Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 Intel LGA1155
 

Introduction

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There is little doubt in my mind that Gigabyte has been making a big splash in the industry as of late and another box, ready to surprise me yet again, showed up on my doorstep just when I thought they were done. I've covered many Gigabyte products recently, ranging from the entry-level B75M-D3H to the X79S-UP5 WiFi, a workstation-oriented storage behemoth carrying 14 SATA ports; both show that Gigabyte has really focused their design philosophies. Their changes seem to be making an impact on the market as well, with news showing that they've been eating into the market share of other OEMs.<br />
I have to be honest. This board landed on my doorstep many months ago. It sat on a shelf next to my desk, stoically waiting for its turn on my test bench. Not only that, the shipping box it came in held two boards, not one, and you will see the other board on these pages shortly. The Gigabyte team managed to secure a couple of HWBOT records by using yet another product I covered since the Z77-UP7 package arrived; you can find my other review here. So what about this one, the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7?<br />
If you take a look at any local retailer right now, you should find that Gigabyte's products, motherboards and VGAs alike, are all priced quite competitively and that each of their segments offers a little bit more than some other offerings by other OEMs. Gigabyte's success is, in a large way, simply due to this facet alone, but not everything they do is value-oriented. The Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 is Gigabyte's ultimate multi-GPU overclocking board. It is over-built in every way, and it includes a 32-phase CPU VRM design with a triple-phase memory VRM. A PLX PEX8747 PCIe 3.0 bridge chip also adds support for up to four discrete GPUs, and whether you prefer the Red or Green Team doesn't matter. It is ready for whatever beating you want to give it.

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Specifications

<table class="tputbl">
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Specifications</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tr>
<th scope="row">CPU SUPPORT:</th>
<td>2nd & 3rd Gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processor family for the LGA 1155 Socket</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">POWER DESIGN:</th>
<td>CPU Power: 32+3+2 Phases (CPU+iGPU+VTT) <br />
PCH Power: 1 Phase <br />
Memory Power: 3 Phases <br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">CHIPSET:</th>
<td>Intel Z77 Express </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">INTEGRATED GRAPHICS:</th>
<td>Dependant on installed CPU</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">MEMORY:</th>
<td>4 x DIMM, Max. 32 GB, DDR3 1066 to DDR3 2400+
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">BIOS:</th>
<td>Dual AMI EFI BIOS with 2x 64 Mb Flash ROM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">SLOTS:</th>
<td>5 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (x0/x16/x0/x0/x0 or x16/x0/x0/x16/x0 or x8/x0/x8/x8/x8) <br />
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">HDD CONNECTIVITY:</th>
<td>2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (Intel Z77) <br />
4 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s (Marvell) <br />
4 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s (Intel Z77) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">NETWORKING:</th>
<td>Intel GbE LAN <br />
Atheros GbE LAN </td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">PORTS:</th>
<td>4 x USB 2.0 ports (at front panel)<br />
10 x USB 3.0 ports (6 at back panel, 4 at front panel) <br />
2 x RJ45 LAN connectors <br />
1 x Audio port with 6 audio jacks<br />
1 x Optical Digital Audio port<br />
1 x PS/2 Keyboard.Mouse Port<br />
1 x HDMI port<br />
1 x DisplayPort<br />
1 x VGA Port<br />
1 x DVI Port<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">AUDIO:</th>
<td>Realtek ALC898 HD CODEC</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">FAN HEADERS:</th>
<td>7 (5x 4-pin PWM, 2x 3-pin)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">FORM FACTOR:</th>
<td>E-ATX Form Factor (305 mm x 264 mm)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">EXCLUSIVE FEATURES:</th>
<td>

• 3D Power
• Ultra Durable 5
• OC Touch
• @BIOS
• EasyTune
• Auto Green
• Smart Recovery 2
• Q-Share
• Q-Flash
• Xpress Install
• ON/OFF Charge
• 3TB+ Unlock
• 333 Onboard Acceleration

</td>
</tr>
</table>

Intel Z77 Express Chipset

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Intel's launch of their latest desktop platform in the first half of April 2012 began with board products. The Intel Z77 Express platform is an incremental upgrade from previous platforms. It adds additional features and provides a wider level of functionality with full support for the 3rd Generation Core i5/i7 family of CPUs commonly called Ivy Bridge in enthusiast circles.

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The Ivy Bridge CPUs are made using a new 28nm process technology that lowers power consumption and gives a bit more performance-per-clock over previous Intel 2nd Generation Core i5/i7 products. Also changed is the onboard GPU that's part of the Ivy Bridge silicon, now taking up more of that slice of silicon that sits under the integrated heatspreader.

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The integrated PCIe bus on the CPU has also been upgraded. It can, compared to the two devices and PCIe 2.0 connectivity that are found inside Sandy Bridge products, be split differently from SandyBridge CPUs, with IvyBridge natively supporting three devices over a single bus with 16 lanes of PCIe 3.0 connectivity. Taking advantage of that added PCIe functionality requires a motherboard design change from previous Sandybridge-supporting motherboards. Backward and forward component compatibility for both SandyBridge and IvyBridge platform products, including CPUs and chipsets, is still possible with updated firmware for older Socket 1155 board products, but using a new IvyBridge CPU with an older P67 Express or Z68 Express motherboard may limit PCIe functionality. PCIe functionality would, naturally, with SandyBridge only supporting two devices, be limited. The tertiary slot provided on some Z77 Express boards will not work with some products when a SandyBridge CPU is installed.

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Gigabyte definitely adds their own twist to the Intel Z77 Express platform. Most products take advantage of nearly every feature offered – most notably mSATA support. The Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 includes mSATA support as well as everything else you can imagine, and whether you want a robust platform for a high-end gaming build, or just want to clock the pants off your new Intel LGA 1155 CPU, the Z77X-UP7 is willing and able.

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Packaging

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There's no doubt that Gigabyte has high hopes for the Z77X-UP7 with a bold claim of "A New Legend Is Born" emblazoned across the front of the box. The box is big and flashy for sure. A big picture of the board itself, outlining several feature highlights, adorns the back of the box.

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There's a flap on the front of the box. It holds an in-depth explanation of the board's VRM design and what makes this board so special. The opposite side features a window that lets you peek inside the box.

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Inside the shell of the box is a black cardboard box that has the board itself nestled inside yet another box covered by a plastic lid. Underneath of the board are a multitude of accessories that the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 comes with, all of which take up more space than the board itself!

Contents

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As you can see, there is a lot here. There's a set of cables to turn two internal SATA ports into eSATA ports, but they also have the cabling to use those ports as normal eternal SATA ports. There's an SLI bridge for every configuration – two, three, or even four cards – as well as a long Crossfire bridge if your AMD cards came with a shorter one. A full listing is below:

• 1x I/O Shield
• 1x User Manual
• 1x Wi-Fi User Manual
• 1x Multilingual Installation Guidebook
• 1x Crossfire Bridge
• 3x SLI Bridges
• 1x eSATA Cable kit
• 1x Wi-Fi card plus antennae and cable
• 1x Measure Point cable kit
• 1x Gigabyte USB 3.0 2.5-bay device
• 6x SATA 6 Gb/s cables with locking pins
• 2x Driver CDs

The Board - Layout

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I almost covered this board last month, as its orange/black color scheme would have made sense. Those clothes don't just look good though, as they serve a purpose, although their main thing is to be visually stunning. A lot of people commented on the old and favorite DFI – their tweaker-centric products were popular quite a few years ago – and how this board struck a lot of similar lines; I almost think it was intentional on Gigabyte's part. The back of the board is all black; the heatsink screws are also anodized black.

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The front of the socket, although wrapped by heatsinks and DIMM slots, has a fair bit of room, so much so that insulation for extreme cooling shouldn't be that difficult. The rear of the socket has backplates for those heatsinks on the front, but clearance for aftermarket CPU cooler backplates shouldn't be a problem.

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There are seven expansion slots on the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7, five of which are PCIe 3.0 slots, while the remaining two are PCIe 2.0 x1 slots. Those five PCIe 3.0 x16 slots can't be used at the same time. The four orange slots are grouped together, and the single black slot is intended to be used by those who only install a single VGA. The 16 lanes from the CPU are directly connected to the black slot, and the lanes are shifted to the PLX PEX8747 PCIe 3.0 bridge, which then manages the four orange slots, if a device is plugged into the orange slots. The first and third slot provide a PCIe 3.0 x16 link if used alone by dual VGAs, but one of those slots will switch down to dual 3.0 x8 links for additional support once a third or fourth card is installed.

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Memory support on the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 is pretty standard fair for Intel Z77 Epxress products. Four slots each support DIMMs of up to 8 GB in density for a total of 32 GB. There are a total of seven fan headers to help keep all that stuff you might install cool; five are 4-pin PWM headers and two are 3-pin headers.

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The case connector support on the bottom edge is actually quite basic. It includes front-panel audio, serial-port headers, and dual USB 2.0 headers on the left; the front panel pin block and USB 3.0 are found on the right. There's an additional USB 3.0 header by the 24-pin power plug.

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The rear panel is something I've been waiting to see for some time – a panel completely devoid of USB 2.0. Instead, six USB 3.0 ports are here, as well as dual LAN ports and a 6-port audio stack. Leftover room is taken up by video outputs, as one HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort and VGA are here. A PS/2 Keyboard/mouse combo port rounds things out. The Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 supports no less than ten SATA devices with six ports that are SATA 6 Gb/s, while the remaining four ports are SATA 3 Gb/s.

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There's an mSATA port right by the PCH cooler, and I also found a warning nearby stating that using it would disable the SATA 3 Gb/s ports. You can see a picture of that warning label above. That, in case you didn't catch it, means their mSATA port only supports SATA 3Gb/s bandwidth, not 6 Gb/s bandwith, by replacing one of those ports.

The Board - A Closer Look

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Taking a closer look at how the board works, I immediately noticed a few things that are different from other boards, even other Gigabyte boards. The normal DualBIOS function is there, but in the most user-adjustable way ever. If you look closely at the first image above, you'll see the dual BIOS chips and that each one has a clearly labeled LED near-by. The second image above shows the switches located at the board's bottom edge. It lets you chose which one is in play, and not only can you choose which BIOS is the primary one, you can also disable the secondary BIOS through the other switch. The "M/B" switch allows you to pick the main and backup BIOS, while the "SB" switch enables the "Single BIOS" mode.

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The main reason for DualBIOS technology is, of course, that BIOSes can fail. There is a dual-digit LED display, also located on the board's bottom edge, right near the BIOS switches, to give an indication of why a boot failed. Since the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 just isn't a normal board, and although even normal users can find uses for the DualBIOS tech, there's far more – located at the top-right of the board – to booting up the board with the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7. There, we find seven buttons, two of which are pretty straight forward: ON/OFF and CMOS_Clear. The other five are for clock adjustments while the board is running; a mode that can be adjusted in granularity by pressing the button labeled "Gear". Pressing that "Gear" button switches between 1.0 and 0.1 MHz of granularity. The pair of "+" and "-" buttons next to the "Gear button" is for BLCK adjustments, while the set above that is to adjust multipliers. There's also a switch to enable an "LN2 mode" near-by, as well as several voltage read points that have pads you can touch with multi-meter's leads. The board also comes with a set of wires you can stick into the provided plugs, which would allow you to stick your meter in to free your hands up for other things.

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There are two 8-pin EPS plugs to ensure that you can provide any amount of power needed by your SKT 1155 CPU for an overclock. The PCIe ports get a similar boost via a SATA-type plug located on the board's right edge – a great spot to make cable management easy.

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The CPU VRM is controlled by an International Rectifier IR3563A part found between the DIMM slots and the upper VRM cooler. It mates with several IR3550M PowIRstages shown in the second image above. Those IR3550M parts in that picture are actually part of the DIMM VRM, a triple-phase implementation fully shown in the third image above. It has its own independent IR3570A controller, which you see there as well.

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There are two separate LAN controllers on the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7. One is from Intel and one is from Atheros. I've seen both many times before, and the option of either should keep any user happy.

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Additional USB 3.0 ports on the board's bottom edge are provided by an Etrontech EJ168A controller, while the extra ports on the back panel are provided by a VLI controller. The VLI VL800-Q8 controller is capable of pushing four ports, which means that the other two ports on the rear panel are driven by the Intel Z77 Express PCH.

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The additional SATA ports, clearly denoted by grey ports, instead of the black and white ports used for the Intel-based ports, are provided by matching Marvell 88SE9172-NNX2 controllers. Each of these is placed as close to the ports themselves as possible, as you can see in the images above.

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Audio and video output duties on the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 are provided by ASMedia ASM1442 parts for the video and a Realtek ALC898 CODEC for audio duties. I noticed that the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 uses a 10-layer PCB, which will hopefully help audio quality a fair bit!

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The add-on WLAN card provided with the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 is the same as the one I covered recently with other Gigabyte board products – a Bluetooth and WLAN controller fit into an mPCIe port that sit in the middle of a PCIe x1 add-in card. There's a separate antenna for each interface, as well as a USB cable to connect the Bluetooth portion to the board itself via an internal USB 2.0 header.

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The cooling is pretty awesome, and it does, in my opinion, really harken back to old DFI products that were fitted with ThermalRight-designs; cooling that obviously stuck in many people's minds given the comments when the board was first presented. There are four separate elements: one on the PCH, one in the middle of the board over the PLX PEX8747, and two more pieces over the board's CPU VRM. Each is fitted with anodized black and orange parts and is equipped with a ton of fins to maximize the surface area and, thereby, its cooling ability. All four elements are joined via 6mm heatpipes, and looking at the middle portion that sits over the PLX PEX8747, you can clearly see how the cooler has been assembled using many pieces; like in a clever jigsaw puzzle.

So wow, that's a lot, isn't it? As much as I wanted to simplify things here, there was no way to avoid being a bit long-winded, but such a complexity also makes the board prone to many different possibilities of failure. Has Gigabyte pulled it all off? Let's take a look!

BIOS Walkthrough

<table class="tputbl">
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="3">BIOS Options</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Clocks</th>
<th scope="col">Range</th>
<th scope="col">Step Size</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">CPU BCLK:</th>
<td>80 MHz ... 133.33 MHz</td>
<td>0.01 MHz</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Memory Dividers:</th>
<td colspan="2"> x8 (800 MHz), x10.67 (1067 MHz), x13.33 (1333 MHz), <br />
x14 (1400 MHz), x16 (1600 MHz ), x18 (1800 MHz), <br />
x18.66 (1866 MHz), x20 (2000 MHz ), x21.33 (2133 MHz), <br />
x22 (2200 MHz), x24 (2400 MHz), x26 (2600 MHz), <br />
x26.66 (2666 MHz), x28 (2800 MHz), x29.33 (2933 MHz), <br />
x30 (3000 MHz), x32 (3200 MHz) </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="col">Voltages</th>
<th scope="col">Range</th>
<th scope="col">Step Size</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">CPU Vcore:</th>
<td>0.800 V... 1.850 V</td>
<td>0.005 V</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">DRAM Voltage:</th>
<td>1.100 V... 2.100 V</td>
<td>0.005 V</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">CPU VTT Voltage:</th>
<td>0.800 V... 1.700 V</td>
<td>0.005 V</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">CPU IMC Voltage:</th>
<td>0.715 V... 1.400 V</td>
<td>0.005 V</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">CPU PLL:</th>
<td>1.200 V... 2.200 V</td>
<td>0.005 V</td>
</tr>
</table>

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Like previous boards before it, the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 WiFi gets Gigabyte's new UEFI BIOS, which I've covered several times. The layout here is the same with all the basic options, and even the 3D preview has ben carried over from another board, and, no, it doesn't match the Z77X-UP7.

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Going from tab to tab, I actually couldn't find much about the BIOS itself that I have not said before, other than that its sub-menus are slightly better optimized.

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I have to commend Gigabyte for doing a good job of pushing all the necessary options to the forefront. I had no issues at all with this BIOS. In fact, most uEFI BIOSes are pretty good in that regard.

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Voltages, clocks, and memory settings all get their own sections, which make finding the option you need for clocking straight forward. There are a ton of options here, including individual settings for different VRM sections.

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Even its monitoring and fan options are diverse, although the fan settings are grouped into one section for the CPU fan header and another two sections for the other fan headers.

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Some BIOS versions have overclocking specific options like the "legacy Benchmark Enhancement" option shown in the first image above. I was very glad to find these options since pushing the limits of what is possible is what this board is about.

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All the onboard stuff for external devices is part of the same layout, making navigation pretty straight forward. I really like Gigabyte's uEFI in its current state.

I will mention, since this is a board all about tweaking when it comes to the BIOS, that not all BIOSes are ready to rock with every component, more specifically memory. As it stands at the time of writing, you need certain versions of the BIOS on your board for certain DIMMs, and trying to figure out which BIOS to run with high-end sticks is a complicated mess, but I was, although I had some issues, able to find one that suits my needs. This compatibility issue is the one area that I feel could use some improvement, but I know that Gigabyte is hard at work – right now – in an attempt to make things better.

Board Software

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I found the usual suspects on the driver disk with, of course, the @BIOS software for BIOS updates, one that I have used a bit too much. It does work well, but there is no reason for such a software tool anymore since the BIOS is capable of updating itself. It does make downloading those updates really simple though by automatically detecting the board, the BIOS version, and a few other things.

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EasyTune makes another showing, although I noticed that this one applies a bit of a BCLK OC on my 3770K chip by pushing it a bit higher than some other boards with automated clocking. There's also "AutoGreen", a utility for managing Windows Power settings quickly and easily with just a few clicks.

Test System

<table class="tputbl">
<thead>
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Test System</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tr>
<th scope="row">CPU:</th>
<td>Intel 3770K <br />
3.5 GHz, 8 MB Cache</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Memory:</th>
<td>16 GB DDR3 (4x 4 GB) Corsair Dominator Platinum CMD16GX3M4A2666C10<br />
16 GB DDR3 (4x 4 GB) G.SKill TridentX F3-2666C11Q-16GTXD</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Cooling:</th>
<td>CoolerMaster TPC 812</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Motherboard:</th>
<td>Gigabyte Z77X-UP7<br />
Intel Z77 Express, BIOS ver. F5f</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Video Card:</th>
<td>2x Gigabyte WindForce Radeon HD 7950 3 GB</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Harddisk:</th>
<td>Corsair ForceGT 60 GB SATA 6 Gb/s SSD(DATA)<br />
Corsair F60 60 GB SATA 3 Gb/s SSD(OS)<br />
Velocity SuperSpeed USB3.0 External Dock w/Corsair ForceGT</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Power Supply:</th>
<td>Silverstone Strider GOLD 750W</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<th scope="row">Case:</th>
<td>Antec P280<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Software:</th>
<td>Windows 7 64-bit SP1, ATI Catalyst 12.10</td>
</tr>
</table>

Initial Setup

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The initial install was pretty easy. I simply stuck my Corsair memory in, and it booted right up. I noticed a rather relaxed Turbo profile, which I expect to affect stock results a little bit, but this board wasn't meant to run stock, so I'd be happy as a clam if it did well on the overclocking test, even if it places dead last with stock speeds.

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Board expansion spacing is pretty good. With two VGAs installed, there's a free PCIe x1 slot for you to fit the WLAN card in between the VGAs while still leaving a full slot of space between the WLAN card and the VGA above it. DIMMs aren't too close to the socket, but some taller DIMMs may interfere with the fan if you are planning on using a tower cooler like the CoolerMaster TPC-812 I have installed in the pictures above. I like to use the Corsair AirFlow Pro Parametric display with my Dominator Platinum sticks, so I always install the fan on the "wrong" side, and there is a huge amount of clearance around the fan with nearly a half of an inch between the fan's edge and the VRM cooler.

Power Consumption

We measure CPU power consumption since one of our first tasks is to truly verify system stability. I isolate the power coming through the 8-pin ATX connector using an in-line meter that provides voltage and current readings as well as total wattage passed through it. While this may not prove to isolate the CPU power draw in all instances, it does serve as a good indicator of board efficiency and effective VRM design. I also measure total system power consumption, which allows you to get an idea of how much power the board and all installed devices draw.

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Stock power consumption is pretty darn good. You need to keep in mind that there's the addition of the PLX PEX 8747 to add to power consumed, yet the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 posted results that are better than most, and in every category. Its fancy VRM design seems to pay off in spades.

CPU Performance Results

We spent a week with the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 before beginning our performance testing, running various configurations and CPUs and checking hardware compatibility. We verified our power consumption numbers using various different power supplies and played a few hours of games with some members of the TPU community to get an overall feel for the board and to verify stability. Once completed, we tore down the system, mounted our CoolerMaster cooler, and put the board through the paces. I will, as with other recent reviews of mine, let the numbers do the talking.

SuperPi

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WinRAR & wPrime

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AIDA64

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CineBench & HandBrake Encoding

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3D Performance Results

Once we completed our CPU test suite, we took some time to play some games with the TPU community to get an overall feel for gaming on the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7. We settled in to complete our 3D benchmarking after a couple of days, feeling confident that the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 was going to put on a good show. Let's take a look at the numbers the board provided.

3DMark11 and PCMark 07

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Shogun 2

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F1 2010

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Drive and Audio Performance Results

Our drive and audio testing differs a bit from the rest of our testing for several reasons. First of all, when it comes to drive performance comparisons, nearly every platform on the market is very close to one another, as most do provide external drive-controllers which make the numbers offered very platform agnostic. And finally, with audio, we do not list any numbers except for those reported by the product we are testing in order to provide the most information possible, as each audio CODEC will behave quite differently, and each board does not employ the same CODEC. As such, there is no standard we can use other than the numbers themselves. You can always check our other motherboard reviews in order to make direct comparisons in audio performance.

We tested each drive interface separately in order to provide the most complete numbers possible. Employing HDTune Pro for all of the testing, we tested each drive outside of the OS environment using a separate OS on a separate drive. However, we do use drives with a fair amount of data on the Corsair ForceGT (60% full) to simulate performance in real-world situations, and I also use the same drive to test all interfaces.

HDTune Pro (SATA2)

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HDTune Pro (SATA 6Gb/s)

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HDTune Pro (USB3.0)

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SATA 3 Gb/s performance was quite low, enough so that I thought the drive might be affecting things a bit. However, I test SATA 3 Gb/s, then SATA 6 Gb/s, and lastly USB 3.0, every time, just as part of my routine. SATA 6 Gb/s results allayed any fears I may have had, with the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 posting the best drive results ever on the Intel Z77 Express PCH and that by a good margin. USB 3.0 performance is quite average, but clearly not problematic. SATA 3 Gb/s is just a bit low and that's that. There is really not much to worry about with only a few MB/s between the top and the bottom spot; however, it isn't the best it could be, although I'll take the better SATA 6 Gb/s performance.

RightMark Audio Analyzer

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RightMark Audio Analyzer testing results are superb. Noise is rated as "Poor", which it has been for nearly every board I've tested, but the rest of the results – nearly everything else – is rated as "Very Good", and rightly so. I thought the PCB might help out with this CODEC and, yes, it does; it really lets the CODEC shine.

Overclocking

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Overclocking with the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 can be difficult. It's not for the timid and I could not get true stability with some DIMMs that work fine on other boards, even though playing with memory is my most favorite thing ever. At the same time, the board reacted very well once I used the right DIMMs and actually did better than I had expected. Admittedly, I do clock with four DIMMs installed, and running just two should be easier, but I was not able to replicate memory overclocking in the same way as with other products.

I have spoken to Gigabyte about specific problems I ran into, and I was provided with a specialized BETA BIOS that is now available for download via Gigabyte's website. Although this let me run one set of my DIMMs without issue, I still feel that some improvements are needed. Fortunately, looking at what BETA BIOSes are available right this instant for the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7, I see several other revisions have taken place already, so there is no doubt that Gigabyte is actively working to get that issue resolved. Otherwise, things were great.

Even though memory overclocking was difficult, I have to say that it is clear why. The following results you are going to see were obtained with a different set of sticks than previously tested boards and, even though these sticks are fundamentally slower, the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7's performance still managed to hang out with the other boards, albeit somewhat hobbled. That, to me, is a good thing, as when it comes time to clocking, and perhaps squeezing a few more points out of a benchmark, per-clock efficiency nearly always plays a major role in how good of a result is achieved. And boy, is this board efficient. Just take a look at the results to see for yourself.

Overclocked Performance Summary

I have really changed how I do my overclock testing with motherboards. Every single test you see in the main section is repeated in the section that follows, including power consumption. As I test more products, a good picture of overclocking efficiency should emerge, which should prove interesting when it comes to those products that are 100% overclocking-oriented. I have grouped the results into sections here, and all Intel products are tested with 4.6 GHz CPU speed. Memory speeds vary depending on the platform's ability.

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Power usage when overclocked was a bit higher than other products, but only marginally so. It is only a few watts behind the others even though this board features so much functionality, never mind the PLX PEX 8747 chip that is known to "run hot".

AIDA64

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CPU OC Performance

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3D-Oriented OC Performance

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Value & Conclusion

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• The Gigabyte Z77X-UP7 is available for $399.99.

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• High "Per Clock" efficiency when overclocked.
• Huge VRM capability, yet still sips the power.
• Excellent audio rendering
• Decent onboard cooling that still provides excellent clearance for add-on parts, even with four VGAs installed.
• Great pricing considering all the features, including the addition of Quad SLI and Quad Crossfire to the Intel Z77X platform.
• Fully functional AMI UEFI BIOS including mouse support and support for 3 TB+ drives.

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• Memory overclock ability is not as good as expected, and requires some tweaking. BIOS revisions will fix this.
• Color scheme does lead to limited choices in other matching parts.
• Not enough cables in the box for all internal SATA ports.

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<th>9.7</th>
<td>I think you already know what I'm going to say if you read the rest of the review. There's not much here I don't like, other than the BIOS issue any new product is going to face. Ultimately, right now, this board is giving me better overall 3D performance than any other Z77 Express board, even if those issues prevent me from running maxed out memory speeds. Overclocked efficiency is great, power consumption is great, expansion possibilities are great too – this board is clearly, well, great! The memory issue is, to me, pretty minor since Gigabyte is already working on it. Memory overclocking should be hard, and since there is, by design, little left to tweak on current Intel platforms, I really don't mind this particular drawback all that much.<br />
Having the add-in WLAN card for users that might need it is nice, especially since you can use it with other boards if you don't use it with the Gigabyte Z77X-UP7. There's a USB 3.0 panel, so you can make use of both internal USB 3.0 ports, the cables for all measure points, and the eSATA cabling. There are a ton of goodies in the box, but this is one item I take personally. Four more cables would come at a minor cost, even if they won't get used in most instances. A high-end board built to "do it all" should do it all without having to spend even more on accessories. I'd rather have two less USB 3.0 ports, and thereby no need for the 2.5-bay bracket, if it nets me those four cables, even if the board still cost the same.<br />
On the subject of USB – USB 2.0 ports are at a minimum here, and if you use the WLAN card with the provided internal cable, you'll only really have access to two USB 2.0 ports, and that's only if your case has a couple of USB 2.0 ports built in, or you already own one that can be slid into an expansion slot. Again, another possible issue due to the lack of accessories. Both issues could have been resolved at the same time, and believe me, that would have made the installation of Windows7 from a USB stick far easier than it was since I had to go to the store to buy a bracket. That said, Windows8 is out now and doesn't have that issue, so this board is, in line with a forward-thinking mentality, ready for the present and the future.<br />
Overlooking what could be an issue for some users in some instances, since they really are easily overcome, this board really does deliver on all accounts. Adding four VGAs to the Intel Z77 Express platform wasn't really meant to be, but Gigabyte proves that it can be done and done well, given the performance scores. It was mated with lower-performance memory, but still managed to do very well by outright beating other boards that had that memory performance advantage. If you'd ask me which board I would want for my personal rig right now, I'd have to say this is it. Now to find a couple of GTX690's...</td></tr>
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Thx for the review fwend :)

IMO 399$ won't justify this board. A 300 price-point is what i expected. All in all, nice piece of FAPable hardware.

Gigabyte does seem to be gobbling up market share! That's an expensive board... I'd still choose the UD5H at half the price... unless I had 3 or 4 GPUs to run together of course.

Interesting about the USB 3.0 ports

UD3H has USB 3.0 only
UD5H has USB 3.0 and USB 2.0
OP7 has USB 3.0 only

Do want! :D

I did think about that. With all the add-ins in the box, plus the added features other boards neglect, like mSATA, and the eSATA and USB 3.0 panels, plus the PLX PEX8747, $400 seems pretty accurate.

It is also a 10-layer PCB, one the the thickest I've had my hands on yet for Z77.


It's also the most expensive VRM design on the market today. Those IR PowIRstages don't come cheap, and there is no less than 40 of them on this board.

If you wanna run two GPUs, even, this board will be faster, since the PLX PEX8747 does seem to improve multi-GPU rendering in all instances. AT least, that's what the scores show. I have been testing boards with dual VGAs just beucase of the PLX PEX8747, actually. Boards without it are slower unless running a single GPU, and that's that.


Other PLX PEX8747-carrying boards don't all have the dedicated single-GPU slot, either, that negates the latency that the PEX8747 introduces with a single VGA.

Add in one of the best audio testing results ever, $400 seems very very fair.

Gigabyte has a MultiCore Enhancement that really seems to give a nice boost....

I thought you would give it a 10 for this board. The price certainly didn't help. haha

With MCE, the UD5H for example gets fairly close to ASUS Rampage boards using a i7-3960X with the 3770K.

Z77 + Hyperthreading = FTW

It's called "Legacy Benchmark Enhancement", and is not present in all BIOSes, but yes, it's here. I did mention this in the BIOS overview, too.

Dave, this board easily gets 5Ghz with a 3770K(temps high). Did you test it on air or water. I do agree with the PLX chip does not improve GPU performance in all instances as when i ran it against the MPower.

your point? if I had different clocks in every review, clock efficiency compares would not be possible.

If you wanna donate chips for me to burn up testing max clocks, I'll do it, but I'll need a chip for every board. The cost of such makes it not feasible, unfortunately. I'd love access to trays of chips...:p

The MPower did not match the Z77X-up7 at all, in my testing. The Z77X-UP7, using slower memory, was faster per clock, so there's no way the MPower competes.

I've yet to have a board that actual;ly makes a difference for CPU clocking...voltages might change, but for normal users, choosing one board over the other for overclocking the CPU isn't going to matter much.

When it comes to memory, or running sub-zero, then sure, board choice can matter.

Currently, boards are separated by the features offered, the BIOS, and slot layout.

The voltage was not high and I did not jam the temps at 5.1GHz. 4.6Ghz is meh IMO.

I do not have your chip, and not all chips behave the same = what you got isn't relevant, really. I don't mean to be curt about this, but I very purposely use "safe" voltage limits when overclocking to prevent degradation that may affect results with other products. IF I hurt the chip with this board, then the results with the next board are useless, IMHO, if I use a different CPU.

4.6 GHz is the max "Auto" clocks all boards offer for 3770K. To me, there is a reason OEMs came up with this number, so that clock actually has some basis in extensive testing done by the OEMs. Even MSI uses this exact clock for their "burn-in" testing on the MPower.


You will see though, if you look at all my reviews, even @ 4.6 GHz, different boards needed different volts to be stable. The clock is more than adequate to show those differences.

Point taken. The board does have more horsepower though for those pushing the limits. Just saying.....

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Oh, of course, that's a given. By no means am I maximizing clocks...to me, that takes LN2, and I don't do LN2 reviews currently.:p I'm more interested in relating usable results for all users. Not all 3770K's can do 4.6 GHz with reasonable voltage and temperatures, unfortunately. I had one stuck to 4.3 Ghz recently.

Really, what you are showing isn't the board's potential.. that's the CPUs potential. If a board affects CPU clocks, then it's because of ram settings, not the CPU-side of things.

What you've shown is more CPU potential than board potential. I have been told recently, that on HWBOT, binning for LN2 currently(and remaining competitive) requires a CPU boot into windows @ 5.0 GHz, with 1.25 V, on air, so even what you have shown is rather mediocre.

Than I don't have a binned chip and it does show the boards potential. Your statement is an oxymoron then.

NO, it's not, because as I've said, board plays little in CPU clocking. Even the $89 Biostar TZ77XE4 is just as capable in that regard.


Do keep in mind, that at this point, I've tested well over 20 Z77 Express boards. CPU clocking is only an issue if voltages and loadline settings are not possible in BIOS, bar none, in all boards I have tested.

Do keep in mind too, that I test with more than one chip. I only include results with on echip for review, but I do test with both 3770K and 3570K, since the stuff about memory clocking most people relate has not proven to be true in my testing. Yes, each chip has a different max memory multi it can boot, but voltages paly little role in that for me. I must be one of few users running 2666 Mhz ram, 4x4 GB, on 3570k and 3770k, with 0.95V VCCSA, and 1.05V VTT..in other words.. stock IMC voltages. My approach is different, clearly.

Another nice review Dave:toast:

Great review dave! Its a sexy sexy board!

RE: The overclocking... boards mean sooooooo little these days... I had the Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 to 5GHz and its a $110 board. The difference in some boards however is how much ACTUAL voltage (MM not software) is needed for a given clockspeed. THAT tidbit is interesting to me at least as it shows the efficiency of the power delivery bits vs other boards.

Sorry if I missed this but...

What was the max bclk?
What was the highest mem multi that would boot?
Do you use the auto voltage for 4.6GHz that you clock to?

EDIT: Holy cow.. $399? How is that a deal? Id much rather have the MVE for $30 less at this time (more features, no ram issues to name a couple of things).

I notice in the conclusion you mention the addition of quad SLI/Crossfire..Cant a MVE do quad SLI/Crossfire too? Also, power consumption is "great" in the conclusion but was the highest out of all the Z77 boards you tested...Did I misread something?

I have the MVE here. I'll refrain from commenting about that compare until the review is live.

Power consumption, it should be higher, since none of the other boards use PLX PEX8747, yet it remains within a few Watts of the others that do NOT have this extra power draw source.

At stock, power draw was NOT higher than all others, which should be a good indicator of why I posted what I did. ;)

I don't do BCLK testing, due to time limitations. I have like near 40 other points of compare via graphs of results in my reviews. How many tests do you put in your reviews? ;) 16-20? All you use really is AIDA and SuperPi...:p

Fair enough on the features comparison (but uhh, board has been out for a bit now, there are no secrets, LOL!... but it does do Quad GPU's IIRC.

Oh, I didnt see any stock power results posted...

Those are on the installation page, always.

And yes, both do quad GPUs. That's not what I was looking at, however, more about actual slot bandwidth at each slot ,and how different users will use those slots based on number of GPUs.

And I know the board is out, but my opinion is not.

I see now.. thanks!

I was confused by what was actually written, thanks for your clearing up what was meant by that. :toast:

As always, great review...:toast:

EDIT: Hey, whats with the dig on what we test? Handbrake is important... sorry we miss that. :p
Being serious we test 16 different things, 7 items x2 (stock + overclocked) then max clocks in SPi 1M/32M. We dont count AIDA bandwidth testing as 4 items though! LOL! Our demo is a bit different than here too remember. We would test 3D stuff, but for the most part, results are within the margin of error so I personally stay away from that stuff. :)

That is kind of where I am going. it is nice to know top overclockcks and voltages required. Whats the sense of overclocking if you just throw 4.6Ghz at each board. makes the overclocking part of the review... rather worthless since you are using the same chip. After all, this is a tech and overclock forum?:toast:

In my past experiences, this is what manufacturers love to show in overclocking section even if it is a $110 board. That manufacturers loves that shizza and if the Gigabyte board clocks on less voltage, they love that shizza. If I am reading the review, it is senseless to buy the Gigabyte board if the MSI Z77-GD45 overclocks as well. So showing why with actual chip perameters is the only way to show which is better in BOTH respects. The viewers that are extremists love to see those details.

I would agree with you in that it would be nice to see how far he could push a board/cpu; however unless someone wants to start donating cpu's for him to use I don't see it happening:)

Ive been on the same CPU for my few Z77 mobo reviews. One even hit 5.150v benchable (Spi 1M, but still!). Just have to use your head, and he has a good one so it shouldnt be an issue...I also think he is under water too?

But like I said, the demo here is a bit different (tech forum, not full of benchers pushing the limit but a daily driver overclock group - we are like that as well, but a large part of our active segment are from our benchmarking team, which I dont think TPU has, so I understand not pushing it at all)