GIGABYTE P55 & Second-Gen X58 Motherboards Revealed

With the new P55 motherboards out of the way, the second most intriguing lineup at GIGABYTE's Taipei 101 showroom was definitely the new GA-EX58A series. This is obviously a refresh of the current GA-EX58 models, and although the changes may be hard to spot by the untrained eye, they are in fact quite numerous. The entire EX58A series now features improved power delivery systems, support for SATA 6Gb/s, more efficient Dynamic Energy Saver 2 technology, and the new Smart 6 utilities package. Perhaps most importantly, all the models have received design tweaks to ensure that they have even greater base clock (BCLK) and memory overclocking capabilities. Regrettably, these models are at least one month away from hitting the marketplace.


Replacing the EX58-UD4, the EX58A-UD4 now features a 12-phase power design system (up from 8) and an additional mechanical PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot, which means that the UD4 model is now triple CrossFire and SLI compatible. The southbridge cooler has been upgraded slightly and now benefits from a heatpipe. This model also features two Marvell SATA 6Gb/s ports, six standard SATA 2 ports, two gigabit Smart LAN ports, Dynamic Energy Saver 2, and the new Smart 6 utilities package.


The EX58A-UD4P is effectively identical to the UD4, but it is the only model in the EX58A lineup to feature the new Smart TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip, which provides 2048-bit hardware encryption and the ability to remotely secure protected data remotely via a Bluetooth-enabled mobile device.


The higher-end EX58A-UD5 will replace the wildly successful EX58-UD5, and it brings forth a few advancements. For starters, the CPU power design has been totally revamped and increased from 12 to 24-phases, an industry first. With the Core i7 processors clocking higher and higher, and the imminent arrival of six and even eight-core models, having a more robust CPU PWM is definitely going to be useful. Even now, engineers claim that there are benefits when it comes to overclocked stability and even BCLK scaling. On the storage front, the EX58A-UD5 features an impressive four SATA 6Gb/s ports, which is two more than all the lower-end models. To cap it off, there is also the inclusion the new Dynamic Energy Saver 2 technology and the Smart 6 system management utilities package.


The enthusiast-oriented EX58A-EXTREME represents the Top of the Line of the EX58A series. Along with a more option-rich BIOS, the EXTREME features the more elaborate Hybrid Silent Pipe 2 cooling system. Otherwise, it is identical to the EX58A-UD5 and utilizes the impressive new 24-phase power design.


The EX58A-EXTREME was actually one of 25 products shown off at Computex Taipei 2009 that was selected for the Best Choice Award 2009.



Along with refreshing their X58 motherboard lineup, GIGABYTE also had a slightly updated EP45-UD3P on hand.


Aside from featuring the new Smart 6 system management utilities package, this model remains unchanged, which is totally fine with us. The EP45-UD3P is one of the best P45 motherboards on the market and it has been continously acclaimed for its overclocking capabilities.


Surprisingly, GIGABYTE also had a brand new P45 model on the hand. The higher-end EP45-UD5 looks very similar to the above model, but features the new 24-phase PWM which is a significant boost over the UD3P's 6-phase design. Theoretically, this model should overclock better than the UD3P, especially with quad-core processors. For some reason the UD5 is lacking the Ultra TPM chip, but that is a relatively minor omission.


Along with the above EP41-UD3L, GIGABYTE was showing off quite a few price-conscious Intel G41/G45 based motherboards, like the Micro ATX GA-EG41M-US2H and GA-EG45M-UD2H models. However, as good as they may be, all those motherboards are going to face some intense competition from some other GB motherboards, namely those featuring AMD's latest chipset...