P55 Motherboard Round-up: Asus, EVGA, GB, Intel, MSI
Gigabyte P55M-UD4
Next, we have the only micro ATX board in this roundup. It is another motherboard from Gigabyte, the P55M-UD4.
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Gigabyte P55M-UD4 Motherboard
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| Processor LGA-1156 i5 / i7 Processors Memory Four 240-pin DDR3 SDRAM DIMM sockets Supports DDR3 2200 / 1333 / 1066 MHz Up to 16 GB max Expansion Slots 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (x16) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (x8) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 slot 1 x PCI slot RAID SATA 1-6 support Intel Matrix Storage Technology AHCI / RAID 0/1/5/10 Audio Realtek® ALC889A audio codec 7.1-channel HD audio Networking (10/100/1000 Mbit) Realtek RTL8111D |
Back Panel I/O 9 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x RJ45 LAN jacks 1 x IEEE1394a port 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF out port 1 x Optical S/PDIF out port 1 x PS/2 keyboard or mouse port 1 x eSATA ports 6 audio ports Accessories Rear I/O panel shield SLI bridge 4 x SATA data cables IDE/PATA cable User's guide Drivers and utilities disk Form Factor Micro ATX 9.6 x 9.6 inches ( 24.4 cm x 24.4 cm ) Warranty 3 years limited (parts and labor) Price $150 |
The P55M-UD4 measure 9.6" x 9.6" square with an asking price of $150, making it one of the most affordable P55 boards we look at today. Just keep in mind that size and price aren't always good indicators of feature sets and performance. Just because the UD4 comes in a small form factor, that doesn't mean it comes up short when compared with full sized ATX boards in terms of features or performance.
The UD4 features the same color scheme found in all of Gigabyte's P55 boards. Heatsinks with blue and white racing stripes are attached to heat producing components. Expansion slots and DIMM sockets also come in blue and white, with a rebellious PCIe x4 slot sporting orange.
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All power and data connections are found along the edge of the board, which allows for quick installation and removal of cables. This layout lends itself to easy cable management and enhances airflow across the board. The UD4 provides seven SATA ports on the bottom corner of the board, six of them come in a right angled design but one is perpendicular to the PCB. We definitely like that fact that the UD4 has onboard power, reset, and clear CMOS buttons available.
There are four expansion slots on the board. They consists of two PCIe x16 sockets that switch to x8 mode when making use of dual graphics cards for Crossfire or SLI. A PCIe 2.0 x4 slot and a standard PCI slot are also available for use, but you lose them when installing double wide videocards.
Gigabyte includes a modest bundle to help consumers get their build started. The accessory bundle mirrors the UD4P from the previous page. It supplies four SATA cables, an IDE cable, SLI bridge, I/O shield, user's guides, and a drivers/utilities disk.
Legacy support lives on in the form of a PS/2 keyboard/mouse port found on the rear I/O panel. Gigabyte fleshes out its options with a generous pack of nine USB 2.0 ports, optical and coaxial S/PDIF out, a Firewire port, a single RJ-45 LAN jack, one eSATA connector, and 6 audio jacks. ;)
