These days, when processors technology increasing so fast followed by others equipments to coupe with it. But opposite to that, there’s also a huge low end computer market that demanding low cost technology (in
this article we’re talking about motherboard technology) to fulfill their basic computing needs. The AMD 870 chipset series is one of the low end processor with an average features installed. Gigabyte as one of the leading motherboard manufacture brilliantly sees the market gap, so they launch the Gigabyte UD3-870A Motherboard combines with AMD 870 chipset.
Specifications:
CPU : Support for Socket AM3 processors: AMD Phenom II processor / AMD Athlon II processor
Hyper Transport Bus : 1. 5200 MT/s
Chipset : 1. North Bridge: AMD 870
2. South Bridge: AMD SB850
Memory : 1. 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory
2. Dual channel memory architecture
3. Support for DDR3
1866(OC)(Note 2)/1333/1066 MHz memory modules
Audio : 1. Realtek ALC892 codec
2. High Definition Audio
3. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
4. Support for Dolby Home Theater
5. Support for S/PDIF In/Out
6. Support for CD In
LAN : 1 x Realtek 8111D chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots : 1. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
2. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) (Note 3)
3. 2 x PCI Express x1 slots (The PCIEX1_1 and PCIEX1_2 slots share bandwidth with the
PCIEX4 slot.)
4. 3 x PCI slots
Storage Interface :
South Chipset:
1. 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors supporting up to 6 SATA 6Gb/s devices
2. Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID5, RAID 10, and JBOD
GIGABYTE SATA2 chip:
1. 1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-133/100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices
2. 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors supporting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices
3. Support for SATA RAID 0 and RAID 1 and JBOD
JMicron JMB362 chip:
1. 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s connectors on the back panel supporting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices
2. Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD
iTE IT8720 chip:
1. 1 x floppy disk drive connector supporting up to 1 floppy disk drive
USB:
Chipset:
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)
NEC chip:
1. Up to 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel 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 header)
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 6Gb/s connectors
6. 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
7. 1 x CPU fan header
8. 2 x system fan header
9. 1 x power fan header
10. 1 x front panel header
11. 1 x front panel audio header
12. 1 x CD In connector
13. 1 x S/PDIF In header
14. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
15. 1 x IEEE 1394a header
16. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
17. 1 x serial port header
18. 1 x parallel port header
19. 1 x clearing CMOS jumper
Back Panel Connectors :
1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard or mouse port
2. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
3. 1 x coaxial S/PDIF out connector
4. 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
5. 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
6. 2 x IEEE 1394a port
7. 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s ports
8. 1 x RJ-45 port
9. 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 :
1. System voltage detection
2. CPU/System temperature detection
3. CPU/System/Power fan speed detection
4. CPU overheating warning
5. CPU/System/Power fan fail warning
6. CPU/System fan speed control (Note 4)
BIOS : 1. 2 x 8 Mbit flash
2. Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
3. Support for DualBIOS
4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b
Unique Features :
1. Support for @BIOS
2. Support for Q-Flash
3. Support for Xpress BIOS Rescue
4. Support for Download Center
5. Support for Xpress Install
6. Support for Xpress Recovery2
7. Support for EasyTune (Note 5)
8. Support for Easy Energy Saver
9. Support for Smart Recovery
10. Support for Auto Green
11. Support for On/Off Charge
12. Support for Q-Share
Bundle Software : Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
Operating System : Support for Microsoft Windows 7/ Vista/ XP
Form Factor : ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 23.0 cm
Notes descriptions :
1. Due to Windows 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.
2. To reach DDR3 1866MHz or above, you must install two memory modules and install them in the DDR3_3
and DDR3_4 memory sockets.
3. The PCIEX1_1 and PCIEX1_2 slots share bandwidth with the PCIEX4 slot. When PCIEX4 slot is populated
with a x4 card, the PCIEX1_1 and PCIEX1_2 slots become unavailable.
4. Whether the CPU/system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU/system cooler you
install.
5. Available functions in EasyTune may differ by motherboard model.
Remark :
1. Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from
chipset vendors’ website or 3rd party website.
2. Most hardware/software vendors no longer offer support for Win9X/ME.
The Board
With a combination of dark blue PCB with blue and white accents in a variety of sockets and slots, this motherboard looks different from the others.
Ports that are available includes:
* 1 x P / S 2 Keyboard / Mouse Port
* 8x USB 2.0/1.1 Ports
* 2x USB 3.0 Ports
* 2x USB Ports 2.0/e-SATA
* 1x Firewire 800
* 1x Firewire 600
* 1 x RJ-45 Port (LAN)
* 1 x Optical S / PDIF Out Connector
* 1x Coaxial S / PDIF Out Connector
* 6 x audio jacks
PCI slots are provided includes:
* 2x PCI-Express X16 slot
* 2x PCI-Express X1 slot
* 3x PCI Slots
The bad thing is this motherboard doesn’t support multiple graphics card configuration, because it using the low end AMD 870 chipset.
That’s why this motherboard provides two PCI-Express X16 slots for add-on cards such as soundcards to facilitate the expansion of your system.
Testing platform:
* Processor: AMD Phenom II 1055T
* Motherboard: Gigabyte 870A-UD3
* Memory: Kingston KHX1600c9D3B1K2/4GX
* Hard Drive: Kingston SSDNow V +100 64 GB
* Power Supply: Coolermaster Silent Pro 800 Watt Gold
* Monitor: Philips 221E
* Input: Genius (keyboard and mouse)
* OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
* Driver: AMD Catalyst 2.11
Conclusion
The performance of Gigabyte UD3-870A motherboard is quite impressive.
The ability to overclock above it’s standard but the VRM temperatures tend to be high, so needs an additional cooling for overclocking. In terms of its impressive feature set, the GIGABYTE 870A-UD3 offers its
users an 8+2 phase power delivery circuit, SATA 6Gbps support, USB 3.0 capabilities, and even the ability to charge the batteries of your electronics when your computer is turned off. With installed ON / OFF charge and USB 3.0 provide features are and added value for this motherboard. So, overall, this motherboard suits you who want a good overclocking and quite good performance in affordable price.
Pros:
• Useful On / Off charge feature
• Affordable price
• SATA 6Gbps support
• USB 3.0 functionality
• 8+2 phase power delivery circuit
• Extremely overclockable bus speed – definite plus for non-BE CPU owners
• Copper PCB layer and solid capacitors on the entire motherboard
• 3-year warranty
• Dual BIOS chips for redundancy
• Neat innovative feature of charging USB devices even when computer is turned off or in sleep mode
Cons:
• Lack of MOSFET cooler limits stable voltage regulation and overclocking
• Poor CMOS header location
• No rear fan header
• Quite hot VRM risky for motherboard health.
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