Introduction :
The latest release of AMD had initially moved for us, first, because while the work of the review itself was carried out and stated otherwise, partly disturbing editorial, but as I said above, it is time to revisit the course and return to set foot on the accelerator with the analysis. AMD launched its new set weeks ago, North-South Bridge, which at first was rumored to be the major upgrade to step out of the new H55 and video integrated with the Intel Graphics Clarkdale HD, but after the lifting of the NDA began to display information about the performance of 890GX 790GX compared against its predecessor.
For many it was surprising that the performance was equal to or similar in much of the evidence, we also checked. After an analysis and give the twist, we realized that the actual launch was hidden in the south, yes, the SB850 South Bridge, which is incorporating new technologies such as SATA 3.0. USB 3.0 support as you well know, is not native to this platform or those of Intel or any who know, as it is NEC who supplies to different motherboard maker of the chip that does the magic called USB 3.0. On the cover we can see that implements almost all the features we were seeing in previous articles on Intel chipsets and AMD 790FX H55/P55 which highlights the "333 Onboard Acceleration" which basically has USB 3.0, USB 3.0 and SATA Power 3x as set on the cover in question.
At the rear we continue to see more product information, specifications and technologies implemented in detail in order to clarify some doubts and convince the consumer that this is a high quality motherboard, which we agree 100%. The content is not abundant as expected but is appropriate as it provides a complete user manual, quick installation guide, "back plate" E / S, drivers with proprietary applications and of course the IDE and SATA cables.
The design is very typical of Gigabyte with their blue, blue and white (the predominant) with a perfect distribution of the connectors. Without doubt the aesthetic quality of construction of the motherboard with its Ultra Durable 3 (Japanese solid capacitors, 2 ounces of copper in the PCB) and cooling that encompasses both the area and the NB mosfets together by a heatpipe to remove heat efficiently. Implemented this technology also reduces power loss in the PCB (estimated up to 50%) and of course improves the level of overclocking which undoubtedly increases the efficiency of the product at its peak and not only applies in high- range but in almost all their series. If we look at its back are in the area of the socket (CPU) a metal plate to reinforce the installation of coolers that can be removed without problems when installing a cooling solution with another type of restraint system.
As usual, Gigabyte includes an excellent sink on mosfets area providing a design of 4 +1 phase power regulation to properly support processors with TDP of 140 watts forcing the system to correctly handle extreme situations (Overclocking) with an optimized delivery energy thus generating lower operating temperatures. Behind this great cooler is the power connector 8-pin. The AM3 socket that supports the latest 45nm processors from AMD (Athlon Phenom II and II) with HT 3.0, including future six-core CPUs that will surely require a Bios update. In this sector, under the sink succulent Gigabyte, we have the 890GX chipset which has the Radeon HD 4290 with DX10.1 support is ideal for a HTPC as it faithfully reproduces high-definition video What games? While most are enforceable is not the goal of technology, for that there are other solutions such as Hybrid Crossfire or CrossfireX (discrete cards supporting the new series HD5xxx). Depending on the performance, 18% work more than a 790GX topping 3300 points in 3DMark '06, it is clear that this result is obtained by applying overclock because the 890GX is better able to do so.
To make matters worse, to improve the performance we have a total of 128 MB of dedicated DDR3 memory at 1333 MHz, also known SidePort shared and added to the system (UMA) will help to quickly run graphical applications. For expansion, it offers two PCIe 16x slots (where the first does at 16x and the second at 8x), three PCIe 1x and finally two PCI cards for those with "old technology." If you enable CrossfireX configuration will be PCIe 8x-8x as always happens with the series "GX." With a smaller dissipation chipset makes its SB 850, which provides the user with six SATA 3.0 (6 Gbps) with support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 should increase the performance of disk storage. If the connectors are not enough, adds two SATA ports controlled by the white 2.0 chipset Gigabyte SATA 2 located behind them (also handles the IDE connector). As in all newly deployed technology products Dual-BIOS have two physical BIOS on the motherboard to resolve immediately any inconvenience the user with the Bios (virus attack or a bad update) creating more security, word which takes full account in the computing field.
Applying Dual-Channel Architecture (using the same colors) have four DDR3 memory slots 1333 / 1066 MHz via OC but can reach 1866 MHz modules provided the permit. We can use up to 16GB. Moreover, all Gigabyte boards come equipped with AMD 800A drivers ICs Hardware Overvoltage called for "Precision OV" (located above the 24-pin connector) to provide precise control of voltages with greater choice and / or adjustments for major system components (CPU, memory and 890GX).
In this picture you can see the different chipsets that are located across the PCB which highlights the sound, it is the LAC 892 Realteck excellent reproduction with support for Dolby Home Theater surround sound by providing up to 8 speakers or speakers. Nor can we disregard the NEC chipset company, responsible for giving life to USB 3.0 * for greater efficiency in the transfer of files from version 2.0. When we have in our hands a device of this type will analyze the true performance, which a priori seems promising enough. For an exciting experience in the connection, the GA-890GPA-UD3H has several video outputs: VGA, DVI and HDMI which provides the ability to enable ATI Surronded View mode up to two monitors (with the 890GX) or six (with two discrete cards). This is great for example to connect the TV HDMI HD output while handling some things for the monitor (VGA or DVI).
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