Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 Motherboard Review

overclocking is the art of running the system higher than what the manufacturer intended. Even though the process of overclocking deals with precise voltages and numbers, it is more “art” than “science” and requires skill, experience, luck and most importantly, a stable platform to overclock in. GIGABYTE technologies has over 20 years experience in the field of manufacturing computer components and aren’t strangers to overclocking. In fact, they hold an annual, world-wide overclocking competition called Gigabyte Open Overclocking Championships (or G.O.O.C. for short) to find the world’s best overclockers.
GIGABYTE is keen to listen to the needs of enthusiasts and have laced their motherboards with features that are aimed squarely at improving the overclocking experience. They have introduced the Ultra Durable 3 lineup, a series of motherboards featuring top-notch quality components that improve system overclockability significantly.



The GA-P55A-UD6 is part of Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable 3 lineup, supporting Intel Lynnfield processors. Sporting a 24-phase power VRD, the GA-P55A-UD6 provides unparalleled overclocking ability while keeping the system within optimal temperatures. If that wasn’t enough to impress you, the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 also supports DDR3 2600+ MHz, SATA6 Gbps and USB 3.0. For the power user who needs a motherboard that can take the punishment of overclocking and has components begging to be tested, the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 is more than worthy of the challenge.
All the motherboards in the Gigabyte Ultra Durable 3 lineup share the same white box design but are differentiated by a color theme depending on the price point. The Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 uses a blue color scheme and is slightly larger than lesser Gigabyte P55 motherboards. The front face of the box flips open to reveal a see through window, showcasing the P55A-UD6 in the center.
Inside, a form fitting, transparent hard plastic shell keeps the P55A-UD6 in place, protecting it from any physical harm or electrostatic discharge. The P55A-UD6 uses a standard ATX form factor and also sports the standard blue and white color scheme that Gigabyte uses on most of their motherboards. This blue and white color scheme is used on all the on-board ports, heat sinks and even the PCB itself.
The Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 is a socket 1156 motherboard and accepts Intel Lynnfield Core i5 and i7 processors. Gigabyte uses all solid caps for the P55A-UD6 and used Lotes sockets for their P55A line of motherboards. Large heat pipes connect the 4 heat sinks across the motherboard but were designed so that it doesn’t impede the use of GPUs in the PCIe slot or a large aftermarket CPU heat sink.
The Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6 has six DIMM slots supporting up to 2600+ MHz 16GB DDR3. The UD6 also boasts an industry leading 24 phase power VRM design for optimum power efficiency. To the right of the DIMM slots is an on-board power button, as well as the 24-pin power connector.