Roger Moorelock Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 In case this might be of use to anyone here: Seeing that both of these boards are listed on the HCL, that they both appear to work well with OS X, and that both are priced roughly the same, I found myself curious as to which was better. In case it might be of use to anyone else here, this is what I found: Audio: The audio on the GA-EG31M-S2 (rev 1.0 & 2.0): Realtek ALC888. The audio on the GA-31M-ES2L: Realtek ALC883. The ALC888 has support for a digital microphone interface, while the ALC883 doesn't. This has been pointed out in a number of places, but the next part hasn't: GA-EG31M-S2: Realtek ALC888 - High-performance DACs with 97dB SNR (A-Weighting), ADCs with 90dB SNR (A- Weighting) GA-31M-ES2L: Realtek ALC883 - High-performance DACs with 95dB SNR (A-Weighting), ADCs with 85dB SNR (A-Weighting) While you should take these specs with a grain of salt, all things being equal, you will get slightly better audio quality with the GA-EG31M-S2 (should you get it all working, that is). Energy Savings: GA-EG31M-S2 (rev. 2.0) Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced (same with rev 1.0) GA-G31M-ES2L - Easy Energy Saver GA-EG31M-S2 (rev 1.0) - Virtual Dual BIOS. GA-EG31M-S2, GA-EG31M (rev 2.0) - Dual BIOS GA-G31M-ES2L- Dual BIOS Layout: The Floppy drive connector is in a better board location on the GA-EG31M-S2. One more quick addition to this post: I've received information from Gigabyte that the GA-31M-ES2L is actually the newer of the two motherboards. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/150047-gigabyte-ga-eg31m-s2-vs-gigabyte-ga-g31m-es2l/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
broken Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I am getting ready to build a new machine and was considering the GA-G31M-ES2L since my local Microcenter stocks it for a reasonable price. I have searched the forum forwards and backwards via Google and just want to confirm that a Vanilla install would work well on this board with all the hardware supported? Besides the minor audio quality differences, any real reason not to go with this board? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/150047-gigabyte-ga-eg31m-s2-vs-gigabyte-ga-g31m-es2l/#findComment-1061311 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Moorelock Posted January 29, 2009 Author Share Posted January 29, 2009 I am getting ready to build a new machine and was considering the GA-G31M-ES2L since my local Microcenter stocks it for a reasonable price.I have searched the forum forwards and backwards via Google and just want to confirm that a Vanilla install would work well on this board with all the hardware supported? Besides the minor audio quality differences, any real reason not to go with this board? Well, I'm about to build a new system too, and have been researching this information for that very reason. The more expensive boards have newer chipsets, the ability to run more than 4Gb of ram, and extra connectors, but as far as I can tell, this board is a good deal for a basic motherboard, and should work just fine (I asked the same question here). Perhaps other members on the board here could comment? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/150047-gigabyte-ga-eg31m-s2-vs-gigabyte-ga-g31m-es2l/#findComment-1061557 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stravaganza Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Well, I'm about to build a new system too, and have been researching this information for that very reason. The more expensive boards have newer chipsets, the ability to run more than 4Gb of ram, and extra connectors, but as far as I can tell, this board is a good deal for a basic motherboard, and should work just fine (I asked the same question here). Perhaps other members on the board here could comment? Buy EG31M-S2, period. If you knew how Gigabyte product cycle goes, you wouldn't wonder. (The newer motherboard is a light version of EG31M-S2. I wrote EG31M-S2 section of HCL, and I used several G31 boards from Gigabyte for hackintosh. So far, EG31M-S2 is the champion of all G31 microATX boards from Gigabyte.) Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/150047-gigabyte-ga-eg31m-s2-vs-gigabyte-ga-g31m-es2l/#findComment-1164229 Share on other sites More sharing options...
r8f5e7 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I'm using the G31M-ES2L without any problems. Everything works 100% with EFI Boot / Vanilla install. I can recommend this board to everyone who doesn't bother being limited to 4 gigs of RAM. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/150047-gigabyte-ga-eg31m-s2-vs-gigabyte-ga-g31m-es2l/#findComment-1164298 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts