GIGABYTE GA-X99-UD4P LGA 2011-v3 Motherboard Review

GIGABYTE X99-UD4P Motherboard Review

Today I am fortunate enough to have one of the GIGABYTE Intel X99 motherboards on hand to test and put through the paces. The GIGABYTE GA-X99-UD4P is a part of the GIGABYTE Ultra-Durable product stack, so it should be an ultra stable motherboard. If you hadn’t figured it out from the name, the GIGABYTE X99-UD4P is using the latest Intel X99 chipset for the latest Intel Extreme processors. The X99-UD4P is a reasonably priced Intel X99 motherboard that’s currently available for only $249.99 plus shipping at Newegg.com.

The GIGABYTE X99-UD4P Intel X99 motherboard has all the latest goodies that are tagging along with the X99 chipset. First and foremost is the socket, the GIGABYTE X99-UD4P utilizes the Intel LGA2011-3 socket. The LGA2011-3 socket fits the latest Intel Core i7 Extreme processors like the Intel Core i7-5960X. In addition to the latest processors, the GIGABYTE X99-UD4P utilizes the latest memory technology and is the first chipset to use DDR4 memory. Much like the previous Intel X79 chipset, the X99 chipset and the GIGABYTE X99-UD4P are still taking advantage of the quad-channel memory architecture.

The GIGABYTE X99-UD4P certainly isn’t lacking in features. Outside of the goodies like quad channel memory and support for the latest and greatest Intel Haswell-E processor mentioned above, there’s no shortage. At first glance it’s easy to notice that there are four PCIe x16 slots. The four PCIe X16 slots give the X99-UD4P the ability to run up to four graphics cards in either NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFireX.

Depending on your graphic card configuration, you can run four cards at x8, x8, x16, x8 or x16, x16, x8. The processor you choose does play a role in this as well. The Intel Core i7-5960X and the i7-5930K both have a total of 40 PCI Express lanes available. The Intel Core i7 5820K offers only 28 PCI Express lanes, which means that the GIGABYTE X99-UD4P will support only three graphics cards.

DDR4 is still relatively new to the market, the starting frequency is 2133MHz before applying any overclocking or X.M.P. (Extreme Memory Profile) settings. The GIGABYTE X99-UD4P is providing support with memory kits that are as fast at 3333MHz. If you’re planning on running a high end kit, GIGABYTE recommends referring to the ‘Memory Support List’ to confirm kit compatibility.

The GIGABYTE X99-UD4P is taking advantage of an all digital power design. The X99-UD4P (and all GIGABYTE X99 Motherboards) us an all digital CPU Power design from International Rectifier. The IR design uses 4th gen digital PWM controllers and 3rd gen PowIRstage controllers. Using a digital power controller means that the GIGABYTE X99-UD4P has an incredible amount of control and precision when delivering power to the sensitive parts. Having the incredible amount of control offered by digital controller allows you to truly fine tune the system to get the most out of it!

The GIGABYTE X99-UD4P has much more to offer than what’s been discussed above. The UD4P features the latest iteration of Realtek audio, the ALC1150 High definition audio codec which is coupled with a built in rear audio amplifier. The X99-UD4P also packs in an Intel Gigabit LAN controller, SATA Express, Dual M.2 slots, server level chokes, long lifespan durable black solid capacitors, gold plated CPU socket & DDR4 DIMM slots, dual BIOS, Q-Flash Plus, programmable Ambient LED, and of course the GIGABYTE APP center. Before we move on, let’s take a look at the GIGABYTE X99-UD4P specifications below.

GIGABYTE GA-X99-UD4P Specifications
CPU	Support for Intel Core i7 processors in the LGA2011-3 package L3 cache varies with CPU
Chipset	Intel X99 Express Chipset
Memory	8 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 128 GB of system memory 4 channel memory architecture Support for DDR4 3333(O.C.) / 3200(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2133 MHz memory modules Support for non-ECC memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules Support for RDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8/1Rx4/2Rx4 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
Audio	Realtek ALC1150 codec High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out
LAN	Intel GbE LAN chips (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots	2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIE_1, PCIE_2) 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIE_3, PCIE_4) 3 x PCI Express x1 slots 1 x M.2 Socket 1 connector for the wireless communication module (M2_WIFI)
Multi-Graphics Technology	Support for 4-Way/3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire/NVIDIA SLI technology
Storage Interface	Chipset: 1 x M.2 PCIe connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe x2/x1 SSD support) 1 x SATA Express connector 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0~5) Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 Chipset: 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (sSATA3 0~3), supporting IDE and AHCI modes only
USB	Chipset: 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header) 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers) Chipset + Renesas uPD720210 USB 3.0 Hub: 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel
Internal I/O Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x PCIe power connector 1 x I/O shield audio LED power connector 1 x heatsink LED power connector 1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector 1 x SATA Express connector 10 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x CPU fan header 1 x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT) 3 x system fan headers 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header 1 x Thunderbolt add-in card connector 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x CPU mode switch
Back Panel Connectors	1 x PS/2 keyboard port 1 x PS/2 mouse port 6 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1 x RJ-45 port 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In) 2 x Wi-Fi antenna connector holes
I/O Controller	System voltage detection CPU/System/Chipset temperature detection CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed detection CPU/System/Chipset overheating warning CPU/CPU OPT/System fan fail warning CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed control
BIOS	2 x 128 Mbit flash Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS Support for DualBIOS Support for Q-Flash Plus PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
Unique Features	Support for APP Center @BIOS Ambient LED EasyTune EZ Setup Fast Boot Cloud Station ON/OFF Charge Smart TimeLock Smart Recovery 2 System Information Viewer USB Blocker V-Tuner Support for Q-Flash Support for Smart Switch Support for Xpress Install
Bundle Software	Norton Internet Security (OEM version) Intel Smart Response Technology cFosSpeed
Operating System	Support for Windows 8.1/8/7
Form Factor	E-ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 26.4cm

Now that you have reviewed and of course memorized the GIGABYTE X99-UD4P specifications we are free to move on to the next page where we will take a look at the retail packaging for the X99-UD4P!