Though not a particularly popular brand in the US, Gigabyte has earned some loyal fans (one of them being our very own Chippy!) thanks to their ability to make quality computing products. Now Gigabyte has entered the Ultrabook segment with the U2442 “extreme Ultrabook”, as they’re calling it. There are two variants of the U2442: the U2442N and U2442V (which is the one that we’ve got); the only differences is the processor (Core i5 vs. i7). There’s also talk of a non-Ultrabook version which is likely to be referred to as the U2440 — be sure not to mix them up! Does Gigabyte’s first entry into the Ultrabook realm stand up to their prior products? Step inside to our full U2442V review to find out.

Our pals at Dynamism sent us over the new Gigabyte U2442 Ultrabook with discrete graphics to have a look at. Gigabyte is also launching non-Ultrabook versions of the U2442, but the U2442V which we’ve got is the high-end Ultrabook model. Pretty much every spec is what you might ask for from an ideal Ultrabook. I’ve been using the U2442V for a few days now and have some initial thoughts to share about this performance powerhouse.

Launched as part of the Gigabyte X11 event a few days ago (and largely ignored due to the wow factor of the X11) are the mainstream Ultrabooks from Gigabyte, the U2440 and U2442 in various model variation. Starting at $699 and going up to 1600×900 with GT640M graphics, these are definitely worth taking a closer look at. Price, specs and availability below.

Update: Another Gigabyte press release went out on Day 1 of Computex.

Gigabyte are well-know for practical designs with a good set of ports and the U2440/U2442 models are no exception. There’s a range of models to choose from. Here’s a rundown of the differences.

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