Introduction

Aaah, it certainly has been a while since we've tested an Intel chipset based motherboard alright. Well, mainstream that is .. I mean the sheer number of X58 motherboards we tested .. well that was just crazy.

Mainstream my dear gurus, is a very big market. It is also a market where true value is to be found. Take for example AMD's 790 series motherboard chipsets. Massive, serious value, lots of features and heaps of connectivity. Intel however also has such a chipset and after all our 790 and Phenom reviews, we felt the need to peek at one.

See, Gigabyte submitted one of their Ultra Durable 3 series motherboards (yeah the ones with quality Jap caps, super duper mosfets and an OZ extra copper), well the ladies do say that girth matters .. but the model they submitted comes with a G45 Intel chipset. And that means value as you can already think and spell HTPC and integration there.

This G45M motherboard is based on a Micro ATX form factor. Normally this doesn't leave much room for extras. The motherboard tested today however comes with UD3 technology, that G45 chipset, integrated GPU, HDMI, 8-channel audio, Gigabit Ethernet, plenty of SATA connectors, fairly nice design, 4 DIMM slots, dual-bios, passive cooling .. and all that on a m-ATX form factor design.

Let's have a peek at what Gigabyte is offering us for just over 100 EUR, oh yeah .. and it overclocks quite well too.

But surely we first look at the sheer beauty itself .. next page folks, next page.