When Gigabyte first released their batch of X58 motherboards it contained three models representing the value, mid-range and high-end markets. They were the UD3, UD5 and UD7 respectively.
The main differences between each model were the "extras" that you got with each one. Although the UD3 did have a reduced amount of power phases compared to its two bigger brothers.
Power-phases have two main uses. Firstly to ensure that the power delivery is smooth and stable from idle through to heavy loading. The second, and to us almost more important, aspect is that the ability of a motherboard to supply plenty of amps and retain stable voltage is key to overclocking.
Sadly the original UD3 was quickly found wanting in this department and so the budget overclockers moved on to other boards with more potential. Having honed their skills on the UD9 and various P55 platforms Gigabyte are back to bring the UD3 up to the standards it should have been from the start, by giving it the increased power phases that the overclocking community demands.
Technical Specifications
With the main change being those power phases, here is the list of specifications. As you can see the UD3R is compatible with the "333" technologies and 32nm Intel Hexcore processors.
CPU |
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QPI |
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Chipset |
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Memory |
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Audio |
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LAN |
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Expansion Slots |
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Multi-Graphics Technology |
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Storage Interface | South Bridge:
* SATA3 SSDs are not recommended for use in RAID 0 mode on Marvell SE9128 ports. GIGABYTE SATA2 chip:
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USB | Integrated in the South Bridge
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IEEE 1394 |
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Internal I/O Connectors |
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I/O Controller |
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Up Close
The UD3R v2 certainly doesn't push any boats out when it comes to design, following on perfectly from its v1 counterpart and the rest of the Gigabyte range. An information packed box gives way to the standard blue board with sky-blue and white slots that we're all familiar with.
Here you can see the many PCIe slots with the rather curiously placed legacy PCI slot as I mentioned in the video. You can also see on the bottom right the red-marked "Charge" USB header. This allows a much greater power-draw than USB standards so you can charge your iPhone/Mobile much quicker than normal.
The CPU area is where the main changes are found with the increased amount of power circuitry to better deliver smooth power and greater overclocking performance. The Gigabyte heatsinks always look lovely with clear writing and a nice deeper blue than that of the slots.
The RAM area is kept fairly clear. Normally this is where companies cram those few things they couldn't find room for elsewhere but Gigabytes design keeps everything in sensible places and allows this to have maximum airflow to keep the DIMMs and CPU cool.Despite still retaining FDD and IDE compatibility the focus is definitely on SATA slots with 6 SATA 2 and 4 SATA 6G/bps sockets covering your storage requirements.
The front panel connectors, so often a bane of our lives, are once again well served by Gigabytes continued use of a very clear, colour-coordinated, header.
The IO panel contains everything you'd expect to see from PS2 ports, SPDIF, USB 3.0 to Audio, Firewire and LAN.
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