Motherboard Guide

Compare This

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7

19 Mar 2010

Gigabyte updates its top Intel X58 motherboard with SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 with the GA-X58A-UD7. It comes with Ultra Durable 3 technology and supports Intel's 32nm 6-core processors.

Tags: gigabyte, usb 3.0, sata 6gbit/s, intel x58

Filter by Manufacturers

HWZ's Overall Rating: 8.0

Performance:

Features:

Value:

7.5

Very comprehensive storage options

Low power consumption

Costly for its features

<div id="product-review" class="article">
			<h2 class="header-green">Return of the X58 - The Best from ASUS and Gigabyte</h2>
		<span class="byline">Article by Vincent Chang on Tuesday, 23 Mar 2010</span>
		<div class="share">
	<div
		id="addthis_div_519dbdfbd053b" 
		class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style"
		addthis:url="http://www.hardwarezone.com/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte"		addthis:title="Return of the X58 - The Best from ASUS and Gigabyte"	>
		<a class="addthis_button_google_plusone" g:plusone:count="false"></a>
		<a class="addthis_button_facebook"></a>
		<a class="addthis_button_twitter"></a>
		
		<a class="addthis_button_email"></a>
	</div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
	window.addEvent ('domready', function ()
	{
 		//AddThis thing
		addthis_share = window.addthis_share || {};
		addthis_share.url_transforms = {
			add: {
				utm_source: 'addthis',
				utm_medium: 'referral',
				utm_campaign: 'addthis',
				utm_content: 'Return%2Bof%2Bthe%2BX58%2B-%2BThe%2BBest%2Bfrom%2BASUS%2Band%2BGigabyte'
			}
		}
		
		addthis_config = window.addthis_config || {};
		addthis_config.data_track_clickback = true;
		addthis_config.data_ga_property = 'UA-166763-1';
		//window.addthis && addthis.toolbox (".addthis_toolbox");
		 
	});
//]]>
</script>		<div class="content resizeable">
						<div id="page-1" class="page">
		 		<h2 class="page-title">Return of the King</h2>
		 		<h3 class="page_title">Return of the King</h3>
<p>The arrival of Intel's first 6-core processor, the Core i7-980X, has renewed interest in a chipset that is largely forgotten with the wave of more affordable P55 motherboards. Despite being Intel's premier chipset for the Core i7, the X58 Express chipset was always going to be a niche product due to the cost, especially once you factor in the processor and the relatively high price of triple-channel DDR3 memory then.</p>
<p>As the only Socket LGA1366 chipset from Intel however, those looking to upgrade to the first 32nm Gulftown 6-core processor are restricted to an Intel X58 motherboard. Fortunately, these motherboards, most of which have been available for more than a year, will support the Core i7-980X&nbsp;with just a BIOS&nbsp;update. And some vendors have also upgraded their high-end models with the latest features, like SATA&nbsp;6Gbit/s and USB&nbsp;3.0, making them competitive with market alternatives.</p>
<p>Today, we examine two of these updated Intel X58 motherboards from major vendors, ASUS&nbsp;and Gigabyte. Each of them represents the highest end product from these companies and they have spared no expense in outfitting them with some of their top features and technologies. We have hence equipped them with appropriately enthusiast level components during our testing, including the 6-core Core i7-980X&nbsp;and a Radeon HD&nbsp;5870 graphics card, the better to showcase the performance you'll find on these boards.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="357" width="500" alt="" title="Our two refreshed X58 contenders, the ASUS P6X58D Premium and Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7." src="/files/images/Main.jpg" />&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<table width="95%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center">
    <caption>The ASUS P6X58D Premium and Gigabyte X58A-UD7 Compared</caption>
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <th>&nbsp;</th>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">ASUS P6X58D Premium</th>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Gigabyte X58A-UD7</th>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">CPU Support</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="center" rowspan="1" colspan="2">Support for Socket LGA1366 Core i7 processors</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Chipset</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="center" rowspan="1" colspan="2">Intel X58 and ICH10R</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Graphics</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="center">Supports NVIDIA 3-way SLI and ATI Quad-GPU CrossFireX</td>
            <td valign="middle" align="center">Support for 3-way ATI CrossFire and 3-way NVIDIA SLI</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Memory</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>Supports 6 unbuffered DIMM of DDR3-2000 (O.C) / 1866 (O.C) / 1600 (O.C) / 1333/1066MHz SDRAM</li>
                <li>Triple-channel memory architecture</li>
                <li>Supports up to 24GB memory size</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>Supports 6 unbuffered DIMM of DDR3-2200/1333/1066/800MHz SDRAM</li>
                <li>Triple-channel memory architecture</li>
                <li>Supports up to 24GB memory size</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Storage</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>Southbridge
                <ul>
                    <li>6 x SATA 3.0Gbit/s ports</li>
                    <li>Support AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 configurations</li>
                </ul>
                </li>
                <li>Marvell 88SE9123 SATA 6.0Gbit/s controller
                <ul>
                    <li>2 x SATA 6.0Gbit/s ports</li>
                </ul>
                </li>
            </ul>
            </td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>Southbridge
                <ul>
                    <li>6 x SATA 3.0Gbps ports</li>
                    <li>Support AHCI controller with SATA RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 configurations</li>
                </ul>
                </li>
                <li>Marvell 9128 controller
                <ul>
                    <li>2 x SATA 6Gbit/s ports</li>
                    <li>Support for SATA RAID 0 and 1</li>
                </ul>
                </li>
                <li>Gigabyte SATA2 chip
                <ul>
                    <li>1 x IDE connector supporting up to 2 devices</li>
                    <li>2 x SATA 3.0Gbps ports that support SATA RAID 0, 1 and JBOD</li>
                </ul>
                </li>
                <li>JMicron JMB362 chip
                <ul>
                    <li>2 x eSATA 3.0Gbps ports (eSATA/USB combo) at rear panel</li>
                    <li>Support for SATA RAID 0, 1 and JBOD</li>
                </ul>
                </li>
                <li>iTE IT8720 chip
                <ul>
                    <li>1 x floppy disk drive connector</li>
                </ul>
                </li>
            </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Audio</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">Realtek ALC889 HD CODEC</td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">Realtek ALC889 HD CODEC</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Networking</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">2 x Marvell 88E8056 PCIe Gigabit LAN controllers</td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">2 x Realtek RTL8111D Gigabit LAN controllers</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center"><span class="custom_itxt">IEEE 1394 (FireWire)</span></th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li><span class="custom_itxt">VIA VT6308 controller<br />
                </span></li>
                <li><span class="custom_itxt">Up to 2 x IEEE 1394a ports (1 rear, 1 header)<br />
                </span></li>
            </ul>
            </td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li><span class="custom_itxt">T.I TSB43AB23 controller</span></li>
                <li>Up to 3 x IEEE 1394a ports (2 rear, 1 header)</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">I/O Interface</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports</li>
                <li>2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports</li>
                <li>2 x RJ45 LAN ports</li>
                <li>6 x audio jacks</li>
                <li><span class="custom_itxt">1 x optical S/PDIF output</span></li>
                <li><span class="custom_itxt">1 x coaxial S/PDIF output<br />
                </span></li>
                <li><span class="custom_itxt">1 x IEEE 1394a port<br />
                </span></li>
                <li>1 x PS/2 keyboard port</li>
                <li>1 x PS/2 mouse port</li>
                <li>1 x Clear CMOS button</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports</li>
                <li>2 x USB 3.0 ports</li>
                <li>2 x eSATA/USB combo ports</li>
                <li>2 x RJ-45 ports</li>
                <li>6 x audio jacks</li>
                <li>1 x optical S/PDIF output</li>
                <li>1 x coaxial S/PDIF output</li>
                <li>2 x IEEE 1394a ports</li>
                <li>1 x PS/2 keyboard port</li>
                <li>1 x PS/2 mouse port</li>
                <li>1 x Clear CMOS button</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Internal Connectors</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers</li>
                <li>2 x SATA 6.0Gbit/s connectors (gray)</li>
                <li>6 x SATA 3.0Gbps connectors (blue)</li>
                <li>5 fan connectors</li>
                <li>1 x S/PDIF output header</li>
                <li>1 x IEEE 1394a header</li>
                <li>24-pin ATX power connector</li>
                <li>8-pin ATX 12V power connector</li>
                <li>1 x MemOK! button</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers</li>
                <li>1 x floppy disk drive connector</li>
                <li>1 x IDE connector</li>
                <li>8 x SATA 3.0Gbps connectors</li>
                <li>2 x SATA 6.0Gbit/s connectors</li>
                <li>6 fan connectors</li>
                <li>1 x S/PDIF input header</li>
                <li>1 x S/PDIF output header</li>
                <li>1 x IEEE 1394a header</li>
                <li>1 x 24-pin ATX power connector</li>
                <li>1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Expansion Slots</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li class="rteleft">3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (x16/x8/x8 or x16/x16/x1 mode)</li>
                <li class="rteleft">1 x PCIe x1 slot</li>
                <li class="rteleft">2 x PCI slots</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li class="rteleft">2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots<br />
                &nbsp;(x16/x16 mode)</li>
                <li class="rteleft">2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 mode)</li>
                <li class="rteleft">2 x PCIe x1 slot</li>
                <li class="rteleft">1 x PCI slot</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">Special Features</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="left"><span class="custom_itxt">
            <ul>
                <li>ASUS Xtreme Design</li>
                <li>ASUS TurboV</li>
                <li>ASUS EZ DIY</li>
                <li>ASUS Crystal Sound</li>
                <li>ASUS Quiet Thermal Solutions</li>
                <li>MemOK!</li>
                <li>ASUS EPU</li>
                <li>Express Gate SSD</li>
            </ul>
            </span></td>
            <td valign="middle" align="left">
            <ul>
                <li>@BIOS</li>
                <li>Q-Flash</li>
                <li>Xpress BIOS Rescue</li>
                <li>Xpress Recovery2</li>
                <li>EasyTune</li>
                <li>Dynamic Energy Saver 2</li>
                <li>Smart 6</li>
                <li>Auto Green</li>
                <li>eXtreme Hard Drive</li>
                <li>Q-Share</li>
            </ul>
            </td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th valign="middle" align="center">PCB</th>
            <td valign="middle" align="center"><span class="custom_itxt">ATX Form Factor (30.5 x 24.4cm)<br />
            </span></td>
            <td valign="middle" align="center"><span class="custom_itxt">ATX Form Factor (30.5 x 24.4cm)</span></td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>			</div>
		</div>
			<div class="pagination" >
		<span class="desc">Page 1 of 12</span>
		<ul>
			<li class="prevnext prev"><a href="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte" class="disabled">&lsaquo; Prev</a></li>
			<li class="skip">
				<form id="PageAddForm" method="post" action="/go"><fieldset style="display:none;"><input type="hidden" name="_method" value="POST" /></fieldset>					<select name="data[Page][url]" class="page-selector" id="PageUrl">
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte" selected="selected">Return of the King</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/asus-p6x58d-premium">The ASUS P6X58D Premium</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/gigabyte-ga-x58a-ud7">The Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/bios-settings-test-setup-4">BIOS Settings &amp; Test Setup</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/results-sysmark-2007-preview-12">Results - SYSmark 2007 Preview</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/results-futuremark-pcmark-vantage-19">Results - Futuremark PCMark Vantage</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/results-specviewperf-90-5">Results - SPECviewperf 9.0</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/results-futuremark-3dmark-vantage-5">Results - Futuremark 3DMark Vantage</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/results-gaming-benchmarks-0">Results - Gaming Benchmarks</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/temperature-power-consumption-4">Temperature &amp; Power Consumption</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/overclocking-0">Overclocking</option>
<option value="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/conclusion-32">Conclusion</option>
</select>					<input type="submit" class="submit" value="Go" />				</form>			</li>
			<li class="prevnext next"><a href="/feature-return-x58-best-asus-and-gigabyte/asus-p6x58d-premium" class="">Next &rsaquo;</a></li>
		</ul>
	</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
	window.addEvent ('domready', function ()
	{
 
		var container = document.getElement ('#product-review'),
			content = container && container.getElement ('.content'),
			pagination = container && container.getElement ('.pagination'),
			form = pagination && pagination.getElement ('form'),
			menu = form && form.getElement ('.page-selector'),
			links = {
				prev: pagination && pagination.getElement ('.prev a'),
				next: pagination && pagination.getElement ('.next a')
			},
			page = -1,
			desc = 'Page {curPage} of {lastPage}'
		;

// Tag as Javascript-enabled
		pagination.addClass ('js');

menu.addEvent ('change', function (e)
		{
			var curPage = this.selectedIndex + 1,
				lastPage = this.length,
				url = this.get ('value'),
				pageContent = container && container.getElement ('.page')
			;

// Disable controls
			menu.set ('disabled', 'disabled').blur ();
			if (pageContent) pageContent.setStyle ('opacity', .5);

new Request.HTML ({
				'url': url,
				'method': 'get',
				'link': 'cancel',
				'update': content,
				'onSuccess': function ()
				{
					// Update controls
					menu.erase ('disabled');
					links.prev
						.set ('href', menu.getChildren ('option')[(curPage > 1)? curPage - 2: curPage - 1].get ('value'))
						[(curPage > 1)? 'removeClass': 'addClass'] ('disabled')
					;
					links.next
						.set ('href', menu.getChildren ('option')[(curPage < lastPage)? curPage: curPage - 1].get ('value'))
						[(curPage < lastPage)? 'removeClass': 'addClass'] ('disabled')
					;
					pagination.getElement ('.desc').set ('text', desc.substitute ({ curPage: curPage, lastPage: lastPage}));

captureIntraLinks ();
					new Fx.Scroll (window).toElement (container);
				},
				'onFailure': function ()
				{
					// Restore controls
					menu.erase ('disabled');
					if (pageContent) pageContent.setStyle ('opacity', 1);
				}
			}).send ();
		});
		$$([links.prev, links.next]).addEvent ('click', function (e)
		{
			e.stop (); this.blur ();
			if (!this.hasClass ('disabled'))
				menu.set ('value', this.get ('href')).fireEvent ('change');
		});
		form.addEvent ('submit', function (e)
		{
			e.stop (); this.blur ();
			menu.fireEvent ('change');
		})

// Capture all intra-page links and hook to js
		function captureIntraLinks ()
		{
			content.getElements ('a[href^="#"]').flatten().each (function (link)
			{
				var target = link.get ('href').substr (6).trim ();
				if (target && target.match (/^\d+$/) && target <= menu.length)
					link.addEvent ('click', function (e)
					{
						e.stop (); this.blur ();
						menu.selectedIndex = target - 1;
						menu.fireEvent ('change');
					});
			});
		}
		captureIntraLinks ();

// Trigger initial pagination state
		var target = location.hash && location.hash.substr (6).trim ();
		if (target && target.match (/^\d+$/) && target <= menu.length && target != page)
		{
			menu.selectedIndex = target - 1;
			menu.fireEvent ('change');
		}
 
	});
//]]>
</script>
				<div class="footer">
		
<div class="tags" style="">
	<span class="label" style="">Tags:</span> <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/100-gigabyte">gigabyte</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/345-asus">asus</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/385-usb-30">usb 3.0</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/428-intel-x58">intel x58</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/712-core-i7-980x">core i7-980x</a>, <a href="/product-guide/all/reviews/tagged/726-sata-6gbps">sata 6gbps</a></div>
		</div>
				</div>

<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
	window.addEvent ('domready', function ()
	{
 
		var section = $('tab-product-content-review'),
			dropdown = section.getElement ('#reviews-list'),
			tId = 0
		;

if (section && dropdown)
		{
			var list = dropdown.getElement ('ul'),
				links = list.getElements ('li a')
			;

dropdown.addClass ('js');
			list.set ('morph', { 'link': 'cancel' });

$$(dropdown, list).addEvents ({
				'mousemove': function ()
				{
					$clear (tId);
				},
				'mouseenter': function ()
				{
					list.set ('morph', {'duration': 'short'}).morph ({ 'opacity': 1 });
				},
				'mouseleave': function ()
				{
					tId = function () { list.set ('morph', {'duration': 'short'}).morph ({ 'opacity': 0}); }.delay (1000);
				}
			}).fireEvent ('mouseleave');

links.addEvent ('click', function (e)
			{
				e.stop ();
				//unescape the 'alt' prooperty
				var o = new Element('i', { 'html': this.get ('alt')});
				new Request.HTML ({
					'url': o.get('text') + '&as=ajax',
					'method': 'get',
					'link': 'cancel',
					'update': section.empty().grab(new Element('div')
						.addClass ('waiter')
						.grab (new Element ('span', {
							text: 'Please wait while we load your article ...'
						}))
					)
				}).send ();
			})

section.getElements ('.footer .comments a').addEvent ('click', function (e)
			{
				e.stop ();
				new Fx.Scroll (window).toElement ($('tab-product-details'));

var href = this.get ('href').match (/#.+$/), target = href && href[0];
				if (target)
					(function () { new Fx.Scroll (window).toElement ($(target.substr (1))); })
						.delay (3000);

$('tab-product-comments').getChildren ('a')[0].fireEvent ('click');
			})
		}
		if( $$('.image-caption-container').length < 1 )
		{	
			$$('.article .content img[title]').each (function (img)
			{
				// skip if title is empty
				if (!img.get ('title')) return;
			
				new Element ('span', {'class': 'image-caption-container'})
					.addClass (['left', 'right'].contains (img.get ('align'))? img.get ('align'): '')
					.set ('width', img.get ('width'))
					.replaces (img)
					.grab (img)
					.grab (new Element ('div', {
						'class': 'image-caption',
						'html': img.get ('title').trim ()
					}))
				;
				img.erase ('align');
			
				var link = img.getParents ('a');
				if (link) link.addClass ('captioned');
			});
		}
 
	});
//]]>
</script>

Motherboard Guide

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7

Filter by Manufacturers

You may also be interested in...