Customer Reviews

Gigabyte Socket AM2+/AMD 770/DDR2/A&2GbE/ATX Motherboard GA-MA770-UD3

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Product Specs are plentiful. I originally purchased this because of the MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)in BIOS in suppport of the Quad Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition 3.0GHz and up to DDR2 1200 MHz memory modules and the Ultra Durable 3 technology. Currently running CPU at 3.4+ GHz w/ no voltage increase and no heat problems using AMD supplied H/S and fan. I normally buy ASUS boards for their excellent quality MOBO and crash free bios recovery.

I initially had some problems OC CPU and DDR2 1066MHz RAM. Updated the BIOS for current CPU ID updates. After update, OC proved to be easy and very stable. One word of note, most DDR2 1066MHz RAM, in my case (Corsair Dominator PC2-8500C5D 4GB Dual Channel)does not default at that speed, you have to overclock RAM or set in BIOS to reach that speed. JDEC specs auto default is 800MHz. EPP (enhanced performance profile)specs needs to be set/enabled, to unclock the 1066MHz speed. I kept trying to set multiplier, voltage, and timings w/o enabling the EPP specs mode in BIOS. Settings would never hold and PC would constantly BSOD. Finally after reviewing specs via the Easy Tune 6 window interface tweaker from Gigabyte and CPU-Z ID, I recognized the EPP feature that needed to be enabled. Set timings according to Corsair aggressive specs and PC is flying now with room for expansion. If you increase the FSB freq, this will increase memory speed over 1066 MHz. But doing this will introduce more heat in the system. MOBO have proven to be very reliable, runs cooler than other MOBOs, solid build. I think I just became a Gigabyte fan.

My build:
Cooler Master Centurion 590 ATX Mid Tower Case Black
CORSAIR 750w TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply
(2)Western Digital Caviar Black 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 32 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD5001AALS
Lite-On 22X DVDrw-saw Sata Retail B/w
Corsair TWIN2X4096-8500C5D Dominator 4GB 2 X 2GB PC2-8500 1066MHz 240-Pin DDR2 CL5 Dual Channel
EVGA 512-P3-N973-TR 512MB GeForce 9800 GT DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition 3.0GHz Cache 8MB AM2+ 125W Processor - Retail
Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 Upgrade 64 Bit OS
and of course the Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 (rev. 1.0) MOBO

Highly recommended. Will look to build a micro-atx small factor PC for my next project. Gigabyte will be first on my list.

Post comments: Make sure you check the Gigabyte approved memory support list for compatibility. The Corsair Dominator was not compatible with this mobo. Ordered the Kingston Hyper-X.

Pros: Awesome price, 1 pcie 2.0 X16 slot, 4 pcie slots, 2 pci slots, comes with manuals, installation disk, cables, and motherboard in a nicely packaged box. Dual Channel DDR2 1200+ compatibility, support for amd athlon and phenom processors, Dual bios, supports 45nm AM3 Phenom II series processors also supports am2 and am2+, 4 ram slots, can support up to 16 gb of ram, and supports xp and vista, and 64 bit version.

Cons: None.

Other thoughts: I would buy this product again, it is a great deal. If you are looking for a board with gaming capabilities for a low price, orjust a casual computer with upgrade options this is your board.

I upgraded my MB since my MSI fan started to make noise and finally cracked !!! This is a very friendly and wonderful MB. Keep cool temperatures all the time with "normal" office and photowork - no games - Works great with my AMD 64x2 5200 processor. Recommended product.

Great motherboard, easy to install. Plug everything in, power it up, and I was all ready to go. I specially like the large amount of USB ports on the rear I/O connector, no need for extra USB brackets, and I can plug everything in. The other plus is that I can use my old DDR2 memory (which I have quite a large amount of) and use newer processors with it (it can support up to Phenom II X6). I have not played with the extra overclocking features, so I cannot comment on them. But overall, great solid motherboard.

Running Ubuntu linux on this, with a moderately fast quad core Phenom II processor, with 8 GB of RAM. Works great, and is rock solid. Stays up for months.

Great mother board. exelent design i like the integrated. fire wire... cool design .. and easy to install, easy configuration on cmos. and easy to overclock cpu. stable on vista and great for gamers

Been using it for a few months - solidly reliable, even when the room is warm. Easy to set up, good features.

Great mobo to have. Ease of installation and fired right up with no problem. It has been two years and still outstanding.

This board is nearing its end-of-life cycle, so if you want good board that supports that DDR2 memory or that Athalon X2 processor you have, grab this one while you can.

Though the description here on Amazon is virtually non-existent, you can Google the board to find links to Newegg (where the board has been deactivated, but the description and reviews remain) and Gigabyte's Web site. You can get lots of information at these sites.

I bought this board to replace one I fried. Since I had just purchased 4 gigs of 667 DDR2 memory I needed a board that could support it. I feel like I hit the jackpot with this board. First, it supports my DDR2 memory and Athalon 64 XP processor, saving me over $200 on this emergency upgrade. Secondly, with the Rev 2.1 board it will support up to a Phenom II X6 processor and memory up to 16 GB of DDR2 1333. Therefore I still have room to upgrade.

The board still has two ps2 connections for keyboard and mouse, a fast disappearing feature. It also has 8 usb's on the back and connections for up to four more on the board, and up to three Firewire connections. It has on-board HD audio, but no video. It also has only one PCI-e X4 slot, so you gamers who need two video cards need to look elsewhere. There are no legacy connections on the back. This board also has dual bios...a backup chip on the board.

I have built several computers in the past 20 years, and the motherboards have only gotten better. The instructions for this one are good, every component is clearly labeled, and no jumpers to guess about. Installation was pretty easy, mostly plug-and-chug, but having Mrs. Boilermate's small hands helped a lot when connecting those tiny front panel connections. I do have a couple of gripes: the IDE connection is at a 90 deg angle to the board, and, depending on your case, the front Firewire connection can be a pain to reach.

Overall this is a good mboard, and I would buy it again. The three year warranty is a plus.

I have recently purchased this motherboard in order to build a new computer for one of my grandchildren. I liked the detailed manual and layout of the board. It was easy to find the proper connections and the spacing was adequite. So far, the unit is working as specified without any problems. My grandson is excited and uses it every day. It's not a "gamers" board, but it is fast. The materials used in the construction seem to be top-notch without any "widow" solder spots.

The only downside is not having an on-board video chip. But, the price for the board is very reasonable, so adding the additional price for a fair video card wasn't that hard to bear.

Amazon is great to deal with, and they stand by their products, even if it is only distributed through them. I trust them for any purchase I make.

I have even recommended them and the board to several of my "senior citizen" friends who like to assemble computers.