Computex: Gigabyte Show Off Z87X-UD7 Thunderbolt Motherboard

When Intel released Ivy Bridge and Z77 we were very surprised to see that Gigabyte didn’t opt for a UD7 motherboard, instead we can assume the Z77X-UP7 was probably the UD7 equivalent. Yet with Haswell and Z87 Gigabyte have gone back to the UD7 naming scheme and have unveiled a rather sexy looking Gigabyte Z87X-UD7 motherboard that has full Thunderbolt support.

Unlike the OC series and G1.Sniper series the GA-Z87X-UD7 TH is a bit different as it isn’t really targeting gamers or overclockers. The Z87X-UD7 TH is targeting the more general computer user who wants premium performance and functionality but isn’t really interested in gaming or overclocking specific features. That said Gigabyte certainly haven’t skimped on anything and the GA-Z87X-UD7 TH looks like an absolutely fantastic motherboard.

Firstly it will be supporting Intel Haswell CPUs and it has a gold plated CPU socket and Ultra Durable 5 components to allow for enhanced overclocking. You can also see a rather meaty heatsink design that will be sure to allow you to push this motherboard to its limits as well as an intuitive dual UEFI BIOS. Additionally there are 9 system fan connectors meaning Gigabyte expects most users to put this in a pretty big case. There is multi-GPU support so you can run up to four way SLI or CrossFire which will be great for content professionals looking to use OpenCL or CUDA acceleration.

Gigabyte have added 10 USB 3.0 ports as well as dual Intel Thunderbolt ports, both excellent features for content professionals who need to move lots of data to and from their PC in a quick and easy way. Gigabyte On/Off charging is supported, a Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi module is provided and there is Intel LAN with high ESD protection. The audio, like all other premium Gigabyte motherboards shown at Computex so far, is provided by Realtek ALC898.

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Image courtesy of eTeknix at Computex