Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 Review
by Brendan van Varik on July 11, 2011 7:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Gigabyte
- Motherboards
- Sandy Bridge
- Z68
3D Movement Algorithm Test - link
The first benchmark ran is actually one which was written by our very own, Senior Editor – Ian Cutress. This first benchmark uses various algorithms for three-dimensional simulation and movement of independent particles. The algorithms both employ uniform random number generation or normal distribution random number generation, and vary in various amounts of trigonometric operations, conditional statements, generation and rejection, fused operations, etc. The benchmark runs through six algorithms for a specified number of particles and steps, and calculates the speed of each algorithm, then sums them all for a final score. This is an example of a real world situation that a computational scientist may find themselves in, rather than a pure synthetic benchmark. The benchmark is also parallel between particles simulated, and we test the single thread performance as well as the multi-threaded performance.
When we tested this motherboard using the single threaded benchmark, the UD3H did well - coming in at third place at both stock and overclocked speeds.
Using our multithreaded 3D Movement test with the CPU at stock settings, this is technically one of the fastest motherboards out of our database of Sandy Bridge motherboards. Sadly, it didn’t take top spot when the system was overclocked, which is probably down to the BCLK/multiplier limit of the board but it still performed above average.
WinRAR x64 3.93 - link
With 64-bit WinRAR, we compress the set of files used in the USB speed tests. WinRAR x64 3.93 attempts to use multithreading when possible.
This is the fastest score we currently have on record.
FastStone Image Viewer 4.2 - link
FastStone Image Viewer is a free piece of software which allows quick viewing of flat images, as well as resizing, changing color depth, adding simple text or simple filters. It also has a bulk image conversion tool, which we use here. The software currently operates only in single-thread mode, which should change in later versions of the software. For this test, we convert a series of 170 files, of various resolutions, dimensions and types (of a total size of 163MB), all to the .gif format of 640x480 dimensions.
Neither a good nor a bad result - more or less bang in the middle here.
Sorenson Squeeze 6.0 - link
Sorenson Squeeze is a professional video encoder, complete with a vast array of options. For this test, we convert 32 HD videos, each a minute long and approximately 42 MB in size, to WMV 512KBps format. Squeeze can encode multiple videos at once, one for each thread.
The second slowest score recorded whilst on the Sandy Bridge platform is quite unfortunate as this motherboard does do well in other aspects of our testing.
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Brutus1234 - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
I bought one of these from Newegg a couple weeks ago and I'm very happy with it.2600K with a 45x multiplier for 4.5GHz
GSKill RipSaw DDR3 ( 4 Gig ) - system recognizes memory as 2133 with enhanced profile
H70 Corsair Water Cooler
Runs great, Have not touched voltage - it's still all stock.
I've stressed tested it, running some h264 encodes, getting nearly 100% utilization on the CPU for 6hrs and never a hiccup. Temp rarely cracks 50C on the CPU. Very happy with this build
Only thing I have issues with is the Virtu Softare. It recognizes the board but I thought I was getting a licence to use it, and all I can get is a demo mode.
Patrick Wolf - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
So they implement TouchBIOS but not a GUI? That's just being lazy. FFS, even Biostar has a GUI. Then of course there's the boot loop issue that wasted a lot of my time.http://www.overclock.net/intel-motherboards/103472...
789427 - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
GUI for bios is *really* a waste of time. Imagine having to connect a keyboard AND a mouse to fix the machine when it breaks...That's like finding a use for a mouse in DR Dos 6.0
Awesome motherboard... lack of fan control shouldn't be too problematic.
Just had a thought though.... if CPUs were delivered in larger packages with the connectors situated off-die, with a vertical arrangement it would be possible to cool both sides of the die at once in a sandwich style cooler.
Twice the surface area to cool means that we'd be in overclocking heaven!
Now we just need Intel to decide to change the sockets again!
86waterpumper - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
I agree with EnzoFX. If the bios does not cause a boot time slowdown that is pretty well a non issue. However, this day and age lack of fan control in the bios is more than stupid. More and more you are going to see a move to more efficient and power saving features. There is no point in a cpu clocking down and powergating and idling if the fan is going to blast on along like a jet. This is especially true for htpc use which alot are going to use the sandy bridge z68 for. Speaking of that, gigabyte is the one that actually has a z68 board out without a video out on the board at all right? What are they smoking these days :PThe0ne - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
"Based on the benchmarks and performance figures seen in this review, it shows that you do not have to spend big amounts of money on a motherboard to get on to the Z68 platform. A motherboard that could arguably be aimed at the budget end of the spectrum has performed well "This would fit my needs perfectly. Just wondering why with the comment above it's not a "pick" from you/Anandtech? What's lacking to make it so?
jigglywiggly - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
U GRAMMAR FARTSSTFU
READ THE ARTICLE FOR THE INFO
fb39ca4 - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
How is $170 a budget motherboard? This is mid range territory.ratbert1 - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
Enjoying your baptism by fire? I was going to post about the grammar, but it seems to have all be said.Mr Alpha - Monday, July 11, 2011 - link
Why not run CDM in 0xFF fill mode? Sure, the perfectly compressible data is unrealistic, but it would largely take the flash out of the equation making the benchmark purely about the interface. And when benchmarking a motherboard is it not the limits of the interfaces it provides that really matter?nemitech - Tuesday, July 12, 2011 - link
The test does;t say what version of Lucid was used on the Gigabyte MB vs the Asus one. a new version was released yesterday on the Gigabyte site:http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx...
I can't see any hardware reason that the Gigabyte should be slower than the Asus. Maybe there is a BIOS or Lucid driver update that brings the performance back in par. that is the probelm with reviews, issues are rarely revisited or updated leaving a bad opinion about a product.
This is defiantly a budget MB - I got mine for $105 (!) after $15 rebate, at microcenter this past weekend, with a 2500k for $180. What a bargain. :-)