Author: Steve Grever
Date: Jul 06, 2009
Subject: Motherboard
Manufacturer: Gigabyte
Introduction and Specifications
Gigabyte releases budget-minded AM3 board using AMD's 770 chipset
AMD's 770 chipset seems to have found a home in several vendor's budget AM3 motherboard offerings. Some of these boards are priced well below $100, which make them ideal for penny-pinching gamers and enthusiasts looking for a quick AM3 upgrade that will give them some great features at a very reasonable price.
However, these motherboards are usually stripped down quite a bit, but they still include most of the basic features to do everything a typical gaming or enthusiast system will do. There's also some room for expandability in the RAM and processor departments, which should be a consideration for those who need a little bit of head room to make future upgrades to their PCs.
(Courtesy of Gigabyte)
The lowest price we found on an AM3 board based on the AMD 770 chipset was Gigabyte's MA770T-UD3P, which is what we are evaluating today. Don't let the price fool you though. There's plenty of power and features to be had with this $79.99 board. Some of the board's key features include one PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot, support for dual channel DDR3 1666(OC)/1333/1066 memory, Firewire, and four PCI-E x1 slots.
(Courtesy of Gigabyte)
The MA-770T-UD3P even has some of the advanced features that are typically reserved for mid-range and high-end motherboards. Some of these advanced features include support for RAID, Gigabit LAN, and firewire. There's also a handy S/PDIF In/Out for high definition audio. This board also comes standard with an advanced 8+2 phase CPU VRM power design for AMD's 140W processors.
Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P specifications (from Gigabyte's website)
CPU
1. Support for AM3 processors (Note1): AMD Phenom™ II X4 processor/ AMD Phenom™ II X3 processor
Hyper Transport Bus
1. 5200/2000 MT/s
Chipset
1. North Bridge: AMD 770
2. South Bridge: AMD SB710
Memory
1. 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory (Note2)
2. Dual channel memory architecture
3. Support for DDR3 1666(OC)/1333/1066 MHz memory modules
4. Support ECC memory (Note 3)
Audio
1. Realtek ALC888 codec
2. High Definition Audio
3. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
4. Support for S/PDIF In/Out
5. Support for CD In
LAN
1. Realtek 8111C/D(L) chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots
1. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIE_16)
(The PCI Express x16 slot conforms to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
2. 4 x PCI Express x1 slots
3. 2 x PCI slots
Storage Interface South Bridge:
1. 1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-133/100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices
2. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors supporting up to 6 SATA 3Gb/s devices
3. Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 0+1
iTE IT8720 chip:
1. 1 x floppy disk drive connector supporting up to 1 floppy disk drive
IEEE 1394 T.I. TSB43AB23 chip
1. Up to 3 IEEE 1394a ports (2 on the back panel, 1 via the IEEE 1394a bracket connected to the internal IEEE 1394a headers)
USB Integrated in the South Bridge
1. 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. 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
2. 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
3. 1 x floppy disk drive connector
4. 1 x IDE connector
5. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
6. 1 x CPU fan header
7. 2 x system fan headers
8. 1 x power fan header
9. 1 x front panel header
10. 1 x front panel audio header
11. 1 x CD In connector
12. 1 x S/PDIF In header
13. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
14. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
15. 1 x IEEE 1394a header
16. 1 x parallel port header
17. 1 x serial port header
18. 1 x power LED header
19. 1 x chassis intrusion header
Back Panel Connectors
1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
2. 1 x PS/2 mouse port
3. 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector
4. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
5. 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
6. 2 x IEEE 1394a ports
7. 1 x RJ-45 port
8. 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)
I/O Controller
1. iTE IT8720 chip
H/W Monitoring System voltage detection
1. CPU/System temperature detection
2. CPU/System/Power fan speed detection
3. CPU overheating warning
4. CPU/System/Power fan fail warning
5. CPU fan speed control (Note 4)
BIOS
1. 2 x 8 Mbit flash
2. Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
3. Support DualBIOS™
4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b
Unique Features
1. Support for @BIOS
2. Support for Download Center
3. Support for Q-Flash
4. Support for EasyTune (Note 5)
5. Support for Xpress Install
6. Support for Xpress Recovery2
7. Support for Virtual Dual BIOS
8. Support for Easy Energy Saver
Bundled Software
1. Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
Operating System
1. Support for Microsoft® Windows Vista/XP
Form Factor
1. ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 21.0cm
Notes (Note 1) We recommend that you enhance heat dissipation for the CPU VRM area if an AMD Black Edition CPU is installed and the Advanced Clock Calibration is enabled.
(Note 2) Due to Windows® 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 3) Use of a CPU that supports ECC is required if you wish to install ECC memory.
(Note 4) Whether the CPU/ system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU/ system cooler you installed.
(Note 5) Available functions in EasyTune may differ by motherboard model.
Features, Layout, Included Extras
Features
- Ultra Durable 3 Technology with copper cooled quality for lower working temperature
- Revolution energy saving design with Easy Energy Saver technology
- Supports AMD
Socket AM3 Phenom II series processors - Advanced 8+2 phase CPU VRM power design for AMD high-TDP 140W CPU support
Dual Channel DDR3 1666+ for remarkable system performance- Ultimate graphics performance with PCI-E 2.0 x16 interface
- Integrated SATA 3Gb/s with RAID function
- Features
high speed Gigabit Ethernet and IEEE1394 - Home theater quality 8-channel High Definition Audio
- Patented DualBIOS with dual hardware BIOS protection
- 100% 50,000 hours lifespan of Japanese solid capacitors design
Layout
The retail packaging for the MA770T-UD3P is focused around Gigabyte's Ultra Durable 3 branding which highlights the 2 ounces of copper Gigabyte uses in its PCB. It also highlights the use of Japanese solid capacitors, lower RSD(on) MOSFET, and ferrite core chokes. One other awesome thing to mention is this board is covered by a 3-year warranty for US and Canada customers.
The back panel of the retail packaging goes into more detail about the benefits of having 2 ounces of copper in the PCB as well as their custom Dual BIOS setup they are using in their entire line of
The actual layout of the various controllers, jumpers, and headers are pretty standard with most motherboards that have come across my desk in recent memory. The 24-pin power
The back of the PCB has a fairly large piece of aluminum directly behind the CPU. Nothing else stands out here.
The back I/O panel is quite robust for a budget-minded board like this. Gigabyte included eight USB 2.0 ports, two variations of Firewire ports, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, Gigabit LAN jack, 8.1 audio, and SPDIF in/out headers. These features are an excellent example of modifying a board to match a consumer's needs as well as the needs of their budget.
One of the main crutches of purchasing this board is the single PCI-E x16 slot. But, if users are considering this board then they are most likely not going to be able to afford dual or triple video card configurations. The board also has four PCI-E x1 slots and two PCI slots for greater expandability.
Here's a close-up of the CD In and SPDIF In ports available on board next to the Realtek ALC888 audio chip.
This board includes legacy support for floppy drives.
Here's an upclose and personal look at the front panel headers for the power button, reset button, speaker, and hard drive LED. The power LED is located off to the left of these headers. Our readers can also see the communications header on the right side of this header panel.
There are six SATA 3 Gb/s headers onboard that also support RAID 0, 1, and 10. This is an excellent feature that really gives makes this board a great value for those looking for onboard RAID support.
There's also an IDE header to connect two ATA-133/100/66/33 devices.
There are four DIMMs that run dual channel DDR3 1666 (O.C.), 1333, or 1066
As with almost every
After seeing the initial price and features on the UD3P I had my reservations about its flexibility and available options. But, upon further inspection, I wasn't left with much that wasn't included in some form or function. The onboard RAID support is more than adequate as well as the full x16 PCI-E slot that should work great for today's most demanding graphics cards. It's too bad they had to skimp a bit by not including one more x16 PCI-E slot, but keeping the cost under $80 is challenging to say the least. The DDR3 support is also more than enough for any gamer or professional who needs to run dual channel RAM for high-definition gaming or creating graphics and video editing. All in all, there's a lot to like about this board and not much to complain about. The PCB quality is also top notch and follows Gigabyte's signature 2 ounces of copper, which helps with heat discipation but also the stability of the board itself.
Included Extras
Gigabyte included one ATA cable and two SATA cables with the UD3P. That's not much to work with, but definitely should do the job for a basic computer system's needs.
They also included a user manual and driver DVD that also have a ful trial programs and custom utilities to enhance a user's experience while using the UD3P.
This multilingual installation guidebook should also come in handy for those who don't speak english as their first language.
Lastly, Gigabyte included a color-coded I/O backplate taht clearly lays out which devices should be used in each individual port.
The extra accessories were a bit scarce, but that's definitely not one of the selling points in motherboards that fall in this price range anyways. People are looking for simple features on the board itself and they are typically not concerned with all the extra accessories bundled with the hardware.
BIOS Features
The
Once you enter the BIOS setup program, the Main Menu appears on the screen. This screen has all the main features that can be configured on this motherboard.
This BIOS wastes no time in getting to the heart of what PC enthusiasts are looking for --
The first option to configure in the M.I.T. is the Advanced Clock Calibration. Once enabled, the Advanced Clock Calibration option can provide great performance for users with
The CPU Clock Ratio can be modified in .5 increments, which is pretty handy because sometimes a full clock cycle won't give us a stable overclock, but half of one clock cycle proves to give us a little boost in performance and stability.
The CPU Northbridge Frequency can also be adjusted, but this is dependent upon the CPU being used.
The HT Link Frequency allows users to manually set the frequency for the HT Link between the CPU and chipset.
The DCTs Mode lets users choose between ganged and unganged modes which allow the memory to be configured to single or
The DRAM Configuration screen allows users to manually adjust every aspect of their
The CPU Northbridge, PCI-E, and PLL devices can also get small increases in voltage through the M.I.T. menu. The CPU NB can be increased in .025v increments.
The CPU voltages are where most moderate overclockers feel sem-comfortable increasing without risking the chance of frying their CPUs. The voltages can be modified in .025v increments to give end users pin-point accuracy to make the most stable OC'ed CPU possible.
Moving on from the overclocking section, we get to the basic BIOS information on Standard CMOS features. This section includes information on SATA, ATA, and floppy devices as well as letting users configure the date and time in the BIOS directly.
The next section is for configuring the advanced BIOS features that include virtualization, hard disk boot priority, password check, Away Mode, and other standard features found on most motherboards.
The Integrated Peripherals menu takes care of the on board IDE, SATA, USB, audio, Firewire, and LAN functions. This board also has extra support for onboard serial and parallel port devices.
The power management section has the usual options and features. Nothing too interesting to discuss here.
The PC health status section is always useful, but rarely changes in the type of information that is available. Current CPU temps, fan speeds, and voltages are the usual suspects in this menu.
I don't think I've come across an $80 board that had this many overclocking options! We've tested several Gigabyte boards in the past that had similiar options, but most of them were in the $120-$150 price range. The BIOS doesn't seemed to be dumbed-down at all either so PC enthusiasts will enjoy seeing some of familiar advanced options for configuring the CPU, RAM, and power for each component in their systems.
Testing Configuration and Benchmarks Used
We mashed together some of our recent AM3 and AM2+ boards against the UD3P in hope to see any significant performance increases between them. The UD3P will match up again the Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P, ECS A790GXM-AD3 and an ASUS M3A78 AM2+. This should show us the entire spectrum in performance differences between 790FX, 790GX, and 770 chipsets, AM2+ versus AM3, and
CPU-Z and GPU-Z screenshots
Our test bench consisted of the following components:
Video Card: EVGA GeForce 9800GTX+ Superclocked Edition (NVIDIA Driver 185.85)
HD: Western Digital 160GB
Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
Our 64-bit test bench for
Benchmarks used:
- SiSoft Sandra 2009 SP1
- CineBench 10
- Handbrake DVD compression
- 3DMark Vantage
- Crysis Warhead
- Far Cry 2
- PCMark Vantage
- HDTach 3.0.1.0 - SATA, eSATA, USB
Synthetic CPU and Memory Tests
SiSoft Sandra 2009 SP1
The latest version of SiSoft Sandra offers up a lot of new features including GPU performance testing and Nehalem processor support.
The UD3P really hung in there during our initial Sandra
Media and Rendering Tests
CineBench 10
This rendering
Handbrake
Known mainly for its DVD re-encoding prowess, our test uses the Handbrake command line interface.
The
Gaming Tests
3DMark Vantage
A reliable and popular benchmark, 3DMark Vantage can provide a good insight into overall gaming performance of a system.
Crysis Warhead
One of the most visually impressive games ever built, Crysis Warhead also has an incredibly realistic physics and simulation engine.
Far Cry 2
Far Cry 2 pairs impressive visuals with a truly interactive and destructible environment.
The UD3P performed well in our Far Cry 2 benchmark, but fell behind it's more expensive brother (UD5P) in the Crysis 2 test. It still proved to be a good gaming
PCMark Vantage
Futuremark's newest
Storage System Testing
HDTach 3.0.1.0
HDTach allows us to evaluate the performance of any storage subsystem including SATA, eSATA, USB and Firewire where available.
Since this benchmark’s results are primarily based on the individual storage
Overclocking Results
In our last two AM3 motherboard reviews, we were able to push our
We started off increasing the base clock without modifing the voltage, HTT, or memory timings. We were only able to reach 187MHz before we noticed stability issues so we increased the CPU voltage to 1.5v which allowed us to make it all the way to 209MHz before things started to get a bit dodgy. So, we backed it down to 201MHz, which seems to be a sweet spot on this particular CPU.
Next, we worked on increase the CPU multiplier. After numerous attempts to reach 18x, we simply couldn't get it to stay stable enough to keep it at that multiplier level. So, we backed it down to 17x, which worked out great and proved what we needed for our evaluation. After all was said and done, we were able to overclock our X3 720 to 3.423MHz with only a minimal voltage increase.
Our overclocking results confirmed that the UD3P can definitely handle some moderate overclocking, which should be a great sign for those frugal enthusiasts looking to save some serious coin on their next AM3 motherboard upgrade. See our overclocking results below for more details:
Overclocking Results
| CPU Speed | CPU Multiplier | DRAM Frequency | DRAM Timings | CPU Voltage | Temp (Idle) | Temp (Load) | |
| 3.423GHz | 17 | 201MHz | 1072 MHz | 7-7-7-16 1T | 1.5v | 25c | 31c |
For those just learning about overclocking the new Phenom II cores, the architecture is different than any previous
Power Consumption and Conclusions
Power consumption
While the wattage under load results weren't super impressive, the MA770T-UD3P's idle wattage was very low. I noticed the
Performance
The MA770T-UD3P's results truly spoke for themselves during our
Features
The main features that are great selling points for the UD3P are its full x16 PCI-E slot that will work well with any decent
Pricing and Availability
At the time of this review, the MA770T-UD3P was currently priced around $79.99 at Newegg. A quick check at other popular online shopping websites like Buy.com and MWave.com also confirmed they had this board in stock as well.
Final Thoughts
We'd like to thank Gigabyte for providing the MA770T-UD3P for our review today. This board really gave me alot to think about in terms of the saturation of great
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