GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P (rev. 1.0) Pro Reviews

Like many other X58 motherboards, the GigaByte EX58-UD4P performs quiet well. But it's not just the kind of performance that separates one company from any other. It is the features that each has that separates them. In this category, GigaByte has a definite lead. By utilizing two 2oz copper plates in the PCB, a copper heat pipe design, three PCI-E X16 ports capable of handling Tri Fire or SLI with the greatest of ease, this motherboard is the most stable motherboard I, myself, have used. Going from a FSB of 133 to 210 FSB was, simply, an easy task to do. Also, this is one of the first motherboards I have seen that has a working XMP profiler. Normally, I just turn this feature off because it causes more headaches than what it is worth, especially when cranking the FSB.

In conclusion, the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P receives my highest recommendation. This X58 motherboard offers all of the features available to premium high-end motherboards, but spares us the added cost. The full depth of Gigabyte's proprietary product features is well worth the asking price, and the TPM encryption security is at the front of this list. Considering the matched performance against other X58-Express solutions, the final choice will depend on your needs.

Using both the boards has been an overall positive experience, although I have to say quite frustrating when we were overclocking. Gigabyte has tweaked both with a good software set that works and some nifty features, but they both just need a few loose ends tidying in places like the BIOS. We're inclined to forgive the lukewarm overclocking of the GA-EX58-UD4P because for its price it's a great value Core i7 board for a splash of overclocking (95 percent of the glass is full), well rounded features and stable operation with six DIMMs installed. Basically, no one else sells a board as well featured for this price, so if you don't want to pay completely through the nose for a high performance upgrade, the GA-EX58-UD4P is one to get.

Was the row of LEDs really necessary? Nevertheless, it's a cool-running, well laid-out board with triple GPU PCI-E 2.0 slots that still falls at the cheaper end of the X58 scale.

Overall, it was a joy working with the EX58-UD4P. Overclocking was simple, but it also has the capacity to get complex for hardcore users. The PCI Express slots are configured in a more efficient way in which users of triple-card setups will appreciate that the lanes are split x16 x8 x8, allowing cards to run closer to their full potential rather than being starved of bandwidth. Otherwise, in regular SLI and CrossFire or other two-slotted variants (Quad-SLI or Quad Crossfire) the lanes are x16 x16. Unfortunately, the bundled software for overclocking and power management were inoperable, or else the board may have excelled more. Performance-wise this board met or exceeded the competition.

If you're building a Core i7 PC and want lots of overclocking options rather than the specialist ports on Asus's P6T Deluxe, the GA-EX58-UD4P is the motherboard to buy.

However, Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P has a number of advantages, too. It is equipped with a hardware encryption TPM module and is priced not only lower than top Gigabyte boards, but even lower that many competitor solutions we have tested so far. Taking into account the highest performance of this product, it has every chance to settle down in smart users’ systems who can truly appreciate the numerous advantages Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P has to offer.

The EX58-UD4P board represents what we've come to believe the best compromise X58 board out there. While it lacks a few features such as eSATA, the board has all the GPU slots you're going to need, making it perfect for the X58 SLI/Crossfire rig without spending a fortune on the board. At 259.99 U.S. Dollars from Newegg for this X58 motherboard, you can allocate more towards your graphics card(s).

Gigabyte has put a great deal of effort into the BIOS of the EX58-UD4P and the result is a stable Core i7 motherboard that offers a very long list of options.

This board overclocked to 3.8GHz on air without voltage tweaks. Had the board reached 4GHz as several of the X58 boards have reached, this product would have received the Editor's Choice award. As it is, the board receives a Hot Product Award, which is no mean feat. Performance on the board was exemplary, besting the best I've ever seen on this platform. Gigabyte offers a great bundle with lots of useful software including a HDD backup, a Time restore utility and anti-virus software.

The Core i7 platform is not exactly cheap even if the lower-end Core i7 processors are quite competitively priced by themselves. The relatively higher cost of DDR3 memory is one factor, while the motherboards themselves are quite pricey too. Hence, it's no surprise that the Gigabyte EX58-UD4P costs around S$465 alone.

Gigabyte's EX58-UD3R and EX58-UD4P offer users a good number of features, without the exorbitant prices that higher-end boards usually demand. For most folks, running three sticks of DDR3 in Triple Channel mode for either a 3GB or 6GB setup will suffice, and we would be hard pressed to name too many of our friends who are running 3-Way SLI or CrossFireX combinations. If 3-Way SLI is your thing, however, you will need to steer away from the UD3R and invest in the UD4P instead.

The EX58-UD4P provides users with all the essential features without going overboard. For example, most users will only require a single Gigabit LAN controller, while eight SATA ports will usually cover it. The cooling setup is more than adequate and really X58 boards need nothing more than what is found on the EX58-UD4P, even when overclocking.