Gigabyte GA-M52S-S3P - motherboard - ATX - GeForce 6100

Advantages: Cheap, Up to date, Loads of functions and features
Disadvantages: Onboard Graphic uses sytem memory

...I brought this motherborad for my custom built media centre pc about 3 months ago the specs are: CPU - Designed for AMD® Socket AM2 Processors with 2000M T/s system bus using Hyper Transport Technology - AMD® Cool 'n' Quiet Technology Chipset - NVIDIA® GeForce®7050PV/nForce 630a - Dual Head Display Controller Full NVIDIA nView multi-display technology capability, with independent display controllers for one digital HDTV and one analog monitor. Memory - 4 X 240-pin DIMM sockets support max. memory capacity 8GB - Supports Dual Channel DDR2 800 un-buffered ECC / Non-ECC memory HDMI - Integrated TMDS interface with HDCP key Graphics - Integrated GeForce7 Series Shader model 3.0 DirectX9 graphics - Programmable PureVideo HD Video Processor LAN - Gigabit Ethernet (Marvell 88E1116) Audio - On board 7.1 CH HD... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, Fast, 4 PCI Slots
Disadvantages: quite confusing to install

...Lets start with the advantages. It has 4 PCI slots, while most of it rivals - AM2 boards - has less. It has built -in video interface, although it's not powerful. It has a firewire port, but I had't the opportunity to test it. The built-in 7Ch sound car is also nice.Its durable, comes in a beautiful and carefully arranged packaging with all the nessecery cables. Also you get a GigaByte sticker - some enthusiasts collect them. The manual is very helpful, the provided CD has a LOT of utilities and various programs, such as Acrobat Reader. It is fast and has a good overclocking potential. And yes, the Gigabit LAN is also very nice. 8 USB ports, how can you need more? Its great, in general. And now, the disandavtages. Once I got a fake temperature reading - it showed that my system temp was 127degrees Centigrade! I was really scared... Read review

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Advantages: cheap, stable and responsive, easy installation and runs right off the box
Disadvantages: hot chipset

...detailed digital copy of the manual and other instructions materials that can be found in the cd driver. All in all, the user manual plus the different intruction materials in the the cd driver will give one a fair understanding of the workings of the motherboard. The Motherboard The thing that I immediately noticed with this motherboard is its single bridge configuration. Most motherboards have two bridges: the north and south bridge. This is so because most chipsets come in pairs. In the case of the AM2NF6G-VSTA, there is no need to have two bridges because it is built around the NVDIA GF6100-405 chipset, which, according to what I read in the net, is a single chipset solution. With only one chipset positioned in the usual place of the south bridge, the area around the processor socket is not as cramped as one would expect of a microATX... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful