BmR Home arrow BmR Reviews arrow Motherboards arrow Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard

Random Quote:

I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle: victorious. - Vince Lombardi

RunCore Solid State Drive Products

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard E-mail
Reviews - Featured Reviews: Motherboards
Written by Olin Coles   
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Article Index
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard
Intel Core i7: Platform
Intel X58-Express Platform
Gigabyte X58A Features
GA-X58A-UD7 Specifications
eXtreme Hard Drive (X.H.D)
Gigabyte X58A-UD7 Components
BIOS and Overclocking
Motherboard Testing Methodology
EVEREST CPU Benchmarks
Maxon CINEBENCH Results
PCMark Vantage Test Results
HD-Tune Pro Benchmarks
Far Cry 2 Benchmark
Power Consumption Results
Tylersburg Refresh Final Thoughts
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Conclusion

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard Review

High-detail video games with DirectX-11 graphics played on large monitors require a powerful video card or two... or three. Intel's X58-Express chipset has been the platform of choice for enthusiasts wanting that demand the most from their computer hardware. While not all overclockers have the need for multi-card graphics, they certainly like to tweak memory and processor settings to push the system beyond its rated speed. Triple-channel memory and socket LGA1366 Core-i7 processors are another hallmark of the X58-Express, and Intel offers their Extreme Edition CPUs exclusively to this platform.

Sometimes Intel's tick-tock plans don't coincide with the technical improvements made to other areas, such as SuperSpeed USB-3.0 or SATA-III 6.0-Gbps controllers. Most hardware enthusiasts agree that it's awkward to see Intel's "Enthusiast" branded X58-Express chipset paired to older standards while "Mainstream" P55 motherboards enjoy the better and faster new ones. Gigabyte agrees, too, and has re-launched the X58A-series as a refresh for their flagship platform. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard against the ASUS P6X58D Premium in heat-to-head performance, and compares to the original X58 platform.

Gigabyte_GA-EX58A-UD7P_Motherboard_Kit.jpg

SuperSpeed USB-3.0 is an appropriately named technology, and several file transfer tests during the 2010 CES demonstrated the impressive 5Gbps signaling rate. Although USB3 devices won't compete with third-generation SATA6G interface in terms of operational file transfers, SuperSpeed USB easily beats bandwidth performance from the older second-generation SATA-3Gbps controllers. This is precisely why Gigabyte has incorporated the NEC D720200F1 SuperSpeed USB-3.0 chip on their GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard.

SATA-6Gbps (SATA-III) has also been added onto the X58-Express platform, allowing enthusiasts to enjoy faster top-end bandwidth speeds from capable Solid State Drive storage devices. Instead of waiting for Intel to add SATA-6G support into their upcoming X68-Express platform planned for 2011, Gigabyte includes support on X58A-series motherboard models right now by utilizing the Marvell 88SE9128 SATA-6Gbps controller.

Generally speaking, system performance should not change between X58-Express platform motherboards. Individual graphics, memory, processor, and storage performance should each deliver results approximately equal to tests on each brand and model of X58 motherboard... unless the manufacturer has introduced technology or changes that might penalize the pipeline performance. This project compares three X58-Express motherboards: the original Gigabyte X58-series against their new X58A-series, and the ASUS P6X58D-Premium. This article will concentrate on the differences that exist between video card, processor, system memory, and SSD performance.

About Gigabyte United Inc. (G.B.T. Inc. USA)Gigabyte United Inc. (G.B.T. Inc. USA)

Gigabyte United Inc., established in December 2006, is assuming the Gigabyte TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd. Brand, which for the past 20 years has been a world-renowned leader in the motherboard industry. Continuing to focus on its core businesses of Gigabyte branded motherboards and graphics cards, Gigabyte United Inc. is committed to providing our valued customers with the highest quality products and services featuring the industry's most innovative design.

In order to meet the challenges of today's intensely competitive channel market, Gigabyte United Inc. fully utilizes its key assets including its cutting-edge research and development team as well as its professional sales and marketing resources to continue to develop technologies to fit a complete range of digital life solutions. Now and for the future, Gigabyte United Inc. will continue to embody the unique spirit and culture, which has made Gigabyte one of the foremost brands in the industry.



 

Comments 

 
# Smart TPM initialization problemJohn Berthoty 2010-03-18 14:34
Tried to initialize, got an error: InvalidArgument=Value of '-1' is not valid for 'index'. Parameter name: index

Any clues anyone?
Reply
 
 
# RE: Smart TPM initialization problemOlin Coles 2010-03-18 14:41
You should take this question to our forum, where there are more people avialable to respond. You should also include more information, such as your O/S, software version, and steps taken.
Reply
 
 
# RE: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 MotherboardLeibritz 2010-04-09 10:09
none MB utilizes more than 3GB of memory on 32-bit Windows...
Reply
 
 
# SATA-II and SATA-III Raid 0 SupportBill 2010-04-16 14:47
(1) Are there two SATA controllers on the motherboard, one for SATA-II and one for SATA-III ?

(2) Either way, will the respective SATA controller support Raid 0 for two SATA-II SSD storage devices ?
Reply
 
 
# Answered in the article...Olin Coles 2010-04-16 14:51
"There are two eSATA ports available with a 4-pin Molex power connector between them for a total of two eSATA ports. In regards to standard integrated SATA ports, the X58A-UD7 motherboard offers six Intel ICH10R (colored blue) Southbridge ports capable of RAID-0, 1, 5, and 10. Along side these ports are four SATA-6.0 connections supplied by the Marvell 88SE9128 controller (colored white) which support RAID-0, 1, and JBOD."
Reply
 
 
# RE: Answered in the article...Bill 2010-04-16 14:56
Perfect! Thanks for the information :)
Reply
 
 
# ProlimaTech MegahalemsDustin 2010-04-21 14:38
Did the ProlimaTech Megahalems fit with the included mobo cooler which takes up a pci express 1.0 slot?
Reply
 
 
# No problemsOlin Coles 2010-04-21 14:59
The Hybrid SilentPipe is positioned below the Northbridge, if you choose to use it. This add-on is nowhere near the CPU, and doesn't get in the way of any heatsinks I've tested.
Reply
 
 
# ThanksDustin 2010-04-21 15:05
Thanks for the fast response. I'm a big fan f your work :)
Reply
 
 
# SATA 6.0Gb HDDTinus Pruis 2010-05-14 13:34
Hi, on the GA-X58A-UD7 with the I7-Core.. which SATA port do I connect my 2TB Barracuda HDD (7200) with Windows 7? On SATA 0 or SATA 6 where the 6.0Gb connection I think should be connected?
Reply
 
 
# RE: SATA 6.0Gb HDDOlin Coles 2010-05-14 13:40
Hello Tinus: Although the Barracuda XT's are SATA-6G compatible, you won't see a difference. The X58A-UD7 motherboard offers six Intel ICH10R (colored blue) Southbridge ports capable of RAID-0, 1, 5, and 10. Along side these ports are four SATA-6.0 connections supplied by the Marvell 88SE9128 controller (colored white) which support RAID-0, 1, and JBOD.
Reply
 
 
# RE: SATA 6.0Gb HDDTinus Pruis 2010-05-14 14:14
Hi Olin, thank you for your quick response.. hmm ~ sorry but you are going way over my head..
iaw. I can connect my hdd on SATA 0 and the DVD-rom on SATA 1? Won't make a difference, cause I also don't run any RAID configuration..
Reply
 
 
# RE: RE: SATA 6.0Gb HDDOlin Coles 2010-05-14 14:16
Conntect them to any of the ports, and you'll be fine. Ideally the hard drive should be on one of the white ports, and everything else on blue.
Reply
 
 
# TempSobo 2010-06-01 14:48
Hi everyone !
My i7-930 cpu is at 60*C temperature in idle with no OC and box cooler, what can i do ?
Reply
 
 
# Best CPU Cooler PerformanceOlin Coles 2010-06-01 15:44
@ Sobo: You need to read our "Best CPU Cooler Performance" articles located in the Cooling section from the main menu of this website.
Reply
 
 
# crossfiremartin 2010-06-19 05:29
is there is a problem to make crossfire with this motherboard + HDD with sata 3 - because i read 1 of pci x16 slots start working at x8 when sata 3 and another story with fps drop at half when this sata 3 is working with 1 vga at this slot(x16 who drops at x8)
Reply
 
 
# RE: crossfireOlin Coles 2010-06-19 08:11
Martin: your question has already been answered in this review, as well as in the user comments.
Reply
 
 
# RE: RE: crossfiremartin 2010-06-20 09:32
well first -thank you for the answer
second - i didnt made my question exactly correct - yes i can read there its possible and 'no problem ' but i cant find any real time test with high end crossfire/sli configurations + sata 3 HDD ,thats why i asked
Reply
 
 
# RE: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboardleo 2010-07-21 20:54
hay alguna que sea parecida a esa y que este un poco mas barata para un i7 920
Reply
 
 
# RE: RE: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 MotherboardOlin Coles 2010-07-21 20:59
Este es un producto para overclockers serios, pero hay modelos mucho más asequible.
Reply
 
 
# RE: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboardleo 2010-07-21 21:05
entonces esta es para overlockers.igual gracias porque me escribis en español.
Reply
 

Add Comment:


Security code
Refresh Code

Search Benchmark Reviews

BmR Newsletter




Follow Benchmark Reviews on FacebookPreview the new Benchmark Reviews 2.0 WebsiteReceive Tweets from Benchmark Reviews on Twitter