MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 Motherboard Review

Hardware Installation

In the Hardware Installation section we examine how major components fit on the motherboard, and whether there are any serious issues that may affect installation and general functionality. Specifically, we are interested in determining whether the motherboard has adequate clearance levels in all critical areas.


We’re happy to report that we didn’t encounter any major “show stopping” issues when installing our large Noctua NH-U12P tower heatsink on the 790FX-GD70. As with most AM2/AM3 boards, the memory slots are a tad too close to the CPU socket. Very large memory modules like Corsair’s “Dominator Series” or the OCZ “Reaper” series may have clearance issues if you populate the DIMM slot closest to the CPU. Thankfully all standard profile memory heat spreaders will not have an issue with the GD70. As a work around, the fan could be mounted slightly higher up the heatsink for additional clearance.


Other areas surrounding the CPU socket remain nice and open. Even the large 790FX/MOSFET heatsink keeps low enough to avoid both the heatsink and any optional fans installed on the reverse side of the NH-U12P.

The only immediate yellow flag that we saw go up is the close proximity of the first PCI-E 16X slot to the CPU socket and memory modules. To MSI’s credit, seven expansion slots makes this somewhat unavoidable. Thankfully there is about an inch of clearance between the heatsink and the slot, and several millimeters between the DIMM slots and the slot. This definitely won’t prohibit the installation of a card in this slot, but it’s a tight fit regardless. We’ll throw a few video cards into the GD70 shortly to illustrate our point.


Both the 24-pin ATX connector and 8-pin CPU power connector are ideally located, and there are no issues accessing either of them. Some may argue that the upper left corner is never ideal for the CPU power connector, but it’s become somewhat industry standard due to its close proximity to the CPU power regulation components. Thankfully, most modern PSUs have long enough leads to reach this area, even when mounted at the bottom of the case.


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In all seriousness, it quickly becomes evident just how much of a premium the real-estate is at on the lower half of the GD70. Even with several single-slot cards installed, the board becomes very crowded.


As mentioned earlier, the top slot is very close to the memory modules and both the CPU heatsink and the 790FX/MOSFET heatsink. Although it is close, there were no clearance issues.


With the first two slots occupied, you can expect to block one of the fan headers, and with dual-slot cards, you can also count on those two JMB322 coontroled SATA ports to go away. It may still be possible to use them with 90 degree SATA cables, but it will be tight none the less. Thankfully, the black SB750 controlled SATA ports at the edge of the board remain usable regardless of the video card configuration.


The fourth slot is definitely the most intrusive. Even with just a single slot card in this slot, most of the USB and sound headers are blocked, along with most of the convenience switches and the “OC Dial” as well. With a dual slot card in this spot, the switches become completely blocked. Although the USB, 1397 and sound headers will be under the motherboard, there is still a possibility of getting them connected prior to installing the video card. It all depends how “tall” the connectors themselves are, and how flexible the wiring is.

We can’t really fault MSI for these clearance challenges as layout problems are totally unavoidable with 4-slot boards. Overall, we’re quite pleased with the GD70’s intelligent layout and believe that few buyers will run into snags.

Let’s move on and see what sorts of included software come along with the GD70.