Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R - Amazing Value!

[chrnochime]

First of all thanks for the extensive/exhaustive info.

I'm thinking of getting this board, and using the megalahem(sp?) on the board. How is the clearance on this board? If possible, could you tell me the distance from the bottom of the fins (lowest point) to the bottom of the Magalahem CPU contact point?

Also, what would be the maximum stable OC from a i7 860(which I guess you can sort of guess from the 870 result) with ~50mv increase? another words, voltage not exceeding 1.3V? I don't plan on anything crazy and just want a stable 24/7 media pc so.

Thanks a lot for reading this.

 

[MIAHALLEN]

Superb review Miah, even better benchies, well done. This review is going on the front page right ?

Yes, Freeagent is working on it now Ed

First of all thanks for the extensive/exhaustive info.

I'm thinking of getting this board, and using the megalahem(sp?) on the board. How is the clearance on this board? If possible, could you tell me the distance from the bottom of the fins (lowest point) to the bottom of the Magalahem CPU contact point?

Also, what would be the maximum stable OC from a i7 860(which I guess you can sort of guess from the 870 result) with ~50mv increase? another words, voltage not exceeding 1.3V? I don't plan on anything crazy and just want a stable 24/7 media pc so.

Thanks a lot for reading this.

You could probably get to between 3.6 and 4GHz with 1.3V

distance from the bottom of the fins (lowest point) to the bottom of the Magalahem CPU contact point

1.5in or 38mm

 

[B011]

Yes, Freeagent is working on it now Ed



You could probably get to between 3.6 and 4GHz with 1.3V


1.5in or 38mm

MIAHALLEN, thank you so much for this review. While we are on the subject of Megahalem fitting on P55 boards, would you be so kind to answer two questions for me?

1. What kind of RAM were you using? Some people reported that the fan wire clips interfered with the heatsinks of G.Skill Ripjaws in the 2nd RAM slot. (are any parts of fan holding wires going over 2nd RAM slot?)

2. What is the distance between the lower end of the Megahalem and the first PCI slot on the MB? The reason I'm asking is this: Gigagyte MBs like this one have a PCI slot above the first PCIEx16 slot for GPU. However, Asus MBs, like p55 ones, don't have that top PCI slot, so their PCIEx16 slot is a bit higher, and closer to CPU socket (aprox as high as the first PCI slot is on the Gigabyte MB). Is there a danger of lower side of Megahalems being too close to the GPU in the top PCIEx16 slot, on boards where this slot is closer to the CPU socket? (especially having in mind some later custom cooled GPUs might have retention parts on the other side of the pcb).

Thank you in advance.

 

[MIAHALLEN]

B011...I'll have to get back to you on this, I'm not ignoring you, but I'm in the middle of my work week. I was hoping to look at it last night, but didn't have time...give me a day or two

 

[B011]

B011...I'll have to get back to you on this, I'm not ignoring you, but I'm in the middle of my work week. I was hoping to look at it last night, but didn't have time...give me a day or two

No problem, I'll wait patiently

Just to give you an idea why I'm asking:
http://www.overclock.net/air-cooling/584640-anyone-got-mega-shadow-1156-yet.html

The guy in post no 9 says he had to remove a card from the first (top) PCIE slot due to Megahalem size on GD65. You can see how his GPU in the first PCIEx16 slot is close to his Mega. Now imagine if the PCIEx16 slot was even higher, as in most of Asus P55 boards (which do not have that top PCIE slot).

 

[MIAHALLEN]

Sorry to report, but it looks like the i7 870 I recieved doesn't fair so well with extra cooling. I could not even get it stable enough over 5GHz to run SPI1M. It appears that this CPU is only strong in more typical setups like 99% of you out there, and in that respect it truly shines.

I'm dissappointed I was unable to do better with extreme cooling, but the best Lynnfield based CPUs seem to be very elusive. In my humble opinion, extreme users are best off sticking to LGA1366.





For the rest of you, this platform is what you've been waiting for. If you're not a heavy multitasker or power user, than the 750 should work wonders for you. If your regular usage includes more intensive applications or if you multitask a lot...than the i7 860 is a perfect choice for you. It would be difficult for me to reccomend the i7 870 to anyone but Bill Gates. If you have money to burn, by all means. But for the rest of us, the i7 860 will be fine.

A few people have asked me about fitment for the Promitech Megahalems. Here is a quick guide:















I think the moral of the story here is that if you plan to use the Megahalems on this board, then do not get memory with tall heat-spreaders.

If you do have tall memory heatspeaders and you're inside a case, then you're probably best off using the fan in a "pull" orientation.

If you plan to use the top PCIe slot, you're better off mounting the HSF in a horizontal orientaion, or mount vertically with the fan on top in a "pull" orientation.

 

[Dragonprince]

So not the best memory placement and a 4x PCI-E slot mean take a pass on this board. I dont understand why any company would even sell a board with a 4x limited PCI-E bus at this time...why bother offering a second slot when it's crippled? As a single PCI-E board and better memory placement this would be a killer board. Thanks for your efforts on the review MIAHALLEN

 

[B011]

MIAHALLEN, thank you so much for the pictures! I guess I'll wait for TRUE 1156 brackets to become available, since its a bit narrower then MEGA, and should allow me to use the 2nd ram slot even with tall heatsink modules.

Thanks again!

 

[Deanzo]

Nice review mate,

This board and a 750 is a killer combo, real bang for your buck stuff.

 

[chrnochime]

Miahallen:

Thanks for the pic. Really appreciate it. Guess I'll have to find ram with shorter heatsink, or go with True Spirit/different MB.

 

[drBlaMan]

By the way, I did not use the Delta fan for these tests either, I swapped for a much quieter 1600RPM fan

Excellent!!! I must ask you...what fans did you use on that Megahalems?

 

[MIAHALLEN]

1600RPM quiet fan:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185006

5500RPM benching fan:
http://www.crazypc.com/products/pfb1212uhe-58160.html

 

[Krogen]

Bought the board along with a 750 a few days ago. Very happy with it so far.

Ordered a bracket from crazypc.com for my HR-01+, can't wait to do some overclocking.

 

[gwar2288]

I got the P55-UD3 (not the UD3R) based off this Review, and all I can say is I am very, VERY happy with it.

My i5-750 OC'd to 4GHz (200*20) with absolutely Zero effort, runs stable, cool (Though the Thor's Hammer + 2*110CFM fans might help there ) and it's just a fantastic awesome board. The CPU won't POST past a BClk of 206, but that's more likely the chip or PSU's fault than the Mobos.

Excellent value and by far one of the best (if not the best) mid range P55 board there is.

 

[tool_462]

Looking good, I got that Fry's combo but am probably going to sell teh board and get one with a Lotes socket.

Stable in Prime past 92C

 

[fliptrip]

Awesome review man, really great.

I have a quick question seeing as I am considering one of these UD3 or UD3R boards for my i5 750. I run my comp 24/7 so if I overclock it will only be a small one good enough for 24/7 - 3ghz should be ok for 24/7 for the next 2 years right? I have a Noctua NH12UP for it.

Now you know my requirements - I'm tossing up the UD3 or Asustek P7P55D-LE mobo.

I was all set and ready to order the Gigabyte until I was informed that the gigabyte boards don't allow the voltage to lower during idle when it has been overclocked or something? Whereas the Asus board can? What does it mean in simple terms for me?

Not really too sure what that means but if someone could explain that would be great.

Thanks so much guys, really appreciate the help.

 

[gwar2288]

Looking good, I got that Fry's combo but am probably going to sell teh board and get one with a Lotes socket.

Stable in Prime past 92C

Unless you are using DIce or LN2, the Foxconn one is fine.

Of course, if you are, go nuts, but check the socket first, only some foxconn ones are affected, if the cpu is making full contact, no need to replace the board.

 

[MIAHALLEN]

Bought the board along with a 750 a few days ago. Very happy with it so far.

Ordered a bracket from crazypc.com for my HR-01+, can't wait to do some overclocking.

Keep us posted

I got the P55-UD3 (not the UD3R) based off this Review, and all I can say is I am very, VERY happy with it.

My i5-750 OC'd to 4GHz (200*20) with absolutely Zero effort, runs stable, cool (Though the Thor's Hammer + 2*110CFM fans might help there ) and it's just a fantastic awesome board. The CPU won't POST past a BClk of 206, but that's more likely the chip or PSU's fault than the Mobos.

Excellent value and by far one of the best (if not the best) mid range P55 board there is.

Not sure what's up with your bclock wall...did you try extra VTT voltage?

Looking good, I got that Fry's combo but am probably going to sell teh board and get one with a Lotes socket.

Stable in Prime past 92C

Lotes socket isn't necessary

Awesome review man, really great.

I have a quick question seeing as I am considering one of these UD3 or UD3R boards for my i5 750. I run my comp 24/7 so if I overclock it will only be a small one good enough for 24/7 - 3ghz should be ok for 24/7 for the next 2 years right? I have a Noctua NH12UP for it.

Now you know my requirements - I'm tossing up the UD3 or Asustek P7P55D-LE mobo.

I was all set and ready to order the Gigabyte until I was informed that the gigabyte boards don't allow the voltage to lower during idle when it has been overclocked or something? Whereas the Asus board can? What does it mean in simple terms for me?

Not really too sure what that means but if someone could explain that would be great.

Thanks so much guys, really appreciate the help.

Glad you guys all liked the review 3GHz should be a peice of cake, you're aiming too low IMO, you should be able to get close to (if not more than) 4GHz with a good cooler. If you only want 3GHz stick with the stock cooler, it'll do fine

When you leave the voltage on "auto" in the BIOS, the voltage will vary like normal...when you switch the voltage to a manual selection, it locks it in and prevents change. On auto, you'll probably be limiting your OC a bit, and the board could give the CPU more than it needs, be careful

Unless you are using DIce or LN2, the Foxconn one is fine.

Of course, if you are, go nuts, but check the socket first, only some foxconn ones are affected, if the cpu is making full contact, no need to replace the board.

Foxconn sockets are fine 99.9% of the time, even if contact isn't perfect

 

[gwar2288]

Not sure what's up with your bclock wall...did you try extra VTT voltage?

Yup, I tried everything under the sun. More VTT and more VCORE the whole works. I am guessing its the CPU to blame
Not too fussed though, as a 4GHz 24 Hour Prime95 Stable overclock is fantastic, especially for the price (and double especially when you don't have to pay VAT )

 

[Krogen]

Don't have anything to brag about yet but here's what I got so far.

I did have to play around with the voltages to get it stable at 4Ghz. 3 hours of prime95 and 10 iterations of IntelBurn Test on high and works great. ~73C on load with IntelBurn Test (~65C with prime95), I guess I can push it a little more.