Specifics on specifications
Enthusiasts are an efficient lot, so we've distilled the GA-MA790FX-DQ6's important specifications into a single chart for your inspection. We've covered most of the important bits already, but there are a few stragglers worth highlighting.
| CPU support | Socket AM2/AM2+ Phenom, Athlon X2 processors |
| North bridge | AMD 790FX |
| South bridge | AMD SB600 |
| Interconnect | PCIe x4 (2GB/s) |
| Expansion slots |
4 PCI Express x16 1 PCI Express x1 2 32-bit/33MHz PCI |
| Memory |
4 240-pin DIMM
sockets Maximum of 8GB of DDR2-400/533/667/800 SDRAM |
| Storage I/O |
Floppy disk 1 channel ATA/133 4 channels Serial ATA with RAID 0, 1, 10 support 2 channels Serial ATA with RAID 0, 1 support via GSATA1 |
| Audio | 8-channel HD audio via SB600 and Realtek ALC889 codec |
| Ports |
1 PS/2 keyboard 1 PS/2 mouse 1 Serial 6 USB 2.0 with headers for 4 more 1 RJ45 10/100/1000 via Realtek RTL81111B 1 RJ45 10/100/1000 via Realtek RTL81111B 1 1394a Firewire via Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 with headers for 2 more 2 eSATA via GSATA2 1 analog front out 1 analog bass/center out 1 analog rear out 1 analog surround out 1 analog line in 1 analog mic in 1 digital coaxial S/PDIF output 1 digital TOS-Link S/PDIF output |
First, note that the DQ6 actually features a pair of "GSATA" branded auxiliary Serial ATA controllers. One of these chips is responsible for the board's additional SATA ports, while the other governs its pair of eSATA connectors. The board also sports a couple of Realtek RTL8111B Gigabit Ethernet controllers that are, mercifully, tied to the bandwidth-rich PCI Express bus.
On the audio front, the DQ6 features yet another Realtek codec, this time the ALC889A. The ALC889A was designed with Vista in mind, and Realtek claims a signal-to-noise ratio of 106 decibels for the chip's DACs. DTS Connect is also supported, allowing users to run eight-channel audio through a single digital connection rather than a mess of analog wires.
Rounding out the DQ6's integrated peripheral suite is a Firewire chip from Texas Instruments. The TSB43AB23 only supports the 400Mbps 1394a spec, but given Windows' spotty support for the faster 1394b standard, that's a good call on Gigabyte's part.
