Gigabyte MA 790GP-DS4H

Gordon Mah Ung — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:15:07 -0600

Pardon us, but crowing that your integrated graphics chip is better than your competitor’s integrated graphics chip is a bit like bragging that your D is better than your friend’s D-.

As sad as that is, it’s the tack AMD is taking with its 790GX chipset, which Gigabyte’s MA790GP-DS4H mobo is based on. While the chipset features DirectX 10 support and indeed might be faster than other integrated graphics solutions, it’s still slower than the ancient GeForce 7600 GS we compared it to.

The 790GX does support a hybrid mode, which allows you to pair an equally weak Radeon HD 3400-class GPU with the board. By adding the subpar performance of the Radeon to the integrated graphics, you immediately realize you should have purchased a better videocard. If that were the only story, we’d already be done with the 790GX. What’s interesting is that AMD’s latest chipset scales from dirt-poor integrated, to illogical hybrid support, all the way up to full CrossFire support. The MA790GP-DS4H takes full advantage of the CrossFire slots and lets you run two GPUs at full x16 PCI-E 2.0 data rates. However, Gigabyte makes a faux pas by pointing the SATA ports straight up. If you were to run two double-wide GPUs in the board, several SATA ports would be cut off.

The real news concerning the Gigabyte board is the inclusion of AMD’s new SB750 south-bridge chip, which adds RAID 5, additional SATA ports, and the ability to directly overclock the CPU further than you could before, theoretically. Our Phenom overclocks have been good but not stellar, and we didn’t seem to get much further with the new SB750, so your mileage may vary.

In our benchmarks, the board’s performance was all over the map, with hard drive scores particularly low. Only after installing a patch provided to the media (with the warning that it could result in data loss) did we see performance actually match that of boards based on the 790FX chipset. We imagine that final drivers will include the patch, but it’s obvious to us that the MA 790GP-DS4H’s drivers weren’t fully baked for the release, so color us unimpressed.

AMD Ships New "Performance" 790GX Chipset

Paul Lilly — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:08:27 -0500

AMD knows it doesn't have a processor line capable of competing with Intel's Core 2 architecture clock for clock, so instead the chipmaker looks to push a new chipset that promises improved overclocking performance. The new 790GX chipset is intended to target the "performance" gaming community, filling the spot just below its 790FX, which hones in on the ultra-enthusiast market.

According to AMD, the 790GX makes it possible to "shift your system performance into next gear with Advanced Clock Calibration that allows you to get the highest overclocking out of your AMD Phenom CPUs." To illustrate the effect, AMD uses a graph showing a 2.5GHz Phenom topping out at 3.0GHz with "standard overclocking," but jumping to 3.2GHZ and beyond with its Advanced Clock Calibration.

Hardcore gamers are likely to be turned off by the 790GX's integrated Radeon HD 3300 graphics and will opt to add in a discrete GPU solution. By doing so, gamers can take advantage of ATI's Hybrid Graphics technology and utilize both GPUs at the same time.

AMD also looks to push the budget angle, pointing out that gamers can pair a quad-core X4 9850 Phenom with a 790GX-based motherboard for $355, or $90 less than a comparable Intel rig sporting a quad-core Q9300 slapped on a P45-based motherboard.

Does AMD have a winner on its hands with the 790GX?

Image Credit: AMD

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Gigabyte MA 790GP-DS4H

AMD Ships New "Performance" 790GX Chipset