790GX built-in DDR3 128MB - GIGABYTE MA790GP DS4H OC report

[windwithme]

Currently, the most hot topic in AMD platform is the new mid-end chipset 790GX+SB750.
790GX built-in HD3300 GPU which is more performance than HD3200 in 780G.
I believe this chipset combines with AMD dual/triple/quad core CPU can bring the higher C/P value.

Unlike 790FX has the advantage of CorssFire X16+X16, 790GX is positioned in mid-end.
It only supports X8+X8 CrossFire. However, the new SB750 and GUP HD3300, 790GX is still a great choice for end users.

This time I get is GIGABYTE MA790GP DS4H.
After 790GX launched, 3 tier one manufacturers all announced their 790GX products.
The price is around 160USD. As the price gap is small, the components, spec. and OC ability are the key factors.

Package


Accessory


GIGABYTE MA790GP DS4H




Left-Lower Corner
2 X PCI-E X16(CorssFiieX works as X8+X8)
3 X PCI-E X1
2 X PCI
1 X Floppy
LAN Chip Realtek 8111C, Audio Realtek ALC889A, 7.1cahnnels support HD Audio



Right-Lower Corner
6 X SATAII(SB750)
1 X LPT
Dual BIOS


Right-Upper Corner
4 X DIMM DDRII, support 533/667/800, and 1066 Phenom
1 X IDE
24PIN power in


Left-Upper Corner
4+1 phase PWM for CPU which supports 140W Phenom CPU


IO Interface
4 X USB 2.0
1 X 1394
1 X S/PDIF fiber output
HD3300 has 3 output interfaces : D-SUB/DVI/HDMI


MA790GP DS4H heatpipe thermal module

[windwithme]

BIOS
Boot screen


Setup main manual


Voltage menu
SonthBridge Volt Control +0.1V~+0.3V
SidePort Mem Volt Control +0.1V~+0.3V
NorthBridge Volt Control -0.200V~+0.200V(gap at 0.025V)
DDR2 Voltage Control +0.05~+0.55V
CPU NB VID Control -0.600~+0.600V(gap at 0.025V)
CPU Voltage Control -0.600~+0.600V


Press Ctrl+F1 will show the OC item: Advanced Clock Calibration.
790GX provides new items to enhance Phenom OC limitation.


DDR2 parameters


Advanced BIOS
Te built-in GPU HD3300 related items are here.
SidePort: use built-in Memory, this MB has DDR3 128MB
UMA: shared with system main memory


UMA mode can select different capacity


SidePort DDR3 128MB can choose the speed.


PC Health Status

[windwithme]

Configuration
CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 5400+/Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition
MB: GIGABYTE MA790GP DS4H
DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator TWIN2X2048-8888C4DF
VGA: GAINWARD HD4850 + MSI 4850 CrossFire
HD: Seagate 7200.10 320GB
POWER: POWER:Corsair HX1000W Modular Power Supply
Cooler: Thermaltake BigTyp VP/JETART Nano Diamond/Lubic


GIGABYTE exclusive software
EASYTUNE 5 PRO


iCOOL


@BIOS


AMD OverDriver Utility
AMD exclusive OS software has detail system info and user can adjust the voltage and clock through this software.








Built-in GPU HD3300, shared 256MB
GPU Default 700Mhz DDR3 1333/system memory DDR2 1066
GPU OC 1063Mhz DDR3 1333/system memory DDR2 1066

3DMARK2005
Default


OC

[windwithme]

3DMARK2006
Default


OC


NorthBridge Volt Control is helpful for OC HD3300. Basically, as it’s over 1050Mhz, sometimes it suffers the picture failed symptom.
The best clock is 1063MHz which can run all the test without problems.
If you don’t care the picture failed issue, the you can run 3DMark test at 1080Mhz

Need For Speed Pro Street
Default:
Resolution 1280x1024
ANTI ALIASING:2X

Default


OC


Crysis Benchmark

OC


Built-in DDR3 128MB is really improving the performance.
NorthBridge Volt rises to 1.6V, the core clock can over 1000Mhz very easily.
HD3300 3D performance is very outstanding. You can find more articles in the internet.
ATI 790GX 3D performance is much better than Intel G45.


GAINWARD HD4850 + MSI 4850 CrossFire
HD 4850 Default 625/993Mhz

3DMARK2005


3DMARK2006


Need For Speed Pro Street
Setup:
Resolution 1920X1200
ANTI ALIASING:4X


Crysis Benchmark


790GX is positioned in mid-end but it also supports CrossFire as hi-end 790FX.
However, 790GX only supports X8+X8 bandwidth.

[windwithme]

DDR2
OC 1162 CL5 5-5-15 2.4V
EVEREST Memory bandwidth


790GX bandwidth is not as good as 790FX, it’s a pity.
However, the OC clock is pretty good.

AMD Athlon64 X2 5400+ Black Edition
422Mhz SP2004 dual core stable.


Dual core clock is same level as 790FX. If your CPU quality is good, 790GX can run at 400~460Mhz.
For quad core Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition, it also can reach 240~250Mhz.


Concludes GIGABYTE MA790GP DS4H
Good
1.Latest AMD 790GX+SB750 with full solid capacitors and heat pipe thermal module
2.Supports CrossFireX and ATI Hybrid CrossFireX
3.Rich BIOS items and wide voltage menus
4.4+1 PWM can support AM2+ 140W quad core CPU. During the test, Phenom 9950 can OC to 3.2G~3.3G and pass many applications.
5.HD3300 is the best performance built-in GPU. The 3D performance is much better than AMD 780G and the other brands UMA chipset.
6.Dual core frequency is pretty high and HD3300 has D-SUB/DVI/HDMI 3 outputs.

Weakness
1.DDR2 voltage can only reach 2.4V. It will be better if it can reach 2.6V
2.790GX DDR2 bandwidth is not as good as previous AMD chipset
3.As built-in HD3300, the chipset temperature is higher

Performance ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Components ★★★★★★★★★☆
Outlook ★★★★★★★★☆☆
C/P ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

In early 2008, AMD launched hi-end 790FX chipset which support X16+X16 CrossFire.
It collocate with X2 high frequency and DDR2 great OC ability. The price is aroun130~230USD.
After then, AMD announced entry Mirco-ATX 780GX built-in HD3200 GPU and not bad OC level. The price is 80~100USD.
For the mid-end market, it’s empty for several months.
790GX is the perfect product to fill in the segment.
790GX owns hi-end CorssFire, only X8+X8, faster built-in GPU HD330 than 780G,
and good CPU/RAM OC ability.

Also it has ATX and Mirco-ATX versions, it merges hi-end and entry characteristic.
The price is around 100~160USD.

GIGABYTE MA790GP DS4H is hi-end product in 790GX. No matter package, components or BIOS OC, it has great performance.
MA790GP DS4H price is around 160USD now. If it can be lower than 150USD, it will be more attractive.
If 790FX is over budget, and you would like to have 780G built-in GPU performance,
also need further upgrade capability for CrossFire. GIGABYTE MA790GP DS4H is
your good C/P choice.

[EniGmA1987]

wow I really like how it shows the auto value and SPD value for the RAM options in the bios

[phistyle]

this is pretty much almost like the DFI LP JR 790gx-M2RS board that I have right now...pretty much all the same features....

[soundood]

thank you so much for such a comprehensive review,

i was looking at this board as a possible purchase, for my 9850BE (getting the asus +9950BE for next gaming board) i had a lot of questions about it, because i really dont like gigabyte, but had heard so many good things said about them recently.

you have answered every question i had about this board, and more

thank you again

[justapost]

Thank you for the review, does your board also have post issues on high oc's with ACC enabled? I'd not recommend this board till gigabyte fixes this issue.

[BertM]

nice review!
are you able to turn off the 4850's completely and turn down the power consumption of the comp to around 70 watt ?

[informal]

Hey windwithme ,long time no see in AMD section .

Great review,thanks so much for posting it here too

[FlanK3r]

try tweak Phenom with FSB and find max OC

[RejZoR]

Hm, what's up with that built in 128MB of DDR3 memory (from thread title)? What's that?

[Macadamia]

It's the sideport memory, used as video ram for the IGP HD 3300.

[informal]

Hm, what's up with that built in 128MB of DDR3 memory (from thread title)? What's that?

It's a sideport memory for onboard Radeon 3300(IGP that's basically a Radeon 3450).Pretty nifty thing,it can bring the graphics perf. up by 20-30%,apart from OCing gains since that particular IGP is very OCable(Think 1Ghz OCing with added cooling).

[Morais]

No doubts that this mobo + 45W Dual Core = king of htpc builds