Computer Electronics

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H Desktop Computer Motherboard Teardown

13 February 2009
The following is an overview of a teardown analysis conducted by IHS Benchmarking.

Overview / Main Features

Form: ATX

ODM/OEM: Gigabyte

ODM/OEM's Mobo Name: GA-MA790GP-DS4H

Chipset: AMD 790GX

CPU: AMD Phenom

Per Gigabyte website: "The GA-MA790GP-DS4H is GIGABYTE's next generation, high performance platform based on the new AMD 790GX Chipset and support for the new AMD Phenom™ quad-core processors, with the latest AM2+ platform support, integrated DDR2 1066 memory controller, HyperTransport™ 3.0 technology links and 128-bit Floating Point Units. In addition, GA-MA790GP-DS4H features with innovative S features, further providing reliable and user friendly computing and reaching the maximum system performance easily via personalized software settings.

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H Desktop Computer Motherboard Main ImageGIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H Desktop Computer Motherboard Main Image
Target Market

Desktop system integrators and OEM manufacturers. PC consumers via direct channels.

Released

Per press releases, appears to have been release August 2008.

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H Desktop Computer Motherboard - Motherboard TopGIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H Desktop Computer Motherboard - Motherboard Top

Pricing and Availability

Pricing - For as low as roughly ~$135 USD at the time of writing (Feb 2009).

Availability - Worldwide (assumed).

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have assumed a lifetime production volume of 3M units.

As a reminder, teardown volume production assumptions are primarily used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially). Unless assumed volumes are different by an order of magnitude, minor changes in volume (say 1 million vs. 2) rarely have a large net effect on our final analysis because of this.

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H Desktop Computer Motherboard Cost AnalysisGIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H Desktop Computer Motherboard Cost Analysis

Cost Notes

Main Cost Drivers Representing 72% of Direct Materials Costs

AMD - Southbridge (Qty:2)

AMD - Northbridge

Yu Fo Electronic - 4-Layer - FR4, Lead-Free

NB/CPU-VR Heatsink / Cooler Assembly - Aluminum Plates w/ Aluminum Fins, Anodized, w/ Copper Heat Pipes, Aluminum Top Plates, 4 Spring-Loaded Plastic Mounting Pins and Thermal Transfer Material

APSC6R3Exx561MH08S - Chemi-Con - Electrolytic Aluminum Conductive Polymer - 6.3V, 560uF, 105C, 20%, Low ESR (Qty:27)

PI2PCIE2412ZHE - Pericom - MUX/DEMUX - 4-Differential Channel, PCIe Gen-II Compliant (Qty:4)

Ceramic Multilayer - X5R/X7R (Qty:593)

ACA-ZIF-031-xxx - Lotes - CPU Socket - PGA940, w/ Shepherd Hook Lever

NTMFS4744NT1G - On Semiconductor - MOSFET - N-Channel, 30V, 53A (Qty:16)

RTL8111C - Realtek - Ethernet Controller - PCI Express, Gigabit LAN

Materials and Manufacturing $82.36

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

Manufacturing Notes

OEM/ODM/EMS Relationships / Manufacturing

Gigabyte is a Taiwanese company with their own internal manufacturing facilities in Taiwan (Nan-Ping), but may have a relationship with, or possess their own manufacturing facilities in the People's Republic of China.

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on the companies' structure, we are assuming the the unit was assembled in Taiwan. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were sourced in China.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of 'finished' sub-assemblies, we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Remember also that labor rates are applied directly only to hand inserted components and systems in our bill of materials, and although regional assumptions do, these new rates do not have a direct effect on our modeled calculations of placement costs for automated SMD assembly lines. ""Auto" inserted components (such as SMT components) placement costs are calculated by an iSuppli algorithm which allocates a cost per component based on the size and pincount of the device. This calculation is affected by country or region of origin as well.

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The component count of this Gigabyte motherboard is 1554 vs. an overall average component count we see historically in desktop motherboards of about 1190 total components, making this device above average in component count.

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design.

Note that manual labor has a much smaller effect on auto-insertion assembly lines (for the Main PCB, for example), where manufacturing costs are much more capital equipment intensive and driven by these investment costs.

Design Notes

The Gigabyte GA-MA790GP Motherboard design is based on the AMD 790GX chipset which features discrete North and Southbridge ICs. The Northbridge section is supported by DDR3 DRAM memory from Elpida (1 Gb). Furthermore, the I/O section features a Super I/O controller from iTE (IT8718F-S), a TI IEEE1394 host controller, an Ethernet controller and 7.1+2 audio codec from Realtek, as well as two Pericom MUX/DEMUX chips, one for HDMI, the other PCIe.

Here is a summary of the major components used in the Gigabyte GA-MA790GP Motherboard design:

Northbridge

  • AMD - RADEON IGP
  • SDRAM - Elpida - EDJ1116BASE-DJ-E - DDR3, 1Gb (64Mx16)

Southbridge

  • AMD - SOUTHBRIDGE - 218S7RBLA12FG

I/O & Interface

  • I/O Controller - iTE - IT8718F-S - Super I/O Device, LPC Interface
  • IEEE1394 Host Controller - Texas Instruments - TSB43AB23PDTG4 - Integrated 1394a-2000 OHCI PHY/Link-Layer
  • Ethernet Controller - Realtek - RTL8111C - PCI Express, Gigabit LAN
  • Codec - Realtek - ALC889A - Audio, 7.1+2 Channel, High Definition, w/ Content Protection
  • MUX/DEMUX - Pericom - PI3HDMI412FT-BZHE - 2:1, 4-Differential Channel, HDMI 1.3 Compliant
  • MUX/DEMUX - Pericom - PI2PCIE2412ZHE - 4-Differential Channel, PCIe Gen-II Compliant


Powered by CR4, the Engineering Community

Discussion – 0 comments

By posting a comment you confirm that you have read and accept our Posting Rules and Terms of Use.
Engineering Newsletter Signup
Get the GlobalSpec
Stay up to date on:
Features the top stories, latest news, charts, insights and more on the end-to-end electronics value chain.
Advertisement
Weekly Newsletter
Get news, research, and analysis
on the Electronics industry in your
inbox every week - for FREE
Sign up for our FREE eNewsletter
Advertisement