Gigabyte 970 Gaming SLI Motherboard Review

[Guest]

Gigabyte's GA-970-Gaming SLI adds contemporary features such as USB 3.1 to AMD's classic AM3+ platform. We examine how well it stacks up against the competition in overclocking and value.

Gigabyte 970 Gaming SLI Motherboard Review : Read more

 

[Joker41NAM]

Maybe I missed something, but it appears to say that you're going to compare it to the MSI 990FXA Gaming, but then none of the graphs appear to have that MB.

 

[pjc6281]

I appreciate your hard work but why are we still reviewing old dog platforms like this. I just got rid of my 1090T AMD Processor from many moons ago and upgraded to a Skylake that uses a fraction of the power and causes less heat. AMD needs to get a new flagship processor out with a better fab process asap....or go belly up.. CMON AMD

 

[Anarkie13]

It's getting to be a very sad time. AMD needs to get back into the game. In a few more years, unless they do, Intel will have a complete monopoly and advances will be minimal at best.

I'm a huge fan of competition in technology. That's the best way for technology to advance.

 

[Krnt]

Thanks for the reviews, these newly released motherboards for AMD doesn't seem to have anything better in terms of performance compared to the already known boards on the market.

However some of those seem to have good value.

 

[TheTerk]

Maybe I missed something, but it appears to say that you're going to compare it to the MSI 990FXA Gaming, but then none of the graphs appear to have that MB.

The comparison is more from a specification perspective, but feel free to open my MSI article and read that

 

[g-unit1111]

I appreciate your hard work but why are we still reviewing old dog platforms like this. I just got rid of my 1090T AMD Processor from many moons ago and upgraded to a Skylake that uses a fraction of the power and causes less heat. AMD needs to get a new flagship processor out with a better fab process asap....or go belly up.. CMON AMD

I hear that. I want AMD to succeed. Intel needs AMD because competition fuels the tech industry. But AMD just keeps shooting themselves in the foot with one disaster after another. I want Polaris to be good and I want Zen to be good but I'm not holding out much hope after the disastrous release of the RX480.

 

[elbert]

I take it this is last ditch effort to sale AM3+ motherboards and CPU's before AM4 and Zen launch. During AMD's rx480 steaming event the CEO show cased the ZEN and suggested a launch window of August.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

For some reason when i saw the title I was expecting SLI benchmarks....

I would have liked to have seen If AMD's aging rig can still push a pair of 970's or something, or if there is a significant bottleneck.

 

[Onus]

The 970 chipset normally doesn't provide a second x16 PCIe slot; it's x4. SLI requires a minimum of x8; please clarify that this board actually supports SLI in a x8/x8 configuration. Thanks.
Also, when a M.2 drive is installed (of either type), are any other ports/slots disabled?

 

[TheTerk]

The 970 chipset normally doesn't provide a second x16 PCIe slot; it's x4. SLI requires a minimum of x8; please clarify that this board actually supports SLI in a x8/x8 configuration. Thanks.
Also, when a M.2 drive is installed (of either type), are any other ports/slots disabled?

This board drives 16 lanes to the first connector if only the first PCIe x16 is installed The board then switches to an x8/x8 if a card is installed in the 2nd x16 slot. The 970's x4 dedicated lanes go to the M.2 slot. 2 PCIe x1 slots round out the config totaling in 22 PCIe gen 2 lanes available.

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5779&dl=1&RWD=0#sp

 

[Onus]

Ah, so nothing is disabled? Excellent; the number of lanes, even if they are slower, remains a relative strength of AMD boards.

 

[RedJaron]

While the 970 chipset doesn't natively support PCIe lane switching, you'll notice a series of PLX type switches on the board that allow it to go to x8/x8. As for why we are reviewing "old dog" platforms, be are looking at mboards that have recently been updated with USB 3.1 or other new features in addition to the brand spanking new boards that have come out.