Gigabyte smash i7 3770K frequency world record with Z77X-UP7

Enthusiasts never rest when it comes to breaking records. Ivy Bridge has been notoriously better for extreme overclockers than Sandy Bridge and this has continued with the latest landmark from Gigabyte. The overclock took place on their upcoming Z77X-UP7 motherboard which features a beefy 32 phase CPU VRM with PowIRstage controls.

HiCookie, Gigabyte’s own professional overclocker, managed a 7102MHz clock speed across 1 core and 1 thread. Yes, only 1 core and 1 thread, but world records are about achieving speed irrespective of anything else. A brutal core voltage of 1.968 volts was kept in check by some LN2 cooling that held the temperatures at -188 degrees celsius.

At the end of the motherboard, close to the last PCI express lane, the Z77X-UP7 features an LN2 switch. When activated, this switch will keep the CPU clocked back to allow for overclockers to take a screenshot or validate an OC result. The Z77X-UP7 also features a special PCI Express lane, coloured black. This PCI Express lane is wired directly to the CPU thus reducing latency – ideal for single graphics card overclocking records. This is because the rest of the PCI Express lanes are routed through PLX chips due to the limited PCI Express connectivity of Ivy Bridge.

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