Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 Review
by Ian Cutress on December 26, 2011 4:37 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Gigabyte
- X79
- Sandy Bridge E
Board Features
As mentioned previously, the abundance of SATA 6 Gbps ports is nice to see, especially in comparison to the competition. We have a high end Realtek codec, and Intel NIC as well. Gigabyte still insist on putting a Trusted Platform Module on their boards, but as I learned in a previous Gigabyte review, this is because Gigabyte have had positive feedback from customers who use this functionality. We are missing though some onboard power/reset/clear CMOS buttons which would make testing and error checking easier on all fronts.
| Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 | |
| Size | ATX |
| CPU Interface | LGA2011 |
| CPU Support | Intel Second Generation Core i7 Sandy Bridge E |
| Chipset | Intel X79 |
| Base Clock Frequency | 100.0 MHz |
| Core Voltage | Default, 0.8 V to 1.735 V |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Auto, 12x to 59x |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.1 V to 2.1 V |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1N to 3N |
| Memory Slots |
Four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 32 GB Up to Quad Channel Support for DDR3, 800-3200 MHz |
| Expansion Slots |
2 x PCIe Gen 3 x16 2 x PCIe Gen 3 x8 2 x PCIe x1 2 x PCI |
| Onboard SATA/RAID |
2 x SATA 6 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 4 x SATA 3 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 4 x SATA 6 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1 |
| Onboard |
4 x SATA 3 Gbps (PCH) 6 x SATA 6 Gbps (2 PCH, 4 Controller) 5 x Fan Headers 1 x 4-pin Molex CFX/SLI Power Connector 1 x HDMI_SPDIF Header 1 x Front Panel Header 1 x Front Panel Audio Header 3 x USB 2.0 Headers 1 x USB 3.0 Header 1 x Serial Port Header 1 x Trusted Platform Module Header |
| Onboard LAN | Intel Gigabit 82579V |
| Onboard Audio |
Realtek ALC898 7.1 Ch HD, Supports Dolby Home Theater |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX connector 1 x 8-pin 12V connector |
| Fan Headers |
1 x CPU Fan Header 4 x SYS Headers |
| IO Panel |
1 x PS/2 Mouse Port 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out Port 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Out Port 8 x USB 2.0 2 x USB 3.0 2 x eSATA 6 Gbps 1 x Gigabit Ethernet Audio Jacks |
| BIOS Version | F5 |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years from date of manufacture |
In The Box
IO Shield
Manual
Driver CD
4 x SATA Cables
Long SLI Cable
Long CFX Cable
3-way SLI Bridge
4-way SLI Bridge
Gigabyte typically are not all encompassing with their box contents - previous boards I have reviewed tend to have the bare minimum (IO shield, manual, CD, 2 SATA cables, perhaps more). In this case, we have more cables, and an array of SLI connectors for the multi-GPU enthusiast. Perhaps this is more what Gigabyte are aiming with the UD3?
Software
Gigabyte software over the past 12 months has not changed much - we still have EasyTune6 with basic OC functionality and a limited series of fan controls (when compared to their main competitors that can set dual ramping); Smart6 with various BIOS functionality, QuickBoost, QuickBoot, Timelock and SmartRecovery2; and @BIOS for updating the BIOS. Rather than go through them again, I will direct you to our previous reviews [1,2].
What is new though, is 3DPower. In essence, it is a very basic utility that allows a user to adjust the power delivery to the PWM on the board for power saving or on-the-fly overclocking. The software is a bit slow and unresponsive, and the majority of consumers will not understand what the options mean. However, it is there if a user wants it.
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39 Comments
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Death666Angel - Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - link
But there are those that use X79 as a gaming rig because of it's higher PCIe-lane count. So I see nothing wrong with offering options for everyone. :-)alxnet2003 - Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - link
FWIW, I've been buying up 16GB (2x8GB) sticks of G.Skill from newegg for what I thought was pretty cheap. I've got my ASUS X79 populated with 48GB right now (4x4 and 4x8). What's the point of using 48GB? I do a lot of video editing and x264 encoding. Having a sizable RAM drive really speeds up the editing and muxing process.freedom4556 - Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - link
These have been recalled. Seems the VRM likes to explode while overclocking! Gigabyte owners have two choices, update to a neutered BIOS that will err on the side of caution to protect the weak VRM, or get a replacement board from Gigabyte sometime later down the line.TechPowerUp reports:
http://www.techpowerup.com/157543/Gigabyte-Recalli...
A video of one such incident:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...
sonci - Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - link
Ha Ha again Gigabyte,I remember my nforce 4sli, one of the mosfet exploded in fire, with not so agressive overclock,
Gigabyte at that times used a dual power board, so I still used my board for some years after the explosion..
vailr - Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - link
How does the "Fresco" USB 3.0 controller on this board compare with the more common NEC/Renesas USB 3.0 controller?Also: when might we see Windows officially support a bootable USB 3.0 external hard drive?
This "rev.1.0" board is still listed for sale at Newegg, even though it has been officially recalled by Gigabyte?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Perseides - Wednesday, December 28, 2011 - link
If im not mistaken, is'nt this model of mobo havin some problem with the MOFSET burnin off, n GIGABYTE is recalling them?http://www.gigabyte.tw/press-center/news-page.aspx...
LoosCarl - Sunday, January 1, 2012 - link
Get this GIGABYTE GA-X79-UD3 Motherboard from Amazon: http://cl.lk/21hkxjrsdougal - Monday, January 2, 2012 - link
Looks like the new F7 BIOS does indeed fix thermal issues and improve overclocking.http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Gigabyte-X79-UD3-...
binqq - Friday, January 6, 2012 - link
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