The GA-Z77X-UD4H is one of GIGABYTE’s newest Z77 chipset motherboards. Here, you’ll find support for PCI-E 3.0 GPUs running in SLI or CrossFire, as well as Intel’s 3rd Generation Core processors. Over clockers will like that the GA-Z77X-UD4H comes with onboard voltage read points for accurate, real-time information about the processor and memory’s power consumption. There’s also an onboard BIOS switch, so you can move between overclocking and regular BIOS settings—
or you could try out a new BIOS without losing any of your original settings.

The graphics subsystem looks like this: The first PCI-E x16 slot works at full x16 speed with one card, and it moves to x8 when a second graphics card is connected. The second PCI-E 16 slot runs at x8 speed no matter if one card or two cards are connected. There’s also a third PCI-E x16 slot, and it supports PCI-E 2.0 devices. This bottom PCI-E x16 slot shares bandwidth with all the PCI-E x1 slots and runs at x4, which makes it useful as a slot for a dedicated PhysX card. Note that the board’s three PCI-E x1 slots will be unavailable if you install any add-on cards to the bottom PCI-E x16 slot.

For memory support, GIGABYTE provides four DIMM slots that are capable of handling up to 32GB of memory clocked at up to 2,800MHz. The dual channel architecture supports Intel’s XMP memory profiles for quick setup of optimal memory speeds and timings. For storage connectivity, you’ll find a total of four 6Gbps SATA ports and four 3Gbps SATA ports. GIGABYTE utilized a Marvel 88SE9172 chip that adds two 6Gbps eSATA ports to the rear panel, but these ports will be unavailable if you connect devices to the SATA ports 6 or 7. There are eight USB 3.0 ports (six on that rear panel, two internal) and six USB 2.0 ports (all via internal headers).

The GA-Z77X-UD4H comes with GIGABYTE’s UEFI BIOS that provides native support for 3TB hard drives, as well as an easy-to-use GUI. Support for Lucid Virtu GPU helps to optimize video processing and media playback with Intel HD graphics, and it lets you switch between Intel’s HD Graphics and your discrete graphics card. To quick charge your phone or tablet, GIGABYTE includes its On/Off Charge software that recharges your mobile devices, even if the PC is turned off.

This board put up benchmark numbers similar to what we saw with GIGABYTE’s high-end GA-Z77X-UP5 TH. We saw an overall mark of X3875 in 3DMark11. Our test system’s Intel Core i7-3770K delivered a good result of 7.53 points in Cinebench 11.5. You get a lot of value for your money with the GA-Z77X-UD4H, as it provides features necessary for both gaming builds and overclocking enthusiasts.

Price: $164.99
GIGABYTE

Specs: Form factor: ATX; Socket compatibility: Intel LGA1155; Max memory: 32GB (DDR3-1600; DDR3-2800 max OC); Slots: 2 PCI-E 3.0 x16, 1 PCI-E 2.0 x16, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI; Storage; 4 6Gbps SATA, 4 3Gbps SATA; Rear I/O: 1 VGA, 1 DVI-D, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 6 USB 3.0, 2 6Gbps eSATA, 1 Ethernet, 1 S/PDIF out, audio I/O
system specs: Processor: Intel Core i7- 3770K; GPU: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 580 (2x, SLI); RAM: 4GB Crucial DDR3-1333; Storage: 128GB Crucial RealSSD C300; OS: Windows 7 Enterprise (64-bit)