Not only does Sandy Bridge mark a new generation of product for Intel, but Gigabyte is making some changes too. The white box of recent times is gone, in favour of black - Gigabyte's new favourite colour.
Source: PC Authority
The P67A-UD4 has the same features that have appeared on the company's current generation boards, such as USB 3 ports and the ability to supply enough USB power to charge an iPad or iPhone even while the computer is in "sleep" mode.
This is still an early sample and we assume that the full retail bundle of product that would normally be supplied with the motherboard isn't ready yet. The six series software disc is pressed and ready to go, even if there's no manual.
The package in its entirety.
Gigabyte is moving away from its iconic blue PCB for some product lines. This ultimately means that the motherboards will look a lot better when glimpsed through a case window.
USB 3 has been a focus for Gigabyte, and that continues on the P67A-UD4. This board has two NEC USB 3 host controller chips, one driving rear ports and the other part of a motherboard header designed to allow front ports on the case to support USB 3 without the need for ungainly extension cords.
This attractive new heatsink is set back to allow better support for large coolers and heatsinks (or even pots of liquid nitrogen for the serious overclocker).
Sandy Bridge uses a new socket design, LGA 1155, which excludes the possibility of backwards compatibility with existing Intel CPUs.
The P67A-UD4 has six SATA ports. Two of these support SATA 6Gbit/s and the other four support SATA 2. Higher end boards will include more SATA 6GBit/s ports.
With Intel choosing to forgo USB 3.0 support in its chipsets, there's still an abundance of USB 2.0 about. This board has two hybrid USB 2/eSATA ports as well as the usual audio output. And yes, the PS2 ports are still included as legacy support, even after all these years.
The P67A-UD4 supports two-way Crossfire and SLI.
Not only does Sandy Bridge mark a new generation of product for Intel, but Gigabyte is making some changes too. The white box of recent times is gone, in favour of black - Gigabyte's new favourite colour.