Review: Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Motherboard

Posted by Dexter K.

Monday, 14 May 2012 01:11

Article Index
Review: Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H Motherboard
The Box, Accessories and Motherboard
Features and Specifications
A Closer Look
Test Rig and Procedures
Stock Clock Speed Performance
Overclocking, Overclocked Benchmarks
Verdict and Conclusion

Page 3 of 8

Features and Specifications

Lets take a look at the impressive list of features this board offers:

GIGABYTE Z77 Series Motherboards

GIGABYTE 7 series motherboards combine a host of new and exciting technologies with the latest Intel Z77 Express Chipset, creating a unique range of motherboard designs that harness the outstanding performance of the new 3rd generation Intel^® Core™ processors. With an exclusive 'Digital' VRM design, GIGABYTE 3D Power and GIGABYTE 3D BIOS (Dual UEFI), GIGABYTE 7 series motherboards ensure exceptional power delivery and absolute control, with additional features that ensure an unrivalled experience on your next PC build.

GIGABYTE All Digital Power Engine

GIGABYTE Z77 series motherboards take advantage of an exclusive All Digital PWM controller array, to deliver power to the board's 3rd generation Intel^® Core™ processor. Using entirely digital controllers means that more precise power delivery to the motherboard's most power hungry and energy sensitive components is possible. These components include the CPU, VTT, processor graphics and memory, without doubt the most important components on your motherboard. This All Digital Power system, with Precise Auto Voltage Compensation, provides you with exceptional control over the component power delivery on your GIGABYTE 7 series motherboard.

GIGABYTE 3D Power: Digital Voltage, Frequency and Phase Control

Utilizing an exclusive All Digital controller array, GIGABYTE's 3D Power features precise Auto Voltage Compensation to deliver a steady flow of power to the system, no matter the loading. With digital controllers for the CPU (Vcore), VTT, processor graphics and memory (DDR), users can make real-time adjustments with the exclusive GIGABYTE 3D Power Utility, that include settings such as OVP (Over Voltage Protection), Load-line Calibration and on-the-fly PWM frequency adjustment.

GIGABYTE 3D Power (patent pending) Utility

Users can enjoy a fully interactive 3D utility that facilitates adjustment of the 3 dimensions that control the power delivery to your CPU and Memory: Voltage, Phase and Frequency. These parameters are crucial to how the digital PWM supplies power to critical areas of the motherboard and can help users quickly obtain the highest, most stable overclock.

3D Power: Voltage Control
Voltage parameters can be modified within 3D Power, including load line calibration of the CPU. By adjusting load line calibration, Vdroop can be avoided, maintaining optimal voltages levels despite increasing current levels. OVP (over voltage protection) can also be adjusted to change default protection range of the CPU, IGP, VTT and system memory.

3D Power: Phase Control
Users can calibrate OCP (Over Current Protection) for the CPU, integrated memory controller and system memory power levels. This allows the Phase control to deliver even more power to the system when needed.

3D Power: Frequency Control
GIGABYTE's all digital PWM allows for adjustable frequency control via the International Rectifier PWM controller. 3D Power frequency control allows users to change the PWM controller frequency so that the CPU VRM can adjust power delivery speeds more quickly. Users can also adjust the PWM spectrum or maximum and minimum overall frequencies.

GIGABYTE 3D BIOS (patent pending)

The revolutionary GIGABYTE 3D BIOS application is based on GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOS™ technology and is available to consumers in two exclusive modes of interaction, providing enthusiast and mainstream users with a choice of unique and powerful graphical interfaces.

UEFI DualBIOS™ Technology
At the heart of this exciting 3D BIOS technology is a pair of physical BIOS ROMs containing GIGABYTE's exclusive in-house designed UEFI BIOS technology. With a superior graphical interface capable of 32-bit color imaging and fluid user-friendly mouse navigation, UEFI DualBIOS™ makes BIOS configuration a new and exciting experience for novice and experienced users alike. UEFI BIOS also brings native support for large hard drives on 64-bit operating systems.

3D Mode
Designed to provide an extremely streamlined and user-friendly BIOS environment, GIGABYTE's exclusive 3D mode offers a fully interactive and illustrative GUI that allows users to easily and intuitively make key adjustments to the UEFI BIOS settings for optimum performance. 3D Mode allows novice or casual users to more clearly understand the areas of the motherboard that are being affected through the BIOS settings, gaining a clearer understanding of the BIOS functionality.

Advanced Mode
Advanced mode provides a more comprehensive UEFI BIOS environment that is designed specifically for overclockers and power users who want maximum control over their PC's hardware. GIGABTYE's signature M.I.T. tuning technology can be found alongside fully configurable parameters for GIGABTE's all new digital 3D Power engine. In short, advanced mode combines the signature GIGABYTE BIOS expertise you've come to expect, wrapped a slick, new and optimized graphical UEFI interface.

Onboard OC Features

Onboard OC Features
GIGABYTE Z77 motherboards add special onboard features that assist DIY builders and overclockers in getting the absolute maximum control from their new 3rd generation Intel^® Core™ processors.

Onboard Power and Reset buttons are accompanied by a LED Debug Display that puts users in the driving seat when experimenting with different hardware configurations.

Overclockers will appreciate having Onboard Voltage Read Points, which have been added to allow for accurate real-time voltage reading when pushing your processor and memory to absolute extremes. OC-PEG provides two onboard SATA power connectors for more stable PCIe power when using 3-way and 4-way graphics configurations.

An exclusive Onboard BIOS Switcher is also included which allows users to easily switch between the motherboard's Dual UEFI BIOS ROMs. This makes it easier to switch between overclocking and regular BIOS settings and also to try a new BIOS revision without losing your original settings. An Onboard Clear CMOS buttons makes it easier than ever to reset your BIOS to its factory defaults.

P1014710

Onboard mSATA Support

GIGABYTE 7 series motherboards feature an onboard mSATA slot allowing users to easily take advantage of advanced SSD-based technologies like Intel^® Smart Response and Intel^® Rapid Start. Mounting an affordable, low capacity mSATA SSD directly onto your motherboard can enhance your PC's performance with better overall desktop responsiveness, faster boot times and faster system resume from 'Suspend to Disk' and 'Standby' modes.

3rd Generation Intel^® Core™ processors

New 3rd generation Intel^® Core™ processors are based on the new 3rd generation Intel^® Core™ processor architecture, manufactured using the latest 22nm process to create a visually optimized processor platform. Based on the mature LGA 1155 socket, 3rd generation Intel^® Core™ processors feature up to four high-performance 64-bit processor cores and 8MB of L3 cache Smart Cache, and overall performance when you need it most.

Intel^® Rapid Start Technology

Intel^® Rapid Start Technology™ gets your device up and running faster from even the deepest sleep. This means users will be able to experience almost zero power draw from their PC, but be able to resume Windows^® 7 is a few seconds without having the PC go through a full system boot. With Intel^® Rapid Start Technology the previous session resumes to the exact as it was, so that applications are still in the same state and no application data is lost.

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