Gigabyte Technology
Encyclopedia
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of computer hardware
products best known for its motherboard
s. The company is publicly held and traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange
.
and Falcon Northwest
. The chairman of the company is Yeh Pei-Cheng. Gigabyte is considered a Tier 1 motherboard manufacturer (based on units sold) along with Micro-Star International
(MSI), Elitegroup Computer Systems
(ECS) and Asus
. They shipped approximately 19 million motherboards in 2008 (2 million of them branded).
and NVIDIA
GPUs, such as the GeForce GTX480
and Radeon HD 5770.
Secondary lines in the company's product portfolio include desktop computer
, laptop
s, server motherboards
, server racks
, optical disc drives, liquid crystal display
(LCD), monitors, keyboards
, mice
, cooling components
, mobile phone
s (GSmart) and high end mobile phone products (personal digital assistant
(PDA) phone, TV phone etc.), networking equipment
, power supplies, and a line of computer case
s.
Gigabyte was the first company in the world to produce a software controlled power supply for desktop computers, the ODIN GT series.
April 2011: Gigabyte S1080 is a tablet computer
powered by an Intel Atom
processor. A dual booting version is expected, i.e., each time it starts it can run one of two operating system
s: Android, or Windows 7 Home Premium.
. The third part shows what features the motherboard has. This segment mostly contains a number of abbreviations.
General formula:
GA-[Power saving method+Chipset name+form factor+Specific Feature]-[main features+minor Feature]
Available 1st segment abbreviations:
Available 2nd segment abbreviations:
Available 3rd segment abbreviations:
Available 4th segment abbreviations:
Available 5th segment abbreviations:
(update: L” / “C” / “E” / “G” means minor/customized spec change version)
Computer hardware
Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...
products best known for its motherboard
Motherboard
In personal computers, a motherboard is the central printed circuit board in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the mainboard, system board, or, on Apple...
s. The company is publicly held and traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange
Taiwan Stock Exchange
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation is a financial institution, located in Taipei 101, in Taipei, Taiwan. The TSEC was established in 1961 and began operating as a stock exchange on 9 February 1962...
.
Company
Established in 1986, its major customers include custom boutique PC manufacturers such as AlienwareAlienware
Alienware is an American computer hardware subsidary of Dell, Inc. It mainly assembles third party components into desktops and laptops with custom enclosures for high-performance gaming. These products also support graphically intense applications such as video editing, simulation, and audio editing...
and Falcon Northwest
Falcon Northwest
Falcon Northwest is a personal computer manufacturing company located in Medford, Oregon, USA which was founded in 1992 by its current president, Kelt Reeves. The company began its existence focusing on high-end systems for Flight Simulation...
. The chairman of the company is Yeh Pei-Cheng. Gigabyte is considered a Tier 1 motherboard manufacturer (based on units sold) along with Micro-Star International
Micro-Star International
Micro-Star International Co., Ltd is a Taiwan-based electronics company and one of the world's largest motherboard and video card manufacturers.-Overview:MSI is one of the top three motherboard and video card manufacturers worldwide...
(MSI), Elitegroup Computer Systems
Elitegroup Computer Systems
Elitegroup Computer Systems Co., Ltd , is a Taiwan-based electronics firm. It is the fifth largest PC motherboard manufacturer in the world , with production reaching 24 million units in 2002...
(ECS) and Asus
ASUS
ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated is a multinational computer technology and consumer electronics product manufacturer headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Its product range includes motherboards, desktops, laptops, monitors, tablet PCs, servers and mobile phones...
. They shipped approximately 19 million motherboards in 2008 (2 million of them branded).
Products
In addition to the design and manufacture of motherboards hosting AMD and Intel processors, the company also makes graphics cards built around the ATI TechnologiesATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
and NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
GPUs, such as the GeForce GTX480
GeForce 400 Series
The GeForce 400 Series is the 11th generation of Nvidia's GeForce graphics processing units. The series was originally slated for production in November 2009, but, after a number of delays, launched on March 26, 2010 with availability following in April 2010....
and Radeon HD 5770.
Secondary lines in the company's product portfolio include desktop computer
Desktop computer
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright...
, laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s, server motherboards
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
, server racks
19-inch rack
A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide, including edges or ears that protrude on each side which allow the module to be fastened to the rack frame with screws.-Overview and history:Equipment designed...
, optical disc drives, liquid crystal display
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
(LCD), monitors, keyboards
Keyboard (computing)
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
, mice
Mouse (computing)
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
, cooling components
Computer cooling
Computer cooling is required to remove the waste heat produced by computer components, to keep components within their safe operating temperature limits.Various cooling methods help to improve processor performance or reduce the noise of cooling fans....
, mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s (GSmart) and high end mobile phone products (personal digital assistant
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
(PDA) phone, TV phone etc.), networking equipment
Networking hardware
Networking hardware typically refers to equipment facilitating the use of a computer network. Typically, this includes routers, switches, hubs, gateways, access points, network interface cards, Networking cables, network bridges, modems, ISDN adapters, firewalls and other equipments.In the most...
, power supplies, and a line of computer case
Computer case
A computer case is the enclosure that contains most of the components of a computer...
s.
Gigabyte was the first company in the world to produce a software controlled power supply for desktop computers, the ODIN GT series.
April 2011: Gigabyte S1080 is a tablet computer
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
powered by an Intel Atom
Intel Atom
Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of ultra-low-voltage x86 and x86-64 CPUs from Intel, designed in 45 nm CMOS and used mainly in netbooks, nettops, embedded application ranging from health care to advanced robotics and Mobile Internet devices...
processor. A dual booting version is expected, i.e., each time it starts it can run one of two operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s: Android, or Windows 7 Home Premium.
Motherboard naming conventions
Gigabyte use a special system for naming their motherboards. For example the GA-P35-DS3R. The first segment, GA, simply denotes that it's manufactured by Gigabyte. The second segment indicates what chipset it is using, in this case Intel's P35Intel P35
The P35 Express is a mainstream desktop computer chipset from Intel released in June 2007, although motherboards featuring the chipset were available a month earlier. The P35 Express chipset supports Intel's LGA 775 socket and Core 2 Duo and Quad processors, and is also known to support...
. The third part shows what features the motherboard has. This segment mostly contains a number of abbreviations.
General formula:
GA-[Power saving method+Chipset name+form factor+Specific Feature]-[main features+minor Feature]
Available 1st segment abbreviations:
- If "A" appears after the chipset code, it has the 333 onboard acceleration (USB 3.0, USB Power X3, SATA 3.0 6 Gbit/s)
- If "M" appears after the chipset code, it is a mATX board.
- If "N" appears after the chipset code, it is a Mini-ITXMini-ITXMini-ITX is a 17 x 17 cm low-power motherboard form factor developed by VIA Technologies in 2001. Mini-ITX is slightly smaller than microATX. Mini-ITX boards can often be passively cooled due to their low power consumption architecture, which makes them useful for home theater PC systems,...
board. - If "M" appears in front of the chipset number it means it is for an AMD processor, but has a non-AMD chipset.
- If "MA" appears before the chipset number it is for an AMD processor and has an AMD chipset. ie: (GA-880GMA-USB3)
- If "E" appears before the chipset number it has Dynamic Energy Saver as energy saving method. ie: (GA-EG45M-UD2H)
Available 2nd segment abbreviations:
- E - If it appears as the first letter in the third segment (ie.GA-EG45-EUD2H), it means it has Easy Energy Saver feature.
- T - Only DDR3 SDRAM support (i.e: GA-MA770T-US3)
- C - Both DDR2 and DDR3 SDRAM support
- F - Includes FireWire port and header (i.e: GA-EG41MF-US2H)
- No T or C abbreviations mean that the motherboard only has DDR2 SDRAM support.
Available 3rd segment abbreviations:
- D (Durability) - Indicates that the motherboard uses only solid state capacitors.
- U/UD (Ultra Durable 3) - Introduces 2 ounces of copper for both the Power and Ground layers.
- USB3 - Indicates that the motherboard fetaured Ultra Durable 3 and USB 3.0USB 3.0USB 3.0 is the second major revision of the Universal Serial Bus standard for computer connectivity.USB 3.0 has transmission speeds of up to 5 Gbit/s, which is 10 times faster than USB 2.0 . USB 3.0 significantly reduces the time required for data transmission, reduces power consumption, and...
support - S2 (Smart, Safe) - Various features such as Q-Flash BIOS etc.
- S3 (Smart, Speed, Safe) - Same as above, but includes overclocking features.
- S4 (Silent Pipe, Smart, Speed, Safe) - Same as above, but uses heat pipe cooling.
- S5 (CrossFire, Silent Pipe, Smart, Speed, Safe) - Same as above, but with CrossFire support.
- Q6 (Quad BIOS, Quad Cooling, Quad E-SATA 2.0, Quad Triple Phase, Quad-Core Optimized, Quad DDR2 Slots) - Indicates quad-core optimization.
Available 4th segment abbreviations:
- # (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9) - Compares boards of same class. (i.e: GA-P55-UD3)
Available 5th segment abbreviations:
- R - 2 extra SATA 2.0 ports and possibly RAID support. May have FireWire port. May not have ATI CrossFire support. (i.e: GA-P35-DS3R)
- G - Solid capacitors for the CPU Volt Regulator Module.
- H - HDMIHDMIHDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...
port. Possibly Changing, Using it for DisplayPort if HDMI port standard (i.e.: GA-H55-USB3 has HDMI) - L - Probably "Lite". Fewer SATA 2.0 ports. No RAID support. No FireWire ports. No ATI CrossFire support. Heatsink cooling. (i.e GA-P35-DS3L). It could also indicate Gigabit LAN (as in GA-G31M-S2L, versus GA-G31M-S2C which has support for 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet).
(update: L” / “C” / “E” / “G” means minor/customized spec change version)
- P - Silent Pipe, RAID, Extra PCI Express slots, extra SATA 2.0 ports. (i.e: GA-EP45-DS3P)
See also
- List of companies of Taiwan
- AsusASUSASUSTeK Computer Incorporated is a multinational computer technology and consumer electronics product manufacturer headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Its product range includes motherboards, desktops, laptops, monitors, tablet PCs, servers and mobile phones...
- BiostarBiostarBiostar or Biostar Microtech International Corp, is a motherboard manufacturer based in Taiwan, designing and manufacturing of computer hardware products such as motherboards, video cards, barebone computers and industrial PCs, to meet the demands of market development by providing more integrated...
- Elitegroup Computer SystemsElitegroup Computer SystemsElitegroup Computer Systems Co., Ltd , is a Taiwan-based electronics firm. It is the fifth largest PC motherboard manufacturer in the world , with production reaching 24 million units in 2002...
(ECS) - Micro-Star InternationalMicro-Star InternationalMicro-Star International Co., Ltd is a Taiwan-based electronics company and one of the world's largest motherboard and video card manufacturers.-Overview:MSI is one of the top three motherboard and video card manufacturers worldwide...
(MSI)