Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard

Reviews - Featured Reviews: Motherboards

Written by Olin Coles

Thursday, 25 February 2010

Table of Contents: Page 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

Page 5 of 17

GA-X58A-UD7 Specifications

CPU	Support for an Intel Core i7 series processor in the LGA1366 package L3 cache varies with CPU
QPI	4.8GT/s, 6.4GT/s
Chipset	North Bridge: Intel X58 Express Chipset South Bridge: Intel ICH10R
Memory	6 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 24 GB of system memory(Note 1) Dual/3 channel memory architecture Support for DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules Support for non-ECC memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
Audio	Realtek ALC889 codec High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for Dolby Home Theater Support for S/PDIF In/Out Support for CD In
LAN	2 x RTL8111D chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) Support for Teaming Support Smart Dual LAN
Expansion Slots	2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1/PCIEX16_2) (Note 2) 2 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1/PCIEX8_2) (Note 3) (The PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2, PCIEX8_1 and PCIEX8_2 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) 2 x PCI Express x1 slots 1 x PCI slot
Multi-Graphics Technology	Support for 2-Way/3-Way ATI CrossFireX/NVIDIA SLI technology
Storage Interface	South Bridge: 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_0, SATA2_1, SATA2_2, SATA2_3, SATA2_4, SATA2_5) supporting up to 6 SATA 3Gb/s devices Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 Marvell 9128 chip: 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_6, GSATA3_7) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices Support for SATA RAID 0, and RAID 1 GIGABYTE SATA2 chip: 1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-133/100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (GSATA2_8, GSATA2_9) supporting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD JMicron JMB362 chip: 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s connectors (eSATA/USB Combo) on the back panel sup- porting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD iTE IT8720 chip: 1 x floppy disk drive connector supporting up to 1 floppy disk drive
USB	Integrated in the South Bridge Up to 10 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (6 on the back panel, including 2 eSATA/USB Combo, 4 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers) NEC chip: Up to 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel
IEEE 1394	T.I. TSB43AB23 chip Up to 3 IEEE 1394a ports (2 on the back panel, 1 via the IEEE 1394a bracket connected to the internal IEEE 1394a header)
Internal I/O Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x floppy disk drive connector 1 x IDE connector 8 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x CPU fan header 3 x system fan headers 1 x power fan header 1 x North Bridge fan header 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x CD In connector 1 x S/PDIF In header 1 x S/PDIF Out header 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x IEEE 1394a header 1 x power button 1 x reset button
Back Panel Connectors	1 x PS/2 keyboard port 1 x PS/2 mouse port 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 1 x clearing CMOS button 2 x IEEE 1394a ports 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 2 x USB 3.0 ports 2 x eSATA/USB Combo connectors 2 x RJ-45 port 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/ Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)
I/O Controller	iTE IT8720 chip
H/W Monitoring	System voltage detection CPU/North Bridge temperature detection CPU/System/Power fan speed detection CPU overheating warning CPU fan fail warning CPU/System fan speed control
BIOS	2 x 16 Mbit flash Use of licensed AWARD BIOS Support for DualBIOS PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b
Unique Features	Support for @BIOS Support for Q-Flash Support for Xpress BIOS Rescue Support for Download Center Support for Xpress Install Support for Xpress Recovery2 Support for EasyTune Support for Dynamic Energy Saver 2 Support for Smart 6 Support for Auto Green Support for eXtreme Hard Drive Support for Q-Share
Bundle Software	Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
Operating System	Support for Microsoft Windows 7/Vista/XP
Form Factor	ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm
	Chart Courtesy of Benchmark Reviews

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Comments

# Smart TPM initialization problem — John 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?

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# RE: Smart TPM initialization problem — Olin 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.

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# RE: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard — Leibritz 2010-04-09 10:09

none MB utilizes more than 3GB of memory on 32-bit Windows...

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# SATA-II and SATA-III Raid 0 Support — Bill 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 ?

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# 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."

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# RE: Answered in the article... — Bill 2010-04-16 14:56

Perfect! Thanks for the information :)

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# ProlimaTech Megahalems — Dustin 2010-04-21 14:38

Did the ProlimaTech Megahalems fit with the included mobo cooler which takes up a pci express 1.0 slot?

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# No problems — Olin 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.

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# Thanks — Dustin 2010-04-21 15:05

Thanks for the fast response. I'm a big fan f your work :)

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# SATA 6.0Gb HDD — Tinus 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?

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# RE: SATA 6.0Gb HDD — Olin 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.

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# RE: SATA 6.0Gb HDD — Tinus 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..

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# RE: RE: SATA 6.0Gb HDD — Olin 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.

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# Temp — Sobo 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 ?

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# Best CPU Cooler Performance — Olin 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.

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# crossfire — martin 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)

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# RE: crossfire — Olin Coles 2010-06-19 08:11

Martin: your question has already been answered in this review, as well as in the user comments.

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# RE: RE: crossfire — martin 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

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# RE: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard — leo 2010-07-21 20:54

hay alguna que sea parecida a esa y que este un poco mas barata para un i7 920

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# RE: RE: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard — Olin Coles 2010-07-21 20:59

Este es un producto para overclockers serios, pero hay modelos mucho mÃƒÂ¡s asequible.

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# RE: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Motherboard — leo 2010-07-21 21:05

entonces esta es para overlockers.igual gracias porque me escribis en espaÃƒÂ±ol.

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# Mr — Sheps 2010-08-01 01:01

Is trim supported by the GA-X58A-UD7 in raid0 with 2 OCZ vertex2e ssd drives.

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# Not In RAID — BruceBruce 2010-08-01 05:58

TRIM is currently not supported by any SSDs in any RAID configuration. It is not strictly a function of the Motherboard, more like an alliance between the Southbridge, device drivers, the OS, and the firmware on the SSD.

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# RE: Mr — Olin Coles 2010-08-01 07:06

It doesn't matter what motherboard you use, TRIM is an O/S and SSD function. On the Intel ICH10 controller, it's my understanding that TRIM only works with the Intel Rapid Storage Driver when used in a RAID array.

I have to tell you though, SSDs aren't HDDs. You don't need RAID-0, and you'll notice no real-world difference like you would with a HDD.

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# Olin — JJ 2010-09-30 17:33

While TRIM is a function of the OS, the SSD must support the functionality. TRIM cannot be passed to drives in a RAID array. TRIM also does not require the Intel Rapid Storage Driver.

AHCI performance is, however, affected by the IRSD. You will get a noticable increase in performance with AHCI on AND using the updated IRSD. There is currently no way to make TRIM work with RAIDed drive members.

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# RE: Olin — Olin Coles 2010-09-30 18:03

Sorry to correct you, but TRIM actually is possible on SSDs in a RAID array. They have to be on an Intel ICH controller, and you have to use the Intel Rapid Storage Driver.

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# Also — JJ 2010-09-30 17:38

Though SSDs are not HDs, there in fact IS a huge difference in performance with RAIDed SSDs. The real issue is, unless you are using a dedicated PCIe RAID card (not the onboard ICHxx RAID solution which uses the SATA bus), your crazy fast SSD RAID will be limited by the 250 MB/sec SATA II bottleneck. Two Crucial Real SSDs would reach more than 500 MB/sec on a PCIe RAID card solution.

Would you really know the difference between 250 and 500 MB/sec when you're opening IE, Word, or any day-to-day application? Probably not. For applications that benefit from multiplication of throughput rates... yes, you would. Again, TRIM would be out the window in that configuration.

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# Motherboard recommendation — Nag 2010-10-29 20:34

May I trouble you to recommend a Gigabyte X58 motherboard?

Main use: cpu-intensive, computational. memory or HDD i/o is not an issue.

My constraints:
1. cpu = i7 950
2. stable motherboard--no overclocking, no fancy features, must be reliable and durable with most kinks ironed out, good thermal features.
3. 6 memory slots: prefer to start with 12GB (3 x 4GB)--again speed is not a constraint--with a max of 24GB.
4. Summers are hot--45C
5. Prefer one eSATA port and USB 3.0 Do not care about SATA 3. Perhaps you can recommend one MB wihout eSATA, USB 3.0 being a constraint and one MB with eSATA and USB 3.0.

Thanks

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# RE: Motherboard recommendation — Olin Coles 2010-10-30 09:11

Hello, thanks for posting but this is really a question for our forum. The quick answer is that X58 is intended for SLI/CrossFire video card sets, and would be 'overkill' for your needs. Because of the processor, I recommend any of the lesser-expensive X58 options. Nearly all will feature eSATA and USB 3.0, and SATA-6G is merely an option. Take a look at NewEgg, and sort by price.

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# Sata 3.0 — Oni 2011-03-01 15:44

Guys i want to Connect my 250 gb HDD to the 6gb/s how do i do it i know its a stupid question but is it possible to increase the data transfer I have 1 HDD

My PC
Core I7 930 O.C. ar 3.4 ghz
Gigabyte X58 A UD7
Hitachi 250gb HDD
2x 250 GTS SLI
Gigabyte Odin Pro 550 PSU

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# RE: Sata 3.0 — Olin Coles 2011-03-01 15:46

Don't bother. SATA 6Gb/s connections are only useful for drives designed to reach past 3GB/s, and your hard drive only offers 1GB/s speeds. Only the newest SSDs are able to make use of the extra bandwidth.

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# Dual — david wisotsky 2011-03-27 09:24

I just came off a dual zeon tiger board thinking I would go faster with this 4 core 3.2
I was very disappointed with this board. Stalls and makes allot of hard drive noise So i shut off paging helped a little
Then i shut off power saving features and it seems to really help
I think the default starves the CPU
If you have good cooling do it

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