Gigabyte features

Gigabyte includes a Serial ATA header with their motherboards

Lower half of the Gigabyte board

From a pure hardware perspective, Gigabyte uses many of the same components as MSI with their K8NSNXP-939 motherboard. For instance, both motherboards use the same Realtek ALC850 CODEC for audio duties, while both companies use Marvell transceivers for Gigabit LAN (on the K8NSNXP-939, ICS’ 1883 is used as the physical layer to the NVIDIA MAC). At the same time, there are a few differences.


For instance, while both motherboards support Firewire, Gigabyte goes one step beyond MSI by supporting the newer IEEE-1394b standard. IEEE-1394a is limited to theoretical transfer rates of up to 400MB/sec, while IEEE-1394b peaks at up to 800MB/sec. The K8NSNXP-939 is the first Athlon 64 motherboard we’re aware of to support this feature. Gigabyte also doubles up on the number of Firewire ports with their K8NSNXP-939, providing both mini-1394 (for devices like camcorders) and a full-sized port. The K8NSNXP-939 also includes out-of-the-box support for up to eight USB devices, four on the board’s back plate, and four via external headers. MSI’s K8N Neo2 Platinum on the other hand is limited to six (four via back plate, and two on an external header).

Like MSI, Gigabyte also includes a few goodies with the K8NSNXP-939, although you don’t get round IDE and floppy cables. Instead, Gigabyte provides a two-port Serial ATA header inside the board’s packaging.

One of Serial ATA’s advantages is that it’s hot-swappable, meaning you can connect or disconnect Serial ATA drives without turning off your system. By providing an external Serial ATA header in the board’s packaging, K8NSNXP-939 owners can plug in and remove Serial ATA devices without having to reach inside their system case!

Since nForce3 only provides dual Serial ATA controllers (one device per controller), Silicon Image’s Sil 3512 controller is used to power two of the K8NSNXP-939’s four Serial ATA ports.

Gigabyte backplate

Note the capacitors at the top of the CPU socket

Perhaps the feature Gigabyte is most famous for is DualBIOS. DualBIOS refers to the two BIOS chips Gigabyte includes on the K8NSNXP-939. In case the primary BIOS is damaged during an improper BIOS flash or corrupted by a malicious virus, the second BIOS kicks in, where it can be used to repair the original BIOS before going back to its backup role. This form of double security is unique to Gigabyte’s motherboards.

DPS Gold module

nForce3 Ultra chip

5 PCI slots

Another additional feature that sets Gigabyte motherboards apart from others is their dual power supply system, more commonly known as DPS. By integrating a second power source on the motherboard, Gigabyte supplies the CPU with more power than other manufacturers. The built-in DPS Gold module on the K8NSNXP-939 makes it the only Athlon 64 motherboard on the market with a 6-Phase power solution. With faster processors consuming increasing amounts of power, this feature could potentially come in handy in the future.

Starting with the K8NSNXP-939, Gigabyte has integrated the DPS module directly on the motherboard. This change was made to improve airflow around the CPU. The fan on the DPS module is quiet, Gigabyte uses a ducted design to cool the VRM circuitry more effectively.