Test: Gigabyte MA790XT UD4P

Konklusion

Gigabyte MA790XT UD4 er et lækkert bundkort der overclocker godt og stabilt, og vi nåede samme CPU-hastighed som på Asus M4A79T med et 790FX chipsæt, som vi netop også har testet, som koster en 50% mere end Gigabyte MA790XT. Gigabyte har vi nok også vænnet os lidt til ufrivilligt at kæde sammen med discount. Denne sammenhæng fik vi dog manet fuldstændig til jorden med dette bundkort, der er det første i så høj en kvalitet undertegnede har haft mellem hænderne, med undtagelse af et Kontron bundkort, der er udviklet til industrimaskiner der bare ikke må gå i stykker, såsom f.eks. maskiner til hospitalsudstyr. Jeg er 100% overbevist om at dette bundkort tager nogle flere tæsk end konkurrenterne, om ikke andet så i hvert fald fysiske tæsk, for selve printet (PCB) er en del tykkere og tåler at man spænder f.eks vand-kølehoveder en del strammere end hidtil. Alt i alt et rigtig vellykket AM3 bundkort fra Gigabyte.

Innovation/Teknologi - 4
Når toppen af isbjerget er besat af 790FX, må 790X tage til takke med en 2. plads. Den eneste store forskel på de to chipsæt er antallet af PCIe lanes der er til rådighed, men der er alligevel tilstrækkeligt på MA790XT UD4P, til at understøtte CrossFireX. Derfor nupper 790X i denne omgang den næstbedste score på 4 points. 

Bundle/Tilbehør - N/A
Vi har fået et prerelease sample uden tilbehør. Derfor kan vi naturligvis ikke bedømme boardet i denne kategori. 

Design/Layout - 5
Ultra Durable lyder sgu som en gang marketing-smøre, og helt ærligt var det også den første indskydelse da vi kiggede på pakken. Det ændrede sig hurtigt, allerede fra øjeblikket boardet blev pakket ud af kassen, for allerede dá, kunne vi øjne kvaliteten af dette bundkort, der er over standarden for alle andre retail-bundkort undertegnede har haft mellem hænderne nogensinde. Det tykke og helt vinkelrette print, gør boardet mere modstandsdygtigt over for pres fra kølehoveder mv. Dertil kommer så komponenterne som Gigabyte lover holder meget længere end normalt, samt lavere varmeudvikling overalt på boardet, grundet det extra tykke kobberlag. Og så gør det jo heller ikke noget at degsignet er lækkert og stilfuldt. 

BIOS - 4
Vi fandt ikke så pokkers mange super avancerede indstillinger at pille ved i BIOS, men trods det var det alligevel nok til at overclocke vores Phenom II X3 CPU til samme højder som på foregående high-end motherboards. Vi oplevede et enkelt glitch mht. den højeste RAM divider, der godt kunne indstilles, men blev ikke bibeholdt efter genstart - noget vi forventer bliver løst med en BIOS-opdatering.

Ydelse - 4
Selv om vi nåede samme overclock på CPU'en som på forgange high-end motherboards, så har vi før set samtidige overclock af både Northbridge og HT Link være noget højere. Derfor kan vi ikke tillade os at uddele et 5-tal i denne kategori, men et meget, meget stort 4-tal synes vi er på plads. 

Pris - 4
Gigabyte MA790XT UD4P koster i skrivende stund omkring kr. 1000,- i Danmark og ned til omkring kr. 850,- hvis man bestiller fra Tyskland. Gigabyte har ikke megen konkurrence på bundkort med 790X chipsæt, da der pt. kun er 4 bundkort med dette chipsæt på Edbpriser, og de 3 af dem er Gigabyte's egne - det ene af dem er samme model som det testede i en non-Ultra Durable-udgave der koster ca. kr. 150,- mindre. Alt i alt en rigtig god pris for et bundkort med så gode overclocking-evner og i så høj en kvalitet i denne klasse.

Test: Gigabyte MA790XT UD4P

Innovation / Teknologi	4
Design - Layout	5
Software - BIOS	4
Ydelse	4
Pris	4
Samlet	84%

UK Summary

The Gigabyte MA790XT UD4 is a very nice mainboard that also overclocks very well while remaining stability. We achieved the same CPU-speed as on the Asus M4A79T with the 790FX chipset, that we've just recently tested. The Asus M4A79T with the 790FX chipset will cost you roughly 50% more though. Involuntarily, we may have paired the brand Gigabyte with a "discount" label. This pairing has been thoroughly stomped into the ground with this mainboard, because that this mainboard is of a quality so high, that I can honestly say I haven't ever had a board of this high quality in my hands - with the exception of certain Kontron mainboards, exclusively developed for use in industrial machines that just aren't allowed to die, such as in systems used for hospital equipment aso. I'm 100% certain that this mainboard will take a tougher beating than any of the competitors - well, at least a tougher physical beating because that the PCB is a lot thicker - and this makes it possible for the end-user to tighten watercooling-heads a bit more than usual - ultimatively providing even better cooling. All-in-all, a very well produced AM3 mainboard from Gigabyte.

Innovation/Technology - 4
Because of the fact, that the top of the hill is being flagged by the 790FX chipset, the 790X must settle with being 2nd. The only major difference though, is the amount of PCIe lanes available, but there's still plenty of lanes available on the MA790XT UD4P to support CrossFireX. That's why the 790X will receive the second best score of 4 points.

Bundle/Accessories - N/A
We've received a prerelease-sample with no accessories, so obviously we can't judge the board in this category. 

Design/Layout - 5
Without a shred of doubt, the words "Ultra Durable" sounds like something coming out of the marketing department - not the engineering department. This was also the first suggestion that came into our minds as we looked at the package, but it most certainly changed. Already as we opened the package, we were able to hands-on spot the quality of this mainboard, which is - no doubt - of better standard, compared to any mainboard I've had in my hands - ever! The thick and totally straight-angled PCB, makes this board less vulnerable to - for instance - pressure from being bent by tightening watercooling on top of the mainboard components. And add to that, the components that Gigabyte promises will last a lot longer than normal, aswell as the lower generation of heat all over the board due to the extra thick layer of copper. The fact that the design is delicious and stylish doesn't bother us at all.

BIOS - 4
We didn't find too many super-advanced settings to mess around with in the BIOS, but despite of that, we found enough to overclock our Phenom II X3 CPU to the same heights of high-end motherboards tested by us previously. We did experience a glitch, though. When trying to use the highest memory divider, the 1600MHz divider, it resulted in a drop on reboot, to the lower divider used along with memory running at 1333MHz. We expect this to be resolved along with a BIOS update - do bear in mind that this is a pre-release sample.

Performance - 4
Even if we managed to overclock the CPU to heights only seen on previously tested high-end motherboards, we've seen overclocks of the Northbridge and the HT Link, that we're a bit higher on other boards. This is why we can't hand it 5 points in this category. A very high 4 is what we're settling at. 

Price - 4
The Gigabyte MA790XT UD4P costs around DKK 1000 (€ 133) in Denmark and around DKK 850 if you're ordering from Germany. Gigabyte haven't got a lot of competition on the market from mainboards that come with the 790X chipset. Currently, there are only 4 mainboards on the danish IT-priceindex (edbpriser.dk), and three of these are Gigabyte's own boards - one of them being the same model as the MA790XT UD4P, where the only difference, besides the price being set at around DKK 150 less, is that it isn't a "Ultra Durable" model. All-in-all, a very nice price for a mainboard sporting very good overclocking-abilities while also being of very high quality in this class of mainboards.