GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3 -- why not?

[slag]

Decent price on this board, looks decent, I'm not looking for onboard graphics... Why wouldn't I use this board.. What am I missing? I plan on overclocking.

Going to couple it with a 2500k processor, 2 4 gb sticks of memory, a GTX 465 video card, and probably just the stock cooler unless there is a better aftermarket one thats a good deal.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you don't need SLI/crossfire or crazy overclocking, I second the "why not?"

I did this with my 2008 socket 775 gaming system since I run at stock speed -- a $100 Gigabyte P43 chipset board that is still working well today.

I didn't need any of the extra features from the $150-250 motherboards, so I didn't buy one.

 

[slag]

I've had really good luck with 3 other gigabyte boards that two of my kids are using and I'm using with AMD processors.

I was just hoping I wasn't missing something glaring that would come back to bite me in the buttocks.

 

[namtran512]

The Gigabyte motherboards ironically have the least amount of trouble so far from what I've seen out of all the motherboards. Some of the ASUS are having start up troubles, while the MSI motherboards all have a crappy BIOS that sometimes denies you access to voltage / won't save BIOS settings, etc.

 

[hclarkjr]

if you want few more options and esata get the UD4, i have post about it here too

 

[magomago]

wait you can't SLI this bad boy? why not? it has 2 16x slots, no? one runs at 4x, but does running at pcie4x even matter? what is the real world % hit?

edit:

i did a search at newegg for 1155 boards with they keyword SLI and i got back an intel board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121474 and an ECS board....

there are only 2 1155 boards that support sli? wtf? am I missing/not understanding something here? SLI needs to be built into the motherboard? I thought you just needed 2 16x slots....

edit 2:

seems like people are doing it using 2 16 slots where 1=16x and the other 1=4x...minor performance loss

http://www.overclock.net/nvidia/819348-16x-16x-vs-16x-4x-gtx.html

 

[BTA]

Just got my P67A-UD3 installed with the 2500K, 16gigs of Wintec DDR3 1333. Working great so far, currently OC'd to 4.2ghz with stock voltages, I only changed the multiplier.

Havn't tried any higher yet as I'm still fiddling.

Also might I say that Windows 7 is the best. Throw everything in, one reboot later and install a couple drivers from the CD (some intel driver, NIC and USB3) and I'm in business. Granted it was a fairly clean install from a recent redo. Picked my mirrored array right up as well.

 

[coffeejunkee]

wait you can't SLI this bad boy? why not? it has 2 16x slots, no? one runs at 4x, but does running at pcie4x even matter? what is the real world % hit?

edit:

i did a search at newegg for 1155 boards with they keyword SLI and i got back an intel board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121474 and an ECS board....

there are only 2 1155 boards that support sli? wtf? am I missing/not understanding something here? SLI needs to be built into the motherboard? I thought you just needed 2 16x slots....

edit 2:

seems like people are doing it using 2 16 slots where 1=16x and the other 1=4x...minor performance loss

http://www.overclock.net/nvidia/819348-16x-16x-vs-16x-4x-gtx.html

Nvidia requires boards to have x8/x8 lanes configuration on the pci-e x16 slots. They also require that you shove a little bit of money their way, else they won't put the sli unlock-key into the bios. This way they still make some cash from all those poor souls that have been tricked into buying Ati cards.

If your mobo has x16/x4 slots you do have Nvidia's permission to use a second graphics card for PhysX though.

3 words: slipatch, google, luck

About UD3, I see no drawbacks. Uefi is a bit overrated imho, nothing wrong with good old bios. Only thing is the measly amount of just 1 controllable fan header. You might need a fancontroller as well (or y-splitter). It should be a decent overclock board but the UD3R and P do have better cpu power design.

 

[efficacyman]

My experience with the board so far is that you would want a better board to fill out your case's port connections - no 1394 onboard. Also the RAM slots are very close to the socket, making me have to switch my venomous X to a pull configuration rather than a push configuration. The motherboard also had a goofy post connection - not standard ATX leaving the part of the motherboard behind the RAM slots unsupported in my HAF 932. So far I've only overclocked it to 4ghz with a 2500k (picked up @ microcenter on release date for ~$300 with tax for mb & CPU) out of laziness. Also only has 6 SATA ports, but for a basic board I'm pleased.

 

[CrazyAznDriver]

Here are some headaches this guy is going through with this board... http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1577331

 

[DaveSimmons]

Here are some headaches this guy is going through with this board... http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1577331

^ -- complaints: long second video card blocks SATA III ports; non-stock HSFs don't fit because of RAM, capacitors

Sounds like it's fine for using a single video card and the stock heatsink though, it's just not good with 2 long cards (SLI/xfire or GPU + PhysX) and big aftermarket HSFs.

 

[Hogan773]

It feels like the Gigabytes are a little leaner on the goodies (eSata, firewire, etc) at a given pricepoint. Plus no EFI bios (I realize that old fashioned BIOS still get it done). I'm just struggling as to what is BETTER about the Gigas vs Asus or ASRock.

 

[DaveSimmons]

^ The ASUS P8P67 LE for $139 does add some goodies like IDE and 2xPS2 connectors (handy if you have an old KVM switch like I do).

I think the point was more "I like GB and is there anything wrong with this cheap $129 P67" more than Gigabyte being the best or only choice at that price point.

 

[Hogan773]

^ The ASUS P8P67 LE for $139 does add some goodies like IDE and 2xPS2 connectors (handy if you have an old KVM switch like I do).

I think the point was more "I like GB and is there anything wrong with this cheap $129 P67" more than Gigabyte being the best or only choice at that price point.

Got it......mobo comparison is tough! I keep going back and forth. This is my first build, and its a tug of war between what features I really NEED (not too many) and the notion of "yeah but should I spend another $XX JUST IN CASE I need said feature(s) in the future" (like SLI, etc)

 

[996GT2]

I have this board and it's been great. Hit 4.7 GHz on my 2500k @ 1.37v. I'm sure it could have gone higher with more voltage, but I didn't feel like pushing it and possibly damaging the CPU. Currently running 4.2 GHz Prime95 and Linpack stable @ 1.26VCore. I'm running a Hyper 212+ cooler and a 4850 (GTX 460 next week), and everything fits perfectly.

Here's a pic of the board with everything mounted:

This board is a great combination of price/performance!

 

[manutdc]

Just curious - has anyone with the P67A-UD3 used the latest BIOS update? F6a I think it is...it gets stuck at the "Detecting IDE drives" part of boot if I have it set on RAID, so I'm back on F4 right now (F5 did the same thing). I saw over on the TweakTown forums that there's a F6b now; has anybody tried this one and if so, is there any problem with running RAID?

 

[996GT2]

Just curious - has anyone with the P67A-UD3 used the latest BIOS update? F6a I think it is...it gets stuck at the "Detecting IDE drives" part of boot if I have it set on RAID, so I'm back on F4 right now (F5 did the same thing). I saw over on the TweakTown forums that there's a F6b now; has anybody tried this one and if so, is there any problem with running RAID?

Its probably best to wait a few weeks after a new BIOS comes out before you update. Usually, new BIOSes do not add huge new features, so you don't gain a ton from upgrading. If you wait a bit, you can see what people are saying on forums before you do it yourself.

I'm still on F4 and it's working great.

 

[manutdc]

Yeah, I figured as much. Some people over on XS are reporting issues with the new BIOSes and AHCI/RAID. Will wait, thanks!