Can someone please explain to me the difference between..

[Opeqa16x]

These 2 products?

Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-890XA-UD3 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

They both seem to have the same/similar motherboard layout and the same features. The only notable difference I can get out of them is 1 has more expansion slots than the other and they use different chip sets.

Is that the only thing that drives up the cost?

[supaflyx3]

890FX has native USB 3.0/sata3 i do believe, where as the 790 does not.

[_dangtx_]

good question, a comparative review should yeild a decent answer. id say that the 890 should have better transfer speeds,at least in theory.

[SKYMTL]

Typically, the FX series boards are full featured products with a ton of add-ons. Think of them as the enthusiast end of the sepctrum with quad Crossfire support, etc.

The "X" series is slightly more budget friendly but it still has a shedload of features. They also support Crossfire but with only two cards and across an 8x / 8x link. It will however come with a slightly cut down BIOS which can still overclock your CPU / memory to the maximum possible under air or water cooling but if you are going extreme cooling, you may benefit from the more complete BOIS in the 890FX series.

Both of these are the "A" branded boards so they each have support for USB 3.0 and SATA6.

[Opeqa16x]

Originally Posted by supaflyx3

890FX has native USB 3.0/sata3 i do believe, where as the 790 does not.

Nope, look again. The first board DOES support USB 3 and SATA3

[dr_dream]

Originally Posted by Opeqa16x

Nope, look again. The first board DOES support USB 3 and SATA3

AMD's 800 chipset series have native support only for six SATA 6Gbps ports, whereas USB 3.0 is still provided by a separated NEC controller. That's also why for example ASUS has the M4A89TD PRO and M4A89TD PRO/USB3, both based on the 890FX chipset.

[JD]

I'd go with the 890FX board just for the sake of it being the latest chipset. More likely to support a wide array of CPUs in the future too. Unless you simply cannot afford the extra $40 that is. And in which case, I'd probably say to get a 890GX board.