Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Living Review

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Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Living Review

Revision 2 Review Here!

Today, we are going to take a look at the latest i7 LGA-1366 motherboard from Gigabyte, the GA-X58A-UD7 (rev. 1.0). Adding SATA 6 Gbps and USB3 support, Gigabyte are marketing this as the "333 On-board Acceleration" feature, comprising of:

• USB 3.0 10x Super Speed
• USB Power x3
• Sata 3.0 4x Speed via Raid 0

The board also has a whopping 24+2+2 power phase design with VRD 11.1 support, almost double that of the GA-EX58 Extreme, Gigabyte's previous flagship X58 board, which sports a 12+2+2 power phase. As well as giving enhanced power regulation, the heat generated is spread over a greater number of phases resulting in less heat and load per phase.

The board retails at around £260, so is it worth it? Read on to find out.............

If you rate this review, please

Index.

Useful Info:

Bios Template
GOOC Competition BIOS

The Motherboard.

1) The Package
2) Official Features and Specification
3) The Motherboard
4) The Motherboard a closer look - Part1 SATA and ICH
5) The Motherboard a closer look - Part2 PCI-E Slots
6) The Motherboard a closer look - Part3 Rear I/O and CPU.
7) The Motherboard a closer look - Part4
8) Accessories and extras
9) Test Equipment & Build
10) Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 - The naked truth Removing the heat-pipes
11) GA-X58A-UD7 Voltage Measuring Points

BIOS.

12) BIOS - Mother Board Intelligent Tweaker(MIT) & Advanced CPU Features Sub Menu
13) UNCORE & QPI Features Sub Menu
14) Advanced Clock Controls
15) Advanced Dram Features Sub Menu
16) Channel A/B/C Timing Settings Sub Menus
17) Channel A/B/C Turnaround Settings
18) Mother Board Intelligent Tweaker(MIT) - 2of2
19) Advanced Voltage Control
20) Advanced Voltage Control - MCH, IOH and ICH Voltage section
21) Advanced Voltage Control - Dram Voltage section
22) Other Bios Features Logo, Main BIOS Page,Std CMOS Features and Advanced BIOS
Features.
23) Other BIOS Features 2of3 Integrated Peripherals.
24) Other BIOS Features 3of3 Power Management Features,PC Health, BIOS Profiles,Q-Flash

Clocks and Testing:

i7-920:

Air Cooling Tuniq 120 Extreme.
25) 3.8Ghz. 20x190 Ram x8 1,520 7-7-7-19
26) 3.9Ghz. 20x195 Ram x8 1,560 7-7-7-19

Water.
27) 4.0Ghz. 20x200 Ram x8 1,600 7-7-7-19
28) 4.2Ghz 21x200 Ram x8 1600Mhz 7-7-7-19
29) 4.2Ghz 21x200 Ram x10 2,000 9-9-9-27
30) 4.4Ghz 21x210 Ram x8 1,680Mhz 7-7-7-19

i7-930:

Water.
31) 4.2Ghz 21x200 Ram x8 1600Mhz 7-7-7-19
32) I7 920 v I7 930 Round 2

Add-Ons.

33) Revision 2 Review

Overview and conclusion.

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The Package.

The motherboard comes in what must the biggest motherboard box I've seen, the depth is 5.5" almost double the 3" depth of a normal sized box.

Front.



There is a flap on the front of the case which has a Velcro fastener. Inside the flap are more information about the board.



There's a clear window through which the board is visible, the Hybrid Silent Pipe2 Cooler is also visible and explains the reason for the large box depth.



Rear.

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Official Features and Specification

Overview







Introduction

"Based on the Intel® X58 chipset, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 delivers all the killer next generation features that gaming enthusiasts and power users have been waiting for including GIGABYTE's 333 Onboard Acceleration features with support for USB 3.0, Serial-ATA Revision 3.0 (6Gbps) and a 3x USB Power Boost, as well as multi-GPU support for NVIDIA 3-Way SLI™ and ATI CrossFireX™ and support for Intel's upcoming 32nm high performance processors offering a high level of future CPU headroom for users wanting to maintain cutting-edge levels of performance. With the memory controller integrated directly into the processor die, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 also supports triple channel DDR3 memory for blazing fast memory performance."





Intel® i7 Processor and X58 Chipset support

"The GA-X58A-UD7 was designed specifically to take advantage of the raw power of the next generation Intel® ™ i7 processors and the Intel® X58 Express chipset, whose new evolution in computing architecture is able to deliver an amazing performance break through from past processor generations. Replacing the Front Side Bus is the new Quick Path Interconnect, or QPI, whose 25.6 GB/sec transfer rates (double the bandwidth of the 1600MHz FSB) eliminates the communication bottleneck between the processor and chipset. "

USB 3.0 Support
"The GIGABYTE X58A series motherboards support the latest generation SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology made possible through an onboard NEC uPD720200 host controller. With superfast transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps, users are able to experience an almost a 10x improvement over USB 2.0. Additionally, backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 assures users of long term use of their legacy USB 2.0 devices. The onboard NEC SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology also provides new power management features that include increased maximum bus power and device current draw to better accommodate power-hungry devices. "



SATA 6 Gbps Support
"Yet another onboard feature of GIGABYTE X58A motherboards are Marvell's new SE9128 chips for high-speed SATA Revision 3.0 compatibility, delivering superfast 6Gbps link speeds for twice the data transfer rates of SATA Revision 2.0 (3 Gbps). When used in RAID 0 (Stripe) mode, GIGABYTE X58A series motherboards offer even faster data transfer rates of up to 4x the speed of current SATA interfaces."



3x USB Power Boost
GIGABYTE X58A series motherboards feature a 3x USB power boost, delivering greater compatibility and extra power for USB devices. GIGABYTE's unique USB power design is also able to efficiently regulate output over the full voltage range, which greatly enhances USB device compatibility. In addition, dedicated lower resistance fuses ensure lower voltage drops, and provide more stable and plentiful power delivery.

24 phase power- World's Best Phase Power Design
"Industry's First 24 Phase Power VRM Design
GIGABYTE's cutting edge 24 phase power VRM design utilizes the highest calibre components to provide unadulterated, smooth power delivery for the CPU. Like a high performance sports car engine, GIGABYTE's 24 phase power design enables the best delivery of power to supercharge your system, giving extreme users unparalleled overclocking ability and the lowest temperatures to reach maximum performance levels.
The innovative 24 phase power VRM has been designed and engineered to deliver fast transient response times through quick and seamless power delivery during extensive CPU loading variations. In addition, heat from the VRM is effectively reduced by spreading the load between the 24 power phases, resulting in a cooler and more stable platform. "



Windows® 7 WHQL Certified
"The motherboard has obtained WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certification for Windows 7 from Microsoft® for an Intel-based motherboard, setting the standard for future Windows 7 certified motherboards."

Dynamic Energy Saver™ 2
"GIGABYTE Dynamic Energy Saver™ 2 incorporates a host of intelligent features that use a proprietary hardware and software design to considerably enhance PC system energy efficiency, Reduce power consumption and deliver optimized auto-phase-switching for the CPU, Memory, Chipset, VGA, HDD, and fans with a simple click of button."

Smart 6- A Smarter way for PC system Management
"GIGABYTE Smart 6™ is designed with user-friendliness in mind, and offers a combination of 6 innovative software utilities that provide easier and smarter PC system management. Smart 6™ allows you to speed up system performance, reduce boot-up time, manage a secure platform and recover previous system settings easily with a click of the mouse button."


Intel® X58 + ICH10R Chipset

1. Ultra Durable 3 Technology with copper cooled quality for lower working temperature
2. Supports newest NEC SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with superfast transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps
3. 3X USB power delivery for greater compatibility and extra power for USB devices
4. Provides newest Marvell SE9128 high speed SATA3 storage interface with superfast 6Gbps link speed
5. Supports the newest Intel i7 processors in socket LGA1366 with QPI 6.4 GT/s
6. Revolution energy saving design with DES Advanced featuring hardware based Dynamic 6-Gear switching
7. Supports 3 channel DDR3 2100+ memory
8. Scalable ability to both 3 way CrossFireX and 3 way SLI support for ultimate graphics performance
9. Advanced 24+2+2 power phase design with VRD 11.1 support
10. New Hybrid Silent-Pipe 2 design provides unequalled heat conductivity
11. Unique hardware control IC to provide more precision voltage control
12. 100% 50,000 hour lifespan Japanese solid capacitors design
13. Onboard Debug LED display simplifies motherboard troubleshooting
14. Patented DualBIOS with dual hardware BIOS protection
15. 2 Gigabit Ethernet LAN with Teaming functionality
16. Supports Dolby Home Theater audio to create a stunning surround sound listening experience
17. Power/reset/Clr CMOS onboard button for easily operation on the workbench
18. Blu-ray playback outputs supported by high quality 18dB SNR ALC889 HD audio
19. Compatible with Window 7 to deliver the best operation experience
20. Meet European Union EuP(Energy-using Products) requirement

Specifications

CPU

1. Support for an Intel® ™ i7 series processor in the LGA1366 package
2. (Go to GIGABYTE's website for the latest CPU support list.)
3. L3 cache varies with CPU

QPI

• 4.8GT/s, 6.4GT/s

Chipset

1. North Bridge: Intel® X58 Express Chipset
2. South Bridge: Intel® ICH10R

Memory

1. 6 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 24 GB of system memory(Note 1)
2. Dual/3 channel memory architecture
3. Support for DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules
4. Support for non-ECC memory modules
5. Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

(Go to GIGABYTE's website for the latest memory support list.)

Audio

1. Realtek ALC889 codec
2. High Definition Audio
3. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
4. Support for Dolby® Home Theater
5. Support for S/PDIF In/Out
6. Support for CD In

LAN

1. 2 x RTL8111D chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
2. Support for Teaming
3. Support Smart Dual LAN

Expansion Slots

1. 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1/PCIEX16_2) (Note 2)
2. 2 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1/PCIEX8_2) (Note 3) (The PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2, PCIEX8_1 and PCIEX8_2 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
3. 2 x PCI Express x1 slots
4. 1 x PCI slot

Multi-Graphics Technology

Support for 2-Way/3-Way ATI CrossFireX™/NVIDIA SLI technology


Storage Interface

• South Bridge:
  1. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_0, SATA2_1, SATA2_2, SATA2_3, SATA2_4, SATA2_5) supporting up to 6 SATA 3Gb/s devices
  2. Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
• Marvell 9128 chip:
  
  1. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_6, GSATA3_7) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices
  2. 2. Support for SATA RAID 0, and RAID 1
• GIGABYTE SATA2 chip:
  
  1. 1 x IDE connector supporting ATA-133/100/66/33 and up to 2 IDE devices
  2. 2 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (GSATA2_8, GSATA2_9) supporting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices
  3. Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD
• JMicron JMB362 chip:
  
  1. 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s connectors (eSATA/USB Combo) on the back panel sup- porting up to 2 SATA 3Gb/s devices
  2. Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, and JBOD
  
  
• iTE IT8720 chip:
  
  1. 1 x floppy disk drive connector supporting up to 1 floppy disk drive

USB Integrated in the South Bridge

• Up to 10 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (6 on the back panel, including 2 eSATA/USB Combo, 4 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers)

NEC chip:

Up to 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel

IEEE 1394

1. T.I. TSB43AB23 chip
2. Up to 3 IEEE 1394a ports (2 on the back panel, 1 via the IEEE 1394a bracket connected to the internal IEEE 1394a header)

Internal I/O Connectors

1. 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
2. 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
3. 1 x floppy disk drive connector
4. 1 x IDE connector
5. 8 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
6. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
7. 1 x CPU fan header
8. 3 x system fan headers
9. 1 x power fan header
10. 1 x North Bridge fan header
11. 1 x front panel header
12. 1 x front panel audio header
13. 1 x CD In connector
14. 1 x S/PDIF In header
15. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
16. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
17. 1 x IEEE 1394a header
18. 1 x power button
19. 1 x reset button

Back Panel Connectors

1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
2. 1 x PS/2 mouse port
3. 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector
4. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
5. 1 x clearing CMOS button
6. 2 x IEEE 1394a ports
7. 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
8. 2 x USB 3.0 ports
9. 2 x eSATA/USB Combo connectors
10. 2 x RJ-45 port
11. 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

1. System voltage detection
2. CPU/North Bridge temperature detection
3. CPU/System/Power fan speed detection
4. CPU overheating warning
5. CPU fan fail warning
6. CPU/System fan speed control (Note 4)

BIOS

1. 2 x 16 Mbit flash
2. Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
3. Support for DualBIOS™
4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b

Unique Features

1. Support for @BIOS
2. Support for Q-Flash
3. Support for Xpress BIOS Rescue
4. Support for Download Center
5. Support for Xpress Install
6. Support for Xpress Recovery2
7. Support for EasyTune (Note 5)
8. Support for Dynamic Energy Saver™ 2
9. Support for Smart 6™
10. Support for Auto Green
11. Support for eXtreme Hard Drive
12. Support for Q-Share

Bundle Software

1. Norton Internet Security (OEM version)

Operating System

• Support for Microsoft® Windows® 7/Vista/XP

Form Factor

• ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm

Note (Note 1) Due to Windows Vista/XP 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than 4 GB.
(Note 2) For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16_1 slot; if you are installing two PCI Express graphics cards, it is recommended that you install them in the PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 slots.
(Note 3) The PCIEX8_1 and PCIEX8_2 slots share bandwidth with the PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 slots espectively. When PCIEX8_1 is populated with an expansion card, the PCIEX16_1 slot will operate at up to x8 mode; when PCIEX8_2 is populated with an expansion card, the PC IEX16_2 slot will operate at up to x8 mode.
(Note 4) Whether the CPU/system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU/ system cooler you install.
(Note 5) Available functions in EasyTune may differ by motherboard model.
Remark

1. Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website.
2. Due to most hardware/software vendors no longer offer support for Win9X/ME. If some vendors still has Win9X/ME drivers available, we will publish on website.


* The entire materials provided herein are for reference only. GIGABYTE reserves the right to modify or revise the content at anytime without prior notice.
* All trademarks and logos are the properties of their respective holders.

* Due to standard PC architecture, a certain amount of memory is reserved for system usage and therefore the actual memory size is less than the stated

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The Motherboard.

The board is the same colour scheme as earlier UD3 boards. Like earlier Extreme boards, the UD7 even without mounting the Hybrid2 cooler the board feels very heavy. With it's eight layered PCB and 2oz copper inner layers, there is definitely a quality feel to it.

Click Pictures to enlarge.



The dark heat pipes and CPU socket give a different feel to other boards.



The CPU area is quite clean, albeit packed with the 24 phase PWM.

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Motherboard - A closer look - Part 1 SATA and ICH

The ICH cooler covers the Intel® ICH10R and the new Marvell 9128 SATA3 controller.

Click Picture to enlarge



SATA Ports.

The right hand white ports 6/7 are SATA 3 6Gb/s ports, controlled by the Marvell 9128 chip. The remainder being SATA 2 3Gb/s. The blue ports 0~5 are Intel® ICH10R controlled, the left most white ports are controlled by the GIGABYTE SATA2 controller.



Post LED.

The chip behind the post LED is the GIGABYTE SATA2 controller.

Gigabyte Post Error Codes.



Front Panel Header

Moving round the corner, there's the front panel header, for connecting the case power connections. As you can see from the top picture the connections are colour coded as well as having the names on the edge of the board. The White IDE header is behind the Front Panel Header.



USB Headers.

There are two USB 2.0/1.1 headers each with x2 USB giving a total of 4 connections.

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The Motherboard - A closer look - Part 2 PCI-E Slots

PCI-E configuration has changed from the GA-EX58-EXTREME with the addition of a fourth PCI-E x16 slot. In Crossfire or SLI though you can soon find things aren't so good.The first card is very close to the second, so that it's intake fan is restricted so it runs hotter on idle by about 10C see test setup for more. Further the second card will block the single PCI slot so you'll not be able to run crossfire and your PCI sound card. A PCI-E sound card is OK, I've been running an Asus Xonar model for part of this review in the end full slot or in the second 1x PCI-E slot without the Hybrid cooler.

Click Picture to enlarge.



Expansion slots

• PCIEX1_1 - PCI-E X1 the use of the Hybrid cooler will block this slot, any card will have to be short as the Chipset cooler limits connectivity.
• PCIEX1_2 - Second PCI-E X1 with a little more accessibility.
• PCIEX16_1 - First full x16 bandwidth PCI-E slot.
• PCIEX8_1 - 8x bandwidth slot, will be obscured by a double width card in PCIEX16_1 slot.
• PCIEX16_2 - Second x16 bandwidth PCI-E slot. Can be used for primary graphics card or with second graphics card giving 2x16 bandwidth Crossfire or SLI.
• PCI - PCI slot. Will be obscured by a double width card in PCIEX16_2 slot.
• PCIEX8_2 - 8x bandwidth slot. Will obscure floppy header if double width third card is used.

Click Picture to enlarge.



IEEE 1394 Header.



Floppy Header.

The plastic of the headers has an attractive reflective surface.



Dual BIOS.

On the corner of the board are the dual BIOS chips, the board revision number can be seen on the left:



Round the corner, the large chip is the Floppy Drive Controller.



Sound Chip.

Realtek ALC889 codec, gives high-performance multi-channel High Definition Audio Codec with Realtek proprietary loss-less content protection technology.



Realtek RTL8111D LAN Controllers and CD_IN.

To the left of the white CD IN Header is a pair of Realtek RTL8111D LAN Controllers.



USB3 Controller Chip and Front Audio Header.

The new NEC 720200 chip can be seen just under the 90° bend in the heat pipes. This is the controller for the two USB3 sockets located on the rear panel. The green, front panel audio header, can be seen to the left.

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The Motherboard - A closer look - Part3 Rear I/O and CPU.



Rear Input/Output Panel

Left to right, top to bottom:

• Column 1
  • PS/2 Mouse Port Green
  • PS/2 Keyboard Purple Keyboard
• Column 2
  • Optical S/PDIF Out Connector - This connector provides digital Optical audio out.
  • Coaxial S/PDIF Out Connector(Orange) - provides digital coaxial audio out.
• Column 3
  • Clearing CMOS Button
• Column 4
  • IEEE 1394a Port
  • USB 2.0/1.1 Port
  • eSATA/USB Combo Connector - Supports SATA 3Gb/s and USB 2.0/1.1 specification
• Column 5
  • IEEE 1394a Port
  • USB 2.0/1.1 Port
  • eSATA/USB Combo Connector - Supports SATA 3Gb/s and USB 2.0/1.1 specification
• Column 6
  • RJ-45 LAN Port
  • USB 2.0/1.1 Port
  • USB 2.0/1.1 Port
• Column 7
  • RJ-45 LAN Port
  • USB 3.0/2.0 Port
  • USB 3.0/2.0 Port
• Column 8
  • Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out Jack (Orange)
  • Rear Speaker Out Jack (Black)
  • Side Speaker Out Jack (Gray)
• Column 9
  • Line In Jack (Blue)
  • Line Out Jack (Green)
  • Mic In Jack (Pink)

eSATA/USB Combo Connector.

The combo slots are at the bottom:



12v CPU Socket.



CPU Socket.

Like the new Gigabyte P55A boards the GA-X58A-UD7 has switched socket supplier to LOTES. The CPU bracket matches the dark gun metal colour of the heat pipes.



24 Phase Power VRM.

Is split into two banks, each with 2 rows of 7 and 5. The +2 phase for the CPU Vtt can be seen in the above picture to the top left of the water block.

PWM Bank 1.



PWM Bank 2.

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The Motherboard - A closer look - Part 4

Ram Slots.



On-board Power Buttons.

Quite a stylish power button has been added, the reset button is slightly offset and inboard of the Power button.



IOH.

The water-block is copper on the UD7 unlike the aluminium ones used previously, which is a plus as most people use copper blocks, so you won't be running mixed metal blocks. There are no alternate barbs, the fittings are 3/8" (10mm) so if your using thicker tubing you'll need to use something like PrimoChill Reducing socket 13mm to 10mm (1/2' to 3/8').



Hybrid Silent-Pipe 2.

Like previous Extreme boards the UD7 comes with the latest incarnation of the passive cooler, that's become such a distinctive feature of the range:





Board Underside.

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Accessories and extras.

• Motherboard driver disk
• User's Manual
• Quick Installation Guide
• One IDE cable
• Four SATA 3Gb/s cables
• One SATA bracket
• I/O Shield
• One Hybrid Silent-Pipe 2 module kit
• 2-Way SLI bridge connector
• 3-Way SLI bridge connector

Utilities and drivers DVD and the User Manual.

Quick Installation Guide and the Smart6 User Manual.

IDE and SATA cables.

The SATA Cables are decent quality with clips. A pair have 90° connections.

SATA Bracket.

This is an old favourite of mine, having been included in most gigabyte motherboard packages. the bracket comes with a power cable so you can run an external drive without the need of an external caddy or enclosure.

I/O Shield.

Graphics.

SLI bridges for 2 and 3 card combos.

Bridge Retention bracket.

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Test Equipment

• CPU: Intel i7-920-D0
• Air Cooling Tuniq 120 Extreme
• Water Cooling XSPC XSPC Delta V3 CPU Acetal i7
• RAM: DDR3-2000 PC3 16000 6GB(2GB x 3) CL 9-9-9-27-2N 1.6 Volts G-Skill Ripjaws 3x2Gb F3-16000CL9T-6GBRH
• Graphics 2x Asus Voltage Tweaker EAHD5770
• Storage:
  • SSD Intel 80GB X25-M Gen 2
  • Hard Drives 2 x SAMSUNG HD103SJ 1TB

Build.

The build was uneventful, I wish Gigabyte would follow other manufacturer's lead and include a connection adapter for the Motherboard/Case power connections. Using two double width graphics cards and the Hybrid cooler, soon cover the PCI-e slots.



In the case - as you can see there's not that much space between the graphics cards.



Water cooled: