Extreme X58 motherboards have already been outed from the likes of ASUS, MSI and EVGA, but if you've been awaiting the GIGABYTE solution, here it is:
It's dubbed the GA-X58A-UD9, and GIGABYTE reckons it redefines "what is possible performance and feature-wise on the X58 platform".
Following in the footsteps of EVGA's Classified beast, GIGABYTE's UD9 monster measures a sizeable 345mm x 262mm and falls into the XL-ATX form factor - so be sure to size up your chassis before placing your order.
If it'll fit, there's plenty to look forward to. The UD9 is the first board to feature GIGABYTE's Dual Power Switching 24-phase design. With the feature enabled, the board makes use of two sets of 12 power phases working independently - the board switches between the two to spread the workload, and GIGABYTE reckons doing so will double the life span of the phases. Overclockers needn't worry, either, as all 24 phases are automatically enabled when you attempt to deliver higher amounts of power to the CPU.
It's hard to miss the seven PCIe x16 slots, and thanks to two integrated nF200 chips, four-way SLI or CrossFire configurations are supported at x16, x16, x16 and x16.
Six triple-channel DDR3 DIMM slots support up to 24GB of RAM at speeds of up to 2,200MHz, and GIGABYTE's impressive-looking Hybrid Silent-Pipe 2 heatsinks can be hooked up to your water-cooling loop or attached to the bundled Silent-Pipe heatsink as shown below.
Connectivity options are well catered for with the board providing 12 USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports courtesy of an NEC controller, eight SATA 3Gbps connectors, two SATA 6Gbps connectors, IDE, a Floppy connector, Dual Gigabit Ethernet, three FireWire ports and eSATA.
A Realtek ALC889 chip provides 7.1 HD audio, and on top of that you have a dazzling array of GIGABYTE tweaking tools - including a debug LED, four sets of OV-Alert LEDs, two sets of temperature alert LEDs and GIGABYTE's EasyTune6 software utility.
No sign of pricing or availability just yet, but we reckon you'll be paying in excess of £300. Can't afford it? Why not just ogle at the complete specification over at GIGABYTE's official product page.
