Identify Motherboard Configuration:

Gigabyte Motherboard Driver: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H

Build your own computer and identify motherboard type and configuration (is it a motherboard/cpu bundle or combo), gigabyte motherboard driver, CPU and all computer components necessary for your system. This site provides a computer building guide to advise on building mid range, high performance and cheap computer systems; this page covers mid range range performance of a system built November 2009.

One of Gigabytes's new mainstream motherboards, the GA-MA785GMT-UD2H now includes the 785G chipset. This chipset comes with an updated IGP, the Radeon HD 4200. This time around, the improvements focus on enhanced video processing like: DirectX 10.1 support, UVD 2.0 and HDMI 1.3. The functions are done on the chipset, off-loading video processing away from the CPU .

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H

The 785G continues to support Hybrid CrossFire, so pairing up the on-board GPU with a discrete graphic card the likes of the Radeon HD3400 series will provide an additional 10-20% performance. The board supports the AMD AM3 Phenom II and Athlon II processor family, using the DDR3 type memory.

This is a solid quality uATX board ready to handle both low and high wattage CPU's alike (it is not one of the cheap computer systems recommendations), making this a good choice for home workstation or HTPC. Great value available for around 89$!

Computer Building Guide

Looking at the picture, you can see that aside from the AM3 socket, the board includes:

2 PCI slots
1 PCI-e x16 slot
1 PCI-e x1 slot
4 DDR3 1800 (OC) 1666/1333/1066 memory slots
1 IDE connector
1 Floppy connector
6 SATA 3Gb/s connections.
Dual Bios, Advanced Clock Calibration, EC Firmware to unlock hidden cores

On the back panel is a great collection of connections. Aside from the normal USB and PS/2 ports, you also have:

VGA and DVI-I ports
HDMI port
Optical S/PDIF and IEEE 1394a port
eSATA port for external SATA
Gigabit LAN port
2/4/5.1/7.1 Channel

Computer Building Guide: Identify Motherboard Strengths and Weaknesses

As mentioned, the motherboard supports the AM3 Socket CPU's. With 4 DDR3 memory slots, Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H will support up to 16GB of 1666/1333/ 1066 MHz modules. There are also multiple headers on the motherboard that support front panel connections, 6 USB headers, Firewire, system and chipset fan headers to name a few.

What really makes this board stand out though is the integrated graphics with HD sound playback, and it can be combined with a graphics card for Hybrid Crossfire.

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

The integrated graphics chip can be used just like another graphics card to run in Crossfire mode. The chip itself is now a Radeon HD4200. It supports HD4200 DirectX 10.1, still using 40 stream processors, and is clocked at 500MHz stock, but can be easily bumped to 700Mhz thanks to available M.I.T options in bios.

Not a screamer, but it is able to play games at lower resolutions. Match that with a lower end card such as the HD3400, and you can boost your graphics power to achieve decent framerates at a lower cost. Note that Hybrid does not (currently) work with mid to high range cards.

Identify Motherboard Required for HTPCs

Home Theater Personal Computers (HTPC) have specific requirements in order to perform well. They need a video output that: 1) has great picture quality and 2) can connect to high definition televisions or to a high definition projector. HTPC's also need to have great audio outputs to run through a home stereo receiver, and have the ability to connnect a storage system and multiple drives.

The Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H achieves all of this with integrated graphics including:

VGA, DVI, HDMI with full 1080p HD playback.
Dual Stream decoding (PiP), full 1080p HD playback.
Dolby Home Theater Sound Optical S/PDIF out for high end audio equipment.
5 internal and 1 external SATA connections ensure that you have room for enough storage and optical drives.
With up to 12 USB ports, you won't run out of connections for keyboards, mice, printers, external drives, flash drives, etc.

Pair this board with a low power CPU like the Athlon X2 245, and 2.5" drives, you will keep your power demand low, which is a huge plus for an HTPC. This also allows you to use a smaller power supply with a nice high efficiency rating. Keeping your power requirements low means you also need less cooling in the sometimes cramped quarters of an HTPC computer case.

Identify Motherboard Characteristics and Attributes:

This is a sturdy motherboard with lots of bios settings, real-time voltage values during bios voltage adjustments, capable of a stable overclock of 7% with stock cooler - all of which makes it a perfect choice for desktop as well. Remember with integrated graphics, you are not going to get the best gaming performance out of it.

That said however, this Gigabyte 785G Chipset motherboard is one of the best mainstream boards to base an HTPC on. With low power draw, integrated graphics that offer multiple outputs, and just about any connection you could want, it really stands out from the crowd.

Pros: