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In this review PCSTATS is testing the Intel P67-based Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 motherboard. This is a mainstream ATX motherboard with a great set of workstation features and connectivity, all on a sleek matt-black PCB that looks fantastic in black computer chassis.
75% Rating: 
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System Power Draw and Final Conclusions
PCSTATS
measures total system power draw (watts) with the aid of an Extech 380803 AC
Power Analyzer and A-PFC compliant Seasonic SS-760KM power supply. The meter is placed
between the 120V AC outlet and the PC power supply and the computer stressed.
Total system power draw is recorded and compared to the PC's idle state.
| Total System Power Draw |
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Idle
|
CPU
Loaded |
GFX
Loaded |
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Intel Core i5
2500K
nVidia Geforce GTX470
|
102W
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154W
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240W
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|
(Idel @ desktop) |
(via Prime95) |
(via
3DM06) | |
At idle
the Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 system draws 102W, under CPU loaded conditions power
draw jumps to 154W. 3DMark06 pushes power draw to a peak of 240W.
Gigabyte's GA-P67A-UD4 motherboard uses a 12-phase power
VRM design built around 'Driver MOSFETs' which combine the functions of a
driver, high MOSFET and low MOSFET into one small power-efficient board mounted
component. This integrated circuit improves power efficiency, reduces heat and
has a smaller footprint than previous circuit designs.
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Gigabyte
VRM circuitry includes MOSFETS and LOW RDS Ferrite
Chokes.
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This mobo
uses a 4-layer PCB with 2oz. copper substrate that pulls double-duty as a board
level heatsink for surface mount devices.
Time to
wrap up this PCSTATS motherboard review!
Final Thoughts: Intel P67 Total Recalled?
To sum up, in spite of the scary recall that affected the
first crop of Intel P67 motherboards, Gigabyte's GA-P67A-UD4 motherboard holds
up in the benchmarks with the best Intel P67 and Intel Z68 boards have to offer.
Feature wise, the Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 is well equipped for a mainstream
platform and competitively priced.
Frankly speaking, the Intel P67 offers the same core features
as the newer Intel Z68 chipset, minus a few things of debatable usefulness to
enthusiasts (ie. onboard graphics, Intel SRT and Intel QuickSync). A board like
the Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 would be a fantastic deal...
particularly if you're never going to use any of those things we just rattled
off... if only it were just a few dollars less expensive than an
equally outfitted Intel Z68 motherboard such
as this. It's not - $169CDN (Canada Computers) $159CDN (NCIX), $180 (Newegg) - so PCSTATS is going to have to sit on the
fence on this one.
As it stands the Gigabyte's GA-P67A-UD4 is a good motherboard for a
dual-videocard gaming system because it offers two-way SLI/Crossfire
support, plenty of USB 3.0 and enough SATA III to satisfy a pair of SSDs.
If you're never going to use the IGP-CPU in your Sandybridge processor, an Intel
P67 board will get you in the game for less money without any performance hit
relative to Z68 platforms.
If you're hell bent on sticking with mechanical SATA hard drives, the Intel
Z68 platform and a little thing called Intel SRT tips the scales heavily in its
favour.
Bottom line, let these benchmark results serve as a reminder that newer
model numbers don't always mean better performance figures. Features are easy to
add, but raw performance is what a computer draws on every day of the week.
While the Intel P67 chipset has been recalled, re-issued in a b3-stepping and
out-modeled by the Intel Z68, it offers exactly the same benchmark performance
to SSD-installed operating systems. In short, if you can find it cheap,
snap it up and lock a couple graphics cards into the Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4
motherboard!
Find out about this and many other reviews by joining
the Weekly PCstats.com Newsletter today! Catch all of PCSTATS
latest reviews right here.
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- Intel 6-Series Chipset Recall - Sandy Bridge Intel P67
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