Review: gigabyte x99

We continue with the analysis of X99 motherboards and this time we bring you to one of the TOP motherboards of socket 2011-3, the Gigabyte X99-UD7 Wifi with 8 + 2 + 2 power phases, ultra durable technology, many PCI connections Express, SATA Express and M.2 connections. An all-terrain motherboard that will surprise you after reading our review.

We appreciate the trust placed by the Gigabyte Spain team:

Technical characteristics

GIGABYTE X99 FEATURES
CPU	Support for Intel ® Core ™ i7 processors in the LGA2011-3 package L3 cache varies with CPU
Chipset	Intel ® X99 Express Chipset
Memory	8 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64GB of system memory * Due to a 32-bit limitation of the Windows operating system, if more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the displayed memory size will be less than the physical memory size installed. 4-channel memory architecture Support for DDR4 3000 (OC) / 2800 (OC) / 2666 (OC) / 2400 MHz / 2133 (OC) memory modules Support for non-ECC memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules Support for 1Rx8 RDIMM memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
Multi-GPU Compatible	2 x16 PCI Express slots, runs at x16 (PCIE_1, PCIE_2) 2 x16 PCI Express slots, running at x8 (PCIE_3, PCIE_4) 3 x1 x PCI Express slots 1 x M.2 socket 1 connector for wireless communication module (M2_WIFI) 4-way / 3-way / 2-way bracket AMD CrossFire ™ / NVIDIA ® SLI ™ * The 4-Way NVIDIA ® SLI ™ configuration is not supported when installing a CPU
Storage	Chipset: 1 x PCIe M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA and PCIe x2 / x1 SSD support) 1 x SATA Express connector 6 x SATA 6Gb / s connectors (SATA3 0 ~ 5) Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 * Only for AHCI mode is supported when installing a PCIe M.2 SSD or SATA Express device. (M2_10G, SATA Express, and SATA3 4.5 connectors can only be one second-hand at a time. The SATA3 5.4 connectors will not be available when an M.2 SSD is installed in the M2_10G connector.) Chipset: 4 x SATA 6Gb / s connectors (sSATA3 0 ~ 3), IDE and support only AHCI modes (An operating system installed on the SATA3 0 ~ 5 connectors cannot be used on the sSATA3 0 ~ 3 connectors.)
USB and ports.	4 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 (available through internal USB headers) 6 x 2.0 / 1.1 USB ports (2 ports on back panel, 4 ports available through internal USB headers) Chipset + 2 Renesas ® uPD720210 USB 3.0 Hubs: 8 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports on the back panel
Net	2 x Intel ® GbE LAN tokens (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.0, 3.0 + HS, 2.1 + EDR
Audio	Realtek ® ALC1150 codec High definition audio 2/4 / 5.1 / 7.1 channels Support for S / PDIF out
WiFi connection	Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, supporting 2.4 / 5 GHz dual-band
Format.	E-ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 25.9cm
BIOS	2 x 128 Mbit flash Using AMI UEFI BIOS license Support for DualBIOS ™ Q-Flash Plus support PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0

Gigabyte X99-UD7 Wifi

As Gigabyte has accustomed us, it makes us say a high-end presentation: a robust box with a handle that ensures that it will reach our home in perfect condition. It has two compartments that in the first houses the motherboard and in the second all accessories, manuals, etc… The bundle is made up of:

Gigabyte GA-X99 UD7 Wifi motherboard Meshed SATA cables. Instruction manual Wifi-CD antennas with drivers and software. SLI bridge.

The first contact with the motherboard makes it clear that it is an exquisite quality product: thick PCB, quality components, ultra-durable technology, thick and solid heatsinks, etc… The motherboard has an EATX format : 30.5cm x 25.9 cm so we must keep an eye on the compatibility of our box or the one we want to acquire. It is 100% compatible with all Intel Haswell-E processors (5820k, 5930K and octo core 5960X) and has a total of 8 DDR4 memory banks that assumes up to 64GB and speeds of up to 3000 mhz. Both the socket and PCIe and RAM memory slots have a 30 micron gold plating, which implies greater effectiveness and longevity of the components. Today there is no other motherboard model that includes the same design.

It has 8 phases for the processors and 4 for each channel of the RAM memory: 8 + 4. Everything is controlled by the IR3580 Digital PWM and 50A Mosfet Power IR Stage IR3556. The CPU inductor is the Cooper Bussmann R15-1007R3 and the capacitors are some of the best we've seen so far: 5040 uF Black Metallic Capacitors 10K. The RAM uses the IR3570A Digital PWM and the 40A IR3553 Mosfet. Regarding refrigeration, it is a 100% passive two-block system. The first one is in charge of cooling the power supply phases and the second the south bridge. We must not forget that it includes a double layer PCB design: " 2X Cooper PCB " lowering temperature, improving efficiency, better ESD protection, a higher level of overclocking and an EMI shield.

We have a total of 4 PCI Express connections to x16 and three to x1. Gigabyte allows us to mount a 4 Way or 3 Way system for both Nvidia (SLI) and ATI (CrossFireX) depending on the processors we have. With the two most powerful: i7-5960X and i7-5930K we have 40 LANES available to mount a bandwidth of x8, while with the i7-5820K we will be able to mount a 3 Way but quite "capped" having only 28 LANES. This is important to know, because there are not many users who mount 3 or 4 graphs and it can be summarized in 2% of the computer consumers in the country. Here is a table of what it would be like with each processor, we started with the i7-5960X / i7-5930K processors:

1 graphics card: x16.2 graphics card: x16 / slot empty / x16 / slot empty. 3 graphics card: x16 / slot empty / x16 / x8. 4 graphics card: x8 / x8 / x16 / x8.

And with the most common processors the i7-5820K we would use the following configuration:

1 graphics card: x16.2 graphics card: x16 / empty slot / x8 / empty slot. 3 graphics card: x8 / x8 / x8 / empty slot.

M.2 technology has been implemented in this new generation of motherboards. Gigabyte offers us a Dual system that is capable of working up to 10 Gb / s. The first slot is occupied with a Wifi 11AC card with Bluetooth 4.0 and the second allows us to install an SSD saving space and freeing sata connections.

In the lower area we find the typical internal connections: USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, control panel, 4-pin fan heads and the audio output.

Gigabyte is improving its products every day and has incorporated into this SuperOverclock Force series an AMP-UP sound card with a rather nice ALC1150 chipset. It supports headphones with amperage and 115dB in digital audio.

This is one of the most interesting parts of the Gigabyte X99-UD7 Wifi. We have an excellent panel for the user where we find a Dual BIOS, a button to turn off the system, another button to reset, a button to restore the factory settings of the BIOS, another button to connect directly to the BIOS, a Debug LED for See if there are any problems, points to measure the voltage and a SATA power connection to power the graphics cards in an auxiliary way.

We have a total of 10 SATA connections where 4 SATA Express shares, which also offer 10Gb / s compared to 3Gb / s of normal SATA connections.

Already on the back we must highlight its DUAL connection of LAN ports, the buttons for a quick start (F) and the automatic OC. The rear connections have acquired a backlight system that at night we can see all the connections. This includes the following connections:

3 x USB 2.0.1 x PS / 2, OC button, F.7 button, USB 3.0.2 x Gigabit network card, 7.1 digital audio output, Wifi 802.11 AC connectors.

The LEDs have a configurable system via software that allows us to choose between 4 profiles:

Still Mode - LEDs stay on continuously Beat Mode - LEDs blink to the beat of music coming out of the audio jack Press Mode - LEDs blink slowly Off - LEDs off

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i7 5820k
Base plate:	Gigabyte X99 UD7 WIFI
Memory:	32GB Crucial DDR4 2133
Heatsink	Noctua NH-D15
HDD	Crucial M500 250GB
Graphic card	GTX 780
Power supply	Antec HCP 850

To check the stability of the processor and motherboard, we have overclocked up to 4300mhz with Prime 95 Custom and air cooling. The graphics that we have used is an Nvidia GTX780, without further distractions let us see the results obtained in our tests with a 1920 × 1080 monitor:

WE RECOMMEND YOU LG G7 ThinQ Review in Spanish (Full Analysis)

TESTS
3dMark FireStrike	9995
Vantage	45141
tomb Raider	90 FPS
CineBench R11.5 / R15	13.71 / 1178 -
Metro Last Night	91.5 FPS.

BIOS & Easy Tune

The BIOS is more refined than on previous occasions and to be a first platform it is going quite well. Although we still see that it is lacking, but in general and with future BIOS revisions it will be rock solid.

Another of the great advantages in its new and renewed Easy Tune software that allows us to overclock with several clicks from Windows: fast administration, advanced control of the processor, memory and power phases.

conclusion

The Gigabyte X99-UD7 Wifi is a motherboard with the X99 chipset and compatibility with Intel Haswell-E processors from socket 2011-3 with an EATX format: 30.5cm x 25.9cm. It allows us to install up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM at 3000 Mhz, although we recommend using the 2666 mhz initially, since you will not have a problem with the TRAP of the bios or XMP profiles.

I really liked its passive cooling system and the components used that are the best of the best on the market today. It incorporates an 8 + 4 phase power system controlled by PWM IR3580 Digital and by Mosfet Power IR Stage IR3556 50A. These components are only used by the Gigabyte UD5, UD7, G1 Gaming and the Gigabyte Super OC.

Depending on the chosen processor, it allows us a maximum configuration of 3 or 4 graphics cards with more than important speeds to get 100% of our set. It supports both Nvidia's SLI and ATI's CrossFireX. It also incorporates a Dual M.2 system. With a bandwidth of 10 GB / s, a Wi-Fi 802.11 card with Bluetooth 4.0 is installed as standard.

In our test bench we have installed our i7-5820K processor, a GTX 980 and 16GB of DDR4 RAM at 3000 mhz. The first thing to say is that I have not been able to solidly work the memories at 3000 Mhz, which surely with future BIOS revisions will improve the thing. The processor has worked reliably at 4400 mhz with a good cooling system and the results obtained are excellent: 9995 pts in FireStrike.

In short, if you are looking for a motherboard to last you for many years, without complications and with quality components for overclocking, audio, etc… the Gigabyte X99 UD7 Wifi is one of the options that we recommend from Professional Review. Its price in online stores is € 295 approx.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ DESIGN.	- MAY INCLUDE M.2. ULTRA, EVEN THOUGH CURRENTLY THERE ARE NOT MANY DEVICES AVAILABLE.
+ SATA EXPRESS
+ GOOD OVERCLOCK CAPACITY
+ LED LIGHTING SYSTEM.
+ DUAL M.2.
+ WIFI 802.11 AC