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05-04-08
Duration of ownership: 7 Days
Strengths: HDMI, Easy setup, Great feature set, good overclocking, everything I needed in a HTPC.
Weaknesses:Got it for $85 which is a little higher than I usually spend for mobos.
Overall Evaluation: Bought this because the 8600GTS had a fan and this built in video made my system quieter. The 8600GTS also did not have the overscan features this built in video had. Selling the video card and mobo would reclaim the extra cash I spent. I would definitely recommend this motherboard.
05-03-08
Duration of ownership:
Strengths: Gigabyte stable quality. This is an all around board for non-hardcore gamer on AMD platform.
Weaknesses:Not really. One of the BIOS(F3) quirk is that if ACHI mode is selected, the boot menu does not boot from USB flash drive when I choose to.
Overall Evaluation: It's great for HTPC/file server application. The heatsink below PCIe 1x is low enough that it does not block my PCIe 1x tuner card. The VGA/HDMI/DVI combination is the killer for other competitor. Cat 8.4 comes with NB 780G and SB ACHI drivers. Vista SP1 runs smoothly without problem. Oh, powerdvd 7.3 will cause Cat 8.4 to crash and powerdvd 8.0 works, not really gigabyte's problem.
05-01-08
Duration of ownership: 15 Days
Strengths: Nice board layout; Gigabyte did a great job packing so much into a mATX board while ensuring that add-ons will fit. Great for overclocking; support for Phenom and 1066mhz ram; HDMI & PCI-E 2.0
Weaknesses:framerate of the ATI HD 3200 IGP - my ATI AiW Pro 9600 card had better 3D performance that this GPU.
Overall Evaluation: This board is killer, but I was disappointed after reading website reviews that touted decent framerates (even at 1024x768) from the IGP. My experience was total opposite, even after installing Cat 8.4 and overclocking the GPU. I even increased the Frame buffer in BIOS, but it was pathetic (1276 3DMark03 score). After I installed an XFX 8600GT with 512mb DDR3, the mark jumped to a whopping 15375!
04-26-08
Duration of ownership: 1 Weeks
Strengths: A ridiculous amount of uses along with a fantastic array of connectivity. DVI, HDMI, VGA, S/PDIF, eSATA... the list goes on and on. On top of this... there is definite room for overclocking.
Weaknesses:Drivers are still very fresh. I am using a 4400+ CPU in mine and am having some problems with deinterlacing some content. The Northbridge gets a little hot but there is no problems directly related.
Overall Evaluation: This is a great board that has many useful features. You can build a very low power HTPC rig and still be able to pull off Bluray and HD-DVD playback along with mild gaming. Overclock your CPU a little bit and add in a PCI-E videocard to take advantage of the Hybrid-Crossfire technology and really have a lean machine on your hands. The HDMI supports both Video and Audio allowing you to clean up your wiring a little bit and still maintain high quality digital signals. This board will be perfect once the drivers are allowed to mature for a little longer. AMD/ATI has taken a very good step in the direction of hands down conquering this corner of the PC market.
04-19-08
Duration of ownership:
Strengths: Perfect for HTPC. Support AMD Phenom Quad core CPU's
Weaknesses:Drivers are still new for this chipset
Overall Evaluation: Great for HTPC board. Best onboard video capable of accelerating HD video. No additional discrete video card needed. HDMI connection. ESATA and firewire ports. Supports AMD Phenom CPUs for upgrade later from AMD X2's. Everyone from AVS Forums is talking about this board for HTPC use.
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