Stability

For stability testing we reset the Asus M4A79-T Deluxe to its optimised default values. We then ran the torture test of Prime95 across all cores on a Phenom II X4 810 quad core CPU to let the system warm up a bit, before adding 3DMark06 looping over the top of it on a single GeForce GTX 280.

The system was left running for 24 hours and see if it all was well, and in the morning we returned to check on its progress. Only the native fans for the CPU and graphics card were included - the motherboard heatpipes were left bare to the open air without additional airflow, however the Asus performed remarkably well: notably cooler than the MSI 790FX-GD70 or Gigabyte MA790FXT-UD5P under load.

We don't expect every board to handle this level of stress for a long period, however the Asus passed the test without so much as a hint of instability, remaining responsive and completely usable after the burn in.

Power Consumption

Resetting the BIOS to default settings we used the exact same set of hardware in all our tests below (listed in the test setup page), only changing the motherboard inbetween. The Vista power setting was set to Balanced and Cool'n'Quiet was set to Enabled in order to maximise the potential power saving and work with any motherboard power saving hardware. By testing at the wall power consumption, we know exactly what kind of typical power consumption we'll be paying for.



The MSI has both a lower idle and load compared to the Asus, but also respectively includes more hardware. The Asus has its EPU² included but it doesn't feature any power phase manipulation, unlike the MSI which uses its GreenPower technology. Asus does claim the EPU² software will automatically provide the most appropriate power usage for the CPU, VGA card, hard drives, and CPU/chassis fans - helping save power and money! but it doesn't look to be quite the case.

While there's not a huge difference in load, an extra hard drive or few percent more inefficient PSU will hinder any motherboard benefit, the idle different of 15W is a little more significant.