Question Does anyone remember the Gigabyte Ultra Durable version levels?

[utahraptor]

The last times I was building computers it was on level 5 and I believe I had previously had a level 3 or 4. I emailed their marketing department to ask what level they are on now because the website does not make it clear. They responded that they don't have versions any more and they are all the same. They use to talk about what they had done better from the last time around like 2 oz copper or certain kinds of capacitors or what not. That got me wondering if anyone is keeping track of components being used across the different brands or versions of boards. Are we at a point in which reliability is generally good and there is no reason to talk about the components? Have things generally gotten worse, stayed the same or gotten better over the last 10 years? I am currently using a 10 year old board (ultra durable 5) so I am pleased with its long term performance.

This is the newest version of documentation I could find and it stops at version 3: https://www.gigabyte.com/microsite/98/html/technology-guide-ultra-durable-1.htm

Did/do the other brands have similar schemes?

Edit:

Ultra Durable 4: https://www.gigabyte.com/Press/News/1050

Ultra Durable 5: https://www.gigabyte.com/Press/News/1128

Looking at the 5 again I remember I was sold on the "IR3550 PowIRstage® ICs" which made me decide to go with their board at the time.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Here in late 2022 the best thing to do is look at reviews of a board you are interested in. Quality of components used and features can vary as they always have. So reading about a particular board is still required.

I have 4 Gigabyte boards, 1 - AM3+, 1 - B450 AORUS ELITE, 1-B550 AORUS ELITE V2 AX, 1- B550I AORUS PRO AX. All have been excellent to date. The AM3+ + is probably 7yrs old now.

 

[igor_kavinski]

ASUS has their TUF brand which is supposed to be "miltary standards" tested. They also have corporate CSM mobos that have a protective layer on the PCB against humidity and dust. ASROCK and MSI, I'm not familiar with what they have in the way of assuring the customer of their product's reliability.

 

[gorobei]

the only one going deep dive on motherboard components is Buildzoid at actuallyHardcoreOverclocking. techpower will do photos of the boards without the sinks and id some of the mosfets or sps, but Buildzoid is the only one going over the whole VRM and component spec sheets if he can get access to them.

https://www.youtube.com/c/ActuallyHardcoreOverclocking/featured

the problem for most people is that he does not summarize, it is all a stream of conciousness data dump. so playback at 1.5 and settle in.

 

[DigDog]

if you are looking at UD genuinely because you need to run a rig +10 years, just buy two of the "whichever is the most efficient board at the time" instead. even "bad" modern capacitors will run 7 years without dropping voltage.

 

[Shmee]

My understanding is it is marketing product speak, and doesn't actually mean a whole lot across different generations/models. I know I had a GA-X58UD5 or two, and around that time, during the X58 generation, they went up to UD9. Obviously these are older boards. I also had a GA-X79UP4, which was a pretty solid board as well, but the early UEFI on it was a tad wonky.

I would look at the board reviews and check for what features you need, and then look deeper into quality of components. However, there is no guarantee that a board will last that long, as you never know what misfortune could happen. Or, a board could last fine for 10+ years and longer until it becomes obsolete, even incompatible with modern software and hardware.

 

[igor_kavinski]

even "bad" modern capacitors will run 7 years without dropping voltage.

What other components on a mobo are susceptible to early failure?

 

[gorobei]

if you are looking at UD genuinely because you need to run a rig +10 years, just buy two of the "whichever is the most efficient board at the time" instead. even "bad" modern capacitors will run 7 years without dropping voltage.

What other components on a mobo are susceptible to early failure?

bad liquid gel electrolyte caps are pretty much gone from motherboard supply lines. everything is either multi layer ceramic, solid polymer caps, or expensive tantalum polymer caps.


the parts that degrade with age/heat will be the vrm components. the low side mosfets are the ones that generate the heat so that is why you see 2 fets in parallel for a given phase(splits the load/heat over 2 components). if the m/b maker opts for smart power stages (SPS) then most of the concern goes away since they are rated for 40-70 amps(with anything over 50 being overkill if you have enough phases.)

all of this assumes that the vrm has adequate cooling. so if the board has one of those coverplates with fancy graphic art over the i/o block and vrm, then the airflow can be assumed to be minimal so you better hope the board is one of those 12+ phases 60 amp sps that never get hot. that is why you should never trust a m/b review that doesnt look under the vrm heatsink.
[all of this is from osmosis of 4ish years of watching Buildzoid vids, so assume there are other factors]

with pcie5/6 the traces and shielding required for the high speed signalling may cause new concerns for board longevity.

 

[utahraptor]

So I tried to gather all the info I could and this is what I see for the highlights of each version. Note if they repeated features already announced in previous versions I did not repost them. Also I tried to focus on hardware features only rather than software except in version 7 which really had nothing. Anyone have info on version 6?

I am not even convinced some of these versions actually exist as version 8 may be also known as 5 plus. I think they just play fast and loose with the ultra durable version and the version of Intel chipset generation.

1 2 and 3

GIGABYTE - Technology Guide - Ultra Durable™

Version 1 2006 Highlights:

Low ESR in High Frequency Area=Cooler Motherboard

The Lower Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) means Less power - solid capacitors are able to deliver substantially lower impedance at higher frequencies. Because there is less impedance, solid capacitors are more stable and generate less heat than electrolytic capacitors.

Version 2 2007 Highlights:

Ferrite Core Chokes

Reduced core energy loss
Lower EMI interference
Resists rust better than standard iron core chokes

Version 3 2008 Highlights:

Lower RDS(on) MOSFETs

Optimized gate charge to minimize switching losses.
Lower temperature, smaller size, better thermal characteristics.

2x Copper Inner Layer

Doubling the amount of copper provides a more effective thermal cooling solution by delivering more efficient spreading of heat from critical areas of the motherboard such as the CPU power zone throughout the entire PCB. In fact, GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 3 Classic motherboards are able to deliver twice as cool working temperatures than traditional motherboards.

Version 4 2012 Highlights:

GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic Debuts on GIGABYTE H61 Series Platform | News - GIGABYTE Global

Taipei, Taiwan, August 30, 2011 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today launched its latest Ultra Durable™ 4...

www.gigabyte.com

Humidity Protection

There is nothing more harmful to the longevity of your PC than moisture, and most parts of the world experience moisture in the air as humidity at some point during the year. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classicmotherboards have been designed to make sure that humidity is never an issue, incorporating a new Glass Fabric PCB technology that repels moisture caused by humid and damp conditions. Using a new kind of PCB material which reduces the amount of space between the fiber weave, Glass Fiber PCB technology makes it more difficult for moisture to penetrate compared to traditional motherboard PCBs. This offers much better protection from short circuit and system malfunction caused by humid and damp conditions.

Electrostatic Protection

All GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards use high quality IC microchips that are rated with higher electro-static discharge (ESD) resistance than traditional IC implementations. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards use ICs with up to 3 times the ESD resistance levels compared to traditional ICs. This helps to better protect the motherboard, its components and the PC in general against potential damage caused by static electricity, a common threat to today's PCs.

Power Failure Protection

If your home experiences a sudden power outage for any reason, GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards are equipped to ensure that you won’t be dealing with a fatal malfunction. All GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards use patented DualBIOS™ technology to provide fail safe protection for the BIOS on your motherboard, automatically refreshing your BIOS from a back up version in the case of a critical power outage. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards also feature special anti-surge ICs that protect your motherboard, and your PC, from any surge in power delivery that may occur, helping to ensure that your PC is equipped to deal with any kind of irregular and inconsistent power delivery.

High Temperature Protection

GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards feature specially selected components that make your PC capable of higher temperatures in more extreme conditions, while at the same time preventing your PC from overheating. Using all solid capacitors for the GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic range both reduces overall board temperatures while, making the motherboard more robust at higher temperatures. The choice of Lower RDS(on) MOSFETs also helps to reduce operating temperatures significantly compared to traditional MOSFET solutions. These component technologies combine to guarantee enhanced longevity and stability for your PC.

Version 5 2012 Highlights:

GIGABYTE Unveils Exclusive Ultra Durable™ 5 Technology at Computex 2012 | News - GIGABYTE Global

Taipei, Taiwan, June, 4th 2012 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today introduced their latest Ultra Durable&tr...

www.gigabyte.com

IR3550 PowIRstage® ICs

The award winning IR3550 PowIRstage® ICs feature greater power efficiency and are the highest rated Power Stage in the industry, able to provide up to 60A of power. This ensures the best power delivery to the CPU, for more stable operation and better overclocking performance. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 5 motherboards also use both IR digital PWM controllers and IR PowIRstage® ICs, for a uniquely seamless power delivery system.

High Capacity Ferrite Core Chokes and 2X Copper PCB

GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 5 motherboards feature High Capacity Power Stages and Ferrite Core chokes rated up to 60A with GIGABYTE exclusive 2x Copper PCBs to provide the most stable power delivery.

Version 6 Highlights:

Unable to locate information

Version 7 2012 Highlights:

GIGABYTE 7 series Ultra Durable Motherboards

GIGABYTE 7 series Ultra Durable Motherboards The new Intel® Z77 processor platform features a range of technological improvements over previous platforms, making it the most technically complete and attractive platform on the market today.

www.gigabyte.com

GIGABYTE All Digital Engine

GIGABYTE Z77 series motherboards take advantage of an exclusive All Digital Engine to deliver maximum power to 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors. Using entirely digital controllers means that more precise power delivery to the motherboard’s most power hungry and energy sensitive components is possible.

GIGABYTE 3D Power Utility

GIGABYTE 3D Power is an interactive utility that facilitates complete mastery of the 3 dimensions that monitor and control the power to your PC: Voltage, Phase and Frequency. Real-time adjustment of these parameters enables new levels of control, allowing users to tweak and adjust their motherboard’s performance to achieve a stable, high-performance overclock.

Version 8 2013 (5 Plus) Highlights:

GIGABYTE Launch Intel® 8 Series Performance Motherboards | News - GIGABYTE Global

Taipei, Taiwan, June 3, 2013 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today launched its latest 8 series range ...

www.gigabyte.com

Durable Black Solid Capacitors

GIGABYTE 8 Series motherboards integrate the absolute best quality solid state capacitors that are rated to perform at maximum efficiency for extended periods, even in extreme performance configurations. This provides peace of mind for end users who want to push their system hard, yet demand absolute reliability and stability. With ultra-low ESR no matter how high the CPU loading, these exclusive capacitors also come in customized jet black, exclusively on GIGABYTE 8 series motherboards.

High ESD Protection for USB and LAN

GIGABYTE 8 series motherboards raise the bar in terms of protecting your system, providing advanced electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection for both your Ethernet LAN and USB ports, both common sources of ESD-related failures. Each LAN and USB port is paired with a dedicated protection filter that can withstand high electrostatic discharges, protecting your system from common electrical surges and even direct lighting strikes.

15µ Gold Plated CPU Socket

GIGABYTE 8 Series motherboards come equipped with a 15µ gold plated CPU socket, which means that enthusiasts can enjoy absolute reliability and longevity for the CPU socket overtime, without having any concerns about corroded pins and bad contacts.

Version 9 2014 Highlights:

GIGABYTE Announces ‘Future Proof’ 9 Series Ultra Durable™ Motherboards | News - GIGABYTE Laos

Taipei, Taiwan, May 20th, 2014 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards launched earlier this month their new 9 Series mo...

www.gigabyte.com

10K Durable Black™ Solid Caps

GIGABYTE 9 series Ultra Durable™ motherboards integrate the absolute best quality solid state capacitors that are rated to perform at maximum efficiency for a guaranteed minimum of 10K hours. Not only do they provide ultra-low ESR no matter how high the CPU loading, they also come in customized jet black from Nippon Chemi-Con and Nichicon.

Version Current?

GIGABYTE - Ultra Durable™

GIGABYTE 100 series motherboards support the latest 6^th Generation Intel^® Core™ processors, a 14nm desktop CPU which features improved performance, power efficiency and support for DDR4 memory, bringing cutting edge features and ultimate performance to your next PC build.

www.gigabyte.com

Industry Leading Ultra Durable™ PCIe Metal Shielding

The innovative one piece stainless steel shielding design from GIGABYTE reinforces the PCIe connectors to provide the extra strength required to support heavy graphics cards.

I think what I am after is two questions:

1: Should I consider all Gigabyte motherboards that are labeled as having ultra durable being made now to uphold all of these standards as a minimum?

2: What other manufacturers have this level presently?

 

[igor_kavinski]

I think what I am after is two questions:

1: Should I consider all Gigabyte motherboards that are labeled as having ultra durable being made now to uphold all of these standards as a minimum?

2: What other manufacturers have this level presently?

Answer to 1: If Gigabyte doesn't mention it, assume the mobo doesn't have it.

Answer to 2: The only other brand that might have something similar is ASUS TUF. ASUS CSM mobos are boring corporate models that have humidity and dust protection via a special layer on the PCB.