Gigabyte P67A-UD7 Review
Test Setup and Overclocking
Published: 14th January 2011 | Source: Gigabyte | Price: £276 |
Test Setup
Intel Core i5-2500K
Gigabyte P67A-UD7
Muskin Joule 1200w
4GB Kingston Genesis 2133MHz
Noctua NH-D14
nVidia GTX570
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Firstly we need to mention that with the i5-2500K being such an outstanding choice of processor we will be using it for all our LGA1155 reviews. Although the i7-2600K has hyper-threading the 2500K is such a bargain and will be so popular we wanted to use what you're all likely to use.
Secondly as you may have noticed we've adjusted the way we do our graphs. With the new chipset comes a chance to give a larger selection of results. For the moment we're comparing the Gigabyte UD7 against the reference Intel motherboard housing both the i5-2500K and i7-2600K.
The final chance is that rather than stick to a certain speed of overclock to make sure that all the motherboards have a chance to demonstrate their underlying performance we will be using whatever the best stable overclock we can attain is.
Overclocking
Overclocking on the UD7 is, in keeping with the new range of Intel hardware, simplicity itself.
With the previous boards it looked like the only possible way to overclock was to change the turbo multiplier and gain the benefits of your overclock when the processor is under heavy loading.
However Gigabyte have shown this is not the case, as we can overclock the i5-2500K in the same manner we are used to with the processor being constantly running at its new higher speed. You just go to the CPU Configuration part of the BIOS and litterally disable everything, just make sure you leave the active cores section alone! Once you have done this the bios wont have Turbo enabled and allow you to crank the CPU Multiplier way past the maximum that you will find on many other boards to levels normally only available to turbo clocks.
This is an example taken from a Gigabyte press pack that is doing the rounds.
You can still use the Turbo overclocking method if you wish of course, and take the energy savings that it brings. But for our purposes in which a seemingly endlessly moving CPU speed is more of a hindrance than a benefit, we're delighted to be able to have a more stable platform from which to tweak.
Reaching 4.6GHz is now so easy that anyone who can change their boot order in the BIOS can do it. Simply up your multiplier, put the CPU volts to around 1.3 (CPU dependant as ever this will not work for everyone), and enable Load Line Line Calibration to assist with the vdroop when under load.
Going beyond that does require a little tweaking, but nothing like the levels we've seen on previous chipsets. Whereas the Maximus IV topped out at 4.6GHz the Gigabyte UD7 BIOS is slightly more mature and quite happily strolls along at 4.9GHz without getting above 70°C on our Noctua cooler.
Pretty amazing I think you'll agree.
wPrime
So what are the benefits of such a high clock speed? wPrime takes advantage of everything you can throw at it and therefore the 2500K is naturally beaten by the hyper-threading enabled i7s. However the UD7 shows its class by being a long way ahead of the reference Intel board.
Most Recent Comments
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Originally Posted by Zeals
1.044v to get 4.9GHz???? HOLY S****!!!! |
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Originally Posted by Zeals
1.044v to get 4.9GHz???? HOLY S****!!!! |
EDIT: But the pictures are so pretty
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Originally Posted by Zeals
On another note, Tom do you think you would be able to go over 5GHz on this board when the bios are fully matured? EDIT: But the pictures are so pretty |
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Originally Posted by tinytomlogan
You can now, if you bother to read the review or watch the video youll know why mate. |
I am planning to buy this board but due to the height of the NF200 heatsink, I know
that my X-Fi Titanium HD Soundcard will not fit.
Can I use the other PCIx16 or PCIx8 slots for my soundcard? Will it still be compatible?
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Originally Posted by jsy982002
hi tom. Uhmm can you help me with one quesiton. I am planning to buy this board but due to the height of the NF200 heatsink, I know that my X-Fi Titanium HD Soundcard will not fit. Can I use the other PCIx16 or PCIx8 slots for my soundcard? Will it still be compatible? |
The improved boot times over standard BIOS seems to make it a must have on such a high end board.
It seems they can fit one on the bios chips are they are 4mb, or is it totally out there beliving they will add it later on.
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Originally Posted by khorngor
Tom, do you know if Gigabyte will add UEFI to the board later? The improved boot times over standard BIOS seems to make it a must have on such a high end board. It seems they can fit one on the bios chips are they are 4mb, or is it totally out there beliving they will add it later on. |
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Originally Posted by tinytomlogan
The Asus didnt boot any quicker but I have heard they will update it as a downloadable upgrade down the line |
Sounds awesome, was having second thoughts since i really wanted UEFI, but ill go ahead and buy it and hope they do that down the line.
Judging from your review i wont regret my decision
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Originally Posted by Zeals
Your soundcard will fit and work in any PCIe slot. |
Was just scared for a moment as i tried it on my Asus Rampage III extreme but failed to work. After goind around a bit, realized that the drivers were messed up due to my previous sound card.
I will probably have this board for 3-4 years. I hate making the wrong h/w purchase - it kinda drives me nuts...
Today's review just puts it in black and white. It all takes time. It's hard work. Appreciated.
I still think it's an expensive board and if I were buying 1366/X58 I'd probably go Sabretooth. (The 1155 Sabretooth looks like a dust trap ugh.) And if I already had an 1366/X58 system I'd undoubtedly stick and wait for 2011. But that's not where I am, so this is the board for me.
If I had to nit pick, it's going to be a tight fit for 2xSLI at X16 - right up against each-other, but I'm not losing sleep over it with th HAF-X.
Thanks guys.
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Originally Posted by sotonswan
The 1155 Sabretooth looks like a dust trap ugh. |
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Originally Posted by jsy982002
by the way, does it not include brackets or connectors for the USB 3.0 mid board pins? Kind of dissapointing for them not to include this accessory. Does anyone know where to buy one of these? |
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Originally Posted by THD
Great review! You mention that there seems to be some sort of cap at 4.9. I seen talk on even lower caps and argued that it could be due to the bios. You guys think that could be valid or is it much more likely the cpu itself (as you mentioned in the vid) ? |
Some other sites are saying they have lower limits but from what Ive seen its just uneducated overclockers.
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Originally Posted by tinytomlogan
Our sample was a very early release and we had none of the accessories that a normal retail model would have sadly, so we reported what we could which was the performance |
Yet, even with the retail version of the board, USB 3.0 brackets were not included
this was really a let down as it's currently almost impossible to find a separate bracket that would fit the headers. I understand that currently there's still no standard setting for the pin headers and as such, mobo manufacturers have
been developing there own unique assignments. such a small flaw for a flagship board of this caliber
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Originally Posted by sheroo
The only problem with this board is that its beauty is hidden underneath that ugly ass Noctua, I hope that the new H60 due out in March is a real performer, because they would compliment each other perfectly. |
You can buy it in the UK for £36.98 inc. VAT at Aria. Take a look. The only thing it leaves you wishing for is a set of black and gold LED case fans.
One other comment on that: the idea of a black anodized finish on the cooling fins themselves is a really good one. Any physicist will tell you that black bodies radiate heat much more efficiently.
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Originally Posted by SadButTrue
I saw a cooler recently called the Titan EVO, that was in a black and gold colour scheme. |
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Originally Posted by sheroo
noooo, that's just too blingy, its like pimp my ride on steroids. 2 images pop into my head, a duracell battery and James Bond - Goldfinger. |
On a more serious note, I was just kidding about the black LEDs, but it turns out -- they make them!
Who'd a thunk it?
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