The final of GIGABYTE’s launch day motherboards arrives through the B450M DS3H which originates from the Ultra Durable line. With the shift from a gaming to a more understated theme, GIGABYTE chose a style that is less aggressive with RGB LEDs built into the heatsinks, while users who want to utilize rainbow-colored RGB can simply use a single RGB LED strip header.
The B450M DS3H has an emphasis on providing value without significantly sacrificing overall quality while lacking many of the bells and whistles of the B450 Aorus motherboards. The Realtek ALC887 audio codec still does a fantastic job of delivering onboard audio, even though the general controller choice does place this board in the bottom tier of AM4 boards available. Because it also features a Realtek GbE LAN controller, the DS3H is a fantastic choice for anyone on a low budget who also want a smaller microATX form factor.
The primary bulk of the board’s visual prowess derives from the PCB, which boasts a black base with a grey striped circuit-like design extending from the corners of the board towards the socket. Two full-length PCIe slots are provided by this entry-level system, with PCIe 3.0 x16 in the top slot while the bottom slot is PCIe 2.0 x4. A single PCIe 2.0 x1 slot is located in between the two full-length slots. AMD CrossFire multi-graphics card setups are now possible thanks to the two full-length slots, however, it should be noted that the B450 chipset does not enable NVIDIA SLI owing to PCI bandwidth restrictions.
The B450M DS3H has four memory slots that can accommodate DDR4-3200 memory, much like all of GIGABYTE’s B450 motherboards from launch day. Because both ECC and non-ECC Un-buffered memory types are available, a total of 64 GB of system memory may be installed. Additionally, DDR4 RAM with integrated XMP profiles is supported.
The majority of the storage is provided via four SATA connectors. Due to the board’s entry-level heritage and pure cost-cutting tactic, all of these ports have straight angled slots. Supported by the SATA connections are RAID 10, RAID 0, and RAID 1 arrays. Additionally, there is one PCIe 3.0 x4/SATA M.2 slot that can accommodate up to M.2 22110 SSDs.
With a very small and light-looking heatsink spanning the CPU portion of the VRM, the B450M DS3H appears to sport a very basic but acceptable 4+3 hybrid digital design for its power supply, leaving the SoC area at the mercy of the system’s passive cooling capabilities. When using a discrete graphics card, it’s not a big deal, but if a client wants to use one of the Ryzen 2000 series APUs and overclock them for better performance, that might cause some heat issues.
The back panel of the B450M DS3H microATX motherboard comprises of a very basic variety of ports and connectors including four USB 3.1 5 Gbps ports and four extra USB 2.0 Type-A ports. A PS/2 combo connector and a single LAN port with a Realtek GbE networking chip are also included. The three 3.5mm audio connectors making up the onboard audio are powered by the Realtek ALC887 audio codec. Finishing off the back panel is a pairing of visual outputs which consist of a DVI-D, and HDMI 2.0 connection which makes this board acceptable for a low-end and entry-level gaming system when teamed up with an APU.
The GIGABYTE B450M DS3H’s main selling point is its pricing at roughly $69.99 without compromising on key capabilities that are often utilized on most home systems. The Realtek ALC887 audio codec, which is more cost-effective than, for example, the ALC1220, and the use of a less expensive Realtek GbE networking chip, which is better than, for instance, the Intel I211-AT featured on their own B450 Aorus Pro and Aorus Pro WIFI models, give the B450M DS3H more function and value over style, ostentatious aesthetics, and unnecessary componentry that drives up costs.