Today we are going to look at and review the Gigabyte X99-UD3P motherboard, featuring Intel’s X99 Express chipset, supporting Intel Core i7 processors designed for socket LGA 2011-3. The Gigabyte X99-UD3P is one of the company’s newer X99 motherboards that belong to their Champion series lineup. Usually, an X99 system will cost you (way) more than a typical Z97 system. The GA-X99-UD3P is an entry level motherboard offering the essential features that an X99 system needs, while keeping the price at bay. Aside from being included in the Champion series, the X99-UD3P is also part of Gigabyte’s main lineup, the Ultra Durable series, offering superior quality, reliability and performance. Let’s proceed in the review below and see if the Gigabyte X99-UD3P is capable enough for an affordable high-end desktop build.
Gigabyte X99-UD3P Review
Despite being an entry-level X99 motherboard, the Gigabyte X99-UD3P is built with features that are common in most X99 motherboards. There are some bells and whistles that you may not see on this motherboard and we’ll get into that soon. For starters, the X99-UD3P supports the new Intel Core i7 Haswell-E processors in LGA2011-3 packaging. It only has four memory slots but it supports DDR4 XMP up to 3333MHz (OC) speeds. It also supports multiple graphics card configuration, 3-way and 4-way with up to 320Gb/s bandwidth (provided that your CPU is 40 lanes capable).
Being an Ultra Durable motherboard, the Gigabyte X99-UD3P is built with a 6-phase all Digital Power Design with IR Digital PWM and IR PowerIRstage ICs, featuring Isense technology. These ICs helps in delivering power with incredible precision, and helps distribute thermal loading to prevent overheating for a longer lifespan and reliability. Expect to see server level chokes, long lifespan Durable Black solid capacitors and high end Nichicon audio capacitors as well. Gigabyte is also using their signature 2x Copper PCB Design (2oz Copper PCB), not to mention a matte black surface, and an all new heatsink design.
The Gigabyte X99-UD3P also features dual M.2 slots for SSD and WIFI Card, Realtek ALC1150 115dB SNR HD audio with built-in rear audio amplifier, SATA Express ports that can support up to 10Gb/s data transfer, DualBIOS with Q-Flash Plus USB port and the board itself is thunderbolt ready. The audio section features an independent right and left audio channel PCB layers and LED lighting for the audio guard light path. The CPU socket, DIMM slots, PCIE slots are all gold plated ensuring better reliability and connectivity without worrying about bad contacts due to corroded pins.
Below is a detailed specifications table of the Gigabyte X99-UD3P. Let’s explore more of its features as we take a closer look at the motherboard on the next page.
Gigabyte X99-UD3P Specifications
| Processor | Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors in the LGA2011-3 package L3 cache varies with CPU (Please refer "CPU Support List" for more information.) |
| Chipset | Intel® X99 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory * Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed. 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) (Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.) |
| 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) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIE_1 slot; if you are installing two PCI Express graphics cards, it is recommended that you install them in the PCIE_1 and PCIE_2 slots. 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIE_3, PCIE_4) * The PCIE_4 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIE_1 slot. When the PCIE_4 slot is populated, the PCIE_1 slot will operate at up to x8 mode. * When an i7-5820K CPU is installed, the PCIE_2 slot operates at up to x8 mode and the PCIE_3 operates at up to x4 mode. (All PCI Express x16 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) 3 x PCI Express x1 slots (The PCI Express x1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) 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 * The 4-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ configuration is not supported when an i7-5820K CPU is installed. To set up a 3-Way SLI configuration, refer to "1-6 Setting up AMD CrossFire™/NVIDIA® SLI™ Configuration." |
| Storage Interface | Chipset: 1x M.2 PCIe connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe x2/x1 SSD support) 1x SATA Express connector 6x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0~5) Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 * Only AHCI mode is supported when an M.2 PCIe SSD or a SATA Express device is installed. (M2_10G, SATA Express, and SATA3 4/5 connectors can only be used one at a time. The SATA3 4/5 connectors will become unavailable when an M.2 SSD is installed in the M2_10G connector.) Chipset: 4x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (sSATA3 0~3), supporting IDE and AHCI modes only (An operating system installed on the SATA3 0~5 connectors cannot be used on the sSATA3 0~3 connectors.) |
| USB | Chipset: 4x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header) 8x 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 | 1x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 1x PCIe power connector 1x M.2 Socket 3 connector 1x SATA Express connector 10x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1x CPU fan header 1x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT) 3x system fan headers 1x front panel header 1x front panel audio header 1x USB 3.0/2.0 header 2x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header 1x Thunderbolt add-in card connector 1x Clear CMOS jumper 1x CPU mode switch |
| Back Panel Connectors | 1x PS/2 keyboard port 1x PS/2 mouse port 6x USB 3.0/2.0 ports 4x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1x RJ-45 port 1x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In) 2x Wi-Fi antenna connector holes |
| I/O Controller | iTE® I/O Controller Chip |
| H/W Monitoring | 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 * Whether the fan speed control function is supported will depend on the cooler you install. |
| 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 * Available applications in APP Center may differ by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also differ depending on motherboard specifications. @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 | ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm |
| Remark | Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website. Most hardware/software vendors may no longer offer drivers to support Win9X/ME/2000/XP. If drivers are available from the vendors, we will update them on the GIGABYTE website. |
