That's a lot of stuff
Privy as we are to the machinations of top-tier motherboard manufacturers, we're now seeing a larger number of ultra-hardcore boards popping up from the three leading lights in the field - ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte.The three companies have taken on the X58 and 890FX from Intel and AMD, respectively, and gone the whole nine yards on both by offering fully-laden boards that will appeal to the well-heeled enthusiast.
Intel's X58, the home to the six-core 980X goliath of a chip, is the one that the trio have earmarked for truly 'extreme' makeover. Gigabyte is now trying its hand at grasping the ultimate X58 title with the limited release of the GA-X58A-UD9.
Outfitted with seven PCIe x16 mechanical slots, a 24-phase DPS power-regulation design, and a larger-than-normal PCB, we had a chance to grab a peek at the board.
Yup, it's a biggun. Measuring in at whopping 345mm by 263.5mm and therefore presented in an XL-ATX form factor like the EVGA CLASSIFIED, it's considerably larger than ye olde ATX - we know of only a handful of chassis that can accommodate the monster, and Gigabyte provides a list of compatible cases here.
The mass of cooling means that it's a heavy board but there's no flex in the PCB, intimating that Gigabyte isn't skimping on costs. For what it's worth the PCB is lined with the usual very thin sheet of copper for effective heat dissipation.
Designed as the ultimate X58 board and most likely paired with the 980X chip if you have the money, Gigabyte adds in two eight-pin power connectors - just behind the heatinsks - for maximum power delivery. The 24-phase supply is split into two sets, with the full power called upon when overclocking.
The board's not short of space, clearly, and there's plenty of room around the socket to mount aftermarket coolers. The massive cooling around the power-delivery components is another obvious nod to the extreme nature, yet we'd like to see the various heatsinks screwed into the boards than held in by plastic push-pins.
No extreme board worth its salt will turn a blind eye to the enthusiasts who engage in liquid-cooling their PCs. The GA-X58A-UD9 has a screwed-in block that can be easily removed if, for some reason, you're not going down that route. Doing so leaves a flat surface that can be cooled by a rather nifty heatsink.
And here it is, supplied in the package. Dubbed Hybrid SilentPipe 2 Extreme X, it attaches to the northbridge by way of screws and is then positioned on the far side in the uppermost PCI slot.