Motherboard GA-M52L-S3 from "Gigabyte": the characteristic

The motherboard for assembling PCs of medium and premium levels within the AM2 / AM2 + / AM3 computer platform is completely valid for GA-M52L-S3. Although this solution was released a long time ago, the system blocks on its basis have sufficient speed and allow solving most tasks. It is this computer component from a well-known manufacturer that will be considered in the future.

Positioning the system board

As it was mentioned before, the motherboard of the Gigabyte GA-M52L-S3 model is perfect for creating a system unit based on the AM2 / AM2 + computing platform of the middle and premium levels. This positioning is indicated by support for the most productive chips of the Phenom X3 series. Also, its presence is indicated by the presence of SATA III ports for connecting drives. The most optimal this card is suitable for the assembly of gaming systems, entry-level servers, graphic or workstations, print servers.

Equipment

The delivery list of the GA-M52L-S3 includes the following:

• This model of the motherboard.
• Metal plate-plug for mounting the board into the back panel of the system unit.
• User manual with a branded warranty card.
• Set of loops for connection.
• CD-ROM with documentation in electronic form and a set of drivers.

Chipset and socket

A set of nForce 520 LE system logic underlies GA-M52L-S3. Its characteristics indicate that the composition includes only one chip. It simultaneously performs the functions of both the northern bridge and the southern one. The processor socket in this motherboard is universal, and it can be equipped with chips both in the AM2 version and in the AM2 + version. The use of the latter in the composition of such a computer system is preferable.

Processors

A fairly large list of supported CPU models boasts GA-M52L-S3. Supported processors can belong to the computing platforms AM2, AM2 + and even AM3. In the latter case, you will need to perform the BIOS update to the latest version. Otherwise, this motherboard could work in combination with such CPU models:

• Within the framework of the AM2 computer platform, the following processors could be installed:

• Athlon 64FX.

• Opteron 1210.

• Athlon X2.

• Athlon 64X2.

• Athlon LE.

• Athlon 64.

• Septron X2.

• Septron LE.

• Septron.

• Among the models of the AM2 + family CPU it was possible to install the following:

• Phenom IIX4.

• Phenom X4.

• Phenom X3.

• The list of compatible AM3 chips with this motherboard consists of such models of processor solutions:

• Phenom II.

• Athlon II.

• Septron.

An acceptable level of performance for today only provides only the latest models of chips that have 4 or even 6 compute modules. That is, Athlon IIX4, Phenom IIX4 and Phenom IIX6 belong to this list. The first two families are equipped with 4 cores, and the last - with six. Higher performance can boast of chips series Phenom II for the reason that they have a cache memory consists of 3 levels. But Athlon II has only 2 fast memory, and this fact has a very negative effect on their speed. All other processor solutions within the framework of this platform are outdated and are suitable for solving the most simple tasks, which include office packages, playback of various multimedia files or surfing of Internet sites.

Organization of a subsystem of RAM

The motherboard from "Gigabyte" model GA-M52L-S3 is equipped with a 2-channel controller of RAM standard DDR2. Therefore, it is more optimal to install a larger number of modules with less memory capacity than one with a larger size. For example, the speed of such a PC will significantly increase when 4 2GB modules are installed instead of 2 4GB slats. This allows you to get in a number of tasks a performance gain of 10-15 percent. The number of RAM slots for setting models is limited to 4. The largest amount of addressable RAM is set by the manufacturer at 16 GB. That is, in this case, you can install 4 modules of 4 GB. It is most optimal to install modules with a nominal frequency of 800 MHz on such a motherboard. In all other cases, the speed of the computer system will be reduced.

Expansion slots and communication ports

The presence of such expansion slots boasts Gigabyte GA-M52L-S3:

• The discrete graphics adapter in this case can be installed in PCI-E version 16.X.
• For the installation of new modifications of the internal boards of the expansion controllers, there are 2 PCI E slots, version 1X.
• Out-of-date models of expansion controllers can be installed in PCI slots. In this case, they are 4.

Also included in this motherboard are the following communication ports:

• 2 sockets PS / 2.
• 1 parallel LPT port.
• 4 universal serial USB ports.
• 1 game port.
• 6 audio jacks for various purposes, 3.5mm format.
• 1 network connector format RJ-45.

Reviews about the motherboard

The motherboard GA-M52L-S3 is characterized by the owners in the reviews basically only on the positive side. Its pluses include a rich functionality (as for this computer platform), acceptable speed and a high degree of reliability. The only downside is the need to update the BIOS in the case of installing fresh processor solutions.

Results

Really an excellent product was the motherboard from one of the leading manufacturer of computer components of the company "Gigabyte" model GA-M52L-S3. Some system blocks based on it even now continue to be relevant, but most of them are able to solve only the simplest tasks. In the latter case, it makes sense to think about updating the configuration of the system unit. Well, something else to expect from a PC, released about 10 years ago, and do not have to. During this time, computer technology has made a phenomenal leap forward and dramatically changed.