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Ultra Durable™ 5 - The Industry's Highest Quality CPU/APU Power Design
Our Best Ultra Durable™ Motherboards Yet
GIGABYTE is yet again raising the bar of motherboard quality and durability with their latest Ultra Durable™ 5 technology, featuring a range of High Current Capable components that provide the highest quality power delivery to the CPU/APU for record-breaking performance, cool and efficient operation and extended motherboard lifespan.

IR3550 PowIRstage®
Highest rated and most awarded Power Stage in the industry.
• Providing power delivery rated up to 60A, while maintaining cool operating temperatures.
• Perfect Match: GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 5 motherboards use both IR digital PWM
  controllers and IR PowIRstage® ICs, for a uniquely seamless power delivery system.
• Industry Leading Peak Efficiency up to 95%
 
 
Optimal CPU/APU Power Design

2X Copper PCB
Providing sufficient power trace paths between components to handle exceptional power loads associated with overclocking and to remove heat from the critical CPU/APU power delivery area.

High Capacity Ferrite Core Chokes
Rated up to 60A to provide the most stable power delivery.

* Actual component specifications may vary by model.
 

Cool Power, Inside and Out
GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 5 motherboards use IR3550 PowIRstage® ICs, which feature the industry's highest 60A rating, with Lower Losses, Higher Efficiency and Excellent Thermal Management.
The layout and packaging use copper connections for all power paths rather than wire bonds, reducing losses due to high resistance wire bonds as well as high inductance which causes ringing and high AC losses.

Power connections between the MOSFETs use very low loss copper, reducing losses and helping to spread the heat.
Specialized MOSFET driver IC by International Rectifier.
High side MOSFET (Control FET) has very low gate charge. Low side MOSFET (SyncFET) has an integrated Schottky Diode for even higher efficiency.
The current has very short paths from the bottom of the device, through either the control FET (duty cycle ON) or the Sync FET (Duty cycle OFF) and through the copper clip. This is another reason the device is so durable and can handle 60A.
Custom Copper leadframe conducts heat away from the silicon.
Traditional CPU/APU Power Zone Design

PWM controller
MOSFET Drivers
Traditional High and
Low side MOSFETs
Choke
Capacitor
CPU/APU
 
CPU/APU Power Zone Q & A
 
What is the CPU/APU Power Zone ?
The CPU/APU Power Zone contains the various components of a motherboard that are responsible for delivering power to the CPU/APU (PWM controller, MOSFET Drivers, High and Low side MOSFETs , Chokes, Capacitors and related circuitry).

What is a MOSFET ?
A MOSFET is one of the most critical components of the CPU/APU power zone, as it is a switch that first allows or disallows electric current to flow to the CPU/APU. Its switching is controlled by the MOSFET driver and PWM controller. It is also one of the most expensive components of the power design.

What is a Power Stage ?
A Power Stage is a single chip that includes the MOSFET driver, 1 high side MOSFET and 2 (or sometimes 1) Low Side MOSFETs . Power Stages are made using a more advanced manufacturing process, and are therefore more efficient.

What is a Traditional MOSFET (Also known as D-Pak MOSFET...) ?
A Traditional MOSFET is a less advanced MOSFET design that is used in a traditional CPU/APU power zone where the MOSFET drivers and High and Low Side MOSFETS are each individual chips (multi-chip MOSFET design). They are less expensive and less efficient than single chip Power Stages.
 
 
 
Single Package Design
IR has leveraged it's world class packaging technology developed for the DirectFET®, improving the thermal capability and layout of the PowIRstage® significantly over that of other MCM packages.
 
Single Package Design*
vs.
Multi-Chip Design
   
 
High Side MOSFET
 
Driver IC
 
 
Low Side MOSFET
*patent pending
 
Other MOSFET layout implementations use a multi-chip, side-by-side arrangement of the high and low side MOSFETs and driver IC, taking up significant board real estate and creating more electrical leakage.
High Side MOSFET
(Traditional MOSFET)
 
Low Side MOSFET
(Traditional MOSFET)
 
Driver IC
(MOSFET Driver)
   
 
 
 
 
 
Ultra Cool,  Ultra Efficient,  Ultra Performance
High Efficiency = Low Power Loss = Less heat = Longer Lifespan
 
 
IR's IR3550 PowIRstage® are more power efficient and operate cooler than competing MOSFETs, resulting in longer component lifespan and more head room for greater overclocking performance.
 
Traditional MOSFET
 
Low RDS(on) MOSFET
 
Ultra Durable™ 4 Design
IR3550 PowIRstage®
 
Ultra Durable™ 5 Design
 
* Testing result for reference only. Results may differ according to system configuration.
* 4 phase IR3550 PowIRstage® with 2x Copper PCB vs. 4 phase traditional D-Pak MOSFET @ 100A load 10 mins lab testing without heatsink
 
 
IR3550 PowIRstage® ICs remain cooler than other MOSFET designs, allowing users to overclock to greater levels of performance. Each power component has a maximum thermal operational temperature, and once it is reached, adding more voltage will only result in a failed overclock. Since IR3550 PowIRstages® are able to operate at cooler temperatures at higher voltages than traditional designs, overclockers are able to have more headroom to increase voltages, resulting in higher potential overclocks.
Cooler temps. = Higher Overclocks
MOSFET Overclocking Stability
Overheat
Not enough power
for overclocking
IR3550
PowIRstage®
Best
Lower RDS(on)
MOSFET

(Also known as WPAK, PowerPak MOSFET...)
Good
Traditional MOSFET
(Also known as D-Pak MOSFET... )
OK
 

High Current Capable Components

GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 5 motherboards feature High Capacity Power Stages and Ferrite Core chokes rated up to 60A with GIGABYTE exclusive 2x Copper PCBs to provide the most stable power delivery.
60A High Capacity
Ferrite Core Chokes
Industry Leading 60A Rated
Power Stage with Lower Losses,
Higher Efficiency and Excellent
Thermal Management
2X Copper PCB



Quality Inside and Out

Even though several of the high quality components used in GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards are not visible from the outside, rest assured that they are working hard to provide better efficiency, greater power savings, lower system temperatures, better overclocking performance and extended system longevity. That’s the GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ guarantee.
PCB (Printed Circuit Board)
2x copper PCB = 2 oz copper PCB = weight of copper layer
30.48 cm x 30.48 cm (1 square foot) PCB is 56.7 g (2 oz)

Copper Layer
Thickness
2x copper
0.070mm (70 µm)
1x copper
0.035mm (35 µm)
High Capacity
Ferrite Core
Choke
 
Solid Capacitor
   
Power Stage
 
2x Copper
Inner Layer
Signal Layer
   
Power Layer
   
     
New Glass Fabric
   
Ground Layer
   
Signal Layer
   
     
     
The Benefits of 2 oz Copper PCB design
 
Lower
Temperature
Better
Overclocking
Better Power
Effciency
2x Lower
Impedance
Lower EMI
Better ESD
Protection
 
GIGABYTE's exclusive 2X Copper PCBs design provides sufficient power trace paths between components to handle greater than normal power loads and to remove heat from the critical CPU power delivery area. This is essential to ensure the motherboard is able to handle the increased power loading that is necessary when overclocking.




Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic
GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards embrace a range of exclusive features that guarantee DIY PC builders the absolute best protection for their PC, with built-in features that prevent common malfunction threats users encounter on a day-to-day basis.

 

Humidity Protection
New Glass Fabric PCB
Glass Fabric PCB technology uses a new PCB material which reduces the amount of space between the fiber weave, making it much more difficult for moisture to penetrate compared to traditional motherboard PCBs. This offers much better protection from short circuit and system malfunction caused by humid and damp conditions.
NEW
New Glass Fabric PCB
Traditional Glass Fabric PCB
 
Traditional



Electrostatic Protection
High ESD Resistance ICs
All GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards use high quality IC microchips that are rated with higher electro-static discharge (ESD) resistance than traditional IC implementations. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards use ICs with up to 3 times the ESD resistance levels compared to traditional ICs. This helps to better protect the motherboard, its components and the PC in general against potential damage caused by static electricity, a common threat to today’s PCs.
High ESD Resistance ICs
Traditional ESD Resistance ICs




Power Failure Protection
DualBIOS™ ; Anti-Surge IC
If your home experiences a sudden power outage for any reason, GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 4 Classic motherboards are equipped to ensure that you won’t be dealing with a fatal malfunction. All GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 4 Classic motherboards use patented DualBIOS™ technology to provide fail safe protection for the BIOS on your motherboard, automatically refreshing your BIOS from a back up version in the case of a critical power outage.
BIOS Recovery
 
GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 4 Classic motherboards also feature special anti-surge ICs that protect your motherboard, and your PC, from any surge in power delivery that may occur, helping to ensure that your PC is equipped to deal with any kind of irregular and inconsistent power delivery.
 
Anti-Surge IC
Without Anti-Surge IC
    * Anti-Surge ICs may vary by model



High Temperature Protection
All Solid Caps ; Lower RDS(on) MOSFETs
Specially selected components make your PC capable of higher temperatures in more extreme conditions, while at the same time preventing your PC from overheating.  Using all solid capacitors for the GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 4 Classic range both reduces overall board temperatures while making the motherboard more robust at higher temperatures. The choice of Lower RDS(on) MOSFETs also helps to reduce operating temperatures significantly compared to traditional MOSFET solutions.
 
Cap Comparison
All Solid Cap Design
Traditional Cap Design
 
 
MOSFET Comparison
 
Lower RDS(on) MOSFET Design
 
Traditional MOSFET Design
    * Lower RDS(on) MOSFET design may vary by model




  
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