Product comparison · 2 motherboards

GIGABYTE GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX vs MSI X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX

42specifications compared
25differ
17identical
27known for one product only

Key differences

Processor manufacturer
- GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX:AMD
- X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX:Intel
Processor socket
- GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX:Socket FM1
- X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX:LGA 2011 (Socket R)
Compatible processor series
- GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX:AMD A, AMD E2
- X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX:Intel® Core™ i7
Number of memory slots
- GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX:2
- X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX:4
Memory channels
- GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX:Dual-channel
- X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX:Quad-channel
Maximum internal memory
- GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX:32 GB
- X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX:64 GB
Supported storage drive interfaces
- GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX:SATA II
- X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX:SATA II, SATA III
RAID levels
- GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX:0, 1, 10, JBOD
- X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX:0, 1, 5, 10

Side by side

Differences highlightedShow differences only

Comparison of GA-A55M-DS2, X79A-GD45
69 specifications	A GIGABYTE GA-A55M-DS2 motherboard AMD A55 Socket FM1 micro ATX Model GA-A55M-DS2 View product	B MSI X79A-GD45 motherboard LGA 2011 (Socket R) ATX Model X79A-GD45 View product
Processor3 differ
Processor manufacturerDiffers	AMD	Intel
Processor socketDiffers	Socket FM1	LGA 2011 (Socket R)
Compatible processor seriesDiffers	AMD A, AMD E2	Intel® Core™ i7
Maximum number of SMP processorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
Memory4 differ
Supported memory types	DDR3-SDRAM	DDR3-SDRAM
Number of memory slotsDiffers	2	4
Memory slots typeKnown for one	DIMM	Unknown — not stated by the source
Memory channelsDiffers	Dual-channel	Quad-channel
Memory voltage	1.5 V	1.5 V
Supported memory clock speedsDiffers	1066,1333,1600,1866 MHz	1066,1333,1600,1800,2133,2400 MHz
Maximum internal memoryDiffers	32 GB	64 GB
Supported memory module capacitiesKnown for one	16GB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB	Unknown — not stated by the source
Storage controllers2 differ
Supported storage drive interfacesDiffers	SATA II	SATA II, SATA III
RAID levelsDiffers	0, 1, 10, JBOD	0, 1, 5, 10
Graphics2 differ
Parallel processing technology supportDiffers	Not supported	2-Way SLI, 3-Way SLI
On-board graphics cardDiffers	Yes	No
Graphics card familyKnown for one	AMD	Unknown — not stated by the source
Internal I/O1 differ
USB 2.0 connectors	2	2
Number of SATA II connectors	4	4
Number of Parallel ATA connectors	0	0
S/PDIF out connectorKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Front panel audio connector	Yes	Yes
ATX Power connector (24-pin)	Yes	Yes
Number of EATX power connectors	1	1
CPU fan connector	Yes	Yes
Number of chassis fan connectorsDiffers	1	4
Number of COM connectorsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) connectorsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Number of SATA III connectorsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	2
Chassis intrusion connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Number of IEEE1394 connectorsKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
TPM connectorKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Rear panel I/O ports7 differ
USB 2.0 ports quantityDiffers	4	6
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A ports quantityDiffers	0	2
Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports	1	1
eSATA ports quantity	0	0
PS/2 ports quantityDiffers	2	1
Firewire (IEEE 1394) portsDiffers	0	1
VGA (D-Sub) ports quantityDiffers	1	0
HDMI ports quantity	0	0
DVI-D ports quantityDiffers	1	0
Headphone outputsDiffers	2	1
Microphone in	Yes	Yes
S/PDIF out portKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Yes
Digital audio optical outKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
COM ports quantityKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	1
Networkidentical
Ethernet interface type	Gigabit Ethernet	Gigabit Ethernet
LAN controllerKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Realtek RTL8111E
Features2 differ
Component for	PC	PC
Motherboard form factorDiffers	micro ATX	ATX
Motherboard chipset familyDiffers	AMD	Intel
Motherboard chipsetKnown for one	AMD A55	Unknown — not stated by the source
Audio output channelsKnown for one	7.1 channels	Unknown — not stated by the source
Power source type	ATX	ATX
Compatible operating systemsKnown for one	Microsoft Windows 7/Vista/XP	Unknown — not stated by the source
Audio chipKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Realtek ALC892
Expansion slots2 differ
PCI Express x1 slotsKnown for one	1	Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI Express x16 slotsDiffers	1	3
PCI Express slots versionKnown for one	2.0	Unknown — not stated by the source
PCI slotsDiffers	1	4
BIOSidentical
BIOS typeKnown for one	AWARD	Unknown — not stated by the source
BIOS memory sizeKnown for one	64 Mbit	Unknown — not stated by the source
ACPI versionKnown for one	1.0b	Unknown — not stated by the source
Clear CMOS button	Yes	Yes
Weight & dimensions2 differ
WidthDiffers	225 mm	244 mm
DepthDiffers	174 mm	305 mm
Packaging contentidentical
Drivers includedKnown for one	Yes	Unknown — not stated by the source
Trial softwareKnown for one	Norton Internet Security	Unknown — not stated by the source
Other featuresidentical
Controller interface typeKnown for one	Unknown — not stated by the source	Intel X79

A dash means the value is not stated by the source. Unknown values are never counted for or against a product, and there is no overall score.

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