Conclusion

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 and GA-EX58-Extreme mainboards were the first ones we used to start our Intel Core i7 overclocking experiments with. At that time we didn’t know how were good the obtained results. Only later we found out that these boards boasted exceptional combination of features and functionality. Some of their competitors performed just as good in nominal mode, but fell behind during CPU overclocking; some couldn’t make the memory work at high enough frequencies; some scared us away with very high power consumption. Only Gigabyte mainboards looked very attractive from all standpoints. However, these were top of the line flagship solutions that were expected to perform accordingly. Therefore, it was even more rewarding to see mainstream Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P mainboard prove just as good as its higher-end sisters. The performance of this mainboard in nominal as well as overclocked modes is equivalent to that of the best competitor solutions while its power consumption stays very moderate.

Let’s once again repeat the distinguishing features between Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P and the higher end solutions:

1. Different cooling system over the chipset and voltage regulator components;
2. No POST indicator;
3. One Gigabit network card instead of two;
4. Eight SATA ports instead of ten.

However, Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P has a number of advantages, too. It is equipped with a hardware encryption TPM module and is priced not only lower than top Gigabyte boards, but even lower that many competitor solutions we have tested so far. Taking into account the highest performance of this product, it has every chance to settle down in smart users’ systems who can truly appreciate the numerous advantages Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P has to offer.

Summing up the results of our today’s test session we are proud to award Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P with our prestigious Editor’s Choice title as the Best Mainstream Core i7 Platform: