P67 Motherboard Round-up: Asus, Fatal1ty, GB, MSI

Here we have the P67A-UD5 from Taiwan based manufacturer, Gigabyte Technology. Like other motherboard makers, Gigabyte has expanded their product line to also include cases, coolers, power supplies, notebooks, and peripherals, as well as graphics cards. Fortunately for us, they haven't forgotten their roots and continue to crank out high quality motherboards.

Gigabyte P67A-UD5 Motherboard

Model P67A-UD5  Layout and Features

Processor LGA-1156 i5 / i7 Processors Memory Four 240-pin DDR3 SDRAM DIMM sockets Supports DDR3 2133 / 1866 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 MHz Up to 32 GB max     Expansion Slots 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot 2 x PCIe x1 slots 2 x PCI slots

Form Factor ATX 12 x 9.6 inches ( 30.5 cm x 24.5 cm ) LAN Realtek 8111E Audio Realtek ALC889 Warranty 3 years limited Price $263

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Here are a few of the features found on the P67A-UD5:

	Max Power Delivery - Like the pistons and cylinders of a car engine, the design of the motherboard Voltage Regulator Module (VRM), component quality and number of power phases greatly affects power efficiency, stability and performance. GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards with their new redesigned VRM, promise to deliver first class system performance and power stability.
	Digital PWM Design - Gigabyte's cutting edge 20 phase power VRM design utilizes high caliber components to provide smooth power to the CPU and other integrated peripherals. The 20 phase power VRM has been designed and engineered to deliver fast transient response times through quick and seamless power delivery during extensive CPU loading variations. In addition, heat from the VRM is effectively reduced by spreading the load between the 20 power phases, resulting in a cooler, more stable platform.
	Ultra Durable 3 - The Ultra Durable 3 design features 2oz copper layers for both the power and ground layers of the PCB, lowering system temperature by efficiently spreading heat from critical areas of the motherboard (such as the CPU power zone) throughout the entire PCB. Ultra Durable 3 also lowers the PCB impedance, which helps to enhance efficiency and lowers component temperatures.

Gigabyte included a standard bundle with the UD5. It includes four SATA cables, SLI bridge, I/O shield, user's guides, and a drivers/utilities disk. Other boards come with more accessories but this is really all you need to get things going on your build.

The rear panel on the UD5 has a ton of I/O goodness. Here we find a PS/2 keyboard or mouse port, optical and coaxial S/PDIF out, two Firewire connectors, four USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, two eSATA/USB combo ports, one RJ-45 LAN jack, and 6 analog audio ports.