GIGABYTE GA-B75M-HD3 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: Solid board after I figured out why the Intel video would not work.

Cons: Driver DVD had corrupt drivers for the Intel video. Found this out after troubleshooting for 2 days. Not happy about that.

Other Thoughts: This board is another reason to download the drivers directly from Gigabyte's site. I wasted too much time because of a corrupt DVD/driver.........

Pros: Has the Intel B75 chipset, HDMI, 6 USB ports on back (2 of which are USB 3.0 and supports Ivy Bridge CPU's..

It was not DOA and worked!

Cons: Only 2 DIMMS, the XVGA and SVGA ports are a little flimsy feeling when you connect a cable to them.

Other Thoughts: I would buy this board again.

Intel Pentium G2020 Ivy Bridge 2.9GHz

Kingston HyperX Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Model KHX13C9B1RK2/8

Western Digital WD RE4 WD5003ABYX 500GB
XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W

Pros: Neweggs service was excellent and they were even able to tell us what s/n boards came from what facility. Great job!
These boards are impressive at the least considering the small form factor and the sheer number of video output options supported by the Intel B75 chipset in combination with an Ivy Bridge processor (i3/i5/i7). Have built a number of systems with Gigabyte boards without issue, until very recently...

Cons: I wasted a ton of time and had to pay to return 2 mother boards that I could not place into service. Two (2) out of four (4) of these boards would fail to start Windows 7 Pro (32-bit) after loading the Intel video driver. The default Microsoft driver would work just fine, but is incapable of providing wide screen resolutions. Was able to remove Intel driver in safe-mode to regain a bootable system condition. Spent a great deal of time on chat with Intel support and communicated with Gigabyte support via website. Tried all available versions of the video driver, changed CPUs, tested RAM, changed RAM, changed PSUs, and even upgraded to the latest Beta BIOS. Finally noticed the serial numbers on the 2 boards that would fail were vastly different from the 2 boards that worked fine. Working systems had s/n 13084008xxxx (shipped from TN) while failing systems had s/n 13094011xxxx (shipped from CA). This has to be a manufacturing change and needs to be investigated by Gigabyte and possibly Intel. Could be in either the B75 chipset process or something in the interface traces or components on the m/b that makes the Intel video functions fail. I only had i3-3220 and i5-3470 CPUs to test with, but the other 2 boards worked with both of them, so it was the boards not the CPUs.

Other Thoughts: I would recommend avoiding Gigabyte B75 based boards for at least 3-6 months until manufacturers get it sorted, and even then, I would beware of s/n in the 130940xxxxxx ranges. Intel support on chat was fantastic and even waited while I swapped processors. Intel was even ready to send me a processor to try just in case. Gigabyte support was very slow in response comparatively (mostly due to time zone), but then seemed either unwilling or incapable of understanding that I had already performed a great deal of testing with various components/drivers. It really could have gone on for weeks and I do not have that kind of time to waste on a component that cost less than an hour of my time. Return it, buy something else, move on.

Pros: Easy to install, easy to setup. This is one solid board and looks well made. The BIOS is a snap to run and everything just worked out well. I had a Gigabyte socket 7 before and that one was solid so I'm happy I got this one. I replaced my Asrock H61M-DGS with it and felt better about it. The Asrock worked fine though.

Cons: I can't think of any. Didn't have one iota of problem with it. It is a solid board.

Pros: Everything seems fine now. Appreciate the small size to fit into minitower cases without a problem. Good price for a board that has all the essentials and for a person who only wants a basic computer that works.

Cons: None so far. I left off one egg simply because I'm not finished building both of the new systens yet with this board so all the details aren't yet known.

Other Thoughts: Since I last wrote about TWO identical MoBo's DOE AND since I've NEVER had to send anything back to Newegg in my 20 years of repairing computers AND since I have NEVER had a problem with a Gigabyte MoBo, I concluded that this really COULD NOT HAPPEN - there just had to be another reason that I and everyone I talked to (including the Gigabyte rep) had overlooked. And I was correct. Up until now all the CPU's that I had been putting on the MoBo's before had video on the CPU. This one did not. As a result, a no video beep code would naturally occur because there wasn't any video anywhere. Thus also both boards indicated the exact same thing. In this time of transition between video on the MoBo and video on the CPU, we have to contstantly watch the details because when you look at the MoBo, it looks exactly like a MoBo with video on the board when in fact it is simply the interface to the video on the CPU. I appologize to both Newegg and to Gigabyte for doubting them when it was my oversight. I put a test video card onto the board and everything worked fine. But buyer beware, times are changing and we can't assume anything anymore and attention to all the details is a MUST!

Pros: None - DOE

Cons: I have been a Newegg and a Gigabyte fan for years. I am a one man operation and have been repairing and building computers for over 20 years in a small community in upstate NY. I recently bought two Gigabyte motherboards (GA-B75-HD3) and BOTH of them arrived DOE. I got a beep code of one long and two short upon applying power to them the frist time. I assumed it was just a fluke since I have never had a problem with Gigabyte mobos in the past so I put the mobo on just a bench test (no case, no hdd, just the mobo, power supply, RAM and CPU and got the same beep codes for BOTH boards. I found that the beep code indicates video problems and since the video is on the mobo, I was stuck with no where to go and two customers who couldn't understand how this could happen. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand how it could happen either but my confidence in Gigabyte has just taken a HUGE plunge after this. I only hope that maybe Gigabyte or Newegg has some kind of solution to my now desperate position of two customers who now am questioning MY abilities. NOT GOOD!

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for your comments. Honest and constructive opinions are always welcome. We apologize for your difficulty with your Gigabyte product.

Your post beep codes would normally indicate a video card issue. However, since you are using the onboard graphics, the problem is a failure of the graphics to initialize your memory modules. Please try installing 1x memory module at a time, or use known good memory memory modules.

Please be sure your components are on our validated list:

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4084#dl

Also, be sure to connect both the 24pin power and the ATX12V power cables.

If you require further assistance, please contact us at newegg-support@gigabyte-usa.com with the case number 2013040102. Include your complete system configuration.

GIGABYTE VIP Support Team

Pros: Good Quality, Good Build, great for my web surfing needs

Cons: None that I can think of

Other Thoughts: Great for your basic comp needs

Pros: I previously gave this motherboard a 2-star rating, based on what I thought was a malfunction; it wouldn't display via the DVI output. I had tried it with two monitors. However, I tried it with a third monitor (newer), and it works fine. Also works fine in multiple monitor mode now using the newer monitor. It appears the older DVI connectors were not compatible. My bad. The pros I gave before still stand, and the minor cons aren't enough to dock a star.

Cons: none of any serious consequence

Other Thoughts: Apologies to Gigabyte for the bad review.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for your comments. Honest and constructive opinions are always welcome. We apologize for your difficulty with your Gigabyte product.

Please note that there is a difference between the DVI specifications and connectors of DVI-I and DVI-D. With a DVI-I connector on the motherboard, you may use a VGA dongle to convert the signal for use with a VGA monitor. However, with a DVI-D output connector on the motherboard, this is a fully digital signal and is not compatible with analog signals from a VGA monitor even if a VGA dongle was used.
Gigabyte motherboards have DVI-D ports.

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us through our Gigabyte Global Technical Support website:

http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/technical-support.aspx

GIGABYTE VIP Support Team

Pros: Attractive board, nice form factor for low-power HTPC; USB 3.0; has the right mix of options I wanted (with minor exceptions noted under cons)

Cons: DVI output non-functional, latest Intel 4000 graphics driver installed from Intel website (i3-3225); D-sub and HDMI work fine; no response yet from Gigabyte tech support several days since submitting ticket.

Only one chassis fan header (not a major con, running second fan off of molex); only one SATA III connector, but I knew that too, so running boot SSD on SATA III, storage HDD on SATA II.

Other Thoughts: I hope Gigabyte can help me get DVI working; although most output will be to TV through HDMI, I also want to connect a PC via DVI.

Manufacturer Response:

Thank you for your comments. Honest and constructive opinions are always welcome. We apologize for your difficulty with your Gigabyte product.

Please note that there is a difference between the DVI specifications and connectors of DVI-I and DVI-D. With a DVI-I connector on the motherboard, you may use a VGA dongle to convert the signal for use with a VGA monitor. However, with a DVI-D output connector on the motherboard, this is a fully digital signal and is not compatible with analog signals from a VGA monitor even if a VGA dongle was used.
Gigabyte motherboards have DVI-D ports.

If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us through our Gigabyte Global Technical Support website:

http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/technical-support.aspx

Or contact us at newegg-support@gigabyte-usa.com with the case number 2013032801 in the subject line. We will provide personalized service and analysis to help solve your issue as soon as possible.

GIGABYTE VIP Support Team

Pros: Cost effective 7-series motherboard. Only needs 4-pin CPU power plug. PCI-E 16x, 1x and PCI, you are all set.

Cons: Intermittent high pitched whine when running Ubuntu 12.10 somehow tied to cursor movement. Strangely it does not happen when running Mountain Lion. If I had to listen to it all day i think i would always be playing music loud enough not to notice the sound. Not a big enough deal to take an egg off or RMA.

Other Thoughts: Layout seems a bit scattered but does not hinder the build.