The GIGABYTE H370N WiFi Review: Mini-ITX with HDMI 2.0 and 802.11ac Wave 2
by Joe Shields on June 21, 2018 9:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- Gigabyte
- Mini ITX
- Core 8th Gen
- Coffee Lake
- H370
System Performance
Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however, this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.
Power Consumption
Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Corsair HX 750 power supply. This power supply is Platinum rated. As I am in the US on a 120 V supply, leads to ~87% efficiency > 75W, and 92%+ efficiency at 375W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.
While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.
The Power Consumption tests show the Gigabyte H370N WIFI looking pretty good overall. In the idle tests, it is right up there with the best of them at 39W long Idle and 41W OS idle. Load wattage was the lowest of all boards tested so far at 119W. I haven't been able to pin down an obvious reason as the clock speeds are all the same. It is a much smaller board with fewer LEDs and controllers so that likely has something to do with it.
Non-UEFI POST Time
Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows 10 starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.
POST times for the H370N WIFI are the fastest tested so far at 19.8s default and 18.3s stripped. I confirmed any fast boot options were disabled in the optimized default setting we run (it was) to make sure. I had to test this board on another monitor as the knock-off Yamakasi I use for testing (M280PU) wouldn't keep the initial signal for whatever reason. It would show it has a signal, then not... by the time it got a signal again, it was sitting in Windows. Hooking this up to the Acer Predator I have allowed me to see the POST process and determine accurately when it hands off to the system.
DPC Latency
Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.
If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.
Our DPC latency results for the H370N WIFI reached 294µs placing it in the middle of some varying results. The rule of thumb here is anything under 300µs should allow for smooth audio so it sneaks in under that value.
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close - Wednesday, June 27, 2018 - link
@MadAd: They could put at least 2 USB C ports there but I don't see why they would remove the USB A. Especially since that backpanel doesn't look cramped at all. It's amazing how many people only see their needs and wants in front of their eyes and can't even conceive that that vast majority of people want or need something else.close - Wednesday, June 27, 2018 - link
@MadAd. "Stop being a luddite, its the progress we need."Sure, why be stuck on century old analog tech when we can replace all the audio jacks with BT connections? Why put HDMI, DP, USB ports, etc. when all of these can be replace with TB3 over USB C port? Why be stuck on 1Gbps Ethernet when 2.5G-10G are already here?
Oh, it would make the board more expensive and most people would have to replace all of their cables, adapters, peripherals, etc? Progress.
There is no indication at this time that a significant number of people need more than 1 Type C on a PC. When USB 3.0 launched most MoBos had 1 or 2 ports, and almost no case had them. It's slow because people selling them don't have to think of only the 2 of you, but to the other thousands that need something else, they need that "legacy".
1_rick - Thursday, June 21, 2018 - link
That would mean you'd have to buy A-C adapters for your keyboard, mouse, existing thumb drives, etc., unless you were willing to buy a new keyboard, mouse, etc.Mr Perfect - Friday, June 22, 2018 - link
That would be the dream some day, but for now we're in this weird chicken-and-the-egg scenario. Motherboards don't have more than one USB-C port(if that), and peripherals don't come with USB-C plugs. Someone's going to have to push the issue if the market is going to move anytime soon. Even then, people would probably want motherboards with half USB-A and half USB-C, just for existing peripherals.Motherboards having more then one USB-C would be a good start.
CharonPDX - Friday, June 22, 2018 - link
For laptops, I agree. Even for compact custom-form-factor desktops, sure, maybe just one or two USB-A ports. But for desktops using a standard ATX I/O shield? No reason to skip USB-A. *MORE* USB-C, especially 10Gbit, and even more especially Thunderbolt-3 capable, should be standard, though.I want to see at least 4 USB-C ports on the back panel every motherboard, with at least 2 of them Thunderbolt-3 capable, and preferably all 10Gbit capable.
But I also understand that the vast majority of peripherals are still USB-A. Essentially all wired keyboard and mice have hardwired cables that end in a USB-A port. While most other external USB devices have removable cables that can easily be swapped for one that ends in a USB-C plug instead of a USB-A plug, it's still not the standard. (I was floored when my recently-purchased external Blu-ray drive included two cables in the box - one a micro-USB-B-3.0 to USB-A 3.0, and one female USB-A 3.0 to USB-C dongle. I would have preferred that it include a micro-USB-B-3.0 to USB-C that was as long as the micro-B-to-A it came with, than a female-A-to-C dongle, but it's a start.)
risa2000 - Saturday, June 23, 2018 - link
While it may look sexy to have full USB-C interface, I am not sure that mice, keyboards and most of the other stuff (BT, Wifi, gamepad dongles) require 10 Gbps speed, nor they require USB-C type connector which, from my experience, is less "holding" than typical Type A. Besides all those things I wrote above I typically connect once.The only device I own which would benefit from Type C connector is my smartphone. Everything else would need CtoA adapters, making the actual physical connection even less stable.
Galcobar - Thursday, June 21, 2018 - link
Typo, page 1, section Information on Intel's..."... Cutress reviewed a couple of processors (i7-8700K and i7-8400)... "
Perhaps that should be i5-8400, or i7-8700?
StormyParis - Friday, June 22, 2018 - link
Nice review, thank you.I'm holding off on upgrading my 5 to rig until the "cache virus" situation is fixed in silicon, but when I'll finally move, I'll be looking for a very similar board. It's nice to see boards for regular folks tested, not just high-end stuff. This one is "riced" right.
timecop1818 - Friday, June 22, 2018 - link
Why do you even care? None of single user desktop machines are affected. Update BIOS/microcode, install latest Windows, and disable all the spectre/meltdown mitigation shit to regain normal computing speeds. Done.CharonPDX - Friday, June 22, 2018 - link
With the HDMI 2.0 port, I'm curious if this board has all the necessary firmware and hardware bits to support UHD Blu-ray playback.