Zaključak

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H je jedna od prvih Z68 matičnih ploča na tržištu. Neke od glavnih karakteristika su četiri video izlaza, podrška za Touch BIOS tehnologiju, podrška za SLI i Crossfire. Iako se radi o budget ploči, tu je i FireWire, kao i bogato opremljen BIOS (u pogledu dostupnih napona). UD3H dolazi sa četverofaznom regulacijom napona za procesor koja predstavlja kočnicu za žešći overclocking, ali smo unatoč tome uspjeli postići 5.4GHz sa 2500K. Također, UD3H predstavlja odličnu podlogu za overclocking integrirane grafike u procesoru. Layout ploče je vrlo dobar, osim nekih sitnijih nelogičnosti (kao što je pozicioniranje jednog od SATA portova). Unatoč skromno izvedenom hlađenju, problema po pitanju zagrijavanja nema. Neki korisnici će znati cijeniti i ubacivanje dodatnog kontrolera za dva PCI slota kojim je ploča opremljena. Negativne stvari koje bismo naveli su najvjerojatnije povezane s činjenicom da smo dobili dosta ranu verziju ploče. Problemi kao što je ulazak u restart petlju kod paljenja Dynamic Energy Saver 2 aplikacije, ili potpuno gašenje ploče prilikom restarta sustava iz Windowsa. Cijena ove ploče iznosi oko 1100kn (uključen PDV), što je 200kn jeftinije od najjeftinije ploče iz protivničkih tabora (Asus, MSI). Da bi stvar bila bolja, najjeftinija Gigabyte ploča sa Z68 čipsetom košta 820kn (uključen PDV). Uzevši sve u obzir, Z68X-UD3H svakako zaslužuje našu bezrezervnu preporuku za kupovinu.

 

Conclusion

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H is one of the first Z68 based motherboards on the market. Some of the main characteristics of the board are presented as four video outputs, SLI and Crossfire support and Touch BIOS technology. Although this is a budget motherboard, there is also a FireWire and well equipped BIOS (in terms of available voltages). UD3H comes with a 4 phase regulation for the CPU, which is a bottleneck for more serious overclocking, despite that we were able to reach 5.4GHz with the i5-2500K. Also, UD3H is an excellent board for the overclocking of Intel’s integrated graphics. Board layout is very good except for some minor discrepancies (such as the positioning of one of the SATA ports). Despite the modest cooling system, there were no overheating problems regarding chipset/PWM. Some of the users will appreciate the integration of additional bridge chip for the PCI slots on the board. The negative things we mentioned are most likely associated with the fact that we got an earlier version of the board. We experienced issues such as restart loop after ignition of Dynamic Energy Saver 2 application, or a complete board shut-down after restarting from Windows. The price of the board is about 215$ (VAT included), which is about 40$ cheaper compared to the cheapest model from the competition (Asus, MSI…). To make things better, Gigabyte’s cheapest Z68 board costs 160$ (VAT included). Taken everything into account, Z68X-UD3H certainly deserves our unreserved recommendation for purchase.