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Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H Review
[Abstract]
IntroductionThere is sufficient anecdotal evidence and hard numbers to show that AMD is gradually clawing its way back in the CPU stakes. Part of the reason probably has to do with its Phenom I...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
Features
Those who have seen Gigabyte's other AMD 790GX motherboard, the GA-MA790GP-DS4H, would find this board very familiar. Both have the same set of features, down to the components chosen, from the Realtek ALC889A HD audio CODEC to an identical layout and configuration for the expansion slots. The main difference then is in the presence of Gigabyte's Ultra Durable 3 technology, along with some minor layout changes that one notices only when you overlay one motherboard over the other.
We're not fans of SATA ports that are aligned at right angles to the PCB base since that allows for a higher chance of interfering with your expansion cards. At least the majority here are facing outwards at the edge of the board. |
One such change that is an improvement is the alignment of the SATA ports. The DS4H version has all the ports aligned facing upwards, which as we explained, may not be ideal in certain situations. It has been remedied here, though only partially.
This is a mainstream product and it's reflected in the modest 5-phase power design. The passive cooler on the Northbridge was slightly too close to the CPU socket for our liking. |
Like the DS4H, the UD4H version comes with a 5-phase power design, which sounds almost like a handicap in these days of '24-phase' power designs. It's not always about having more however, since the additional cost would affect the mainstream pricing for this class of boards. For the Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H, this 5-phase design has been augmented with its Easy Energy Saver software utility to make power phase transitions even more smooth and efficient.
Despite its integrated Radeon HD 3300 graphics, the AMD 790GX chipset is usually implemented as a proper ATX motherboard, with up to 128MB of DDR3 SidePort memory (dedicated for the graphics). Gigabyte's MA790GP-UD4H does not differ from this formula, with the onboard graphics core clocked at 700MHz. Options are available in the BIOS to push this to 2000MHz, but we don't recommend this of course. You are almost certainly better off with a discrete graphics card if performance is what you crave. The Radeon HD 3300 however does come with three different outputs and for onboard graphics, it's harder to find anything more competent.
The usual color coded DIMM slots for DDR2 memory (1200MHz maximum), along with the IDE and power connectors. |
Four DDR2 DIMM slots and six SATA ports are standard issue on these class of motherboards and the Gigabyte UD4H provides all these. It also adds FireWire in the form of a rear port, along with onboard headers. It's a shame that eSATA is not an option here. CrossFireX is supported, with two PCIe 2.0 graphics slots and an abundance of PCIe x1 and PCI slots that we suppose would be quite underused in most cases, especially the PCIe x1.
Gigabyte has tried to fit in a full set of expansion slots, including the two PCIe 2.0 graphics slots for a CrossFireX setup. Only the blue slot has the full 16 lanes. The rightmost PCIe x1 slot here looks to be rather cramped. |
The yellow USB headers and the Clear CMOS header are strangely in the middle of the board, which could be hard to reach if you have a number of add-on cards installed. To clear the CMOS, you have to short this two-pin header. |
There are no onboard switches for power, reset or clear CMOS as is fashionable these days. Perhaps it's the mainstream nature of this board. You can still clear the CMOS of course, but its location between the two graphics slots is definitely not anyone's ideal location.
Layout
It doesn't seem that difficult to us to arrange the components on a motherboard such that it's convenient for users. Of course, we're not in the business of making them. While most motherboards do a generally decent job when it comes to the board layout, there are still some moments that make us wonder. The Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H is not immune either despite being a decent motherboard overall.
For instance, the USB headers on the board are located right next to a graphics slot. While there is no doubt space to install all of them properly along with dual graphics cards, it doesn't seem like the best place. Also, like we mentioned, the clear CMOS pin is also in the vicinity, making it potentially a minefield of obstacles for users.
Next, there's a single PCIe x1 slot that's so close to the passive motherboard heatsink that we highly doubt that it's even usable anymore. With two other PCIe x1 slots, it's quite unlikely a user would require it but that doesn't change the fact that it's there for a reason.
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