For a $150 (street) motherboard, the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P packs a lot of value. It has one of the most comprehensive rear-panel I/O risers available, extensive overclocking controls, and extra durability from touches such as a thicker-than-usual copper layer. It may lack some of the bells and whistles $400 and $500 boards offer, such as three X16 slots and audio hardware, but this LGA775-based beast is nonetheless a killer for a mid-level system or even an enthusiast one, particularly considering how easy the Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker makes overclocking. And in addition to the impressive list of hardware, you'll find extras such as the Xpress Recovery2 utility that lets you back up and restore system data and a secondary BIOS that takes over if the main one gets hosed. The EP45-UD3P is simply a solid, stunning, board full of features at a fantastic price. You should seriously consider it, especially if you can't quite afford an X58-based board and a Core i7 CPU.

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