Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 In The Box

When spending $400 on a motherboard, even one aimed at a specific niche such as extreme overclockers, box contents are a vital part of the package to woo the user. As mentioned previously in the review, the Z77X-UP7 feels like an upgraded G1.Sniper 3, so I would not be too surprised if we see similar contents in the box. My hope for these themed packages is that something part of the package holds up to that theme, such as the ASRock Z77 OC Formula that comes with standoffs and an OC Formula labeled carry bag.

In our Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 package, we get:

Driver CD
WiFi Card CD
Motherboard Manual
WiFi Card Manual
Rear IO Shield
Dual slot Rigid 4-way SLI Bridge
Dual slot Rigid 3-way SLI Bridge
Quad slot flexi SLI Bridge
Quad slot flexi CrossFireX Bridge
GC-WB300D Dual Band 2x2 WiFi PCIe x1 Card supporting 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0
Dual Antenna for GC-WB300D
Eight SATA Cables
USB 3.0 Front Panel
eSATA Rear Panel with Molex Connectivity
Voltage Point Connectors

I am struggling to think of a package with this much kit included. Admittedly users wanting 4-way GPU action will have to forgo the WiFi card (as well as have a tight squeeze on the connectors at the bottom of the board). Overclockers will not care much about most of the package – the multi-GPU connectors and voltage point connectors being the priority here, but no doubt the inclusion of stand-offs (like the OC Formula) would have been appreciated. The only thing really missing is that essence of exclusivity – nothing in the package is solely specific to the UP7. Sometimes in motherboard packages we get posters or something similar, but no so here.

Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 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 Z77X-UP7

Overclocking on Gigabyte boards is a distinct mix when it comes to automatic and manual options. All the automatic overclock options are in the OS using EasyTune6, offering three different levels of fixed overclock and an automatic tuning option. Most users will head to the BIOS for manual overclocking outside of ET6 or GBTL, which as mentioned in the BIOS section of this review is an odd mish-mash of options around the place rather than menus focusing in on all the options of one particular element of overclocking. GBTL is a great little tool for extreme overclockers to eek out the last few MHz while in the OS.

For automatic overclocks, all of our options worked fine, although the Level 3 settings were extremely loose causing high temperatures due to voltage. The automatic tuning option did not fare too well, resulting in a mid range overclock that failed a memory test.

Manual overclocking was straight forward enough, although at every CPU speed we seemed to be one notch on the voltage higher than other boards. Temperatures were content up to 4.9 GHz on our setup as well.

For memory, our system did XMP on a 2x4 GB G.Skill DDR3-2666 11-13-13 1.65 V kit wonderfully, but failed to boot our memory kit with a simple notch up on the memory strap (2800 11-13-13) which both the ASRock Z77 OC Formula and MSI Z77 MPower did without issues. For kits in this range, it is advised to head over to this thread at HWBot to ask Gigabyte’s in house overclocker regarding what sub-timings should be changed. In terms of BCLK, our board rose to 109.6 MHz.

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+).

Automatic Overclock:

For automatic overclocking we used QuickBoost in EasyTune 6:

QuickBoost offers three levels of overclock and an auto tuning option. Our results were:

All three ET6 options were stable in our overclock testing, although the 4.68 GHz setting reached 91C during OCCT on an open test bed. The Auto Tuning option did its usual thing of going raising BCLK/Multiplier with stress testing, and finished with a staggered overclock (46x/46x/45x/44x) based on load with a CPU load voltage of 1.200 volts. This passed our CPU stress test (81C max) but failed our memory test.

Manual Overclock:

For the manual overclock testing, our usual procedure is to test the stock values, then dive in at 4.4 GHz at 1.100 volts as set in the BIOS. Based on previous overclocking scenarios, the following options were chosen throughout:

Power Limit: 500W
Current Limit: 300A
CPU Load Line Calibration: Turbo

If the settings were stable as per our testing, the multiplier is raised. If the settings fail, the voltage is raised by 0.025 V in the BIOS and tested again. Here are our results:

Compared to most of our Z77 testing, the UP7 does a good job - we hit 4.9 GHz within temperature limits, and 4.8 GHz with ease.

Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 Software Test Setup, Power Consumption, POST Time
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  • IanCutress - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    This is an 1155 product, as shown by the fact that it uses the Z77 chipset and I use the i7-3770K to test it. The original OC board was 1366.
  • sherlockwing - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    What are you smoking, this board is called Z77X-UP7, it is a LGA1155 Z77 board. Where did you get LGA1366 from?
  • dawp - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    probably from the X58A-OC reference in the article.
  • Samus - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    Don't hate.
  • xdunpealx - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    580s? who no 660 or 660ti or even 670s?
  • sna2 - Friday, March 1, 2013 - link

    Hi ,

    we all know this PLX is not real .. the CPU itself supports fixed number of PCIe lanes ... the PLX switches between them thats all ..

    If you want to spend that amount of money on a motherboard , then just get an LGA 2011 CPU with C606 or X79 chipset ..

    what is the point of all this ? any one who wants 3 or 4 ways SLI , can pay for the LGA 2011 CPU , actually this motherboard is more expensive than the X79 ones.

    ANAND , we need you to test PLX VS no PLX performance !

    THANKS !
  • IanCutress - Sunday, March 3, 2013 - link

    Hi sna2,

    If you would direct your attention to:
    (a) the GPU results page where I showcase PLX vs. no PLX performance on a single GPU and
    (b) my initial discussion on the PLX chip (http://www.anandtech.com/show/6170) where we discuss what the advantages and disadvantages to how the PLX chip actually works.

    Yes overall the lanes are limited to 16 upstream and downstream to the GPU, but when dealing with multi-GPU configurations, most data transfer between GPUs (important for gaming and compute) via the PLX, not via the CPU, making the increased lane count between the GPUs more important than the upstream/downstream via the CPU.

    Without the PLX, manufacturers are limited to x8/x4/x4 GPU setups with Ivy Bridge CPUs, where compute platforms, some gaming setups, or even a mix with RAID cards and sound cards need the lane allocation to work the way the user wants.

    Ian
  • CNP-Keythai - Saturday, March 2, 2013 - link

    I think the board looks cool, price is good too. Would recommend it.
  • kmmatney - Saturday, March 2, 2013 - link

    I'm going to buy it just for use around Halloween.
  • Beenthere - Saturday, March 2, 2013 - link

    The "orange" in addition to making this mobo look like a Halloween joke... increase sales to the technically challenged. When you hear people talk about how they like the color of the hardware box, RAM, PSU, mobo, etc. it's because they have missed the plot all together.

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