ECS (Elitegroup Computers) Black A780GM-A Desktop Motherboard - AMD 780G Chipset - Socket AM2+...

Great Solution

Strengths: Strong on-board video, full-ATX size, many USB ports, intuitive layout, great for a HTPC.

Weakness: Northbridge should have a fan on it, clear CMOS would be more convenient as a button, uses the same audio codec as Dell, doesn't "officially" support 95W+ processors

I chose this board because I wanted a board that was inexpensive, full-ATX size, and had on-board video strong enough that I didn't have to buy a video card. Upon researching the 780G chipset on the internet, the HD3200 video it has integrated into the Northbridge chipset far outclasses the integrated VGA offerings from Intel and nVidia. You also have the option of using "hybrd crossfire" that...

Read Full Review

ECS A780GM-A Motherboard

Strengths: Solid construction, well-written manual included, good customer support, ability for expansion/upgrades

Weakness: Only one IDE header, flimsy I/O panel, no firewire inputs

I began installing this motherboard with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ this weekend. I couldn't get it to boot up at first, but the actual physical installation seemed a lot easier than my last board -- these directions are very thorough. The last board I installed had very, very poor, insufficient instructions, so this is quite a nice change. I finally got it to boot up once I did so without...

Read Full Review

Very Nice 780G MB

Strengths: 1. Full ATX size. 2. Extensive connectivity support, even better than other more expensive ones.

Weakness: 1. Overclock options scatter among different menus. 2. Two output sound devices with the same name, but only one works. 3. Microphone port dies quickly?

The reason to choose this board is simple: full ATX vs mATX, lower price vs higher price. More specifically, even though this board is less expensive than many other mATX ones, it provides 1 more PCI slot, 1 more ePCI 1x slot, 2 more USB ports, 1 more eSATA port (not a single one on mATX ones), and 4 RAM slots. The overclock options are basic, but good enough for non-serious overclockers like me....

Read Full Review

Good motherboard and price point

Strengths: Inexpensive. Stable so far.

Weakness: None so far but I am not putting much stress on it.

Good cheap board running an non-overclocked AMD AM2 5000. Plenty of USB ports. Does the job for my spare machine but has not gotten continuous use like my main machine. Still is stable so far when it is used. No complaints.

A Good Value Board

Strengths: Many USB ports. Reasonably priced. Good for HTPC.

Weakness: Drivers are not the easiest to install. The BIOS could use some refinement. Badly documented manual.

The best thing about this board is the price and the 6 USB ports. I have not seen a board with this many USBs. If you have many USB devices, using a powered hub creates clutter. There are many SATAs as well, which is reassuring. When I upgraded to Vista Ultimate, the HDMI audio from my ATI HD 3450 failed to function, and I'm still unable to get it back. I used DDR2 rated at different speeds (800...

Read Full Review

A78GM-A MOBO

Strengths: Great Features, Cheap, Graphics are nice.

Weakness: No DVI port.

This is a great Mobo for building a cheap system. Worked right out of the box. I would definitely buy this again for a cheap build. Graphics are better than any other current IGP. Buy this if your looking for a good stable system.