly expensive. Versus the price, the overclocking results are middling (although, we don't relate overclocking to either pros or cons of the product).

As regards the advantages of the board, we mention 4 PEG slots, powerful expansion options, as well as the additional TigerOne with a lot of Foxconn's proprietary technologies.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Excellent stability;
• Four PCI Express x16 slots;
• Support for the CrossFire/CrossFireX;
• Support for SerialATA II (8 channels, RAID);
• Support for ParallelATA (1 link);
• Two Gigabit LAN controllers and integrated 8-channel High Definition Audio;
• Support for USB2.0 (12 ports) and Firewire (2 ports);
• Good package bundle;
• Additional TigerOne chip;

Cons:

• Price a bit too high;
• Relatively low performance;

• Middling overclocking results;
• "Power", "Reset", and "Clear CMOS" buttons;
• 7-stage POST indicator;