Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 Review: OC Oriented Orange Overkill
by Ian Cutress on March 1, 2013 10:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- Gigabyte
- Z77
Rightmark Audio Analyzer 6.2.5
In part due to reader requests, we are pleased to include Rightmark Audio Analyzer results in our benchmark suite. The premise behind Rightmark:AA is to test the input and output of the audio system to determine noise levels, range, harmonic distortion, stereo crosstalk and so forth. Rightmark:AA should indicate how well the sound system is built and isolated from electrical interference (either internally or externally). For this test we connect the Line Out to the Line In using a short six inch 3.5mm to 3.5mm high-quality jack, turn the OS volume to 100%, and run the Rightmark default test suite at 16-bit with 48 kHz, 96 kHz and 192 kHz. We look specifically at the Dynamic Range of the audio codec used on board, as well as the Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise.
Our limited audio testing puts the ALC898 on the UP7 quite high up the table for dynamic range, but mid range for THD+N.
USB 3.0 Backup
For this benchmark, we run CrystalDiskMark to determine the ideal sequential read and write speeds for the USB port using our 240 GB OCZ Vertex3 SSD with a SATA 6 Gbps to USB 3.0 converter. Then we transfer a set size of files from the SSD to the USB drive using DiskBench, which monitors the time taken to transfer. The files transferred are a 1.52 GB set of 2867 files across 320 folders – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are the videos used in the WinRAR test.
As the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 has no rear USB 2.0 ports, we are only testing the USB 3.0 on offer. On the Rear IO we get two power from the Chipset, and four ports from a VIA controller. One header on board is from an Etron EJ168 controller, while the other onboard header completes the four from the Chipset.
Obviously the Intel USB 3.0 performs the best out of the options on the UP7, with the 2-port Etron controller matching the performance of other USB 3.0 implementations on the Z77 range. The VIA controller, as noted in previous reviews, is down on performance compared to others.
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. So 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, resulting in an empty audio buffer – this leads to characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. Having a bigger buffer and correctly implemented system drivers obviously helps in this regard. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is processing DPCs from driver invocation – the lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds and taken as the peak latency while cycling through a series of short HD videos - under 500 microseconds usually gets the green light, but the lower the better.
Now a regular feature of our testing, the DPC Latency of the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 goes right under our 200 microsecond ideal line, and sits between the ASRock Z77 OC Formula and MSI Z77 MPower in testing.
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madmilk - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
You're not going to find what you want in a 7-slot ATX form factor. However, dropping down your x16 GPU requirement makes possible with water cooling and a good X79 motherboard.Moving up to Xeon opens up some more options. One is this: http://www.avadirect.com/tower-server-configurator... Real PCIe 3.0 x16 Quad-SLI, plus two more PCIe 3.0 x8 and one PCIe 2.0 x4.
Getting those last PCIe lanes is very, very expensive, and completely worthless for anything but GPU compute.
JeBarr - Saturday, March 2, 2013 - link
I'm hoping for a few new motherboards with the next enthusiast platform refresh. Ideally 10 slot to make room for all the expansion cards a gamer geek could possibly use :DSamus - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
Can you use all 5 pcie x16 slots simultaneously with single-slot GPU's, obviously not in SLI?Samus - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
You answered my question above, thanks!sherlockwing - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
You said:If Gigabyte was going for more sales, from my perspective, if some of the IR3550s were removed and the system reduced to just over $300, it might get more takers
What Gigabyte does have on the market is the http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/cgi-bin/redirect...">UP5-TH for about $250.
It have the exact same PWM chip in the VRM as the UP7 (8 phase IR3563), only that UP7 runs it through a quadrupler for 32 VRM phase while UP5 don't use any so it runs only 8 IR3550 but 8*60= 480A is already overkill for Ivy Bridge.
The only other thing UP5-TH misses other than VRM phase overkill is the PLX chip, so it can't run 4 way SLI/CLX, and can only run 3 way at 8X/4X/4X. But for people running 2 cards or less it is more than enough.
UP7 is a halo product/ultra flagship just like the GTX Titan, UP-5TH is the mainstream Flagship.
IanCutress - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
Yup, we reviewed the UP4 TH: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6296/Though that goes along their Thunderbolt line. The Thunderbolt controller isn't cheap. But as mentioned the comparison is the G1.Sniper 3 with the PLX, or the Z77X-UD5H without the PLX (or Thunderbolt).
Ian
mayankleoboy1 - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
Y U no use WinRAR 4.2 ?Its much better multithreaded.
IanCutress - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
To maintain consistency with the last 18 months of benchmark results ;) Should probably do an update for Haswell later this year though.Ian
Kevin G - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
For a user putting down $400 for a motherboard, especially one aimed at overclocking and high performance, why not go the LGA 2011 route and X79? In this price range, LGA-1155 and Z77 just don't seem to be premium products in comparison.baberpervez - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link
Why in the world is Gigabyte focusing on the LG1366 market? With all new cpus being LG1155 or 2011, seems counterproductive to produce a unit for an older motherboard kind. Even with my I7 960 I don' tknow why anyone would want to upgrade to this product. With triple -SLI (570s) a fourth slot is useless since the cards are only 3 way capable, but definitely worth experiementing on for 480's/580s/680s.The price is what it is, very hefty...and only serious overclockers would want to purchase this.
If Nvidia made the 570 quad sli than I would consider getting this, but there's no chance of me replacing three cards to go into a higher configuration anytime soon.
This board would have done very well a few years ago...
Just not convinced LG1366 was a good idea.