GA-MA790GPT-UD3H vs GA-MA790XT-UD4P

[theBNich]

Hi. I'm trying to build fairly inexpensive yet powerful midrange PC, and I've narrowed down my motherboard choices to either the GA-MA790GPT-UD3H or the GA-MA790XT-UD4P (Newegg.com comparison).

First off, some details about the entire setup. I'm getting the Phenom II X4 955 and some 2x2gb G.SKILL RAM. I plan to reuse the Corsair HX520W from my current computer. Finally, I'm getting a single Radeon HD4770, of which I plan to eventually (maybe ~1 year) buy another for Crossfire. Please let me know if you have suggestions for improvements for any of these things that fall in the same price range.

From what I can see, here are the main differences between these motherboards:
- The GA-MA790GPT has an integrated video card.
- I think, if I am reading it correctly, that the GA-MA790GPT can do Crossfire at x16, whereas the GA-MA790XT-UD4P can only do Crossfire at x8.
- GA-MA790GPT has 6 SATA ports vs the GA-MA790XT-UD4P with 8.
- USB differences (I'm not sure about this, see my question below).

If this is correct, that means that the GA-MA790GPT has both better Crossfire support and an integrated video card, making it the better board. But then why would it be cheaper at both the base price ($124.99 vs $139.99) and rebate price ($89.99 vs $94.99)? Is there something better about the 790X chipset over 790GX? Or something better about the GA-MA790XT-UD4P specifically?

Some other questions:
- What is the difference between "USB 1.1/2.0" and "Onboard USB"? The GA-MA790GPT has 6 as opposed to 8 ports USB 1.1/2.0 ports but has 6 as opposed to 2 Onboard USB ports.
- Does anyone know what the UD3H and UD4P suffixes represent?

Thanks.

 

[bilbat]

Pretty close:
http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Motherboard/Products_ComparisonSheet.aspx?ProductID=3303,3012

 

[theBNich]

I don't understand...why are you comparing a GA-MA785GT-UD3H? Also, as I said, I did check out the comparison on Newegg. I do see that they are very similar, but I'm especially curious why the GA-MA790GPT-UD3H would be less expensive than the GA-MA790XT-UD4P.

As an additional note, I am also interested in overclocking my CPU to at least 3.4 GHz--I don't know if either board is better than the other for this.

 

[JDFan]

Main difference I see is the GA-MA790GPT-UD3H has the onboard video with 128mb of DDR3 sideport memory (so why it is less expensive is beyond me - even if you do not use it it is nice to have in case your video card ever acts up or needs to be RMA'd you can still run the system !) - other than that the only difference is a couple USB connections etc. that will not make much difference - I bought the GA-MA790GPT-UD3H and am very happy with it running an X3 720 (unlocked 4th core) and a 5770 GPU - the only other difference that you need to be aware of is it only has 1 ps\2 connection so your Keyboard or mouse must be USB !! (my wireless mouse\keyboard combo had 2 ps\2 connections and I didn't notice that (luckily I had another system that also had a wireless keyboard\mouse combo that used 1ps\2 and 1 USB connection on so it was an easy switch out for me - but be sure you do not have that problem !!

For OCing the MOBO has pretty much any settting you would need so you can adjust individual speeds and frequencies easily !

 

[theBNich]

Yep, I noticed that--thankfully, I no longer have any PS/2 devices. I still don't understand why the apparently better mobo--also with integrated graphics--is cheaper than the other, but I guess I'll plan on picking that one up unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Am I correct that the GA-MA790GPT-UD3H has better crossfire support? Also, can anyone address the difference between USB vs onboard USB?

Thanks.

 

[JDFan]

THey both are the same since they both have the 790 chipset so it is 1 - 16x speed and the second is x8 speed so when using xfire they both run at X8 speed (which is still plenty for everything but perhaps the 5970 GPU) so you will not even notice any slowdown if xfiring the 4770's (IF you can stretch the buget a little I'd try to squeeze in a 5770 instead of the 4770 !! -you'll get better performance and they also scale better when used in xfire later along with giving you the DX11 support for the new games that will be coming out - since you mention keeping the GPU's for several years !!)

On the USB ports if you look at the GA-MA790GPT-UD3H it has 3 usb connectors in the middle of the board designed for use on a front panel etc. and 2 on the rear panel - where the other MOBO has 6 of the USB connections on the rear panel and 2 on the board to run to the front panel.

 

[theBNich]

All right, sounds good; think I'll stick with the GA-MA790GPT-UD3H. I'll also consider the 5770 instead. Thanks.

 

[theBNich]

Best answer selected by theBNich.

 

[Guest]

The GA-MA790XT-UD4P has a better northbridge chipset. Your giving up a bit of performance for video. They are the same price, you have to cut somewhere.

 

[theBNich]

How much performance? Is this noticeable with and HD4770? What about with 2 4770s in Crossfire?