GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 (rev. 1.0) Pro Reviews

Socket 1155 motherboards like the Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 which are built around it offer up a mainstream suite of capabilities and a kitchen sink full o'features. The board supports 2nd Generation Intel Core i3/i5/i7 2xxx-series socket LGA1155 processors - these CPUs are based on the Intel 'SandyBridge' architecture which includes an integrated graphics core on the CPU die.

Summing up the results of our GigabyteGA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 review, we can conclude that it is a very stable board that makes great impression. It didn’t work any wonders, but the most important thing for a mainstream product is to deliver on the users’ expectations and not to disappoint them with anything major. And the board did it well. It supports a variety of contemporary interfaces, such as eSATA, USB3.0, SATA 6 Gbps and IEEE1394 (FireWire), including an entire range of video outputs: D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort. Our today’s hero, GigabyteGA-Z68X-UD3H-B3, differs from the four previously reviewed Gigabyte mainboards not only by the available video outputs, but also by LucidLogix Virtu technology support. So, if you do not intend to use this technology or the built-in graphics, so maybe it would be better to go for one of the other four options, just to save some space on the back panel. By the way, I can’t help mentioning that GigabyteGA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 is the first Gigabyte mainboard we tested so far that by default allows the processor to go into deep power-saving modes that is why its power consumption doesn’t differ too much from that of other manufacturers’ products, when the CPU is idling. Moreover, this ensures that Intel Turbo Boost technology works to the utmost of its capacity, just like Intel had planned for their processors, that is why the performance of the system based on this particular mainboard will be good in any operational mode and under any type of operational load. As a result, GigabyteGA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 will be a good choice for very different user groups.

Gigabyte has a very fine motherboard in the Z68X-UD3H-B3. There is little to complain about that will likely impact enthusiast users, although we still should note that both RAID controllers will not operate in a RAID capacity simultaneously, although you can surely still use one or the other for non-RAID operations while one controller is being used in RAID. The layout on the board is solid, and for a lower price point board, you also get PCI slots which are likely useless to most enthusiast now days. The Z68X-UD3H-B3 has however foregone the clown shoe look of the past and comes in a sleek and eye appealing black finish that will look great in many a chassis window. At $165 at Amazon with Prime Shipping the Z68X-UD3H-B3 looks to be a good value as well for a new Z68 chipset motherboard although most of you will not be using the new fangled Z68 features.

The Z68X-UD3H-B3 is a great idea and is executed well but there are some stumbling points for the motherboard. One of the major features of the board--the GPU Switching feature--is based on the Lucidlogix Virtu software, which works most of the time, but can cause major frustration when it fails. With some time and optimization, this could turn into a seamless technology, usable in our every day environment which can save power and provide performance need all in the same package.

Based on the benchmarks and performance figures seen in this review, it shows that you do not have to spend big amounts of money on a motherboard to get on to the Z68 platform. A motherboard that could arguably be aimed at the budget end of the spectrum has performed well - if you are wanting to invest into a Cougar Point Z68 platform and a Sandy Bridge CPU, you should consider the UD3H to see if it offers features you want.

Two USB 3.0 ports, support for SATA 3 drives, PCI-Express slots, premium grade components and a back-up BIOS combine with slick extras in the shape of Lucid's Virtu and Intel's Smart Response Technology to make the Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 a very tempting offering indeed.

This well-equipped Z68-based board lacks glitz, but it takes full advantage of the chipset and offers an excellent mix of ports, all at a reasonable price.

The Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 is a very attractive mid-range motherboard based on the new Intel Z68 chipset for your socket 1155 processor. In fact, we think it is a far better option than the Gigabyte Z68X-UD5-B3, which is, in theory, a “better” motherboard. The Z68X-UD3H-B3 supports Lucidlogix Virtu, a technology that the Z68X-UD5-B3 doesn’t support. The Z68X-UD3H-B3 has two SATA-600 ports more than the Z68X-UD5-B3, because on the Z68X-UD5-B3, Gigabyte decided to use these extra SATA-600 ports as eSATA ports, not as regular SATA ones. The audio quality of both is identical (high-end codec, with very high signal-to-noise ratio), the same occurring with the overclocking options, both allowing you to increase the CPU base clock using 0.1 MHz steps, which is unbelievable. (Actually, the Z68X-UD3H-B3 has an advantage here; it allows voltage adjustments in smaller increments.)