GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Pros: This is all you need in an X58 motherboard as long as you don't want to do SLI. No frills, no nonsense, and all the functionality you could want. Didn't have any problems with compatibility or functionality with this motherboard. Started right up the first time. No bugs, which is more than I can say for some of these other more expensive X58 motherboards that are currently available. Gigabyte seems to have the X58 well figured out. Seems to be really stable. Everything benchmarks with expected results. Very detailed and plentiful overclocking options. Enough slots for future expansion. Plenty of ports. Good online support. No fan on the northbridge. Being able to use my old Audigy 2 sound card saved me some money. It has 2 BIOS' which is great for ensuring the board's longevity.

Cons: The main cons and the reasons this is so inexpensive is because it only has 4 RAM slots and it only supports ATI Crossfire, no Nvidia SLI. Since I have an ATI video card I don't see this as a problem and hopefully I'll be able to upgrade before 6GB of RAM becomes insufficient. Also, no eSATA. I see this type of connection becoming very popular in the future so it would be nice if this motherboard had one or two. I guess I can always get an eSATA bracket. One last thing: it didn't detect my RAM's settings correctly; I had to set them manually.

Overall Review: I don't know if this problem was caused by the motherboard or what, but at first there was this quiet but high pitched whine coming intermittently from the computer. It would only happen when I went from idle to working, like opening a web page for example. I thought it might have something to do with my power supply, but regardless of that I decided to upgrade the BIOS on this board to the F3 version and the whine stopped. Take that as you will. Things in my computer: 1. Intel i7 920 @ 2.66Ghz 2. This motherboard 3. 6GB (3x2GB) G.Skill model #F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ 4. WD Velociraptor 300GB 5. SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 (1GB of RAM) 6. Antec NeoPower 650 Watt PSU Bottom line: If you're only going to be using one video card or if you prefer ATI and you don't mind the fewer RAM slots, this motherboard is a perfect choice for a X58 platform. Huge value in this board when others of similar quality cost a lot more money.

Pros: Nice layout Relatively economical (as compared to other boards) Good feature set for the majority of mainstream users

Cons: This is a solid board. Everything came up the first time, except for all the RAM I installed. If anyone is having issues with RAM not showing up or a specific slot not working READ THIS. I used 3x1GB of basic crucial DDR3 1066 memory. However, only 2GB out of 3GB were showing up. I swapped memory back and forth, reflashed the BIOS, cleared the BIOS, etc over and over to see if I could fix this. After some more swapping I found that the first RAM slot was dead. The memory would show up as being populated, but would not show up as usable at all. The board would post with a single stick from all slots except the first. I even purchased another set of memory and even that failed on slot 1.

Overall Review: Right before I packed up the board for an RMA, I though that I should examine the CPU socket since the memory controller is now on the CPU itself. Under a bright light, I found a single pin on the edge of the socket in the middle that was maybe a millimeter off axis from the others. I gently tweaked it back in line and gave it another shot... Instant success! The dead RAM slot was back and everything worked perfect. Now, I am fairly certain that the pin came that way, since if I were to install the CPU wrong or a little skewed, more than a single pin would have been off line... Anyhow, if you are having memory issues, check the CPU socket CAREFULLY for any misaligned pins.

Pros: Two PCI-E slots rather than all the other options that offer 3-4 and the last two are crippled speed capable. Good documentation including all necessary cables and hardware. Fair price and performs as expected.

Cons: Extremely long POST times. CMOS reset pins are located in a place that has them directly under a full length video card. Short of video card removal, CMOS reset would be very tough chore. Be sure to use the Network IO drivers on the CD with the motherboard and DO NOT update to Microsoft Updates version. Not a Gigabyte Con but thought it wise to share this information.

Overall Review: Built an i7-920 system using this motherboard and Gskill 1600 ram (Dual channel 4gb kit) Successfully OC'd the unit to 3.8GHZ with minimal Vcore voltage bump. The motherboard North bridge location is a perfect should your case have a fan on the side that introduces fresh air to the CPU.

Pros: Quality construction, great BIOS. Everything you need for a good over-clock rig at an inexpensive price.

Cons: Gigabyte could have built in a safety feature or warning that if you set the uncore frequency lower then double your ram frequency the board will go into a permanent reboot loop.

Overall Review: Great board. Running my i7-920 @ 4.4 Ghz on air @ 55 deg C with Mega Shadow cooler. My board got into the dreaded reboot loop that so many have reported. It turns out that while over clocking, I inadvertently set the uncore frequency lower then twice the value of the RAM frequency. This is a i7 no-no! My board is back running at 100% and that was confirmed for me causing the reboot loop. I've tested every single BIOS setting and that was the problem. I am not sure if the reboot loop that others have experienced is caused by the same issue. Gigabyte could have installed some warning or fail safe for this issue instead of the board just entering the reboot loop. You have to clear the CMOS in order to get the computer back running.

Pros: - Lots of features available both in the BIOS and via software - Lots of USB ports - Great price - Overclocking is very easy (I've bumped my 920 mildly up to 3 GHz, but it can easily go further) - I've had no issues with it after 2 months of solid use so far (*knock on wood*)

Cons: No eSATA The sideways configuration of the SATA ports makes it difficult to add/remove cables once the computer is all built. If you have a large GPU (like mine), it will cover up the ports, making it even more difficult. I had to end up taking my GTX 260 out just in order to add another HDD in my computer.

Overall Review: I'm very glad I purchased this board. It is an excellent buy for the money and has features that generally are available on more expensive motherboards. If you're looking for a great X58 board that doesn't cost a fortune, this is it. Comp Specs: Core i7 920, GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked, Gigabyte X58-UD3R Mobo, 3 GB DDR3 RAM, 640GB + 750GB WD HDDs, Corsair 650TX PSU, Antec 300, S-Flex Scythe fans

Pros: It was the cheapest one at that moment. It worked great from the first start and once I figured out all the overclocking options it was easy to overclock. Works stable and pretty cool, crossfire support, but I've got Nvidia single card anyways.

Cons: I was not the first one to review it :-( It does take a few seconds (about 10) to start - to show boot screen, yeah it was scary first time.

Overall Review: With stock cooler I didnt want to overclock to much - 920 @ 3.2Ghz running Prime95 under 60C with Antec 300 case. My settings - BCLK @ 160, CPU Voltage 1.26v (1.2 after v-drop), memory @ 1600 (20x multi with 1.5v G-Skill), the rest is on AUTO. By the way do not leave CPU and QPI voltage on Auto if you overclock - board will set the unneccessary high - check online what approx you need for your settings and set manually. Like my VCORE was set AUTO to 1.33v , and was hot, but I set it manually to 1.26v and it still works stable and cooler. I had to do the same for QPI but have no time to research - I guess this parameter make north bridge hot - 60c under load. BUY IT - single cards work much better than dual, triple and more... Just get better card instead of two cheap ones. I have 9800GTX+ with this PC and I run Crysis on High @ 1680x1050 with AA enabled, i don't need more than that.

Pros: Easy overclocker, 4.0 GHhz with an i7 on air, took all of five minutes. I was trying to lower volatages and went to low so i got a BSOD. Hit F12 and the motheroard has a spot labled Last known stable settings. Picked the stable settings and rebooted, ran great. It has 8 memory slots for multiple settings. You can set one for suicide runs, one for daily use and one for aggressive use. Boots in a normal amount of time, not sure what some folks are talking about. Looks good, although with the case closed up cannot really see it.

Cons: The Windows based overclocking utility. In general I suggest staying away from these and this one is no exception. Do it in the bios.

Overall Review: Are there better boards out there? Yes. Are there better boards in this price range? Not likely. Very solid construction, board, overclocks well, and decent layout on the motherboard. All in all for the price, I don't think it can be beat. So if your looking at this board, grab it don't look back and enjoy.

Pros: i7 920, fits Vigor Monsoon fan with room to spare (and it's a monster heat sink) add 6 gigs of ram, overclock to your hearts content. They don't advertize all it's features, but compare to gigbytes other boards, and take the savings for higher density ram. :) If you are feint hearted, buy this, the above fan, the rest, run easy tune, set to 3.2 gigs and forget it. faster than a 965 for a lot less. if you are braver, this is a sweet board to overclock with... Of course your mileage will vary.

Cons: I couldn't get the I7 920 to 5 gig on air? This thing is