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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next790GX Showdown: Gigabyte vs. MSI
March 5, 2009 by Lawrence Lee
| Product |
GA-MA790GP-DS4H
AMD AM2+ Motherboard |
DKA790GX Platinum
AMD AM2+ Motherboard |
| Manufacturer |
Gigabyte |
MSI |
| Street Price |
US$140-$150 |
US$160-$170 |
With the release of the Phenom II processors, the demand for motherboards
powered by the 790GX chipset has never been greater. Besides the ability to
use the latest and greatest AMD CPUs, they are feature-rich, support CrossFire
and Hybrid CrossFire and offer a capable IGP with digital outputs — all this at prices
that won't break the bank.
In this review, we examine the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H and MSI DKA790GX Platinum
motherboards — their strengths, weaknesses, and most importantly how they
compare to one another. The two boards are based around the same 790GX
and SB750 chipsets and sport similar features, so it will interesting to see which
board distinguishes itself, and whether it will do so in a positive manner.
It is likely we will find only minor differences, but either way, it will give
us insight about what approaches the two manufacturers take in
design and implementation, and how this affects the overall user experience.
|
Specifications Comparison
|
| Feature |
Gigabyte
GA-MA790GP-DS4H |
MSI
DKA790GX Platinum |
| Maximum CPU Support |
Phenom II X4
|
Phenom II X4 |
Hyper Transport
|
Up to 5200MT/s for AM2+
2000/1600MT/s for AM2
|
Up to 5200MT/s for AM2+
2000/1600MT/s for AM2 |
| Memory Support |
Up to 16GB DDR2
DDR2 667/800/1066
|
Up to 8GB
DDR2 667/800/1066 |
Sideport Memory
|
128MB DDR3 (1333MHz)
|
128MB DDR3 (1333MHz) |
| LAN |
1 Gigabit
|
1 Gigabit |
| PCI Express Slots |
1 PCI-E x16, running
at x16
1 PCI-E x16, running at x8
3 PCI-E x1
|
1 PCI-E x16, running
at x16
1 PCI-E x16, running at x8
2 PCI-E x1 |
| PCI Slots |
2 PCI
|
2 PCI
|
| IDE Connectors |
1
|
1
|
| SATA Connectors |
6
|
5
|
| SATA RAID Support |
0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD
|
0, 1, 5, 10, JBOD |
| IEEE 1394 Ports |
1 rear + 2 optional
|
1 rear + 2 optional |
| USB Ports |
4 rear + 8 optional |
6 rear + 4 optional |
| Back Panel |
1 PS/2 keyboard
1 PS/2 mouse
1 D-Sub
1 DVI-D
1 HDMI
1 optical S/PDIF
1 IEEE 1394a
4 USB 2.0/1.1
1 RJ-45
6 audio
|
1 PS/2 keyboard
1 D-Sub
1 DVI-D
1 HDMI
1 optical S/PDIF
1 eSATA
1 IEEE 1394a
6 USB 2.0/1.1
1 RJ-45
6 audio |
| Fan Headers |
4 |
3 |
|
Differences in bold.
|
The Gigabyte board claims to support more memory, has an extra PCI-E 1x slot,
a PS/2 mouse port, and an additional fan header. The MSI board has more available
USB ports on the back panel and traded in the 6th SATA connector for an eSATA
port. Both boards have 128MB of integrated 1333MHz DDR3 Sideport memory.
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|
