To test this board, we are able to run all of our tests at stock speeds using a pre-defined setup of hardware. We will also be overclocking the processor to its limits on this board to see how it compares against the stock speed.
Test system:
- Gigabyte Z77X-UP7
- Intel i7-3770k
- Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz 8GB
- AMD Radeon HD 7970
- Corsair H80
- Corsair HX1050
- Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD
- Patriot Wildfire 120GB SSD
- Lian Li T60
- 3 x AOC E2795VH
We would like to thank AOC, Asus, Corsair, Kingston and Lian Li for supplying us with our test system components.
Many different software applications are also used to gain the broadest spectrum of results, which allows for the fairest testing possible.
Software used:
- 3DMark 11
- AIDA64
- Cinebench R11.5
- CPU-Z
- PCMark 7
- Super PI
Gigabyte has always been my favourite brand of mobo. now if only they would jack up their software suite to Asus standards. What puzzles me is the inclusion of the eSata plugin board. Who the hell uses eSata? I’ve yet to meet anybody who does. If they removed that superfluous thing they could drop the boards price by a few bob.
Gigabyte is all i use in my builds.They look so damn good and the quality is superb.I agree with wayne to a point,I have never used esata,But hey nothing wrong with having extra features available just incase.;)
There are pro’s and con’s of eSATA, mainly it is one of those interfaces that generally doesn’t get used by the vast majority of people, but there are a number that can see a benefit. Take myself for example, I build and fix PCs as well as writing reviews on here and to save having an open system on my desk, I use the eSATA interface to conenct up hard drives to my system for testing and/or data backup.
Think of it a little like FireWire 400/800 that interface again is another that many didn’t see the need for but some did use, for the likes of hard drives and video cameras (pre USB 3.0) due to its slightly faster data transfer speed.
On the bright side, you could say that at least Gigabyte didn’t put the eSATA on the rear I/O, leaving space for more USB 3.0 and the display outputs.