Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P Review --- TheThirdMedia Hardware

Introduction and Specs

Gigabyte is a name that most computer enthusiasts will know, as they have had a number of successful motherboards over the years. They consistently produce boards that perform great and are very good overclockers. When you put Gigabyte together with a great overclocking Phenom II X3 CPU, the 790FX northbridge and the SB750 southbridge, you expect to get something good. And we did get something good. That something is called the Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P motherboard. It has been a while since we looked at a Gigabyte board, so we were anxious to get a chance to see just what this board could do. First off though, lets look at the specs:

Specifications

CPU	Support for Socket AM3 processors: AMD Phenomâ„?II X4 processor / AMD Phenomâ„?II X3 processor
Front Side Bus	5200 MT/s
Chipset	North Bridge: AMD 790FX South Bridge: AMD SB750
Memory	4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory (Note 1) Dual channel memory architecture Support for DDR3 1666(OC)/1333/1066 MHz memory modules
Audio	Realtek ALC889A codec High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF In/Out Support for CD In
LAN	2 x Realtek 8111DL chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) Support for Teaming
Expansion Slots	2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (The PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 slots support ATI CrossFireX technology, and conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) 3 x PCI Express x1 slots 2 x PCI slots
Storage Interface	South Bridge: 1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-133/100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors supporting up to 6 SATA 3Gb/s devices Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID5, RAID 10 and JBOD GIGABYTE SATA2 chip: 2 x JM322 chips (Smart Backup): - 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (GSATA2_0, GSATA2_1, GSATA2_2, GSATA2_3) supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices (Note 2) - Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD ITE 8720 chip: 1 x floppy disk drive connector supporting up to 1 floppy disk drive
IEEE 1394	T.I. TSB43AB23 chip Up to 3 IEEE 1394a ports (2 on the back panel, 1 via the IEEE 1394a bracket connected to the internal IEEE 1394a header)
USB	Integrated in the South Bridge Up to 12 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (8 on the back panel, 4 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers)
Internal I/O Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x floppy disk drive connector 1 x IDE connector 10 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors 1 x CPU fan header 2 x system fan header 1 x power fan header 1 x North Bridge fan header 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x CD In connector 1 x S/PDIF In/Out header 1 x IEEE 1394a header 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x serial port header 1 x parallel port header 1 x chassis intrusion header 1 x power LED header 1 x power switch 1 x reset switch 1 x clearing CMOS switch
Back Panel Connectors	1 x PS/2 keyboard port 1 x PS/2 mouse port 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 1 x coaxial S/PDIF out connector 2 x IEEE 1394a port 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 2 x RJ-45 port 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)
I/O Controller	ITE IT8720 chip
H/W Monitoring	System voltage detection CPU/System temperature detection CPU/System fan speed detection CPU overheating warning CPU/System fan fail warning CPU/System fan speed control (Note 3)
BIOS	2 x 8 Mbit flash Use of licensed AWARD BIOS Support for DualBIOSâ„? PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b
Unique Features	Support for @BIOS Support for Q-Flash Support for Virtual Dual BIOS Support for Download Center Support for Xpress Install Support for Xpress Recovery2 Support for EasyTune (Note 4) Support for Easy Energy Saver Support for Time Repair Support for Q-Share
Bundle Software	Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
Operating System	Support for Microsoft Windows Vista/ XP
Form Factor	ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm
Note	(Note 1) Due to Windows Vista/XP 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than 4 GB. (Note 2) A JM322 chip supports two SATA 3Gb/s connectors, so the four SATA 3Gb/s connectors are divided into two pairs: GSATA2_0 and GSATA2_1 as one pair and GSATA2_2, GSATA2_3 as another pair. (Refer to Chapter 2, â€œIntegrated Peripheralsâ€?and Chapter 5, â€œConfiguring SATA Hard Drive(s),â€?for how to enable the Smart Backup function.) (Note 3) Whether the CPU/system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU/ system cooler you install. (Note 4) Available functions in EasyTune may differ by motherboard model.
Remark	Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website. Due to most hardware/software vendors no longer offer support for Win9X/ME. If some vendors still has Win9X/ME drivers available, we will publish on website.

* The specification and pictures are subject to change without notice.
* All trademarks and logos are the properties of their respective holders.

* Due to standard PC architecture, a certain amount of memory is reserved for system usage and therefore the actual memory size is less than the stated amount.

Gigabyte motherboards come with a three year limited warranty

[Pages]
   [1]· Page 1 - Introduction and Specs
   [2]· Page 2 - Board Layout
   [3]· Page 3 - Bundle and BIOS
   [4]· Page 4 - Test Setup
   [5]· Page 5 - Testing Results
   [6]· Page 6 - Overclocking
   [7]· Page 7 - Final Thoughts and Conclusion
   Next Page



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