If you are looking to build a Sandy Bridge rig there is no question you have heard of Intel’s newest chipset, the Z68. Taking their P67 chipset, they've added everything that was missing, including the ability to take advantage of the GPU built in to your Sandy Bridge CPU. We are a little late to the party though; after the original Sandy Bridge launch I ran into a few health problems, but I am back and better than ever. It’s finally time to take a look at a Z68 chipset and this time around it’s a Z68X-UD3H-B3 from Gigabyte. Let’s find out if you should be looking at Z68’s or P67’s.Product Name: Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
Review Sample Provided by: Gigabyte
Review by: Wes
Pictures by: Wes
Specifications
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CPU |
Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors/Intel® Core™ i5 processors/ Intel® Core™ i3 processors/Intel® Pentium® processors/Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1155 package L3 cache varies with CPU (Please refer "CPU Support List" for more information.) |
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Chipset |
Intel® Z68 Express Chipset |
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Memory |
4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory Dual channel memory architecture Support for DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules Support for non-ECC memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules (Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.) |
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Onboard Graphics |
Integrated in the Chipset: 1 x D-Sub port 1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200 1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600p |
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Audio |
Realtek ALC889 codec High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for Dolby® Home Theater Support for S/PDIF Out |
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LAN |
1 x Realtek RTL8111E chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) |
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Expansion Slots |
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) 3 x PCI Express x1 slots 2 x PCI slots |
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Multi-Graphics Technology |
Support for ATI CrossFireX™/NVIDIA SLI technology |
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Storage Interface |
Chipset: 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3_0, SATA3_1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices 3 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_2~SATA2_4) supporting up to 3 SATA 3Gb/s devices 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s connector on the back panel supporting up to 1 SATA 3Gb/s device Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 Marvell 88SE9172 chip: 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_5, GSATA3_6) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices Support for SATA RAID 0 and RAID 1 |
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USB |
Chipset: Up to 12 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 on the back panel, 8 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers) 2 x Etron EJ168 chips: Up to 4 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 on the back panel, 2 via the USB bracket connected to the internal USB header) |
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IEEE 1394 |
VIA VT6308 chip: Up to 2 IEEE 1394a ports (1 on the back panel, 1 via the IEEE 1394a bracket connected to the internal IEEE 1394a header) |
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Internal I/O Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 3 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors 1 x CPU fan header 2 x system fan headers 1 x power fan header 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x S/PDIF Out header 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header 1 x IEEE 1394a header 1 x serial port header 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header 1 x clearing CMOS jumper |
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Back Panel Connectors |
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port 1 x D-Sub port 1 x DVI-D port 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 1 x HDMI port 1 x DisplayPort 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1 x IEEE 1394a port 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s connector 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports 1 x RJ-45 port 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone) |
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I/O Controller |
iTE IT8728 chip |
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H/W Monitoring |
System voltage detection CPU/System temperature detection CPU/System/Power fan speed detection CPU overheating warning CPU/System/Power fan fail warning CPU/System fan speed control |
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BIOS |
2 x 32 Mbit flash Use of licensed AWARD BIOS Support for DualBIOS™ PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b |
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Unique Features |
Support for @BIOS Support for Q-Flash Support for Xpress BIOS Rescue Support for Download Center Support for Xpress Install Support for Xpress Recovery2 Support for EasyTune Support for Dynamic Energy Saver™ 2 Support for Smart 6™ Support for Auto Green Support for eXtreme Hard Drive (X.H.D) Support for ON/OFF Charge Support for Cloud OC Support for Q-Share |
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Bundle Software |
Norton Internet Security (OEM version) |
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Operating System |
Support for Microsoft® Windows® 7/Vista/XP |
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Form Factor |
ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm |
