GIGABYTE is first out of the gate with a mATX P55 board - but does it skimp on any essentials?
P55 has well and truly been launched worldwide, and our indepth review in Issue 105 shows that they're a bloody great choice for enthusiasts even though you can't run dual 16x PCIe 2.0 for Crossfire or SLI due to the platform constraints.
GIGABYTE sent us their P55M-UD4, and as the name might hint it's a mATX version based on the same chipset as their ultrapremium P55-UD6, but it doesn't miss out on many features that the highest model has - in fact, there's very little difference.
With the same 2oz copper PCB, similar heatsink design, plenty of expansion options and the solid performance we've come to accept as standard from the LGA1156-based Core i7 chips, this miniature motherboard is a serious contender for any enthusiast system.
You can even run dual graphics cards in this board, showing that mATX doesn't have to mean missing out on features.
Head into the gallery of pics to look at this board that sells for only $220, and post below if you'd choose a mATX board over ATX for a smaller system.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012