Board Features

Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
Market Segment Performance
CPU Interface LGA 1155
CPU Support Sandy Bridge i3/i5/i7
Chipset Z68
Base Clock Frequency 38.0 MHz to 400.0 MHz in 0.1 MHz intervals
DDR3 Memory Speed 1333 MHz by default, 800-2133 MHz supported
Core Voltage Auto, offset or fixed modes, 0.800 V to 1.800 V in 0.015 V intervals
CPU Clock Multiplier Dependant on CPU
DRAM Voltage Auto, 1.108 V to 2.464 V in 0.007V intervals
DRAM Command Rate Auto, 1T-3T
Memory Slots Four 240-pin DDR3 DIMM slots in dual-channel
Regular unbuffered DDR3 memory
Up to 32GB total supported
Onboard Graphics 1x D-Sub port
1x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
*The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter.
1x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
1x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600p
Expansion Slots 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (x16/x0 or x8/x8)
3 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot
2 x PCI slots
Supports ATI Crossfire
Supports NVIDIA SLI
Onboard SATA/RAID 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports supporting RAID 0/1/5/10
3 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports (blue) supporting RAID 0/1/5/10
2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (white) from Marvell 88SE9172 supporting RAID 0/1
1 x eSATA 3.0 Gb/s port
Onboard 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
4 x Fan Headers (1x4-pin, 3x3-pin)
4 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 8 USB 2.0 Ports
1 x Front panel switch/LED header
1 x TPM module connector
1 x USB3.0/2.0 header
1 x IEEE 1394a header
1x SPDIF Out header
1x Serial port header
1 x Firewire/IEEE 1394 header
1 x Front panel audio header
1x Clearing CMOS jumer
Onboard LAN 1 x Realtek RTL8111E chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Onboard Audio Realtek ALC889 Codec, 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel, Dolby Home Theater, S/PDIF Out
Power Connectors 24-pin EATX Power connector
8-pin EATX 12V Power connector
Fan Headers 1 x CPU Fan (4-pin)
3 x SYS Fan (3-pin)
IO Panel 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
1 x D-Sub port
1 x DVI-D port
1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
1 x HDMI port
1 x DisplayPort
4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 x IEEE 1394a port
1 x eSATA 3Gb/s connector
2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
1 x RJ-45 port
6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)
BIOS 2 x 32 Mbit flash
Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
Support for DualBIOS™
PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b
Warranty Period 3 Years

Software

EasyTune6 is Gigabyte's take on the monitoring and overclocking software within Windows. When you open the software, the Tuner tab opens by default. It offers three different “Quick Boost” options which are described in greater detail within the overclocking section of this review.

EasyTune6 does pretty much what you’d expect from this kind of software. It tells you everything about your CPU, memory, graphics card(s) as well as providing a hardware monitor and the ability to change your fan profiles.

EasyTune6 allows you to manually set fan profiles within Windows. The default is set at 27% when your CPU is at 20°c and 100% when it reaches 72°c. It increases as the temperature rises in order to try to keep the CPU temperature down. It’s simple really, if the CPU is still getting warmer with increased fan speeds, then the fan isn’t moving enough air so it speeds up more to bring the temperatures down. If all else fails and the CPU reaches 72°c or above, the fan will run at 100%.

When you select the advanced option, you can manually adjust the settings of the two fans that are controlled by the CPU temperature. Unfortunately, you cannot change the speed of the CPU fan and SYS_FAN2 individually - both are controlled by the CPU temperature. SYS_FAN1 and PWR both run at 100%, no matter what. There is no control over those.

You can overclock your system from within Windows. EasyTune6 allows you to change most of the required settings. You can alter the BCLK, DRAM frequency, multiplier and the system voltages.

Visual Inspection and In The Box BIOS and Overclocking
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  • Meghan54 - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link

    I have checked several publications, such as the MLA and APA manuals, and both are quite consistent with giving the recommendation that corp/company names be treated as singular entities, and has been this way for decades upon decades. Even going back to the grammar texts from the early 1950's shows this.....just happen to have some around from when my Mother taught school.

    Maybe you should check out some writing guides instead of depending upon "popular" and colloquial writing in magazines.
  • Exodus220 - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link

    The Gregg Reference Manual, Ninth Edition, by William Sabin says that when using organizational names, treat them as either singular or plural (but not both). Ordinarily, it suggests you treat the name as singular unless you wish to emphasize the individuals who make up the organization. In that case, use the plural.

    Gregg uses these examples to make sure there’s subject-verb agreement:

    Brooks & Rice has lost its lease. It is not looking for a new location. OR Brooks & Rice have lost their lease. They are now looking for…But NOT Brooks & Rice has lost its lease. They are now looking…

    If the organization is referred to as “they” or “who,” use a plural verb with the company name. If the organization is referred to as “it” or “which,” use a singular verb.

    Professor Charles Darling says, “The names of companies and other organizations are usually regarded as singular, regardless of their ending: ‘General Motors has announced its fall lineup of new vehicles.’ Try to avoid the inconsistency that is almost inevitable when you think of corporate entities as a group of individuals: ‘General Motors has announced their fall lineup of new vehicles.’”
  • Meghan54 - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link

    No they're not. Corps. are treated as singular entities. Substitute for any corp's name, be it Intel, Gigabyte, Apple, et al, the word company, and you have your answer. You wouldn't say "The company have good products", would you?

    No, just like it's incorrect to say Intel have or Gigabyte have. A company, corporation, or any group is treated as a single entity. like Congress, Parliament, or any other cohesive group.

    Learn English grammar.
  • mickyfinn - Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - link

    I don't think so. Apparently, In the US and in England, Corporations apparently are treated as single nouns. This is correct as Corporations are viewed legally as single entities.

    I cite the following:
    The Associated Press (ap.org) about us page http://www.ap.org/company/about-us: "The AP is one of the largest ... AP is neither privately held... AP employs the lastest..."

    IBM press release http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/379... entitled "IBM Completes Acquisition of Tealeaf Technology", first sentence: "ARMONK, N.Y. - 13 Jun 2012: IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced IT (emphasis mine) has completed its acquisition of Tealeaf Technology, Inc., ..."

    Financial Times website "about us": http://aboutus.ft.com/corporate-information/#axzz1... : "The FT IS... (emphasis mine)" and feel free to peruse any of their articles refering to corporations (or countries). All singular.

    Oxford University Press release, http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/news_stories/2012/120614... entitled "Oxford Tops Times Good University Guide for 11th Year"

    While the US and UK are not technically "most English-speaking countries", the English ostensibly invented the language and the US one the IP rights to it from them in a war in the 18th century.
  • mickyfinn - Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - link

    oy... I mean "won". :(
  • IanCutress - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link

    I edited this article for Brendan - there's a UK/US split on whether a company should be singular or plural (I would cite web sources and style guides on this, but they are easy to find). I understand AT is a mainly US based web-site, and when concentrating to write in a US style it's frustrating to find that what both Brendan and I know is emphatically correct, others consider it totally wrong, and it sometimes creeps through unnoticed as a result. Our apologies.
  • awaken688 - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link

    Don't worry about it man. I personally prefer it be treated as a singular, especially when we are treating it as a single entity. But, I understand there are always going to be differences among English speaking countries. Just as someone was so sure of the horrible use of "an SSD" when in fact it is the correct use, people need to relax a little.
  • MilwaukeeMike - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link

    Everyone has their preferences...some we can argue over, some are just annoyances.. I personally hate the phrase 'that being said' (and its derivatives) because it's ambiguous and pointless, but I must be in the minority because of how often it's used.
  • irreverence - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link

    I'd not usually be bothered by something like this, and would generally find it to be fairly trivial, but upon reading the rest of this article it becomes incredibly clear that it is not fit for publishing and is in dire need of a proofreader. I do not know if Brendan's 1st language is English or not, but as his 1st article on the site this should really have been scrutinised by an editor before signing off on it.

    Aside from the issue with treating Gigabyte as a plural entity, here are just a few other issues with the writing that were immediately apparent upon reading:

    - using the phrase "in my eyes" instead of "to my eyes"
    - "with regards to" instead of "with regard to"
    - "after comparing to" instead of "after comparing with"
    - "one port which points out" instead of "one port that points out"
    - "Gigabyte have put all of the features in their relative submenus that makes them easy to find." instead of "Gigabyte have put all of the features in their relative submenus which makes them easy to find."
    - "it's in the center board" - "it's in the center of the board"
    - "CPU, memory, graphics card(s) as well as..." instead of "CPU, memory and graphics card(s), as well as..."

    Then there is the confusing inconsistency between the uses of "display port" and "DisplayPort".

    Apart from all this, the whole article is littered with clumsy sentences. There are too many to quote directly, but by way of example:

    "Unfortunately, the CPU core voltage isn’t displayed correctly by CPUZ which means you have to use the EasyTune6 software, which seems to do a better job although I wouldn’t rely on it entirely."

    I'm sorry, but I expect higher standards of writing from this site. I don't blame the author directly, but the fact that this clearly hasn't been proofread is pretty bad.
  • The0ne - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link

    People see it as a "trifle" but it really is annoying if used very often. It's breaks your train of reading/thought and eventually invokes the Hulk in anyone who cares :D But I've long trained myself to ignore such trifles as blogs, reviews and even news on the Internet are horrible to begin with. Now books are another matter :D

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