14 DAY TRIAL // Don't really know how many of you remember the days before Intel's P55 chipset official launch when every other hardware site out there was invaded by pictorial previews of future P55 motherboard that were about to get launched, but it seems this is going to happen all over again, Gigabyte just dropping in our inbox pictures of their future P67 motherboards destined to be paired with the upcoming P67 Sandy Bridge processors.
Moving right into the action we got pictures with three new Intel P67 motherboards, dubbed the Gigabyte P67A-UD3R, P67A-UD3 and H67MA-UD2H, the first two coming as full ATX offerings while the last one is a m-ATX model.
However, all of these support Intel's next generation Core processors, featuring the not yet officially released LGA 1155 socket, while also packing Gigabyte's proprietary Ultra Durable 3 design with two ounce copper PCBs to provide improved stability, reliability and longevity.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves and start with the most imposing motherboard in Gigabyte's P67 arsenal, the P67A-UD3R, this stylish matte-black high-end offering coming with two PCI x16 slots (1x16 + 1x4 when dual GPUs are used) while also supporting AMD's multi-GPU CrossFireX technology.
Other features include SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps support, Gigabyte DualBIOS technology as well as 8-Channel audio and 1Gb PCIe based Ethernet connectivity.
Moving in for a quick visual examination there seems to be ample room around the CPU for even the largest coolers available out there, the PCH featuring a low profile heatsink that won't interfere with dual graphics cards setups, although a long GPU might block some of the SATA ports.
Although quite similar in terms of features, the P67A-UD3 uses a more traditional Gigabyte blue PCB as well as a simplified CPU power delivery circuitry, the room available around the CPU area being also reduced.
Using long graphics cards seems to have the same impact on SATA ports as for the P67A-UD3R.
Feature wise we get two PCI x16 slots with CrossFireX support, dual SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports as well as SATA 6Gbps connectivity, Gigabyte DualBIOS technology being also present.
And last, but certainly not least, we get the micro-ATX H67MA-UD2H that should be particularly well suited for HTPC use since it features HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort graphics interfaces as well as the graphics path needed for harnessing the power of Intel's HD graphics core built into future Sandy Bridge processors.
Dual USB 3.0 ports, SATA 6Gbps and DualBIOS also come as standard, as well as CrossFireX support (although the second slot will use a x4 mode if populated by a graphics card).
Taking a quick look at its layout we find a really neatly ordered motherboard, coming with ample room around the CPU area, although the DDR3 slots are placed a little to close to the first PCIe slot for my liking.
However, this is quite a common problem among m-ATX motherboards so I am going to cut Gigabyte some slack, although I still don't find the SATA ports arrangement particularly satisfying.
This is pretty much all the info that we get for now, although I am expecting more manufacturers to start showcasing their future Intel P67 boards in the near future since the Sandy Bridge launch date is definitely getting closer.
