Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H

Sudeep Naik, May 16, 2008 2213 hrs IST

I have no qualms recommending this board to our readers for use on their new or upgraded PC

Feature-rich, Good Performance, Stable operation, Hybrid Graphics, Onboard UVD, Independent DVI-D and D-Sub controllers, Good 8-channel audio, HDMI out, Good assortment of I/O ports.

HyperTransport 3.0 works only with Phenoms, Northbridge tends to heat up.

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EXPERT REVIEW

Around the same time last year, we'd reviewed one of the best integrated chipsets from AMD (in terms of performance and value) for socket AM2 processors -- the 690G. In a way, they had also redefined on-board graphics to a large extent. Now, with the launch of the 780G, AMD has upped the bar by more than a few notches.

Based on the 55nm fabrication process, the 780G chipset (Codenamed RS780) hosts the new generation Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP) and is the first to use a DX10 and Shader model 4.0 compliant graphics core. It has an on-chip Unified Video Decoder (UVD), HT 3.0, DVI/HDMI interface, internal or external TMDS, and DisplayPort capability, each of which we'll discuss a little later in the article. It supports the new AM2+ socket interface, while retaining backward compatibility with the socket AM2 AMD Athlon and Sempron processors.

Powered by a Radeon HD 3200 graphics core, the 780G is capable of running DX10 games without the need for any "extra" hardware (read, a DX10 graphic card). And it's not just a DX10-enabled graphics core that we are celebrating here; with this new chipset, they have come up with what they term as ATI Hybrid Graphics technology.

Hybrid Graphics works in Vista (only) and can combine the power of the graphics card with the integrated graphics engine, giving you a "CrossFire-like" graphics performance at a very low cost.

Here's a small table that shows the innovations.

Any motherboard that uses the 780G chipset (northbridge) will make use of the SB700 southbridge. The northbridge (780G) has 26 PCI Express 2.0 lanes, out of which 16 are reserved for a single graphics slot, 4 are used for interfacing it with the SB700 southbridge, and the other 6 can be used for PCI-E x1 and PCI slots or other onboard peripherals.

Here's what the SB700 can do:

- Support 6 SATA 3.0 Gbps ports that can be setup in IDE, AHCI, JBOD,
RAID 0, RAID 1 or RAID 10 modes
- Supports 12 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 1.1 ports
- HyperFlash interface
- DASH 1.0
- 6 PCI slots
- HD Audio
- IDE, Serial and Parallel ports that give it unparalleled
compatibility with current as well as older hardware

That was a brief overview of what this new chipset is capable of. Let's talk in detail about the technical nuances that you should know as well.

USER COMMENTS

If a GPU 9300GT XFX(1 gb) is added in Pci slot, will hybrid graphics technology will work or not? Does hybrid graphics means support only to Ati cards or also nvidia cards?

by Sourabh, NAVI-MUMBAI, on Jan 08, 2009 05:38 PM, Report abuse Reply

Hi, I just want to know the price of the motherboard Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H in kolkata. Thanks Abhijit SAha

by abhijit saha, kolkata, on Oct 06, 2008 12:47 PM, Report abuse Reply

What is the price of this board in Bangalore? Please reply.

by Praveen, Bangalore, on Jun 21, 2008 02:38 PM, Report abuse Reply

can this play crysis on low setting

by asfhan, mumbai, on Jun 19, 2008 07:18 PM, Report abuse Reply

Really Good,But heating problem should be solved as soon as possible.

by vijendra, mumbai, on May 20, 2008 01:28 PM, Report abuse Reply

Can anybody tell where the board is available in punjab and Chandigrah. I'm trying to buy this since 10 days and tried everybody - retail shops, distrbutors, service centers etc.

by Komal Brar, Jalandhar, on May 20, 2008 12:34 PM, Report abuse Reply

I am using this board clubbed with X2 4800+ processor. Good performance.

by srini1973, Coimbatore, on May 17, 2008 07:38 AM, Report abuse Reply

i have the same config as urs, does ur northbridge heat up a lot too, mine is 82 c at idle and crossed 100 c at load

by vinit, goa, on May 17, 2008 01:10 PM, Report abuse

What software you are using to check the temperature.

by srini1973, Coimbatore, on May 18, 2008 06:36 AM, Report abuse

i used speedfan, n also amd overdrive the temp3 shows northbridge temp

by Vinit, Goa, on May 18, 2008 06:42 PM, Report abuse

Mine is showing as 85 at idle.

by srini1973, Coimbatore, on May 18, 2008 11:35 PM, Report abuse

so im guessing this is normal then, but would definately like to know if there is any way to cool it down

by Vinit, Goa, on May 19, 2008 01:10 AM, Report abuse

I think a better cooler for NB is required because this chipset preformance is much better than other NB. It should be hot.

by PowerONE, New Delhi, on May 19, 2008 11:32 AM, Report abuse

any suggestion about chipset coolers?

by Vinit, Goa, on May 19, 2008 01:38 PM, Report abuse

slight improvement only.There is no appreciable improvement over other chip sets except 3D mark 2005!!!

by B Rajkumar Dani, Pollachi, on May 18, 2008 11:40 PM, Report abuse Reply

Sudeep, since this is a mATX motherboard with HDMI and DVI out, it is also targeted at the HTPC market. So why don't you do some benchmarking in the video playback side. Is it capable of doing BluRay 1080p content? If it is then this MB is best suited for HTPC than anything else.

by Gamer, Bangalore, on May 17, 2008 11:46 PM, Report abuse Reply

what the cost of GA-MA78G-DS3H ?

by rahul, goa, on May 16, 2008 11:48 PM, Report abuse Reply

around 4.5K

by blah, blah, on May 17, 2008 05:16 AM, Report abuse

please send the contact detail of the dealer i want to buy it.

by rahul, goa, on May 17, 2008 08:26 PM, Report abuse

since it has a Trusted Platform Module(TPM) header, does that mean we can expect hacked versions of the mac TPM chip and install OS X legally??

by Ajay, Bangalore, on May 17, 2008 03:23 PM, Report abuse Reply

why does the 3DMark 2006 (Onboad) look like 3DMark Vantage? or is it really Vantage?

by Anonymous, Anonymous, on May 16, 2008 11:35 PM, Report abuse Reply

does it have side-port display memory cache? This feature will improve performance of onboard graphics and hybrid crossfire graphics (if any attached)

by maree, chennai, on May 16, 2008 11:11 PM, Report abuse Reply

The Effect of Side-Port Memory, Core Clock and Phenom Processor on 3D Performance -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3DMark06 score at 1284x1024: - Athlon 64 X2 5000+, no side-port memory, 500MHz core: 686 - Athlon 64 X2 3800+, no side-port memory, 900MHz core: 1354 - Athlon 64 X2 5000+, 64MB side-port memory, 500MHz core: 1168 - Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 64MB side-port memory, 1023MHz core: 1670 - Phenom 9500, no side-port memory, 500MHz core: 1444 - Phenom 9600, no side-port memory, 900MHz core: 1908 - Phenom 9600, no side-port memory, 1023MHz core: 1988 - Phenom 9600, 64MB side-port memory, 1023MHz core: 2034 As expected, core clock affects 3D performance almost linearly (?), but processor clock does not affect it much. When a dual-core processor is used, side-port memory increases 3D performance greatly. A notable fact is that when a Phenom (quad-core) processor is used, 3D performance increases greatly (1444 vs. 686 at 500MHz core!), but in this case side-port memory has little effect.

by maree, chennai, on May 16, 2008 11:17 PM, Report abuse