recently, a guy from my neighborhood purchased an Intel based GA mobo. The model was advertised as "twin BIOS" or "double BIOS", and it's FIRST edition indeed was equipped with TWO BIOS chips. Now, the distributer started advertising and selling mobos, but, apparently it turned out that it was a revision 2 or 3 of the mobo with the SAME name/designation... Allegedly the distributer did not know that this revision LACKED that other BIOS (thus making it a single BIOS mobo). Do I have to tell you how furious my neighbor was when he realized this?

Well he can force a refund, he stated the mobo had something it did not have. Thats fraud here in Netherlands.

TBH you should all know perfectly well all about REVS. if you build PCs for long enough.

So its ok for somebody new too PC building to be ripped off, don't be an elitist bell end. The advertising needs to be clear as to feature and performance changes with any revision.

Releasing a product based on 1 specification/feature set, then releasing a revision without said specifications/feature is considered a form of "bait and switch"... Continuing to advertise the revised product as having those missing features is false advertising, misrepresentation and consumer fraud. Problem is, nobody ever seems to be willing to do what's necessary to stop companies from doing such things. Gigabyte also isn't the only company that does this. MSI, Asus, ECS, PCChips, etc. It's actually quite common when dealing with entry-level boards, unfortunately. My first (and last) PCChips board had 4 different revisions....that were really 4 different motherboards. They changed everything from the PCB color to the chipsets used. Even had bios chips from all 3 vendors.

Wonder if this happens with their video cards as well. I noticed that within a few weeks, they had a revision on their GTX970. To this day I don't know what changed, but I guess now I don't have to feel as if there's a better, improved version of my card.

Yes, Gigabyte does this with their graphics cards as well. Just because there's a revision, doesn't necessarily mean that the overall product has been degraded though.

Plus Gigabyte has EXTENSIVE info on their site about Revs. as some boards have 5-6 Revs and the mobo drivers might be slightly different so all Revs are listed and EXPLAINED.

The board in question, B85M-HD3: Rev 1.0 spec page: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4568#sp Rev 2.0 spec page: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5007#sp Please show us from above (or anywhere on Gigabytes site) where the differences mentioned in HH's article can be found - specifically - the PWM controller phases, mosfet types and their ampere ratings and the other spec changes mentioned in the article. These details apparently were only discovered upon close inspection and testing of the board by a user from a Dutch tech forum.

This. I totally agree, in the in depth review of two revisions of the GA mobos in question it clearly correlates reduced number of mosfets per phase (and lower rated mosfets) to CPU throttling because the power delivery heats up. That's unacceptable, not to mention absence of second BIOS that was clearly advertised, and removal of a power phase... Outrageous

On an entry-level board, you should be running a Celeron or Pentium....not an i5 or i7. If you're running an appropriate processor, there should be no issue.

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, in the past their high-end revisions (like the board I have) received upgrades between revisions, seeing the opposite happen on low end boards isn't shocking. Still lame as hell though, when it comes to notable downgrades like that the board should be sold under a different name.

Hey if i'm in the wrong on this then i'm not beyond reproach on the matter. H has pointed out something that is clearly visible on Gigabyte's own site. It seems that maybe Gigabyte doesn't believe in informing people about these changes in bold after notes but like it says on all Gigabyte items. * The entire materials provided herein are for reference only. GIGABYTE reserves the right to modify or revise the content at anytime without prior notice. I even contacted Gigabyte about the 980 G1's Rev 1.0-1.1 and got an answer explaining the changes. The reason i know so much about Revs is simply because of AMD CPUs and AM3/AM3+. The older AM3's could gain a bios update that made them ready for AM3+ CPUs. So a lot of the AMD chipset mobos had a large amount of revisions because of this newer socket AM3+ which wasn't really a new socket as such but did have if i recall one extra pin but it was backwards compatible. Maybe if i was not so poor i might never have came across Revs so much if i had used Intel. I still think that it doesn't really matter though what they do with these budget mobos. If you are worrying about Split Power Plane, 4+1 phase VRMs for example on something so cheap then you have to wonder why on earth would you be thinking about it. These boards aren't made for overclocking high-end CPU's but you still get really good quality components. The missing parts in question are really only helpful if you want to OC because they are made to deliver really smooth, clean power to the CPU. Seriously though it's madness to me to think people care about power phases on these dirt cheap mobos. Even the website leaves this info out on these boards. So Gigabyte is not expecting you to want to know about the mobos power phases. It's obvious why, if you want better power phases then aim higher.

It seems that maybe Gigabyte doesn't believe in informing people about these changes in bold after notes but like it says on all Gigabyte items. * The entire materials provided herein are for reference only. GIGABYTE reserves the right to modify or revise the content at anytime without prior notice.

Having that statement on their website and product manual doesn't change the fact that Gigabyte doesn't properly advertise the changes as required. Gigabyte continues to advertise products as having features that have been removed, which is fraud. Such behavior is deemed illegal in at least some countries.

Seriously though it's madness to me to think people care about power phases on these dirt cheap mobos. Even the website leaves this info out on these boards. So Gigabyte is not expecting you to want to know about the mobos power phases. It's obvious why, if you want better power phases then aim higher.

It's clear that they do this to get good reviews and then save (make) money by cutting quality. It might not be illegal but it's cheap and dirty. If that's how they want to be seen as a company, fine.

I had 5 gigabyte products, two i bought myself, three were gifts. All of them had flaws, all of them sucked. I don't recommend gigabyte to anyone. Even the name brings me back awful memories.

I had several Gigabyte products. All were great and I would have no problem buying from them again. Just that I would be extra sure what I was buying is not different than what was reviewed or advertised.

Ive used their MOBOs in the past, my FM1 media server is based around a budget board and apart from the first one bricking after a BIOS update (replaced free) they have been ok. However my last three boards have been from MSI and all have been great.