Asus Sabertooth 990fx Motherboard Is Worth It?

What Kind of Customer Would Buy This?

Since the Sabertooth 990FX is an older model, you could assume that no one is interested in it anymore.

Completing all the required parts, which are also relatively outdated, can be difficult. If you have the basics on hand, there's no reason to throw away a perfectly good PC part.

ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 Introduction

Typically, when a motherboard maker releases its products to the public as potential homes for that sought-after processor, it simplifies the decision-making process for the end user. At the top of the stack, where everything is soldered in place, you'll find the sculpted ceramic-covered heat sinks that belong in a museum alongside Ellsworth Kelly's Red, Yellow, Blue. The colour scheme they're paired with is either perfectly complementary or so garish that it makes me want to bolt an LN2 pot.

With the Sabertooth 990FX R2.0, however, ASUS has managed to create a bit of confusion by taking a "small, medium, and big" approach to motherboard choices. Even if this is only ASUS' second "medium" option, it's still a welcome addition. The TUF series includes The Sabertooth. TUF stands for "The Ultimate Force," and it's a term used to describe the military-grade components used in a given project because of their high tolerance for extreme conditions like shock, impact, humidity, and general abuse. Components like chokes, caps, and MOSFETs are held to an exceptionally high standard because of the military's stringent requirements. We will explain later how to use the attached material to determine which military tests the Sabertooth and its parts were subjected to. These boards are constructed with components that have been certified as meeting stringent military standards.

And it looks as good as it performs, with components and approvals fit for the military. This motherboard, with its standard ATX form factor of 12.0" x 9.6" and its camouflage design inspired by the Abrams M1A1 tank, is a sight to behold. Think twice before you "Those poor heat-emulation heat sinks are a real bummer. 50 calibre ammunition or charm bracelet-sized firearms, "Okay, I'll pause you there. Even though it's covered in camouflage, this hub was designed with style and flair. Using only three tones of camo (brown, grey, and dark chocolate), this board looks equally at home in a high-powered gaming rig or an executive's workstation, depending on the case you put it in.

ASUS uses a material they name CeraM!X on their heat sinks. An aerospace-grade cooling technology, I'm guessing this is a form of a material found on the space shuttle or another NASA vessel that must re-enter the atmosphere. The topic of this coating will be revisited in a while.

The 990FX is AMD's first upgrade in far too long, and it ushers in the company's future Bulldozer chips. Bulldozer has apparently been pushed back to August, albeit only AMD can confirm or deny this. Until then, though, the 990FX provides more than just complete AM3+ support.

The newer 990FX allows for better DDR3 memory support, a UEFI GUI based BIOS, and SLI. For a long time, AMD monopolised the spotlight, requiring customers to purchase an AMD motherboard and GPU together if they wanted to use more than one graphics card. The 990FX chipset is an improvement in this regard, as it enables Quad SLI on some boards where it was previously unavailable. This was a result of a dispute between AMD's pride in asking for a licence and nVidia's outright refusal to share a licence.

A lot rides on the particular board that decides to implement the 990FX, despite the fact that it does sound promising in terms of marginal gains. Here we take a look at Asus's Sabertooth 990FX, a military-grade gaming PC that doesn't break the bank. The Sabertooth incorporates all of these characteristics and more into its design with stability in mind. It does this by utilising a new and improved material called CeraM!x and by incorporating numerous sensors around the board to intelligently monitor the board's temperature and adapt the cooling to fit.

For the time being, you can at least concentrate on the 990FX chipset, which is compatible with Phenom II X4 and X6 processors from the previous generation. We've collaborated with ASUS to bring you a thorough evaluation to kick off this release on the 990FX chipset's official release date. They were the first to submit a 990FX motherboard, and it has all the latest features, such as USB 3 and, yes, SATA 3 support (6G).

Today, we'll be taking a closer look at the TUF series (The Ultimate Force) Sabertooth 990FX. Having the same colour scheme as the original clay models, the similarities are striking. However, I no longer possess a tactical jacket. However, when the Bulldozer-based Zambezi FX Series Processors are released, this AM3+ motherboard's socket AM3+ will be powered by ThiA 10-phase Digi+ VRM.

Straight from the EFI BIOS, the Sabertooth 990FX will handle dual-channel memory up to DDR3-1866 MHz across its four DIMM slots for such memory. You may also take note of the TUF (The Ultimate Seriesfour )'s PCI-Express 2.0 x16 PCIe graphics card slots, albeit its utility will depend on your specific needs. Previously impossible because NVIDIA's drivers prevented it, this series of motherboards can now support SLI. It's encouraging to see that door being opened.

ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 Closer Look

The retail packaging for the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 is comparable in size to that of other "ultra high-end" motherboards, but falls short of including a peekaboo glass. But there is a Velcro-free flap on the box that, when opened, offers a wealth of information about the Sabertooth's cutting-edge design and functions. The TUF logo is displayed prominently on the otherwise all-black box, and a five-year guarantee is offered by ASUS. A shot of a mechanical component, presumably the transmission of a 1973 Thunderbird, is shown in cross-section to the left of a half-outline of the TUF symbol (just a guess).

The reverse of the package features a series of smaller photos and a paragraph detailing the various technology and capabilities of the Sabertooth 990FX R2.0. We said before that ASUS had made it harder to distinguish between their flagship 990FX motherboard and their second-tier, or step-down, 990FX-A offerings. It's clear why we'd say that if you were basing your purchase decision on the data provided on the box. The list of features is extensive, and it includes many cutting-edge technologies. However, the real treat came when we plugged in an FX-8350 and turned it on.

It's time to open the box and find out just what kind of military strength is behind this intimidating-looking machine.

The Sabertooth 990FX R3.0's aesthetic is typical of a TUF Sabertooth board. The PCB has a military concept and is styled in camouflage black and grey with a reflective surface and touches of beige and white. The RGB lights, mostly located on the PCIe slot connectors, can also be changed to any colour you like.

A rear IO cover not only hides the unsightly ports at the back of the motherboard, but it also provides a place to attach a tiny fan that may be used to cool the VRM components. Additional components of the power delivery system are kept cool by a heatsink on the board's reverse side. The 990FX Northbridge has a generous number of PCI Express (PCIe) lanes, therefore four x16 slots and two x8 connections are wired for use (one of which is limited to x4 usage).

There are two bridges, one in the north and one in the south.

At roughly the same time, a North Bridge chip on the motherboard was responsible for managing data transfers between the central processing unit and the rest of the board. The input/output (I/O) tasks were managed by the South Bridge chip, which communicated with the central processing unit (CPU) via the North Bridge. Part of the North Bridge is integrated into the central processing unit (CPU) in newer motherboards. More so, the South Bridge incorporates the remaining North Bridge connections.

These days, we simply refer to the integrated South Bridge and North Bridge components as the chipset.

Compatibility

This motherboard from ASUS was introduced in May 2011 and is compatible with AMD FX 4100, FX 6100, FX 8120, and FX 8150 processors.

As well as being compatible with the FX 4300, FX 6300, FX 8320, and FX 8350, it also functions admirably with the rest of the FX Piledriver update family.

This motherboard is also compatible with some AMD APUs from the much later Athlon II, Phenom II, and Sempron 100 Series.

Recall Ports

The Sabertooth 990FX supports up to eight gigabytes of memory in each of its four DDR3 DIMM slots.

Memory sizes up to 32GB are supported by 64-bit OSes.

However, a 32-bit OS might not be able to access more than 3 GB of RAM on your computer.

Some AMD 100 Series processors may only support memory speeds of 1066MHz, despite the fact that ASUS built the board to enable speeds of up to 1333MHz.

With faster central processing units, memory overclocking can reach speeds of up to 1866MHz.

Slots for Additions

The Sabertooth 990FX includes four PCIe 2.0 x16 extension slots, a single PCIe 2.0 x1 slot, and a single PCI expansion slot.

It is possible to switch between x16/x0/x0, x16/x16/x0, and x16/x8/x8 modes on the first three PCIe 2.0 x16 slots.

These connectors support several graphics cards in a configuration known as NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI or ATI Quad-GPU CrossFireX.

API for Data Storage

The South Bridge chip has RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 capabilities and can link six SATA 6Gbps ports.

In addition, there are two JMicron SATA 3Gbps controllers on this motherboard.

Power eSATA 3Gbps is the green port, whereas standard SATA 3Gbps is the red port.

Capability for Connection to a Network

This motherboard only has a Realtek 8111E Gigabit LAN controller for connecting to the internet.

If you wish to add wireless connectivity, you'll need a Wi-Fi module. The RJ45 jack is on the rear I/O panel.

Parts and Pieces of Sound

An optical S/PDIF out port and six analogue audio plugs of different colours may be found on the device's rear I/O panel.

Unfortunately, the optical S/PDIF out connection is located distant from the audio jacks on the panel, which is not ideal.

The 8-channel HD audio codec for this motherboard is provided by Realtek, and it supports both 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound and 192KHz absolute pitch.

Moreover, the codec allows for jack recognition, multiple streams, and re-routing of inputs from the front panel.

Connector for Attached Electronics

Asus equipped the Sabertooth 990FX with not one but two USB 3.0 controllers from ASMedia.

A mid-board header adds two more USB 3.0 ports to the back panel, for a total of four total.

Ten USB 2.0 ports are available on the motherboard's rear panel thanks to the AMD SB950 South Bridge chipset, and a further four may be added via internal connectors.

On the back panel, you'll find a FireWire IEEE 1394A port and a classic PS/2 combo port.

For diehard AMD gamers, this is a huge selling point: these are the first motherboards to enable Nvidia's multi-GPU technology, and the fact that it's included means Bulldozer has the muscle to rival SLI'd GPUs.

Sabertooth lacks the TUF thermal armour seen on the P67 version, but otherwise maintains the same tough construction and heatsinks painted in the signature military colours.

Even though it supports three graphics processing units (GPUs), it is small enough to fit in most cases, thanks to its side-mounted SATA ports that are out of the way of your GPU.

The ASUS fan and monitoring division is quite effective. In addition to user tuning, the TUF motherboard has three factory-installed fan profiles and support for PWM and DC fan control. Unfortunately, ASUS's manual fan curve tweaking is done numerically rather than graphically, which might be confusing to those unfamiliar with the process (as is present in the OS software). In addition, the lack of a 0% speed setting for the CPU fan is unfortunate and takes away a degree of customization.

However, the Sabertooth's military aesthetic belies the serious overclocking performance you can get out of it.

This motherboard is another another high-quality product from Asus thanks to its sturdy construction and user-friendly BIOS.

Conclusion

Motherboards like the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 can be found in the company's TUF line. Constructed using approved parts that are guaranteed to meet or exceed military specifications. A sight to behold is this motherboard, which takes its camouflage style from the Abrams M1A1 tank. In an unacceptably long time, AMD finally released an updated model: the 990FX. Supports UEFI's graphical user interface, DDR3 memory, and SLI.

Here, we examine the Asus Sabertooth 990FX, a high-performance gaming computer built to military specifications without breaking the bank. The retail packaging for the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 is on pace with those of similarly priced "ultra high-end" motherboards, however it does not feature a peekaboo window. ThiA's 10-phase Digi+ VRM will provide juice to the AM3+ socket on this motherboard. Includes two x8 ports, one of which can only handle x4 traffic, and four x16 slots. Designed to work with AMD's FX 4300, FX 6300, FX 8320, and FX 8350 processors.

The ASus Sabertooth 990FX motherboard supports several AMD CPUs and has six SATA 6Gbps ports for data storage. It has an Ethernet controller, the Realtek 8111E Gigabit LAN controller, but no Wi-Fi radio. P67 Sabertooth boards are the first to support Nvidia's multi-GPU technology. Unfortunately, some degree of personalisation is lost because the CPU fan cannot be set to 0% speed.

Content Summary

• Since the Sabertooth 990FX is an older model, you could assume that no one is interested in it anymore.
• Completing all the required parts, which are also relatively outdated, can be difficult.
• Typically, when a motherboard maker releases its products to the public as potential homes for that sought-after processor, it simplifies the decision-making process for the end user.
• With the Sabertooth 990FX R2.0, however, ASUS has managed to create a bit of confusion by taking a "small, medium, and big" approach to motherboard choices.
• And it looks as good as it performs, with components and approvals fit for the military.
• The 990FX is AMD's first upgrade in far too long, and it ushers in the company's future Bulldozer chips.
• The newer 990FX allows for better DDR3 memory support, a UEFI GUI based BIOS, and SLI.
• The 990FX chipset is an improvement in this regard, as it enables Quad SLI on some boards where it was previously unavailable.
• Here we take a look at Asus's Sabertooth 990FX, a military-grade gaming PC that doesn't break the bank.
• ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 Closer Look The retail packaging for the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 is comparable in size to that of other "ultra high-end" motherboards, but falls short of including a peekaboo glass.
• The TUF logo is displayed prominently on the otherwise all-black box, and a five-year guarantee is offered by ASUS.
• The Sabertooth 990FX R3.0's aesthetic is typical of a TUF Sabertooth board.
• However, a 32-bit OS might not be able to access more than 3 GB of RAM on your computer.
• With faster central processing units, memory overclocking can reach speeds of up to 1866MHz.
• Slots for Additions The Sabertooth 990FX includes four PCIe 2.0 x16 extension slots, a single PCIe 2.0 x1 slot, and a single PCI expansion slot.
• If you wish to add wireless connectivity, you'll need a Wi-Fi module.
• A mid-board header adds two more USB 3.0 ports to the back panel, for a total of four total.
• Ten USB 2.0 ports are available on the motherboard's rear panel thanks to the AMD SB950 SouthBridge chipset, and a further four may be added via internal connectors.
• For diehard AMD gamers, this is a huge selling point: these are the first motherboards to enable Nvidia's multi-GPU technology, and the fact that it's included means Bulldozer has the muscle to rival SLI'd GPUs.
• Sabertooth lacks the TUF thermal armour seen on the P67 version, but otherwise maintains the same tough construction and heatsinks painted in the signature military colours.
• Even though it supports three graphics processing units (GPUs), it is small enough to fit in most cases, thanks to its side-mounted SATA ports that are out of the way of your GPU.
• The ASUS fan and monitoring division is quite effective.
• In addition to user tuning, the TUF motherboard has three factory-installed fan profiles and support for PWM and DC fan control.
• However, the Sabertooth's military aesthetic belies the serious overclocking performance you can get out of it.
• This motherboard is another high-quality product from Asus thanks to its sturdy construction and user-friendly BIOS.