AMD 790FX Phenom Chipset On Linux

While the AMD 790FX has a TDP of just 10 Watts, running between this northbridge and the power circuitry next to the AM2+ socket is a Gigabyte Silent-Pipe heatpipe. The heatsinks and heatpipes are both made out of copper. The area around the AMD AM2+ Socket is free of any obstructions, though does come a bit close to the first DDR2 memory slot. The AMD 790FX and AM2+ Socket are backwards compatible with AMD Athlon / Athlon X2 processors, while to experience the full benefits of this platform it's designed for the quad-core Phenom processors.

The MA790FX-DS5 is an Ultra Durable 2 motherboard with ferrite core chokes, low RDS MOSFETs, and solid Japanese capacitors. On the I/O panel are the following ports: two PS/2, one serial, one coaxial S/PDIF out, one optical S/PDIF out, six USB 2.0, two IEEE-1394a Firewire, one Gigabit ethernet, two eSATA, and six audio ports.