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
Multi-GPU Setups
The Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H is the first Z77 motherboard we have tested that uses a full PCIe 3.0 tri-GPU setup, such that we have:
One GPU: x16
Two GPUs: x8/x8
Three GPUs: x8/x4/x4
Our other comparison points use four PCIe 2.0 lanes from the chipset. These setups suffer from limited bandwidth on the third GPU, as well as additional latency as data must transfer through the chipset. These motherboards have a setup such that:
One GPU: x16
Two GPUs: x8/x8
Three GPUs x8/x8/PCIe 2.0 x4
In our testing, we show that the first method of PCIe layout performs a lot better in tri-GPU setups. Note that the downside of this is that if a Z77 motherboard is paired with a non PCIe 3.0 CPU (such as Sandy Bridge), then the final PCIe slot on the board is not functional.
Civilization V
Civilization V is a strategy video game that utilizes a significant number of the latest GPU features and software advances. Using the in-game benchmark, we run Civilization V at 2560x1440 with full graphical settings, similar to Ryan in his GPU testing functionality. Results reported by the benchmark are the total number of frames in sixty seconds, which we normalize to frames per second.
While the UD5H does not perform the best in single and dual AMD cards in Civilization V, it does take the top spot against our tri-AMD setup.
For whatever reason our single NVIDIA test does not perform that well, but the dual NVIDIA GPU test comes near the top.
Dirt 3
Dirt 3 is a rallying video game and the third in the Dirt series of the Colin McRae Rally series, developed and published by Codemasters. Using the in game benchmark, Dirt 3 is run at 2560x1440 with full graphical settings. Results are reported as the average frame rate across four runs.
While in the single AMD Dirt3 test the Z77X-UD5H comes bottom, all the results are within statistical variance. In comparison, in the dual AMD Dirt3 test the Z77X-UD5H comes near the top. In our tri-GPU test, the full PCIe 3.0 x4 of the Z77X-UD5H shows its worth with an extra 35-40 FPS over our other motherboards tested.
In both our Dirt3 NVIDIA tests, the Z77X-UD5H performs well but within statistical variance of every other board tested.
Metro2033
Metro2033 is a DX11 benchmark that challenges every system that tries to run it at any high-end settings. Developed by 4A Games and released in March 2010, we use the inbuilt DirectX 11 Frontline benchmark to test the hardware at 2560x1440 with full graphical settings. Results are given as the average frame rate from 10 runs.
On our Metro 2033 tests, the full PCIe 3.0 functionality of the third GPU shows again, with the Z77X-UD5H performing another 5% better than the Biostar.
Our NVIDIA testing in Metro 2033 shows every board performing almost the same.
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IanCutress - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
As a competitive overclocker, I have used GBTL when pushing the BCLK of these boards as far as my CPU will allow (http://hwbot.org/submission/2301438_). I like GBTL - no mess and no fuss. But it is understandable why they do not include it in the Support CD, and hence why it doesn't really get a mention here. I did touch upon it very briefly in the overclocking section of the Z77X-UD3H review back at Ivy launch. As for voltage read-points, they are mentioned briefly in the board features, but I am also in agreement that perhaps the implementation of other manufacturers is more beneficial in our very niche usage scenario :)Ian
PS On the multi-board reviews I try not to take anything out from what is in a single board review. Every benchmark, test and bit of analysis in each of them gets put in :)
Nickel020 - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
Oh, I missed the part about the GBTL in the UD3H review. While I haven't goten around to playing with my UD3H, I have found the Asus AI suite very practical for "normal" overclocking and I believe the GBTL will also be a real benefit for anyone working out a good 24/7 overclock. If I didn't knwo about it already I certainly would want to read about in your review if I was going to get this board for 24/7 OC.I also missed you mentioning the UD3Hs voltage read points, but in any case there's still an error in the conclusion though where you implicitly state that the UD3H does not have voltage read points (in the part about the GD65).
I know you run the same benchmarks, but I find the text/user experience more interesting than the benches, and there's definitely more text in a single board review! The benches I only care about to see whether a board has a significant performance issue, since I'm not into competitive OC I don't care about slight differences that I won't notice anyway.
Conderning the benches, I'm also a little surprised that you somewhat praise GB for auto-overclocking the CPU. IIRC Anandtech has been opposed to that in the past, since it's technically overclocking and thus theoretically voids your CPU warranty. It also makes it hard to compare board performance when CPU settings are actually the same, such as when using a manual overclock. I know it's considerably more work, but I would love to see the benches with the CPU forced to run at stock settings added to the charts, the current version is an apples to oranges comparison imho. For someone just looking at the charts (and not the text, as many do...) the current ones give a very wrong impression, they make it seem like Asus and GB perform better, when without the auto-overclock, they might actually be worse...
IanCutress - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
Most users of these boards never touch the BIOS, let alone update it. This is why we run the boards at default - some manufacturers are being more aggressive with their settings and that is what you are paying for. If that aggressive setting compromises stability, then that can also be an issue. Thus it is a like-for-like comparison, as if a user was taking the boards out of the box and then just strapping in a CPU.After all, if we start changing the application of Turbo modes, what else do we change? Setting the voltage equal on each board to get a VMM reading that is always the same across the range? How about disregarding any board that uses x8/x4/x4 PCIe 3.0 against x8/x8/x4 PCIe 2.0? Default is the choice because that's what most users will end up with. Visiting some LANs recently, you would be surprised how many people buy 2133+ kits of memory and not enable XMP. That's the reality of it.
I used to be wary of this feature (as per my review of the P9X79 Pro, where I disabled it and was severely disgruntled), and still am as it results in motherboard manufacturers artificially inflating some results as to what you would expect. But this did happen before in earlier chipsets, when one manufacturer would run 100.5 BCLK, and the next would use 101.3, and even 102 BCLK, stating 'that's just how the design works'.
There's nothing we can do to change this, so I am taking the position of sitting back and analysing what they are doing, and how aggressive they are taking this philosophy. Any good reviewer will recognise what is pure statistical variation and not assign world class status to a result that is 0.01% difference.
With regards the warranty, it is a tough hammer to nail down. Would a pair of companies ever advertise that by default their settings technically breaches warranty? Or how would Intel take it, given that technically none of the cores ever went past the top turbo mode? Without a direct response on the issue, it's not worth speculating. I've known users to repeatedly successfully RMA CPUs they've overclocked on LN2 way too hard and broke them, so we don't really know if Intel will draw a line much.
Nickel020 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
It's certainly a matter of opinion. As an "enthusiast" I'm of the opinion that a board should not overclock without my knowledge/express wish (since I can easily do so myself. Practically the overclock of course has no bearing on CPU warranty (the CPU also being the very last PC component that you're likely to need warranty on...).I agree that for the average user this is actually added value, a slight performance bonus at absolutely no cost other than a little bit more power consumption. Maybe point out both sides in future reviews? That way everyone's happy :)
PS: Please do fix the error in the UD3H, GD65 conclusion, it's wearing me down ;)
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5793/intel-z77-mothe...
"For the price we lose PCI and mSATA over the Gigabyte, but gain SATA, voltage read points, [...]" <--- wrong, maybe say "better implemented voltage read points"? ;)
Nickel020 - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Thanks Ian :)mystikl - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
No VGA port, no floppy connector, no buy .Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
Seriously?First, it does have a VGA port. Why you would want to use one escapes me now, but it's there.
Second...you still need a floppy drive and can't make do with a USB 2.0 one? Almost no modern motherboards include floppy connectors because floppy disks are horrendously outdated and that real estate can be better employed elsewhere.
mystikl - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
I was actually making fun of the guy who posted the second comment! Why on earth people still need those ancient connectors is beyond me. Some may argue that some ancient software doesn't run without that specific port, but software that old doesn't require a computer with a quad core, 16 GB RAM and 3 videocards.shin0bi272 - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
bios flashes on some boards still require a floppy disk... even on a quad core.SodaAnt - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
Luckily those boards have floppy ports then.