GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 (rev. 1.0) Pro Reviews

In short, we are repeating what we had said in our Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7 review, including Gigabyte's Hybrid EFI BIOS, which looks exactly like an old-school non-EFI BIOS, but nevertheless supports the 3TB disks that users are concerned about. Further discussion with Gigabyte revealed that they'll have a brand new update to its BIOS real soon to satisfy those who've been waiting for a more modern BIOS interface. More on that when it's officially announced. We'll also let you know how this board performed once the NDA is lifted, but for now, take a look at this board and see if you can spot the differences between this and the P67 UD7. We sure didn't manage to find any.

The Gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B3 is another flagship board from Gigabyte that packs not only a solid overclocking punch but a tool kit full of hardware features with a shiny and sleek black exterior. The old school BIOS and wide PCIe lanes will surely attract many hardcore overclockers. This is certainly one of the better Gigabyte motherboards we have seen in a while.

While the Z68X-UD7-B3 motherboard did not have too many big improvements over the previous P67A-UD7-B3 motherboard besides the new chipset and its features, it is the only motherboard on the market at the launch that has a NF200 chip and 3-way SLI and CrossFireX support. It is also a motherboard that has 8 USB 3.0 connectors, which is quite phenomenal compared to other Z68 motherboards on the market. So as far as the Z68X-UD7-B3 motherboard goes, it is one serious gaming and high-performance motherboard for users that can afford it at a high price of $370.

I am not impressed with the new Intel Z68 Express chipset. Its special features are not meant for the general public but rather for specific categories of users only. The Z68-based Gigabyte mainboards I have tested today also didn’t make me particularly happy. First of all, Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3, GA-Z68X-UD4-B3, GA-Z68X-UD5-B3 and GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 do not have video outputs and therefore do not allow using the integrated graphics. They support Intel Smart Response but lack any Lucid Virtu modes. Their packaging, accessories bundles and PCB design are practically flawless. These mainboards are very well built, offer a full range of modern interfaces and features and on top of that offer a number of Gigabyte’s exclusive technologies. I would like to specifically point out an extremely successful new program called Touch BIOS utility. Although not without some minor shortcomings, this new Windows-based tool offers quick and easy way of accessing and adjusting BIOS settings.

If we were to look at strictly the performance of the GIGABYTE Z68X-UD7-B3, I would have no complaints. Unfortunately, I can't look past what I feel are short comings of the Z68X-UD7-B3. It seems to me, that GIGABYTE took the P67A-UD7-B3 motherboard, slapped the Intel Z68 chipset on it and called it good. The problem with doing that is that it pretty much leaves out the features that separate Intel Z68 chipset from the P67 chipset.