GIGABYTE GA-A75-UD4H (rev. 1.0) Pro Reviews

In any case, the Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H offers up strong mix of features the typical computer user will need. The AMD A75 platform proves itself well suited to media-center and HTPC tasks; making it very simple to output movies via HDMI cable to an HDTV for example. The Radeon HD 6550D IGP at the heart of the AMD A8-3850 CPU supports light DX11 gaming at modest resolutions, HDMI 1.3 output and typical media playback with ease. Since there is no support for Nvidia SLI or AMD Crossfire, this motherboard is best used in standard office computers or family PCs where budgets are limited and applications aren't too intensive (ie. email, web surfing, Word, Photoshop, etc.). Given that the GA-A75-UD4H retails for about $130 CDN ($130 USD, £55 GBP), it just goes to show you how economical an AMD A75 platform can be. In the motherboard and IGP benchmarks PCSTATS has shown you what to expect from the AMD A75 platform and the Radeon HD 6550D integrated graphics core. As you've seen, it's adequate but anemic. Considered within the class of entry-level motherboards the Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H is a very well equipped motherboard. It comes packed with plenty of connectivity and a strong focus on build quality. If you really need all that USB 3.0, go for it! If not, save a few dollars and look towards the Gigabyte GA-A75M-UD2H motherboard instead.

I have one complaint with the Gigabyte motherboards and it is that they seem to be a few steps behind in the software utility package offered for these boards and others. The lack of a true UEFI BIOS, an overclock utility that feels and looks like it's from five or six years ago, and the problems I had experienced with it ineffectively communicating with the BIOS to garner correct information and apply settings, all turned me off. I think very highly of Gigabyte's hardware, both in function and features. I just hope the company will get the software up to speed to match the quality and functionality of the hardware it offers. Feature-wise, these boards have a lot offer. There is the dual-BIOS with two physical BIOS ROMs, where one will automatically take over in the event of a BIOS crash or bad flash, 3TB HDD support, one fuse per USB port, and dual-link and multi-display capabilities to go along with the many graphic options. The only thing keeping these boards from getting the coveted gold award is the sub-par software utilities. I really hope and expect Gigabyte will improve this situation in the near future, if the "3D" UEFI on the Intel side is any indication.

Despite having plenty of ports and a thoughtful expansion slot layout, this isn’t the best FM1 motherboard around, but it certainly does its job well

When talking about motherboards in this price range, there is usually very little to separate them in terms of hardware. One or the other may sport a single different controller, or use different implementations to get better results.With a lot of users wanting a lot of options, for $120 it seems you are not going to cover everything in the A75 market from the two largest motherboard manufacturers, so it is hard to give a nod either way. Personally, if it were between these two boards (users should note that A75 ATX boards from other manufacturers are available), if I were a single GPU gamer (or looking to CFX with the APU), or looking for a quiet system with enough HDDs, I would go for the ASUS board for its functionality. If I were a dual AMD discrete GPU gamer, an overclocker, or wanting to work with onboard audio, I would splash for the Gigabyte board.

The obtained results show clearly that overclocking Llano processors in Socket FM1 systems is a rewarding thing. As we can see from the experiments with our A8-3850, the processor core frequency may be successfully increased to 3.6 GHz and the graphics core can work at about 850 MHz. Such overclocking boosts the performance by about 25-30% in both: computational tasks as well as gaming applications. This boost allows us to view Lynx platform with a hybrid Llano processor as an entry-level gaming solution, as it provides comfortable gaming experience with acceptable quality settings even in the latest gaming titles. And I have to admit that it sounds fantastic, especially since we are talking about a processor with an integrated graphics core inside. The actual Llano overclocking procedure is fairly easy and requires increasing the clock generator (BCLK) frequency. It is important to remember that for the best results you have to set BCLK frequency as well as memory frequency to their maximums. Since Llano is pretty power-hungry and runs quite hot, it would help a lot if you had a high-performance processor cooler. It is also highly recommended to get a quality mainboard that could ensure stability at high BCLK frequencies and at the same time have a powerful voltage regulator circuitry. According to these criteria, Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H has every chance to become a good Socket FM1 platform for enthusiasts. It has everything this user group usually needs. The voltage regulator is very well made, has 8+2 phase structure and uses only high-quality components. The BIOS has all settings and parameters necessary for successful overclocking. The expansion capabilities are also very promising. The mainboard supports one or two external graphics accelerators. It has a lot of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, and SATA ports support 6 Gbps speed.

With that, we can conclude that you can't really go wrong with either board overall, but depending on your needs you should focus on Asrock's board if you demand certain features such as its superior PCIe configuration. Value-minded folks should consider Gigabyte's board for its higher build quality, better overclocking capabilities and slightly lower price. Ultimately, Asus offers the best overall solution, providing a feature-packed board with the best overall performance, solid overclocking and power consumption.

We already know how well Llano performs compared to Intel Sandy Bridge. Llano's integrated graphics offers playable performance despite its lower processing power. Today, we have paired Llano with an HD 6870 to see whether or not its CPU power is able to handle the current crop of games at 1920x1080 resolution. As the tests show, Llano is able to handle most games without much problem, since many games on the market are not CPU bound but rather GPU bound. Additionally, in games where CPU power has an effect, Llano is able to offer at least 30 FPS at medium to high visual settings for smooth quality game play. It possible that Llano will not able to keep up with future game titles but at least for many current DX11 games, Llano is powerful enough to hold its own as long as users pair it with a powerful enough graphics card like the HD 6870 or GTX 560 Ti.

The GIGABYTE A75-UD4H easily met our expectations in performance and overclocking. Toss in the price tag of only $114.99 and the GIGABYTE A75-UD4H should be at or near the top of your short list!

The addition of the second PCIe lane does give the UD4H a bit of a unique selling point. That said, having a traditional, dual discrete card CrossFireX set-up does sort of miss the point of the whole Fusion plan. With the integrated APU graphics dormant there's just the weaker CPU component in operation. On these Llano Fusion motherboards price is a vital component, and far more important than the rich feature set on offer with this Gigabyte board. It's a good performer, but will struggle against cheaper opposition, such as the F1A75-V Pro from Asus.

We don't know where to start with the Gigabyte A75-UD4H. It's almost perfect. There are but two things we can really find lacking, the old-style BIOS, and number of available USB 2.0 ports, which itself isn't a problem for near anyone providing they use a case.

Its blue-and-white coloration may not make it appear very adult, but Gigabyte's A75-UD4H motherboard is well primed as the foundation for a PC using AMD?s new FM1 socket.