MSI 890FXA-GD65 AMD 890FX Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts
The MSI 890FXA-GD65 AMD Motherboard is not really top of its class nor is it at the bottom in terms of price. In terms of features, this board has a lot going for it. It’s more designed as an overclocking motherboard, rather than a gaming motherboard, but still has enough gaming features such as CrossFireX for multiple graphics cards.

The motherboard isn’t bloated with extra accessories, but only provides you with what you need. A total of 10 rear USB ports, including 8 x USB 2.0 and 2 x USB 3.0 should be plenty for the average person. Other than the excessive amount of USB ports, there really aren’t any extra necessary components.

The motherboard supports current high end devices and supports those to come; yes I’m talking about you AM3+ processors. It will also last you quite a while with the quality Military Class components installed on the motherboard. USB 3.0 and SATA 6GB/s should be sufficient in terms of transfer mediums, since there really aren’t any new connections coming out in the near future.

The motherboard comes plenty of software too, most of which you probably won’t use, but most are nice to have. One of my favorite utilities included with the motherboard is the OC Genie Lite, which not only overclocks your CPU, but your memory as well. It’s a quick and easy overclock for someone who wants to get the optimal settings out of their system without the extra work.

There’s nothing really about this motherboard other than it doesn’t support SLI or more than 2 graphics cards. These aren’t really that big of a downside, since this really is designed for a complete AMD/ATI system.

The 890FXA-GD65 can be found at my favorite online retailer for $129.99, making it not too expensive, but not cheap as well.  It’s got a lot of features and is easy to overclock which is why ThinkComputers would like to give the MSI 890FXA-GD65 Motherboard a 9 out of 10 score and our Good Value Award.

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Pros:

  • 10 USB ports, 2 of which are USB 3.0.
  • Clear CMOS button
  • Easy to overclock using OC Genie Lite
  • Military Class Components
  • AM3+ support
  • SATA 6GB/s and USB 3.0
  • Affordable

Cons:

  • No SLI support
  • Only supports 2 graphics cards