Gigabyte MA-790FXT UD5P Motherboard Review :: Layout

The MA790FXT-UD5P is a Full ATX sized motherboard. Gigabyte has decided to outfit the board in a purple color PCB, matching their other motherboards. Starting at the upper right side of the board we have the 8-pin power connector. This is the normal position for the connector. Moving down we have the CPU Socket. There is plenty of clearance for after-market coolers in this position.

Next to the 8-pin power connector is the heatsink for the MOSFETS. A heat pipe leads out to the Northbridge with another heat pipe leading to the SB750 Southbridge. Also next to the MOSFET heatsink is the CPUFan header. Moving down to the bottom edge of the board we see where the 24-pin power connector is located. Next to that is a fan header with 3-pins. Above the 24-pin power is Power and Reset buttons.

To the left of the CPU cooler are four DIMM Sockets for DDR3 memory. The memory is color coded in blue and yellow pairs. Each pair signifies a different memory channel. The memory controller on AM3 CPUs is of course on the CPU so the board can support up 16GB of DDR3 memory clocked at up to 1666MHz assuming the CPU and the memory supports it. Next to the 24-pin power connector is a FDD port and above that is the IDE port. To the left of the FDD port lies a Clr CMOS button to clear the CMOS at any time.

Video card expansion on the board consists of two PCI Express x16 slots. These are Generation 2.0 slots providing up to 5GB/second of bandwidth between the chipset and the graphics card. Also on the board are three PCI Express x1 slots (one above PCI Express x16 slot 1 two below it), and two PCI slots below PCI Express slot #2. Note that the separation allows plenty of room to provide proper airflow for dual-slot video cards on each PCI Express x16 slot.

To the left of the Clear CMOS button are ten sideways oriented SATA ports! Ten SATA ports should satisfy even the most demanding enthusiast as it is unlikely that they would have 10 SATA HDDs or optical drives in a system. The SB 750 Southbridge controls up to 6 SATA ports that support RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD. Two JM322 chips control the remaining 4 SATA ports Gigabyte calls them Gigabyte SDATA2 chips. RAID 0, 1, and JBOD and Smart Backup is supported. An ITE 8720 chip controls the FDD.

The FP IO connectors are all color coded and labeled to make it impossible to put the wrong wire in. Next to the FP IO are two further fan headers. Two USB 2.0 headers and an IEEE-1394 header on the board round out expansion for Firewire and USB devices on the board Next to them are a LPT port and a COM port allowing legacy use of these devices if needed. A Texas Instruments TI TSB43AB23 chip controls up to three IEEE-1394 ports with two on the back panel and the one supported by a header.

Onboard sound is provided by the venerable Realtek ALC889A CODEC. This popular sound CODEC supports Intel's High Definition Audio standard, allows for 2/4/5/7.1 channel Surround Sound supports S/PDIF In/Out and CD In. The ALC889A supports multi-streaming i.e. 7.1+2 channel simultaneous output. Onboard sound has come a long way since the days of 2-channel sound. The modern sound card can do Dolby Digital Live, Dolby PCEE and DTS Connect.

The rear IO of the board is quite extensive including a PS/2 keyboard, a PS/2 mouse, SPDIF Out and Optical, 8 USB 2.0 ports, a IEEE-1394a port, a IEEE-1394b port, two Gigabit RJ45 jacks and six audio jacks for 7.1 Surround Sound. The onboard LAN is controlled by two Realtek RTL8111C PHYs which use a PCI Express channel. The total USB ports supported by this board are 12 with brackets. Every spot on the rear IO is filled with ports, making this an excellent choice for those needing the devices.