Gigabyte Z97N-Gaming 5 (LGA 1150) Motherboard Review

Audio Performance

RightMark Audio Analyser (RMAA)

RMAA suite is designed for testing quality of analog and digital paths of any audio device. The results are obtained by playing and recording test signals passed through the tested audio path by means of frequency analysis algorithms. A more common mark is also provided for those unfamiliar with measured technical parameters. Available here. We run the RMAA test using a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable connecting the line out to the line in to test the quality of the motherboard audio codec not any external audio devices. We run the complete playback and recording test at default settings and then get RMAA to interpret the results giving the below outputs. We sync the playback and recording audio devices to the same setting as the test for accurate results.

16 Bit, 44KHz (DVD Quality)

16 Bit, 96KHz (Studio Quality)

24 Bit, 96KHz (Studio Quality)

Audio performance was very strong across the bulk of the tests, only Total Harmonic Distortion and Noise returned less than “Very Good” results.

DPC Latency Analyser

Thesycon’s DPC Latency Checker is a Windows tool that analyses the capabilities of a computer system to handle real-time data streams properly. It may help to find the cause for interruptions in real-time audio and video streams, also known as drop-outs. Available here.

DPC latency is strong and the pattern we’ve seen with all Z97 boards is that BIOS updates have gradually reduced overall latency.