For many potential buyers, the search for gaming motherboards begins with the lower price segment of High-End devices, the cost of which exceeds 15,000 rubles. However, as experts note in their reviews, most of the requirements for the motherboard remain unfulfilled for most users. The focus of this article is on the representative of the budget class - the GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 motherboard, which few buyers even pay attention to. After all, 8-9 thousand rubles clearly hint to the user about the low performance of the device. But, as practice shows, and budget representatives are able to surprise their owners.
Motherboard features
The main criterion for choosing for most buyers is the support of all modern processors. The form factor AM3 + FX / AM3 Phenom II is the latest AMD platform, and, accordingly, supports any new product on the manufacturer's processor market. The ATI CrossFireX and Nvidia SLI hybrid systems on the same platform are also one of the criteria for acquiring a motherboard. And the device GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 this function is implemented at the hardware level.
Often, the cost of motherboards inflates the built-in RAID controller for the six-channel SATAIII interface. But here, GIGABYTE developers are at their best. In addition, the motherboard is provided with other useful functions that the reader learns about when reading this article.
First introduction to the system board
The ATX format device comes in a large cardboard box. Its displays are quite informative for the buyer: on one side of the package the motherboard itself is painted, specifications and available technologies are painted on the back of the box. Only the small print in the functional descriptions is confusing, but this is not for everybody. After all, someone just needs to see a vivid picture, while other users prefer a full explanation.
The equipment is complete and, as the owners note in their reviews, pleasant. In addition to the motherboard and the interface panel plug, the user will find in the box: full installation instructions, disks with utilities and drivers, one SLI bridge and 4 SATA cables. Naturally, the presence of interface cables for all owners is a pleasant surprise from the manufacturer. It is worth noting that the two cables have an L-shaped connector for ease of installation.
Appearance and build quality
Even motherboards, the price of which is twice the cost of the device in question, do not fit in this way. In their reviews, many owners note that the motherboard is assembled by Feng Shui:
- Most power and heating elements are located between the interface connectors and the socket for the processor. They are arranged in even rows and covered with radiators.
- The internal connectors for connecting the control panel and USB connectors are also neatly placed in one row and have a distinctive color from each other.
- SATA connectors are located in one block, and for ease of connection, the interface is placed parallel to the system board (it will not interfere with the video card adapter).
The only negative that users pay attention to is the placement of contact pads for connecting additional coolers. Their manufacturer also nicely placed on the edges of the motherboard. Owners of cases with many fans will have to use 12-volt extension cords.
Product Specifications
Dual system BIOS with 32 megabytes of Flash ROM, implemented on ACPI technology, is the key to the motherboard for all overclockers. GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 AM3 delivers gaming performance with three PCI Express slots. The AMD SB950 southbridge guarantees the construction of RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 arrays. The Realtek ALC889 controller is responsible for the sound, and the gigabit network is implemented on the Realtek RTL8111E chip. All in an adult way, like on expensive motherboards.
For the expansion of technical capabilities there are two PCI slots, access to which is not blocked by the video card cooling system. Present on the motherboard GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 and PCI Express 2.0 x1, which became again popular due to the advent of ultra-fast SSD drives for this interface. The weak link in the entire system is the north bridge. It provides support for 4 DDR3 memory modules operating in dual mode, but is limited by the RAM capacity of 16 GB.
CPU Mounting Features
The reinforced removable plate on the back of the GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 motherboard has positive reviews. But all users are very confused by the presence of one capacitor in close proximity to the mounting screws of the processor heat sink. When installing a passive cooling system, it will clearly interfere. The only way to remove it is to solder the same, but on long legs (just bend it to the side).
You can solve the problem with the condenser by installing any cooler on the market. The same reinforced plate will ensure a tight fit of the heatsink to the processor, and the user may not worry that installing a kilogram cooling system will damage the motherboard.
Interface Panel Overview
The budget motherboard GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 is equipped with an optical output for connecting audio devices. This is a clear breakthrough in the market for computer devices of the lower price segment. In addition, the manufacturer placed two USB 3.0 connectors on the back of the board, which once again surprised all users, because AMD has constant problems with this. Also on the board are:
- 6 USB 2.0 ports;
- 1 PS / 2 (either a mouse or keyboard);
- 1 IEEE 1394 interface
- one gigabit RJ-45 port;
- Six ports for connecting an audio system.
According to users in their reviews, they consider the unpopular IEEE 1394 connector redundant and tend to think that the eSATA port would be more acceptable on the interface panel. But in general, as the review shows, the rear panel is very well equipped with connectors.
Features of the basic input / output system
It is unclear why the budget GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 uses Touch support in the BIOS, but, according to the owners, this technology also works with the mouse, making it easy to configure the entire computer. The I / O menu is modest and does not have its own graphical shell, which confuses many users. But all the necessary components lend themselves to tuning: processor, memory, bus power, and much more.
The BIOS menu is completely in English, but each item has a detailed description, so an advanced user should not have problems setting up the system. There are only comments on the complexity of the functionality for unlocking processor cores. This is implemented in the form of an algorithm that must be performed by selecting specific settings (the description is present in the manual). The owner will also like the “sandbox”, in which you can test an overclocked system without restarting the computer.
About the latest technology
The motherboard, whose characteristics are painted on bright packaging, clearly needs a detailed review of all the technologies announced by the manufacturer. However, a surprise awaits the owner here. Most high-profile applications, such as 108 db, Blu-ray, 3TB, 3X-USB Power, are a common marketing move. In fact, this is the usual AMD AM3 + standard, which obliges all manufacturers to provide the motherboard with support for the corresponding functions: 108 db noise restriction, Blu-ray streaming, support for 3TB hard drives and providing decent power for the USB interface.
Ultra Durable 3 Classic technology hides the use of PCB with copper conductors and the installation of solid-state Japanese capacitors. And Power 10 is a description of an enhanced power system according to the 8 + 2 phase scheme. A beautiful ON / OFF Charge marking is nothing more than an idle power-saving system (implemented by lowering the frequency of the processor, memory and video adapter on laptops).
Device disadvantages
In an effort to introduce new technologies, manufacturers often abandon old, unnecessary (in their opinion) interfaces. And if motherboards, the price of which exceeds the ceiling of 20,000 rubles, are equipped with IDE, LPT and FDD connectors (albeit optionally), then budget copies are deprived of the necessary ports. For many users, the lack of an IDE connector is critical, since most still have an optical DVD drive.
Things are a bit simpler with the LPT port, which is used to connect the printer. You can "make friends" a computer with a printing device using a special adapter for USB, but there is really a problem with other interfaces.
Finally
The review carried out on the GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 motherboard once again proves to potential buyers that the search for gaming solutions should be started in the budget segment. The seller’s task is to endow the buyer with the most expensive system (financial gain), and the buyer seeks to purchase a price-balanced device (cost savings). The manufacturer is trying to please everyone, because in any case he earns on sales.