Final Verdict

Before we get into the conclusion of this article and judge each of the boards, we should mention that all of the Gigabyte motherboards represented here utilize LGA-1156 sockets from Foxconn.

As Anandtech pointed out last month, these Foxconn sockets have proven to be troublesome for extreme OC’ers who are running subzero cooling solutions like liquid nitrogen/liquid helium in a quest to push past the 5GHz mark. Obviously this is operating the CPU well outside Intel’s guidelines, but CPU sockets from other manufacturers don’t appear to be failing like the Foxconn sockets, implying the others are doing something Foxconn isn’t.

We haven’t experienced any issues OC’ing Lynnfield CPUs with motherboards equipped with the Foxconn sockets; we’ve been doing this a few months now without issue. Obviously we’re not using subzero cooling though, we’re happy with hitting 4GHz+ on air.

Bottom line, most of you shouldn’t have any problems with any of the motherboards represented in this article. The only users who are affected appear to be extreme OC’ers.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to the final scores…

Gigabyte P55-UD6

Gigabyte’s put together another winner with their P55-UD6. As a flagship motherboard, the P55-UD6 is naturally going to be well equipped, but Gigabyte goes a step above with this motherboard.

As we’ve said in the past, Gigabyte’s motherboards are in a lot of ways overbuilt. This description couldn’t be more fitting for the P55-UD6. Its 24-phase power system is more than capable of supplying enough power for your CPU OC’ing endeavors, and Gigabyte uses heatpipe cooling for the power subsystem.

The six DIMMs are definite overkill, especially considering the board’s limited to the same 16GB DDR3 as other P55 motherboards, and enthusiasts will appreciate the plethora of SATA and USB ports present on the board. Even the most die-hard user running the P55-UD6 probably won’t run out of SATA or USB ports.

Our only gripe we could come up with for the board are the generic reset and clear CMOS switches. They look too similar to each other and aren’t clearly labeled. We’d like to see Gigabyte implement larger, fully backlit reset and clear CMOS buttons like they do on their excellent 790FX motherboard, the GA-MA790FXT-UD5P. It also would’ve been nice if Gigabyte would’ve included a clear CMOS button on the backplate of the motherboard.

Everywhere else though the board is pretty much perfect. This is one of the best P55 motherboards money can buy at any price.

Gigabyte P55-UD4P

Enthusiasts on a budget looking to build a new Lynnfield system will be well served by Gigabyte’s P55-UD4P. The motherboard is nicely equipped, with SLI and CrossFire support, plenty of SATA and USB connectivity, and Gigabyte’s awesome BIOS. It doesn’t have quite as many power phases as some competing motherboards in its class, but this didn’t stop us from OC’ing our Core i7 CPU past 4GHz. This is helped by the motherboard’s excellent cooling, which is largely borrowed from the P55-UD6.

Overall the UD4P is a solid choice for the sub-$200 crowd, we do wish there wasn’t such a large gap in feature set between the pricier UD5 and the UD4P however.

Gigabyte P55M-UD4

If you’re an HTPC user looking to build a new Lynnfield system around the micro-ATX form factor, you’ll definitely want to take a look at Gigabyte’s P55M-UD4. The board is very well-equipped for a micro-ATX solution, especially when you factor in its sub-$150 price tag.

The board supports SLI and CrossFire, and thanks to its 12-phase power system, it’s more adept in this regard than some full-size ATX motherboards in its price range. Gigabyte didn’t compromise when it comes to connectivity options either, this board has just as many SATA, USB, and FireWire ports as many P55 ATX motherboards. And the audio system carries over from the P55-UD6.

Without a doubt, the P55M-UD4 is the most well-equipped micro-ATX P55 motherboard in its price range, which is why it’s an easy call for our Bull’s Eye Award.

Gigabyte P55-UD3R

If you’re looking for a solid, budget P55 motherboard, Gigabyte’s P55-UD3R is definitely one of the best motherboards in its class.

As a budget board, the P55-UD3R isn’t filled with a lot of bling and other extras you may or may not use, but that doesn’t mean it’s stripped either. In fact, Gigabyte offers many features we don’t expect in a motherboard in this price range. Examples of this include the 2 eSATA ports you’ll find on the backplate of the motherboard, and Gigabyte includes their SATA2 controller onboard, providing support for up to 8 SATA ports. Competing motherboards in this price bracket support just 6 SATA drives.

Heat pipe cooling is another nice touch also (although obviously it isn’t as robust as Gigabyte’s pricier P55 boards).

The board supports CrossFire, although the second PCIe graphics slot is limited to x4 operation. We also wish the primary SATA ports were oriented better. These issues probably won’t affect most users considering this board though.