InfectedMushroom :
hello im building my first gaming pc and i cant find gigabyte ab350m d3h motherboard in europe that i wanted so now i need to choose between these two gigabyte ab350m gaming 3 or asus prime b350m-a?
Depends on how many ports/connections you need and your preferred features. Both the Asus and Gigabyte have:
Same type of chipset (B350, obviously).
Same 4x RAM slots at max. 64GB cap. and 2133MHz to 2666MHz speeds.
Same 6x SATA ports and 1x M.2 socket.
Same 3x Audio Jacks (Line In, Line Out and Mic In) at rear panel.
Same Audio Codec (Realtek ALC887) and LAN Controller (Realtek 8111)
If using AMD APU (not Ryzen CPU),
same Video Outputs (1x HDMI v1.4, 1x DVI-D, and 1x VGA).
Same number of Internal USB Headers (1x USB 3.0 internal header and 2x USB 2.0 internal headers).
Almost same micro-ATX size board dimensions (244mm x 240mm for Asus vs 244mm x 244mm for Gigabyte).
What sets the above Asus and the Gigabyte motherboards apart are these
differences in features/connectivity:
Asus has
only 1x PCIe x16 slot |
Gigabyte has
2x PCIe x16 slots (1x running at x16 + 1x running at x4).
Asus can
only support a single GPU |
Gigabyte can
support two GPUs in CrossFire mode (not SLI).
Asus has
2x PCIe x1 slots |
Gigabyte has
only 1x PCIe x1 slot.
Asus has
2x PS/2 ports at the rear (dedicated for Keyboard and Mouse) |
Gigabyte has
only 1x PS/2 port (combo).
Asus has
6x USB rear ports (2x USB3.1 Type A + 4x USB3.0) |
Gigabyte has
8x (same + 2x USB2.0).
Asus has
1x Serial (19-Pin COM) Port |
Gigabyte has
2x.
Asus has
no Parallel (25-Pin LPT) Port |
Gigabyte has
1x.
Asus has a
total of 2x Fan Headers (1x for CPU + 1x for Case) |
Gigabyte has
3x (1x for CPU + 2x for Case).
Asus has
1x RGB LED Strip/LED Fan Header (12V/G/R/B) |
Gigabyte has
none.
Asus has
no built-in Ambient LED Lighting Effects |
Gigabyte has
built-in Ambient LED Lighting (Red color only).
Asus is generally Black + Gray + Silver theme |
Gigabyte is generally Black + Gray + Red theme.
Asus does not support Dual BIOS |
Gigabyte supports Dual BIOS (exclusive feature).
Asus has
only 2 out of its 6 SATA ports oriented 90-degree |
Gigabyte has
4 out of its 6 SATA ports in 90-degree.
Asus has 2 of its SATA ports sharing lanes with the M.2 socket (
whether in SATA-mode or PCIe-mode) which means
using the M.2 socket will disable both SATA ports (SATA6G_5 and SATA6G_6) leaving you with only 4x SATA ports available |
Gigabyte has 2 of its SATA ports sharing lanes with the M.2 socket (
but only if in PCIe-mode; not in SATA-mode) which means
using the M.2 socket in SATA-mode will only disable 1 SATA port (SATA3_3) leaving you with 5x SATA ports available, but using the M.2 socket in PCIe-mode (at x4 speeds) will disable 2 SATA ports (ASATA3_0 and ASATA3_1) leaving you with only 4x SATA ports available. If M.2 socket is used
in PCIe-mode (at x2 speeds), all 6x SATA ports will still be available.
By the above differences, you can see clearly that the Gigabyte packs the most connectivity and features. If such additional connectivity and features are not a necessity to you, then the Asus will suffice. If you want those perks, then get the Gigabyte.
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