Introduction

When you hear the word "motherboard," what is the first manufacturer that pops into your head? For me, it's almost always Gigabyte. Why? Well, because they are always on top of their game. Gigabyte has continued to deliver world class products and set standards in the industry for quality and technology. Just this year, they were the first to introduce USB 3.0 to the world. They even topped that with extra power purposefully to the USB ports, allowing charges to complete much quicker, for those of us that like to use USB adapters with our phones and IPods. Before that, they set standards like full solid capacitor boards, and 24-phase power VRM.

At the beginning of the New Year, we are going to be greeted with many new products from many different manufacturers. Gigabyte has allowed everyone to get a little taste of what they have in store, so everyone can be prepared. Right in the middle of their lineup for the 2nd generation Intel Core processors is the GA-P67A-UD4. The GA-P67A-UD4 has all of the features that a high end gamer would need, with a few new things added. Many of the hardware features are power related to run your system much more efficiently and cooler. So, while you may not be aware of it, your computer is, and will thank you for it with stability and speed.

The new Intel P67 chipset lies at the heart of the Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4, and Gigabyte has utilized it to great advantage with full support for Intel’s SandyBridge Processors. While the GA-P67A-UD4 sits in the middle of Gigabyte’s P67 lineup, there is no shortage of innovation and design. As part of the Ultra Durable 3 series, the GA-P67A-UD4 uses 50,000 hour solid capacitors and a 2oz copper circuit board used in conjunction with 12 phase power design for cooler board temperatures and longer life. Gigabyte’s 333 design incorporates USB 3.0, 6Gbs SATA 3 and 3X typical USB power, now adding Turbo XHD to its SATA 3.0 options. Turbo XHD offers automatic setup for RAID 0, offering 4X the speed of a conventional SATA 2.0 HDD. The 3X USB power incorporated in the GA-P67A-UD4 offers 1500mA to USB 2.0 ports and 2700mA to USB 3.0 ports. This means faster charging for peripherals (such as cell phones and mp3 players) and many times relieves the need for external power or USB Y-connectors for higher powered USB devices. Power to the USB ports is always present on the GA-P67A-UD4 regardless of the computers boot state making USB charging always readily available.