GIGABYTE GA-A55M-DS2 FM1 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Pros: Built an HTPC with this board and an AMD A4 processor and all works perfectly. Using Linux Mint 14. Didn't have to change a thing. This board & Mint recognized my wireless adapter the TP-LINK| TL-WN722N R without a problem.

Cons: None so far.

Other Thoughts: It's so small it's kind of cute. Well as MB's go. :-)

Pros: Decent options for a small board. Everything was fairly straightforward. Got it working with 2 case fans, a 1 gig hdd, dvd drive, an A4-3400, 4 gb Corsair ram, some random 1gb AMD video card....
And a 230 watt 20-pin power supply.

Cons: Nothing so far. Has worked every startup.

Other Thoughts: Running Windows 7 with a video capture card flawlessly. I know it's not the optimal setup, but it's an easy setup for random people to use.
I had a power supply set to go in there that I found out was bad. Only had an old 20 pin psu. Their website said that a 20 pin will work if it puts out enough power. Figured it would be enough while loading software, but did some research. As long as you don't run a server setup with 100 hard drives and 53 fans in your case, this thing can run off of a really small amount of power and power supply.
I'm impressed. Didn't think I'd ever find a use for that old power supply!

Pros: Cheap and solid.

Cons: Would have liked some more USB ports and a USB 3.0 header.

Other Thoughts: Bought 4 of these as part of a replacement of some very old machines. The A-series processors, in my judgement, make for a very nice end user experience for normal computing.

Cheap motherboards frequently get poor reviews because people don't know what they are doing. The trick to making a cheap build is knowing what you can skimp on. No-name or built-in power supplies are your worst enemy. I built these out with Corsair CX430 power supplies. They've been rock solid, even in an environment of questionable user integrity.

Pros: Worked OK for the first few weeks i had it except for some issues with bad temperature readings.

Cons: The video connector is pretty weird and i had to modify my connector to make it work and then within the first 2 days of ownership the DVI connector came loose due to the cheap plastic they used to make it breaking leaving my video cable wire hanging from the back. After a few weeks it randomly died and when i tried reseating my cpu it came up with the heatsink like it was never even locked in and thermal paste got in the socket holes, but after cleaning them out it was still no good.

Other Thoughts: Well after this experience i don't think i will be buying another product except their cases that are a pretty good bargain.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your comments. We apologize for your difficulty with your GIGABYTE product. Please contact us at newegg-support@gigabyteusa.com with the case number 96095 in the subject line. We will provide personalized service and analysis to help solve your issue ASAP. If the matter is urgent, please send us your contact number, and we will contact you.

GIGABYTE VIP Support Team

Pros: Works, very affordable. Overclocks reasonably well.

Cons: Very minor gripe: not a fan of the SATA port layout.

Other Thoughts: I had previously reviewed this product with a 1-egg, stating that it had failed. This was my error. As it turns out, it was one of the sticks of Corsair XMS3 RAM that died. Off to review that.

Pros: It is affordable, and had all the features i was looking for.

Cons: It failed. I built this computer for my fiancee's mother who had an ancient and failing machine. I gave it to her shortly before Christmas, and it failed mid-March. The PC would simply not finish booting. At first I thought it was the SSD, but we couldn't install any OS on any drive we installed. Swapped RAM, no change. BIOS settings were never even altered. PSU also tested, not an issue. I even swapped SATA cables. The mobo keeps losing connection to its SATA ports, as near as I can tell. It tries to boot, and then just can't anymore.

Other Thoughts: I'm disappointed. I've used Gigabyte boards in several other gaming PC builds for friends, and they've been great. Maybe they just stink at AMD boards.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your comments. We apologize for your difficulty with your GIGABYTE product. Please contact us at newegg-support@gigabyteusa.com with the case number 95062 in the subject line. We will provide personalized service and analysis to help solve your issue ASAP. If the matter is urgent, please send us your contact number, and we will contact you.

GIGABYTE VIP Support Team

Pros: Has worked solidly for the past year, no issues with it at all.

Cons: Just be aware you won't be able to fit anything more than a single slot video card in it because of the sata ports.

Other Thoughts: Served me well for my first budget build before I had the money to build a gaming rig.

Pros: Micro-ATX for my small case
Good name brand
Dual-Bios
Price (got originally for $40)

Cons: Died after approximately 8 months of usage
Not an A75

Other Thoughts: System had most up-to-date bios version. Signs of a problem began around 7 months and slowly degraded to "brick" a month afterwards. Going with another brand for replacement.

Pros: Run fast with Windows 7 64 bit.

Cons: However, I can not get Canon MP530 work, each time connected to USB port, Windows 7 will crash with bluescreen death. I also can not get Microchip ICD3 debugger work on this, the USB chip set must had something causing those two perfect USB devices not working on this computer.

Other Thoughts: I did not realize Gigabyte still making motherboard with limited USB support. Otherwise, I would not buy it at the first place. I normally buy motherboard made by SuperMicro and never had any problem. This special deal caused me a lot of pain.

Pros: Great board for APU.
Runs surprisingly cool.
Video performance actually surprised me.

Cons: SATA location sucks if you put a large video card in.

Other Thoughts: no regrets buying this