Final thoughts and rating
Gigabyte's GA-X58A-UD9 arrived with the ambition of becoming the granddaddy of all X58 motherboards, and in many respects it doesn't disappoint.
The board layout is excellent, the integrated cooling performs admirably, the number of expansion slots is second to none, and the feature set - including SATA 6Gbps, USB 3.0 and a BIOS tailored for overclockability - ticks many of the right boxes.
Unfortunately, the exorbitant £465.99 asking price acts as a sizeable chink in the UD9's otherwise impressive armour.
Does the implementation of four-way CrossFire/SLI support warrant a near-£200 premium over Gigabyte's own UD7? Factoring in the lack of performance gained from a four-way HD 5870 configuration, the answer has to be no, probably not.
However, whilst logical, conservative buyers will look elsewhere, there are always those who demand the very best. If price isn't an issue, X58 boards literally don't come much bigger or better than Gigabyte's GA-X58A-UD9.
The Good
Ample scope for overclocking
Supports true four-way CrossFire/SLI
Offers excellent all-round performance
USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps
The Bad
Very, very expensive
Four-way CrossFire shows little real-world benefit
XL-ATX form factor incompatible with most chassis
HEXUS Rating
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9
HEXUS Awards
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9
HEXUS Where2Buy
The Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9 motherboard can be purchased from SCAN.co.uk* priced at £465.99.
HEXUS Right2Reply
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*As always, UK-based HEXUS.community forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum.
