GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P vs GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R

[wardy22]

This is my first build and i was wondering which motherboard is better, and whats the difference?


also, core duo (e8400 3.0GHz) ore quad core (q6600 2.4GHz)


GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358


GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359





does anyone have any expirience with these boards, i know gigabyte is a good and reliable brand.


thanks for any help

 

[kutark]

As far as i know the only difference between those 2 boards is the ud3r is a single x16 pci-x slot, and the ud3p is a dual pci-x slot, with one at x16 and the second at x8 which is really a non issue these days.

Basically the only reason to get the ud3p is if you plan on doing some SLI/Crossfire action now or in the future. As for the ud3r, from my research its one of the best/most stable boards you can get and has editors reccomendation from a couple different respected websites.

 

[irritatedskin]

I've only had my build running two days but I like my GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P. A lot of BIOS options to OC with. I bought a Sunbeam Core-Contact Freezer for cooling but I can't use it because of the heat sinks on the north bridge, so you might want to make sure that whatever HS you use fits.
The front audio connector is in the way back of the board and means you have to have the cable run across the MB, which kinda sucks. I'm also having problems uninstalling the ET6 software that came with the motherboard.

Everything I head about the board before deciding to purchase was good.

 

[kaimaikid]

I also did a fair bit of research into mobos before settling on the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, everything that I read in the way of reviews was all good and the board was designed for overclocking which should hopefully mean that it will handle a fair bit of punishment.

I've had mine for a while now and have had no problems with it at all apart from not being able to control the case and graphics fans.

Also was the first to get the win7 approval.

I run mine with the E8400 dual, 4 x 2gb 800mhz ram, gigabyte 8800gts 512 card, 1 x 500gb sata and 2 x 1tb sata in raid1 configuration - for what I do, I find it extremely fast and stable and good for upgrading bits and pieces...

Hope that helps.

 

[gbullard94]

I've just recently purchased the GA-EP45-UD3R motherboard....and from questions I've posted here and elsewhere, there are a few differences.

The primary difference is as others have noted. the UD3P has the ability to run dual video cards (crossfire), the UD3R does not, but gives you an older PCI slot.

Additionally, the UD3P has dual Ethernet ports...so you could "team" them together ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIC_teaming ). It is a good feature to have if you are an online gamer or plan to do something similar to that.

The UD3P also supports Dolby Home Theater Audio...and has a TPM (Trusted Platform Module: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_platform_module ) chip which I don't see (or isn't noted) on the UD3r

Past these differences, the motherboards are relatively identical....use the same RAM and have the same CPU support list. My feeling is that the UD3P was designed for gamer or high-end enthusests and the UD3R was designed for those who wanted high performance, but didnt' need the extra features that a gamer would desire.

Hope that helps...and best wishes!

 

[ae86oni]

I've only had my build running two days but I like my GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P. A lot of BIOS options to OC with. I bought a Sunbeam Core-Contact Freezer for cooling but I can't use it because of the heat sinks on the north bridge, so you might want to make sure that whatever HS you use fits.
The front audio connector is in the way back of the board and means you have to have the cable run across the MB, which kinda sucks. I'm also having problems uninstalling the ET6 software that came with the motherboard.

Everything I head about the board before deciding to purchase was good.

hey,

i got the sunbeam to work in this mobo. it was a bitch to install because it was so tight, but i got it in. i highly recommend taking the mobo out of the case to get it in. i installed mine in my case and it took about 45 mins to get it in right.

 

[jsc]

The P also has extra SATA ports.

If you are not going to run two video cards, save some money and get the "L" - about $90 - $100. The core system on all of the them is the same.

I have P45 "P" and "L" models and an EP35-DS3P. All are great overclockers.

 

[bnguyen]

Hi Kaimaikid,
Did you have the problem with the dual Ethernet cards? My MOBO model & CPU is exactly same with yours. But when I installed all the drivers came with the CD the Network cards did not work, I went to the Device Manager and see the message: " This device cannot start (code10)". the Realtek network card driver came with CD is version 7.005.0730.2009. I went to website to download new driver version 7.006.0830.2009 and installed it, same result.
I use Windows 7, 64 bit, 4 gb memories, videocard EVGA 8800 gs. Motherboard version 1.6.
If your network cards working, can you tell me what BIOS version do you have? My BIOS version is came with CD, it's EP45-UD3P FD.
My email is bngy@earthlink.net.
Thanks for your help (if anyone can help me on this issue it would be very apprecited).
B. Nguyen