Introduction and Specifications

Gigabyte’s micro ATX motherboards have become a staple in the industry for providing the speed and power usually reserved for full ATX motherboards. The GA-P55M-UD4 is one of their latest creations for the LGA 1156 platform and it includes a couple unique features like CrossfireX and SLI graphics support (x16 and x8), DDR3 2200, and 7.1 high definition audio.

Gigabyte’s P55M-UD4 puts overclocking, high-end performance features into micro ATX footprint

Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 LGA 1156 Micro ATX Motherboard Review - Motherboards 65
Photo courtesy of Gigabyte

Gigabyte’s micro ATX motherboards have become a staple in the industry for providing the speed and power usually reserved for full ATX motherboards. The GA-P55M-UD4 is one of their latest creations for the LGA 1156 platform and it includes a couple unique features like CrossfireX and SLI graphics support (x16 and x8), DDR3 2200, and 7.1 high definition audio. These improvements to the board’s graphics capabilities and higher-rated memory support put it on a short list of micro ATX mobos that can match the P55M-UD4’s special characteristics.

Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD4 LGA 1156 Micro ATX Motherboard Review - Motherboards 66
Photo courtesy of Gigabyte

The inclusion of the P55 chipset gives the P55M-UD4 several key features like 5 SATA 3GB/s ports with RAID 1, 5, and 10 support and support for up to 14 USB 2.0 ports. This board also comes with Gigabyte’s 12 power phase VRM design, 2 oz. copper PCB design, and Smart 6 technology for better PC management. I also like to mention that every Gigabyte board comes standard with a dual BIOS design and Dynamic Energy 2 technology that integrates a couple key power-saving features for those users looking to save a few bucks on their energy bills.   

Gigabyte P55M-UD4 technical specifications (taken from Gigabyte’s website)

CPU

  • Support for an Intel® Core™ i7 series processor/Intel® Core™ i5 series processor in the LGA1156 package (Note: L3 cache varies with CPU)

Chipset

  • Intel P55 Express Chipset 

Memory

  • 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory
  • Dual channel memory architecture
  • Support for DDR3 2200/1600/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules
  • Support for non-ECC memory modules
  • Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

High Definition Audio

  • Audio Realtek ALC889A codec
  • 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
  • Support for Dolby® Home Theater
  • Support for S/PDIF In/Out
  • Support for CD In 

LAN

  • 1 x RTL8111D chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) 

Expansion Slots

  • 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
  • 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) (The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
  • 1 x PCI Express x4 slot
  • 1 x PCI slot

Multi-Graphics Technology

  • Support for ATI CrossFireX™/NVIDIA SLI technology (The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots only.) 

Intel® P55 Express Chipset

  • 5 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_0, SATA2_1, SATA2_2, SATA2_3, SATA2_4) supporting up to 5 SATA 3Gb/s devices
  • 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s connector (eSATA/USB Combo) on the back panel supporting up to 1 SATA 3Gb/s device
  • Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10

GIGABYTE SATA2 chip

  • 1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-133/100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices
  • 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (GSATA2_0, GSATA2_1) supporting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices
  • Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD

iTE IT8720 chip

  • 1 x floppy disk drive connector supporting up to 1 floppy disk drive 

USB Integrated in the Chipset

  • Up to 14 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (10 on the back panel, including 1 eSATA/USB Combo, 4 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers) 

IEEE 1394 T.I. TSB43AB23 chip

  • Up to 2 IEEE 1394a ports (1 on the back panel, 1 via the IEEE 1394a bracket connected to the internal IEEE 1394a header) 

Internal I/O Connectors

  • 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
  • 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
  • 1 x floppy disk drive connector
  • 1 x IDE connector
  • 7 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
  • 1 x CPU fan header
  • 2 x system fan headers
  • 1 x power fan header
  • 1 x front panel header
  • 1 x front panel audio header
  • 1 x CD In connector
  • 1 x S/PDIF In header
  • 1 x S/PDIF Out header
  • 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
  • 1 x IEEE 1394a header
  • 1 x power button
  • 1 x clearing CMOS button
  • 1 x reset button 

Back Panel Connectors

  • 1 x PS/2 keyboard or PS/2 mouse port
  • 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector
  • 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
  • 9 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
  • 1 x eSATA/USB Combo connector
  • 1 x IEEE 1394a port
  • 1 x RJ-45 port
  • 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/ Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone) 

I/O Controller iTE IT8720 chip

  • H/W Monitoring System voltage detection
  • CPU/System temperature detection
  • CPU/System/Power fan speed detection
  • CPU overheating warning
  • CPU/System/Power fan fail warning
  • CPU/System fan speed control 

BIOS 2 x 16 Mbit flash

  • Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
  • Support for DualBIOS™
  • PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b 

Unique Features

  • Support for @BIOS
  • Support for Q-Flash
  • Support for Xpress BIOS Rescue
  • Support for Download Center
  • Support for Xpress Install
  • Support for Xpress Recovery2
  • Support for EasyTune
  • Support for Dynamic Energy Saver™ 2
  • Support for Smart 6™
  • Support for Q-Share 

Bundle Software

  • Norton Internet Security (OEM version) 

Operating System

  • Support for Microsoft® Windows 7/Vista/XP 

Form Factor

  • Micro ATX Form Factor (24.4cm x 24.4cm)


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