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- Date:
- Thursday , July 28, 2011
- Author:
- Daniel Dobrowolski
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 Motherboard Review
The Intel Express Z68 chipset is the new hotness and as a result tons of Z68 boards are hitting the market. Gigabyte isn’t one to be left behind and as a result it has plenty of Z68 boards to choose from. The one we are evaluating here is the Z68X-UD3H-B3. Despite being somewhat of a budget board it certainly packs a ton of features and promises solid overclocking performance to boot.
Introduction
Gigabyte is one of the top names in enthusiast class motherboards. It makes boards at virtually every price point with virtually every chipset imaginable. It also produces other products: from cases, to graphics cards, and much more.
Despite its diversity, motherboards have always been the core of its business. Due to its quality and popularity Gigabyte have become one of the largest motherboard manufacturers competing with some of the most successful and well known motherboard manufacturers in the world today.
The Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 is based on Intel’s new Z68 Express chipset. The chipset is sort of a combination of H67 and P67 with a few new features. Gigabyte denotes the model number with a "B3" suffix to signify that the southbridge is the updated version to the previous logic that was recalled by Intel earlier this year. The chipset is functionally comparable to P67 Express. The main difference is that the B3 supports Intel’s Smart Response Technology / SSD caching feature as well as its IPT feature. (Think RSA tokens built into your hardware.) And of course one can’t forget access to use the integrated graphics built into the 2nd generation Core i3/i5/i7 processors.
The Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 features a 7 phase power configuration using all ferrite core chokes and lower RDS MOSFETs. The Z68X-UD3H-B3 also features all Japanese manufactured solid electrolytic capacitors rated for 50,000 hours of use. Unlike some Z68 Express chipset based boards, the Z68X-UD3H-B3 has onboard ports for taking advantage of the CPU’s integrated graphics solution. The board of course features Intel’s Smart Response Technology and all other features offered by the Z68 chipset as well as SLI and Crossfire / CrossFireX support. The board also supports USB 3.0, SATA 6G and 3TB+ storage devices.
Main Specifications Overview:
Detailed Specifications Overview:
Packaging
The packaging for the Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 is fairly standard for Gigabyte. It’s flashy enough on the outside, but it’s still basic in that the box resembles motherboard boxes for the last two decades or more. The box did its job as the board arrived in perfect condition with all accessories included. Included are the following accessories: Quick start guide, multilingual guide, user’s manual, driver DVD, Gigabyte sticker, 6 SATA cables, SLI bridge and I/O shield.
Board Layout
The layout of the Z68X-UD3H-B3 is solid with no major problem areas. CPU socket, DIMM slots, etc are all well placed.
The CPU socket area is clear of major obstructions allowing the installation of large CPU cooling solutions. The MOSFETs are cooled using a passive heat sink rather than the heat pipe based cooling of the higher end boards. I was able to fit my Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme to the board without issues. Likewise I was able to fit my Koolance CPU-350 AT water block without issues as well.
Gigabyte chose not to color code their DIMM slots preferring to keep their black on black theme going. While I’m not sure if I like this or not, the board does look good. Dual channel mode operation can be determined by reading the manual or by installing memory in alternating slots. The DIMM slots are well placed allowing the installation of memory with large video cards installed.
There is no south bridge with Z68 Express. The north bridge is really located where the south bridge should be as this is a unified chipset. The rest of the north bridge functions are really integrated into the CPU leaving the actual chipset more of a south bridge than anything. Whatever you want to call it, the chipset is where the south bridge should be and that’s in front of the first two PCI-Express x16 slots. Directly in front of it are the board’s SATA headers. You’ll find 3 SATA 3G headers, 2 SATA 6G headers and two more SATA 6G headers (grey ports) which are serviced by the Marvell 9172 controller. The chipset is cooled by a passive and flat heat sink which is a dark grey in color.
The expansion slot area is nicely done though I question the need for dual PCI slots. Aside from that Gigabyte has done a pretty good job with the layout of this section. There are three PCIe x1 slots and 2 PCIe x16 slots. When two graphics cards are installed both slots operate at x8 speeds.
The rear I/O panel is full of ports. There are only six rear panel USB ports, two of which are USB 3.0 ports. The rest of the space is taken up by a PS/2 port, VGA, DVI-I, optical out, HDMI, display port, RJ-45, IEEE1394 and 6 mini-stereo headphone ports.