890FX vs 990FX Chipset With 1100T CPU Gaming Performance Comparison Linus Tech Tips
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ncix.com Now we can see how much of an impact the motherboard chipset has on gaming performance. At the end of it all, it looks like you're probably better off buying the motherboard with the FEATURES you want and spending money on other parts for performance.
Linus Tech Tips compares two AMD platform generations by pitting an 890 FX Crosshair 4 Formula motherboard against a 990 FX Crosshair 5 Formula, using the AMD 1100T CPU to gauge gaming performance. The host outlines the test setup, noting that the 890 FX board supports USB 3 via the back panel and DDR3 with an AM3 socket, while the 990 FX board brings SATA 3, an extra USB 3 front header, and am3 plus compatibility that hints at Bulldozer compatibility in the near term. He runs a series of benchmarks across several modern games of the era, including The Witcher, Dirt 3, Fear 3, Battlefield Bad Company 2, and Civ 5, plus Crisis 2 with the 6990 graphics solution and 8 GB of RAM. The results show the 990 FX board slightly edging out the 890 FX in some titles and being on par in others, but the overall takeaway is that chipset influence on gaming performance is modest compared to other components. He cautions that the observed differences fall within typical benchmarking margins and emphasizes choosing the motherboard primarily for features and future upgrade paths rather than speculative gains in frame rates. In later tests, a quirk involving Crisis 2 on BIOS dates is revealed and resolved, underscoring the importance of consistent testing conditions and proper result interpretation. The video concludes with a reminder to subscribe for more unboxings and reviews and reiterates that the best gaming motherboard is the one that meets your feature needs while letting you allocate budget to other performance improvements. The narrative also reinforces the notion that platform choices should be guided by long-term compatibility and upgrade plans, rather than chasing small, session-specific gains in gaming FPS. The comparison demonstrates that, for the 1100T era, the 990 FX platform can offer slightly better performance in certain titles but does not guarantee a dramatic leap over the 890 FX, making feature sets and future-proofing more practical deciding factors for most users.
Topics · technology · hardware · gaming · pc-builds
Questions answered
- What is the main takeaway about chipset impact on gaming performance?
- The main takeaway is that the chipset has a modest impact on gaming performance compared with other components, and you should buy the motherboard for features and upgrade paths rather than expecting large FPS gains.
- Which games showed the 990 FX performing slightly better than the 890 FX?
- Witcher showed about 8% better performance on the 990 FX, Civ 5 was also faster on the 990 FX, and Battlefield Bad Company 2 saw a small speed increase on the 990 FX in the comparisons.