Gigabyte on Monday introduced a new series of Ultra Durable 5 mainboards that feature components with enhanced quality and specifications which provide better power delivery that contemporary microprocessors need. The manufacturer believes that extended measures of Ultra Durable 5 will enable higher reliability and better overclockability compared to competing offerings.

Gigabyte Ultra Durable 5 technology includes high current capable components for the microprocessor power zone, including the IR3550 PowIRstage ICs from International Rectifier, 2x copper printed-circuit boards and high current ferrite core chokes rated up to 60A which together are able to deliver up to 60°C cooler temperatures than traditional motherboards, according to the company. Initially, Gigabyte will utilize Ultra Durable 5 on mainboards based on Intel Z77 and X79 chipsets.

“As the exclusive motherboard manufacturer to utilize the amazingly efficient IR3550 PowIRstage ICs from International Rectifier, Gigabyte has spent a considerable amount of engineering resources to ensure our Ultra Durable 5 motherboards are our best Ultra Durable motherboards yet. Gigabyte Ultra Durable 5 motherboards are especially optimized for water cooled systems and overclocked Intel Core i7-3770K 'Ivy Bridge' 'K' SKU CPUs due to their exceptionally low operating temperatures, and make the perfect match for anyone looking to push their system to limits,” commented Henry Kao, vice president of Gigabyte motherboard business unit.

International Rectifier (IR) IR3550 PowIRstage ICs feature great power efficiency and are the highest rated power stage in the industry, able to provide up to 60A of power. This ensures the best power delivery to the central processing units, for more stable operation and better overclocking performance. Gigabyte Ultra Durable 5 motherboards also use both IR digital PWM controllers and IR power stage ICs, for a seamless power delivery system. IR has leveraged its packaging technology developed for the DirectFET, improving the thermal capability and layout of the PowIRstage significantly over that of other multi-chip module (MCM) packages.

IR3550 PowIRstage ICs feature a specialized MOSFET driver IC which is tuned perfectly for the MOSFET pair. Many Driver MOSFET companies use drivers from other companies, thus the drivers are not always optimized for the MOSFETs. With co-packaged Driver+MOSFETs, IR has designed this driver to optimize this module for greatest efficiency. IR3550 PowIRstage ICs are more efficient, with peak efficiency up to 95%, during normal operation. Even at higher current levels, IR3550 PowIRstage ICs are able to maintain lower power losses. Lower power loss also means less heat as a byproduct. Since IR3550 PowIRstages are able to operate at cooler temperatures at higher voltages than traditional designs, overclockers are able to have more headroom to increase voltages, resulting in higher potential overclocks.

Tags: Gigabyte, Ultra Durable, International Rectifier, Intel, Core, Ivy Bridge