Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P Motherboard Reviewed

The Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard (about US$150) is an Intel LGA775 mainboard that features:

• Intel LGA775 processor support
• Intel P45 Express / Intel ICH10R chipset
• 4 DDR2 DIMM sockets (up to 16GB)
• 2 PCI Express slots (1 PCI Express X16 slot running at full speed; 1 PCI E X16 slot running at X8; CrossFireX support)
• 6 SATA 3Gbps ports (with support for SATA RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10)
• 1 IDE ATA/133 port
• 2 Gigabit LAN ports (2 Realtek 8111C controllers, 2 RJ45 jacks, teaming support)
• 1 coax S/PDIF out
• 1 optical S/PDIF out
• 8 USB 2.0 ports
• 2 IEEE 1394a ports
• 6 color coded audio minijacks

HardwareZone gave it a 4.5 out of 5 rating ('Excellent'):

"... our overall experience with the board, from the fuss-free installation and BIOS update, to the testing and overclocking, has been generally positive. There were no problems encountered and the board worked flawlessly. This alone is worth the extra cost of the Gigabyte EP45-UD3P compared to other brands who may be more powerful but at the expense of user friendliness. However, since these are characteristics of Gigabyte's current generation of motherboards, one may even opt for the DS3R model mentioned earlier if the extra perks are not attractive enough." [HardwareZone | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P]

HotHardware gave it its Recommended award:

"Gigabyte's EP45-UD3P performed well -- it placed right in line with other Intel and NVIDIA boards that we used for comparison -- but in general it was the best P45 board we've come across. ... If you're in the market for a new motherboard, but don't necessarily want to upgrade your entire set of hardware, you might consider the Gigabyte EP45-UD3P. It's got a complete list of components onboard and comes with a nice price tag, especially during the holiday season where everyone's looking to save a dollar or two." [HotHardware | Gigabyte EP45-UD3P]

FiringSquad gave it a score of 91%:

"... if you're looking for an inexpensive CrossFire-compatible motherboard based on Intel's P45 chipset, you owe it to yourself to check out Gigabyte's EP45-UD3P. The motherboard incorporates high-end features without resorting to the high-end price tag." [ FiringSquad | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P ]

ExtremeTech gave it a 5 out of 5 rating, and its ExtremeTech Approved award:

"The EP45-UD3P is simply a stunning, solid board full of features that comes at a fantastic price. It's a motherboard to seriously consider if you can't quite afford an X58-based board and a Core i7 CPU. ... In fact, it might even be safe to say it's the only board to consider. We know what's going into our next build. " [ ExtremeTech | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P ]

So, if you are looking to build an Intel box using an LGA775 processor, the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard should be first on your list of things to buy.

IceRocket : gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, intel lga775 motherboard