In the latest LGA1366 mainboard reviews we have little by little moved over to discussing less mainboard models. First of all the manufacturers try to roll out top solutions with maximum functionality. It is always especially interesting to review flagship mainboards, because they always represent the peak of engineering thought. They usually boast a lot of expansion card slots, numerous additional controllers, sophisticated cooling systems, often support unique brand name features and technologies. It is interesting to read about mainboards like that, but not everyone will be able to utilize the entire range of features and functions that they offer, so in reality, not too many people actually need them. The functionality of the Intel X58 Express chipset makes even low-end mainboards based on it functional enough to satisfy the needs of a mainstream user without involving any numerous expansion cards. And taking into account that even junior mainboard models are usually equipped with a number of additional controllers, we can conclude that the functionality of these mainboards will be sufficient even for users with more advanced needs. Therefore, we are always extremely interested in checking our all flagship product reviews, but usually purchase mainstream or budget mainboards for ourselves. And our interest to these particular solutions is quite logical: unlike the flagship products (“wow, what a mainboard!”), it is of more practical nature (“I want a board exactly like that!”).

Our today’s hero is Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R (rev. 1.6) mainboard. It is interesting because it is the junior model in the Gigabyte family on Intel X58 Express chipset. Moreover, so far this is the only Gigabyte board that has a revision 1.6 follow the startup revision 1.0. Off the top of my head, I can say that the new model uses a new network controller and chipset cooling system. Our today’s review is going to talk about all the details regarding this mainboard, its features and functions, and if they are sufficient to satisfy our needs.