Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H Review: Functionality meets Competitive Pricing
by Ian Cutress on July 25, 2012 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Gigabyte
- Z77
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H Overclocking
Note: Ivy Bridge does not overclock like Sandy Bridge. For a detailed report on the effect of voltage on Ivy Bridge (and thus temperatures and power draw), please read Undervolting and Overclocking on Ivy Bridge.
Experience with Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
Overclocking on the UD5H was a mixed back of results. The automatic overclocks worked, but only if the system liked the memory you were using - the automatic overclocks apply some changes to memory that caused our system to fail using our default G.Skill DDR3-2400 9-11-11 kit. However, when we used a Patriot DDR3-2133 kit, all was well.
Manual overclocking was clear-cut, as the system applies the overclock at the start of POST rather than the end. This meant that during the OS loading, if the system was very unstable, a BSOD would show and we entered the BIOS to change the voltages.
Overall results were a little disappointing, given the other good performances we had with the motherboard.
Methodology:
Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with PovRay and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.
For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (100ºC+).
Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air. We also are using Intel's All-in-one Liquid Cooler with its stock fan. This is a 120mm radiator liquid cooler, designed to mimic a medium-to-high end air cooler.
Automatic Overclock:
For our automatic overclocking, we had to utilize a Patriot DDR3-2133 2x2GB memory kit as the system failed to boot with our G.Skill DDR3-2400 4x4 GB kit when the automatic overclock settings were selected.
EasyTune6 offers three levels of automatic overclocking, along with an Auto Tuning option that stresses the system while raising speeds and voltages. Here are our results.
At ET Level 1, the system applied a 102.3 MHz BCLK and 41x multiplier, giving a final CPU speed of 4198 MHz. This gave a +0.150 volt offset to the CPU core, and set the memory to XMP but reduced the speed back one strap due to the enhanced BCLK. Maximum temperatures for this setting were 78ºC during PovRay and 80ºC during OCCT.
At ET Level 2, the system applied a 103.4 MHz BCLK and 43x multiplier, giving a final CPU speed of 4446.2 MHz. In the OS, a load voltage of 1.248 volts was reported, and stress testing gave maximum temperatures of 84ºC during PovRay and 88ºC during OCCT. Memory was also adjusted to one strap below XMP.
At ET Level 4, the system applied a 104.3 MHz BCLK and 45x multiplier, giving a final CPU speed of 4693.9 MHz. In the OS, a load voltage of 1.284 volts was reported, and stress testing gave maximum temperatures of 96ºC during PovRay and 98ºC during OCCT. Memory was also adjusted to one strap below XMP.
The Auto Tuning option gave the following experience:
- The system rebooted, and loads a stress-testing program.
- This program gradually raised the multiplier and BCLK.
- The stress testing part of the program crashed at 47x103.5, but tests continued.
- System hard reset at 49x103.5.
- System booted into OS at 48x104 and loaded program again, which crashed and shut down.
- System rebooted at 46x103.3 for full load and 48x103.3 for single core loads.
This overclock showed 1.296 volts at full load, giving 93ºC during PovRay and 95ºC during OCCT. However, performing the single core benchmark on PovRay caused a memory error.
Manual Overclock:
Manual overclocking was performed in the BIOS, where the CPU voltage was fixed at 1.100 volts and the multiplier started at 44x. Here are the results:
At 44x, the system was stable with a BIOS voltage set at 1.100 volts, which led to a load voltage of 1.068 volts in the OS. Peak temperatures during stability testing were 68ºC during PovRay and 71ºC during OCCT.
At 45x, the system was stable with a BIOS voltage set at 1.125 volts, which led to a load voltage of 1.096 volts in the OS. Peak temperatures during stability testing were 71ºC during PovRay and 72ºC during OCCT.
At 46x, the system was stable with a BIOS voltage set at 1.175 volts and Load Line Calibration set to Extreme, which led to a load voltage of 1.176 volts in the OS. Peak temperatures during stability testing were 80ºC during PovRay and 81ºC during OCCT.
At 47x, the system was stable with a BIOS voltage set at 1.225 volts and Load Line Calibration set to Extreme, which led to a load voltage of 1.224 volts in the OS. Peak temperatures during stability testing were 88ºC during PovRay and OCCT.
At 48x, the system was stable with a BIOS voltage set at 1.275 volts and Load Line Calibration set to Extreme, which led to a load voltage of 1.284 volts in the OS. Peak temperatures during stability testing were 97ºC during PovRay and 96ºC during OCCT.
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IanCutress - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
Please note that even if you have purchased a '6Gbit/s' SSD, it will never run at that speed. If you look at our SATA and USB testing, none of the peak speeds we see in our benchmarking ever reach the peak advertised by the port due to the limitations of the hardware. They more often than not do not even reach the peaks of the hardware due to latency or real-world situations. Most rated speeds are for compressible continuous data with a high queue-depth - not ever a realistic scenario.Testing every 3rd party controller adds testing time. Going from 2-3 boards a month do maybe one and a bit. Especially if they're all connected differently on the board (which we don't always know without specific chipset diagrams for the specific product, which are not always available). After all, peak tests are limited in their understanding anyway - take the new USB boost technologies from ASUS and ASRock. ASUS' implementation affects mainly short size block transfers by several order of magnitudes (as found out in our testing), rather than peak by any significant amount.
I am quite astounded by your insistence that if you have many ports that they must all run at their peak speed in conjunction with each other at the same time. It just doesn't work that way. Have a gander at the chipset diagrams in our first Z77 reviews to understand this. Bandwidth is delivered to what needs it at the right time - the usage model for hammering all the ports at once is almost non-existent.
Ideally we'd love to test everything at the peak, but we do not have an unlimited amount of cash to go and buy equipment. We're independent freelance reviewers making do with what kit we can get together or are offered.
iCrunch - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
I've become so spoiled by how incredibly seamlessly, fast, and consistent Thunderbolt works. Add to that the fact that I can probably get most of the specs in an external Thunderbolt enclosure/dock solution fairly soon...albeit for a tad more money.Scootiep7 - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
Wow, so Gigabyte finally took my complaints to heart and started releasing boards with something other than that ALC887 miserable excuse for an audio codec. Bravo good sirs, better late than never. Now get it done on more of your boards!Questor - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
I have this motherboard with an Ivy Bridge i5 3570K, currently at a stock speed, with a Plextor 128 GB SATA III SSD as the OS drive. Even with the post logo screen enabled, I get to desktop log-in in about 7 seconds. Excluding the "artificially" added time to type my password, full desktop is an average of 2.5 seconds from there. Not bad considering the programs I have that load versus Anantech testing.I have had my board since its early retail release and this has not changed much; even after replacing the original i5 2500K and Samsung SATA II 128 GB SSD for the above mentioned components.
Questor - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
In addition to the boot time being misleading commentary and the response to the USB vs PS/2 keyboard, my present computer build with this Gigabyte board is one of the best/favorite rigs in my 14 years of building and tweaking computers.The other few are ASUS P8P67-PRO, Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H (X2 with two cores unlocked to quad and STILL running stable), EPoX EP-9NPA+ Ultra, ASUS P5A with AMD K6-350 (severe electrical spike took it out after years of OCing - jumped the surge protector)!
Questor - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
In addition to the boot time being misleading commentary and the response to the USB vs PS/2 keyboard, my present computer build with this Gigabyte board is one of the best/favorite rigs in my 14 years of building and tweaking computers. The other few are ASUS P8P67-PRO, Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H (X2 with two cores unlocked to quad and STILL running stable), EPoX EP-9NPA+ Ultra, ASUS P5A with AMD K6-350 (severe electrical spike took it out after years of OCing - jumped the surge protector)!minlian - Sunday, August 12, 2012 - link
Is the reaction time DPC Latency error fixed on the Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB-WiFi version or are they just the same motherboard with just a wifi difference?Triniman - Sunday, August 12, 2012 - link
Ian Cutress wrote, "...a total of 10 USB 3.0 ports available (if you have enough USB 3.0 panels)."Does anyone know of any cases that will would allow you to use the 3 onboard USB 3.0 headers?
Also, is it correct that the Gigabyte doesn't include drivers for these VIA controllers?
ETruett - Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - link
Hay. I am wondering if the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H Motherboard will fit in the Dell E510 Case? Or which Case can i get? I would like to build a nice gaming pc that whill not break me. I dont have much money. My eMail is: etruett9@gmail.com..... :-))gkatsanos - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
Hi, It's weird how in any of the reviews there was a word for the problems (bugs) this M/B has. I ordered it a week ago and even if I upgraded my BIOS to the latest version, it still suffers from problems.. I had for example to disable the Marvell sata controller and connect my drive to the intel chipset one for the system to shutdown properly... Other folks have had freezes etc. Google the model + problems and you'll see. I am thinking of changing it with an Intel m/b or something more stable..