With Intels new X79 chipset series in mind, Gigabyte redesigned the portfolio of their high end desktop motherboards. Nowadays the UD7 is the high-end overclocking motherboard which is also suitable for gamers who want to get the most out of their components. 
Gigabytes new X79 line-up really leaves a nice optical impression. And as you migh expect we're very curious how this thing is when it comes to the layout and design part.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
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Spezifikationen / Lieferumfang
| CPU | Intel Socket 2011 2nd Generation i7 Processors |
| Chipset | Intel X79 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM max 32 GB, DDR3 2133 / 2000 /
1866 / 1600 / 1333 /
1066 MHz Quad Channel |
| Multi-GPU | NVIDIA 4-Way SLI AMD 4-Way CorssFireX |
| Slots | 4 x PCI-Express 3.0/2.0 x16 (quad at x8/x8/x8/x8,
triple at
x8/x8/x8, dual at x16/x16) 3 x PCI-Express x1 |
| Sound | Realtek ALC898 |
| Storage | 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (Intel, RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1) 4 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s (Intel, RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1, JBOD) 4 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (Marvell 88SE9172) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi Module incl. 2 anntenna |
| LAN | 1 x Intel Gigabit LAN |
| I/O internal | |
| I/O Back Panel | |
| Forfactor | XL-ATX (32.4cm x 25.3 cm) |
| BIOS | Bios (2 x 64 Mbit flash ROM, EFI AMI BIOS) |
Uboxing the GA-X79-UD7 shows an awful lot of accessories. Next to a complete set of SATA cables one will find a quad SLI bridge, a triple SLI bridge, a CrossFire bridge an SLI bridge as well as a 3.5 inch front mount panel with two USB 3.0 ports. Furhtermore there are the different manuals, the wireless LAN and bluetooth expansion card as well as software and drivers on DVD.
Features
| 3D Power | Meanwhile Gigabyte also makes use of digital power designs on their motherboards. What it does is that it controls the flow of power to both CPU and memory. Gigabyte in this case promises maximum stability. |
| 3D BIOS | With their X79 motherboards Gigabyte introduces their interpretation of a UEFI-BIOS. Using a new Gigabyte board you can choose from a 3D Mode or the Advanced Mode. In 3D Mode one can see a picture of the board in BIOS. If you hover over the different areas you can select them and afterwards change the related settings. On the other hand there is the more standard advanced mode which come with a well-known tab based user interface. |
| OC VRM | With this feature Gigabyte addresses extreme overclockers. With the UD7 you get a power design that features 16 phases which get their power via two 8-Pin-Molex power connectors. Together they can provied a CPU with up to 1'500 Watts. Regarding the capacitors Gigabyte uses POScaps as well as PowerPAK MOSFETs. |
| OC Touch | OC-Touch enables overclockers to quickly and easily get more performance from their system. With onboard OC-Touch buttons, users are able to manually raise and lower the CPU ratio, change BCLK settings, and even change BCLK stepping to either 1 MHz or 0.3 MHz. These changes can be made at any time whether in the BIOS or Windows and in real-time without the need for rebooting, so that users can quickly fine-tune to find their CPU’s maximum frequency. The onboard 4G Ready button allows novice overclockers to automatically reach 4GHz, while advanced users can use it to get to 4GHz before continuing with OC-Touch to quickly find their CPU’s best margin. Onboard voltage measurement modules are also included to help users to conveniently monitor component voltages. |
| OC-PEG | OC-PEG provides two onboard SATA power connectors for more stable PCIe power when using 3-way and 4-way graphics configurations. Each connector can get power from a different phase of the power supply, helping to provide a better, more stable graphics overclock. The independent power inputs for the PCIe slots helps to improve even single graphics card overclocking. For 4-way CrossFireX, users must install OC-PEG to avoid over current in the 24pin ATX connector. The entire board also features POScaps, helping to simplify the insulation process so overclockers can quickly reach subzero readiness. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums
[pagebreak]
Layout
Already at a first glance the Gigabyte GA-X79-UD7 looks very good with its harmonic design. Like with the X58A-OC the colors - orange, black and grey - suite nicely and together with the matte black PCB. Optially this really is a nice looking product. The layout itself is well thought and there is for example plenty of space around the CPU socket to install even todays largest CPU coolers. The fact that there are SATA connectors which have been angled by 90 degrees, allow an easy installation of oversized graphics cards like for example a Radeon HD 6990.
Gigabyte equipped the Gigabyte GA-X79-UD7 with a 16 phase power design. In this case there aren't phases dedicated especially for the CPU and DIMM slots. Each of the sixteen pahses comes with high quality POScaps as well as PowerPAK MOSFETs. Totally the power design can provide the CPU with up to 1'500 Watts of power. This really is enough even for the highest overclockings.
Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the Gigabyte GA-X79-UD7. Officially supported are the following clock speeds: 2133 / 2000 / 1866 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz. There is also engough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you wont encounter compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders.
Southbridge as well as current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via a passive heatpipe cooling solution. The cooling blocks have been positioned wisely, which means that they don't collide with memory or CPU cooler. Fortunately Gigabyte decided to not install an active southbridge cooler. Like this the board can be used noiseless right out of the box.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums
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Anschlüsse und I/O
Totally Gigabyte equipped the X79-UD7 with ten angled SATA ports which is much more than every overclocker might ever need. With this board you'll not only find practical onboard power- and reset-buttons there even more very practical features especially for overclockers. Ritght next to the DIMM slots, there is for example a plus and minus button to adjust the BCLK in realtime. Additionally you can even change the stepping by which the BCLK will be in- or decreased. Another thing Gigabyte has thought of concerns the usage of more than one graphics card. If you place, let's say four, high-end video cards, there will be no problems because between ever PCI-Express x16 slot there is an extra slot free of space.
Totally you'll find eight fan headers on the Gigabyte X58A-OC which is more than enough, to provide even an overclocking rig with plenty of fresh air. The fan headers are located around the CPU and their also spread over the entire board which makes them easily to access from any position in an enclosure (if you should really decide to put this board into a computer case).
Looking at the external connectors directly at the back-panel Gigabyte equipped the GA-X79-UD7 with one PS2 mouse/keyboard connector, two USB 3.0/2.0 ports, eight USB 2.0/1.1 ports, one gigabit ethernet port, an optical out as well as an analogue audio panel. Furhtermore you'll also find an OC-Button.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums
[pagebreak]
Fazit
| Allgemein | + | - | |
| The GA-X79-UD7 is the second board from Gigabyte that has been developped with overclocking in mind. Form an optical point of view this thing really looks great. We like the black and orange design. It's kind of aggressiv but still the colors suite nicely, especially on the matte black PCB. Because Gigabyte decided to make use of an XL-ATX PCB there is plenty of space to arrange all the different components and chips very well. On the other hand you'll have to check if this board really fits into your case if you should be thinking about buying this thing. What we also like very much is the delivery. There even is a Quad-SLI-Bridge. Furhtermore Gigabyte even put a WiFi PCI card into the box which can also handle Bluetooth 4.0 and comes with two additional antennas. | -
Design - Layout - OC-Features |
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| Layout | + | - | |
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Generally the Gigabyte GA-X79-UD7s Layout has been very well thought. Once more practical are the angled SATA connectors as well as the power- and reset-buttons. There is also a debug display which is very useful in case you should have issues with a component in your system or the board itself. Even the placement of the PCI-Express x16 slots is very well chosen. There is a total of four of these slots which allow quad SLI or quad CrossFireX. We also liked the voltage readouts as well as the OC-Touch buttons. The Gigabyte GA-X79-UD7 really seems to be a very good overclocking and high-performance-gaming motherboard. |
- Angled SATA connectors - Power/Reset-Button onboard - Debug display - Spac around the CPU socket - Voltage readouts - OC-Touch buttons |
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| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Connectors and I/O |
| Page 2 - Specifications / Delivery | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Layout |
Discuss this article in the forums
Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch