Gigabyte says this new palette was a conscious attempt to make the board look more elegant than its predecessors, although unless youвЂ™re running a case window or one of AntecвЂ™s open-air Skeleton enclosures, you probably wonвЂ™t notice the difference.ДЄt first glance, itвЂ™s almost impossible to miss the giant Ultra Durable 3 billboard that Gigabyte has slapped onto the boardвЂ™s gargantuan south bridge cooler. The board is still draped in the companyвЂ™s trademark shade of turquoisey blue, but the rainbow has been replaced by a subdued collection of white and light blue ports, with a little extra color here and there. Long known for the virtual rainbow of expansion slots and ports that tend to populate its boards, Gigabyte has toned down the color palette a little for the UD5. Besides, the UD5 is actually one of the more affordable X58-based motherboards currently on the market. However, those cheaper derivatives arenвЂ™t expected to be available until early next year, allowing Gigabyte to capitalize on early Core i7 adopters willing to get in on the latest and greatest desktop processor at any cost. Gigabyte has several X58 motherboards planned, including models that will sell for significantly less than the EX58-UD5вЂ™s $300 asking price. The question, of course, is which offers the best blend of indulgent excess, solid performance, and overclocking headroom. These are unabashedly high-end motherboards, and as such, theyвЂ™re tricked out with excessive arrays of expansion slots, ports, and auxiliary peripherals in addition to novel features you wonвЂ™t find on budget or even mid-range products.

But one could argue that that makes them more interesting. Like most X58 boards, the UD5 and Eclipse arenвЂ™t cheap. Gigabyte and MSI have been building them for years, though, and today their respective EX58-UD5 and X58 Eclipse motherboards take center stage. Intel, it seems, still hasnвЂ™t figured out what makes a good enthusiast board. WeвЂ™ve already looked at X58 boards from Asus and Intel, predictably finding the former to be a much better fit for enthusiasts than the latter. IntelвЂ™s Core i7 processors have started trickling onto the market, and the collection of X58 Express-based motherboards ready to accept them has started to grow.

Gigabyte ultra durable motherboard i7