Gigabyte MA-785GPMT-UD2H Motherboard

Thoughts and Conclusion

While the Micro ATX form factor places some inherent limits on a motherboard, Gigabyte has clearly done their best to pack maximum functionality into the space available.  The sheer number and variety of features available on this very moderately priced board ($95 average, at time of publication) is staggering, and the construction is rock solid.  The close proximity of the RAM to the CPU socket may be a concern, and the position of the single PCIe x1 slot is inconvenient, but these issues are minor, and do not impact the performance at all.

The primary target of this board is clearly the HTPC market.  Adding a CPU, some RAM, a power supply, a hard drive, a dvd drive and a case yields a functional system for ~$450 at time of publication.  With investment in a better CPU, faster RAM and a separate graphics card,  this board could easily be the core of a fairly respectable LAN gaming rig for not more than $700.  Either way, this is one mighty mite of a motherboard, and definitely worth a look.

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