Gigabyte X79-UD7 – Raising The Bar Higher (Updated)

Physique and Features

Fresh And Ferocious

Less than a month after we wrote about the MSI X79A-GD65 (8D), another X79-based motherboard arrived in our lair, this time the Gigabyte X79-UD7. Physically, the X79-UD7 reminds us of another Gigabyte board, the X58A-OC, because of its intense black-and-orange color scheme. Like the X58-based board mentioned, the X79-UD7 is conspicuously a board that targets PC enthusiasts, not only due to its onboard overclocking tools, but ultimately because it is designed to become a platform for Intel’s Sandy Bridge-E processors.

Consistent with the blueprint that Intel has developed for boards that support the X79 chipset, the processor socket of the X79-UD7 is flanked by two sets of two DIMM slots. These are fewer than the X79A-GD65 (8D)’s octet of DIMM slots, yet they can support a maximum of 32GB memory size at 2133MHz clock.

If you are a fan of rigs with multiple graphics cards, you would find the X79-UD7 your dream motherboard. Equipped with four PCI-Express Gen 3 x16 slots (two of which running at x8 speed), the X79-UD7 is all-set to host your four-way multi-GPU setup, whether it is based on NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFireX. In addition to these, Gigabyte has also thrown a trio of PCI-Express x1 slots in the X79-UD7’s layout.

While Gigabyte was noticeably thrifty in terms of the X58A-OC’s connectivity, it is generous in the case of the X79-UD7. The board’s rear side is teeming with ten USB ports, two of which are based on the USB 3.0 standard. Apart from the usual PS/2 keyboard-mouse combo port, Gigabit Ethernet, optical S/PDIF out, and 7.1-channel audio jacks, the rear side also includes dedicated Clear CMOS, BIOS, and overclocking switches. Gigabyte has also paid attention on your wireless needs by bundling a Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi card with the package. On the storage front, the X79-UD7 integrates a total of ten SATA connectors, six of which are compliant with the SATA 6Gbps standard. The SATA connectors are interspersed with additional PCI-Express power connectors (OC-PEGs) that are intended to provide graphics cards in a 3- or 4-way arrangement a stable supply of power.

As mentioned, the X79-UD7 has included a set of onboard overclocking tools. Collectively dubbed OC-Touch, it is composed of the power switch, and OC Gear switches, together with buttons for changing BCLK and CPU multipliers on the fly. Gigabyte had also added in the gang onboard restart and an instant-overclocking button, the latter has the same function as its rear-side equivalent. A debug LED and voltage measurement modules are also provided for hardware monitoring.

Worth mentioning, the X79-UD7 retains all of the Gigabyte-exclusive features which have been consistent across Gigabyte motherboards. The first of these is 333 Onboard Acceleration which harnesses the power and transfer speeds that USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps interfaces can offer. Another is Ultra Durable 3, Gigabyte’s collective name of using components such as a copper-layered PCB, Japanese solid capacitors, PowerPAK MOSFETs, and ferrite chokes, all of which are intended for enhancing the X79-UD7’s durability and energy efficiency.