AMD 785G Chipset Launch: ASUS and Gigabyte

Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H: Specifications

The second Gigabyte 785G board we have in the lab is the GA-MA785G-UD3H. Unlike the UD2H, the UD3H is a full ATX form factor board with a full set of expansion slots including dual PCI-E x16 slots which can be linked together in a variety of CrossFire configurations, with and without the IGP.



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Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H Motherboard
Specifications & Features
Processor and Chipset
Based on AMD 785G chipset
AMD SB710 southbridge
Supports AMD AM3/AM2+/AM2 Processors

Memory
4 x DIMM (Max. 16 GB combined)
Support DDR2 1333 / 1066 / 800
Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual channel memory architecture
   
Expansion Slot
2 x PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x16 + x4)
3 x PCI-Express x1
2 x Conventional PCI slot
   
Video
Integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200 GPU
Hybrid CrossFireX Support
Maximum shared memory of 512MB

Storage

6 x SATA 3Gb/s ports (RAID 0,1,10,JBOD)
1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices
1 x Floppy Disk Drive connector
   
Audio
Integrated Realtek ALC889A audio codec
8-channel audio

Networking
Integrated Realtek RTL 8111C LAN
Supports 10Mb/s, 100Mb/s and 1000Mb/s
   
Internal IO
ATX 24-pin power connector
ATX 8-pin 12V power connector
3 x FAN connectors
1 x CD-in connector
1 x Front panel audio connector
1 x Front panel header
1 x Chassis intrusion switch connector
3 x USB 2.0 front-panel connectors
2 x IEEE 1394a connector
6 x SATA II connectors
1 x serial connector
1 x parallel connector
1 x IDE connector
1 x FDD connector
1 x S/PDIF In/Out Header

Back Panel I/O
1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port
1 x DVI-D
1 x D-Sub
1 x HDMI
1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical)
1 x IEEE 1394a
1 x RJ45 LAN
6 x USB 2.0/1.1
8 -Channel Audio I/O

Accessories
1 x User's manual
1 x Quick install guide
1 x Driver & Utility DVD
1 x I/O Shield
1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
2 x SATA cable

Special Features
 - 100% Solid Capacitors

 - 2 oz copper PCB
 - 4+1 phase power design
 - Dual BIOS chips
 - Gigabyte Easy Energy Saver
 - Gigabyte EasyTune
 
ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm)





click to enlarge

The Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H is quite different from the two previous 785G boards we checked out. It's the only one of the three to support AM2 processors and implement DDR2 instead of DDR3. It's also the only board out of the three to not include any SidePort memory and not have an eSATA port. However, to its credit, it's also the only board of the three to boast two FireWire internal headers which in conjunction with the port on the rear I/O allows for up to three IEEE 1394a connectors. While the UD3H lacks an eSATA port, it gets an extra internal SATA port for a total of six.

Other than these differences, it is identical to its stablemate, the UD2H.  Even the bundle is the same, which is somewhat unfortunate since 2 SATA cables is enough for an mATX board, but might come up short for full ATX builds.


Tags:  AMD, Radeon, Chipset, 785G, IGP, HD 4200

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