Briefly about the Z77, Z75, H77, Q77, Q75 and B75

Without much fanfare, motherboards based on the new Intel “seventh” series chipsets began to appear in stores, and immediately in noticeable quantities. This happened because, unlike previous announcements, the release of these microcircuits is not tied to the appearance of a new platform. And it’s not even very connected with the emergence of new processors, although it has some relation to it. The fact is that, as promised, the compatibility of Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge turned out to be complete: new processors can be used in old boards with LGA1155 (with the exception of boards based on business line chipsets), and old processors can be installed in new boards. A complete idyll, as in the days of LGA775 and even better - in those days, for example, the release of the first dual-core processors of the Pentium D family required updating the line of chipsets, since they turned out to be incompatible with the old ones. And the newly released Core 2 Duo did not have any problems with existing chipsets, but new motherboards were required. Naturally, Intel took advantage of this opportunity to update the chipsets, although there was no clear division of the lines - ready-made systems based on Core 2 and 945P appeared on the market, while some users purchased P965 boards and installed them in them (on the first time) various Pentium 4.

In general, for a long time the release of chipsets accompanied the emergence of new processors (at a minimum) or even platforms (at a maximum). Especially in last years. LGA1366 coming to market? This means that the X58 chipset is also starting to sell. Has LGA1156 appeared? P55 sales start. Has the platform been updated with the release of processors with an integrated graphics core? Therefore, boards for H55 and H57 are needed. Is LGA1155 coming to replace the previous platform? Massive announcements of boards for P67, H67 and others like them. Is LGA2011 starting to be promoted instead of LGA1366? It's time to learn X79.

After thinking about it, we found one example similar to the current situation: about a year ago, the Z68 Express became the top solution for LGA1155. There were no fundamental changes in the platform - just P67 (with overclocking and multi-GPU support) was mixed with H67 (with video output support) and added seasoning in the form of Smart Response. The result was the most expensive and universal solution, which remained so until recently. But the platform has not fundamentally changed. In this regard, the “seventh” series is a little more interesting: firstly, some new Ivy Bridge capabilities require special support from the chipset, and secondly, the list of functionality has expanded from the point of view of the needs of the mass user. So the new solutions are more attractive than the “sixth” series for those who are planning to purchase a system on an old processor. Why were there no big announcements? Simply because the appearance of Ivy Bridge, as usual, was initially planned for the beginning of the year. Board manufacturers began to prepare for this event, but Intel decided to slightly delay the announcement of processors. Without preventing, however, partners from starting to sell new motherboards, because, as we have already said, some features of the new chipsets will also be useful when paired with older processors.

Let's see which ones. But first, let's look at some general issues that deserve attention.

Farewell to the letter "R"

Back in the days of early Socket 478, Intel decided that the various chipset lines deserved more clear identification than numbers alone. More precisely, this happened starting with the i845 family, various members of which received an additional letter index: either P or G. The division at that time was very simple and very clear: the G-series was equipped with a built-in video core, but the presence of the letter P showed that It's not in the chipset. The coincidence of other letters and numbers could say something, or it might not say anything, being just a tribute to positioning.

LGA775 and the nine hundredth line of chipsets added another suffix (later becoming a prefix) - X. Everything was clear with it - a solution for extreme systems. The only one in the family, and most often different in number, so the letter was needed only for greater clarity. It was the first to disappear - when in 2008 the company decided that extreme processors alone were not enough, so it was time to launch extreme platforms, the first of which was LGA1366. And, accordingly, the X58 Express chipset. Let us note for the future that at the same time the “higher level” positioning also appeared, i.e. formally belonging to the “fifth” family, the chipset most closely resembled the “fourth”. And its recent successor in the form of the X79 Express is, in fact, more worthy of being included in the list of solutions of the “sixth” series, noticeably different from the “real seventh”, which we will move on to a little later.

However, let's return to the mainstream, where the P-line continued to bloom, eclipsing the modest hard workers of the G family. There could be even more of the latter (for example, in the “fourth” series - P45 and P43, but G45, G43 and G41), but who is interested in integrated solutions? Only for those who are interested in integrated graphics, and at that time such could only be found among “office” and other undemanding users.

And in the “fifth” series, the letter G simply disappeared, since no more chipsets with an integrated GPU were required - the graphics core moved into the processor itself, so the support chips only needed to ensure the operation of the video outputs. And even then, not right away: the first processors for LGA1156 did without a GPU, so they were used together with the P55. But to coincide with the announcement, Clarkdale also had to release the H55 and H57. The first is a traditional budget solution, but the second officially differs from the P55 only in the lack of multi-GPU support. True, it cost a little more than this pair, so boards based on the H55 grabbed a significant share of the market.

The release of the LGA1155 platform, it would seem, should have immediately put an end to the existence of the line of chipsets “without video,” but Intel decided otherwise. During the first few months, buyers were forced to think for a long time about where to go: to the smart ones or to the beautiful ones? The fact is that, despite the absence of models without a video core in the original line of processors, the formal top of the sixth line of chipsets turned out to be the P67. In any case, from the point of view of enthusiasts, it was the only one that allowed overclocking processor cores and memory, in addition to supporting a pair of video cards. But it did not support integrated graphics. And all the other chipsets in the family allowed it to be used, but did not support overclocking (more precisely, on the H67 it was possible to overclock just the built-in video core, which still did not make much sense).

And only in the spring, as we said at the beginning of the article, “a new letter in this word” appeared, namely the Z68 chipset, which combines the capabilities of both P67 and H67. Ironically, after the start of its active expansion on the market, Intel decided to release several models of processors without a GPU (more precisely, with a locked graphics core), so the P67 again theoretically became a completely relevant solution.

However, apparently, the company decided to end this practice. In the “seventh” series, for the first time, there is nothing called “P77” or something like that. For overclocking enthusiasts, there are a couple of Z-line models; the mainstream has received H-series chipsets, and business modifications (Q and B) have not gone away. But the long-lived suffix (10 years is not a joke) ordered everyone else to live long :)

Intel Z77 Express

Well, now it’s time to move on to the main characters of the article, starting with the top model in the line. Traditionally - block diagram and main characteristics:

• support for all processors based on Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge cores when connected to these processors via the DMI 2.0 bus (with a bandwidth of 4 GB/s);
• FDI interface for receiving a fully rendered screen image from the processor and a unit for outputting this image to the display device(s);
• support for simultaneous and/or switchable operation of the built-in video core and discrete GPU(s);
• increasing the frequency of processor cores, memory and built-in GPU;
• up to 8 PCIe 2.0 x1 ports;
• 2 SATA600 ports and 4 SATA300 ports, supporting AHCI mode and functions like NCQ, individually disabled, supporting eSATA and port splitters;
• the ability to organize a RAID array of levels 0, 1, 0+1 (10) and 5 with the Matrix RAID function (one set of disks can be used in several RAID modes at once - for example, on two disks you can organize RAID 0 and RAID 1, for each array its own part of the disk will be allocated);
• support for Smart Response, Rapid Start and Smart Connect technologies;
• 10 USB 2.0 ports (on two EHCI host controllers) with the ability to individually disable;
• 4 USB 3.0 ports (one xHCI controller) with the ability to individually disable;
• Gigabit Ethernet MAC controller and a special interface (LCI/GLCI) for connecting a PHY controller (i82579 for Gigabit Ethernet implementation, i82562 for Fast Ethernet implementation);
• High Definition Audio (7.1);
• harness for low-speed and outdated peripherals, etc.

As you can see, ensuring full compatibility required keeping the DMI interface for interaction with the processor intact. It’s a pity, because despite the theoretical throughput of 4 GB/s, in practice you can “squeeze” out of it no more than 1.1 GB/s in each direction (which we were able to determine using RAID arrays from several SSDs). But at the same time, full functional compatibility still did not work out. For example, support for three independent displays is exactly what you need to have And new processor, And board on a new chipset.

Of the platform-independent functions, attention is drawn to the possibility of splitting 16 PCIe processor lines not only into two, but also into three devices. Initially, there were many predictions that this could be useful for 3-Way SLI, however, as we see, Intel suggests a completely different purpose for this configuration. Moreover, the company does not say anything about supporting three slots: in all three options there are no more than two. On the other hand, we wouldn't be surprised if motherboard manufacturers start misusing this feature. Moreover, 8+4+4 PCIe 3.0 in terms of bandwidth is exactly the same as 16+8+8 PCIe 2.0 somewhere on the X58, i.e. exactly what 3-Way uses SLI debuted. So let's wait and see...

What is interesting from the point of view of the mass user? It is clear that not everyone needs additional frills, and the same Smart Response is also supported on boards with Z68. And you can overclock anything there, too. Initially, there were assumptions that the new boards would have increasing coefficients for the reference frequency (as in LGA2011), but they were not confirmed: overclocking on the bus is still limited to approximately 7%, so you have to operate with multipliers (within the limits in which this is supported by the processor). The SATA controller has not changed - only two ports still support the fastest version of the standard. On the other hand, as we have already said, tests demonstrate that DMI 2.0 has enough bandwidth for only two ports. But in terms of USB support, there is a significant step forward: finally, built-in support for USB 3.0 has appeared in Intel chipsets. In addition, the company can be proud of its completeness - AMD took this step earlier, but only in chipsets for APUs (and not in all of them). The most powerful processors continue to be released under AM3+, but this platform does not have built-in support for USB 3.0. Intel just got newfangled ports for the mass-produced LGA1155.

The joy is overshadowed by only one fact - the implementation of this support. The fact is that the driver for xHCI exists only for Windows 7. And, of course, the Linux community will eventually make one. But no one plans to provide software support for the outdated but still popular Windows XP. The ports, however, will work there (all 14), but only as USB 2.0. Thus, nothing has changed for users of older operating systems. Perhaps the situation will even worsen: discrete USB 3.0 controllers on boards will begin to be found less frequently, but for them there are drivers for everything Windows versions- almost up to Windows 95 (if anyone is suddenly interested in it). On the other hand, inexpensive boards with support for overclocking functions may well become cheaper. Moreover, there is no need to solder video outputs there, and for such products (just to replace the P67) Intel also provided a special chipset.

Intel Z75 Express

The Z75 is positioned precisely as a “solution entry level for fine tuning” and differs from the older Z77 in exactly two things. Firstly, there is no longer any talk about Thunderbolt support and, accordingly, PCIe “disruption”. Secondly, there is no support for Smart Response. But all the other “chips” are available. By the way, support for Rapid Storage Technology has disappeared from the block diagram, despite the fact that the creation of “regular” RAID arrays has not gone away: starting with this generation, Intel believes that this alone is no longer enough to live up to the proud name of RST.

Overall, to some extent this is truly an update to the P67. But maybe it’s just a product of a new generation - since users need inexpensive overclocking boards, let it be possible to produce them. Be that as it may, the Z75 will cost the same 40 dollars as the P67. While the Z77 retained the price of the Z68 - $48. In the mid-range motherboard market, this is, in general, the difference. Top models will use Z77 - their price does not depend on cost :)

Intel H77 Express

If the Z68 to some extent turned out to be a step forward compared to any of its predecessors - both the P67 and the H67, which forced it to assign a number increased by one, then there are fewer differences between the H77 and Z77 than between the H67 and P67. We think you have already guessed what they are :) Indeed, since all chipsets in the new family support video output “outside” (and GPU overclocking is possible even when using representatives of the business line), then only the functions of CPU overclocking and PCIe “splitting” remain, which were “cut out” from the current mainstream solution. But everything else is in place. Including Smart Response, which the company seems to have decided to make standard functionality on all computers, starting from the mid-range. In this regard, the absence of this technology in the Z75, intended for, let’s say, average-income enthusiasts who can hardly afford to buy an SSD drive of normal capacity, looks somewhat strange. On the other hand, the Z77 must have at least some advantages, right?

And the advantages are different - in particular, in the new line even the Z75 has them compared to the H77. In any case, the advantages from the point of view of those users who do not plan to use Smart Response - that is, in fact, the absolute majority of buyers :) Because, as you can see, in this situation the Z75 turns out to be a more functional solution, and it costs less - the wholesale price for H77 is set at $43.

Business line updates: B75, Q75 and Q77

Business chipsets of the “sixth” series turned out to be greatly offended by the manufacturer - unlike all the others, they were immediately promised no support for new processors (based on the Ivy Bridge core). Thus, there are no options for a corporate user: if you want Ivy Bridge, you will have to buy a new board. However, it is unlikely that there will be a “want” right now - this market is actively consuming dual-core processor models, and they will appear only in a few months. On the other hand, companies planning to purchase equipment now may well prefer new boards even when used with older processors. If only because they will all receive improved firmware and full support for USB 3.0 - similar to older “retail” chipsets. And their PCI bus remained in place - as in the “sixth” family of business chipsets. Interestingly, everyone is “allowed” to support Lucid Virtu technology, as well as overclocking the video core. Well, the Q77 also has support for Smart Response. In general, compared to their retail counterparts, these chipsets do not look like poor relatives in any way (and they have exactly kept their price tags), which has already led to interesting side effects.

In particular, last year we were somewhat surprised by the small number of offers of boards based on B65. The chipset, in general, is inexpensive, but much more interesting than the “starter” H61: six SATA ports (one of which is SATA600), four memory slots (versus two), built-in PCI support, 12 USB ports (versus 10 for H61). However, in practice, manufacturers have calculated, thought, and... Decided that purchasing two different chipsets for budget motherboards does not make sense - the difference in functionality will not pay off. It’s better to solder a PCI-PCIe bridge to some boards, and to some of them an additional SATA controller, and then sell them at a higher price. Well, in the simplest models the price difference has already affected: if the entire board costs $60, then a $30 chipset is preferable to a $37 chipset. Intel took last year’s experience into account and did not update the H61. The result was... massive announcements of boards based on the B75, since last year’s advantages of its predecessor now included “free” USB 3.0, and the ability to share a discrete video card for games and an integrated GPU for video encoding (formally, the latter also exists for the H61, but such boards can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and all of them are not too cheap).

Thus, the B75 is perfectly suited for new boards at a level slightly lower than the H77, but higher than the simplest H61 models without additional controllers. Boards based on H61, for obvious reasons, if they need any kind of update, then only new versions of UEFI. But since the savings are already quite penny (boards based on the B75 do not require either a discrete USB 3.0 controller or a PCIe-PCI bridge, which even in H61 models have begun to become a rule of good form), we will not be surprised if in a few months a new board The H61 will become more difficult to find than on the B65 last year :) Moreover, the chipset is also capable of driving the H77 into the closet, becoming the main mainstream solution. Indeed - what will stop him? It has two fewer USB 2.0 ports and only one SATA600, and there is no support for Rapid Storage (no support: not only Smart Response, but also RAID arrays) - that’s all the shortcomings. But it costs as much as six dollars less, and the built-in “free” PCI support will continue to be relevant for the next year or two.

Total

	Z77	Z75	H77	B75	Q75	Q77
Tires
PCIe 3.0 Configurations (CPU)	x16 / x8 + x8 / x8 + x4 (+ x4)	x16 / x8 + x8	x16	x16	x16	x16
PCIe 2.0 quantity	8	8	8	8	8	8
PCI	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Overclocking
CPU	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
In memory	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
GPU	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SATA
Number of ports	6	6	6	6	6	6
Of which SATA600	2	2	2	1	2	2
AHCI	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
RAID	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Smart Response	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Other
Number of USB ports	14	14	14	12	14	14
Of which USB 3.0	4	4	4	4	4	4
TXT/vPro	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Intel Standard Management	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes

Well, as was said at the very beginning of the article, there is nothing fundamentally new in the “new” chipsets. Which, however, is quite expected - the platform remains the same. However, you can be sure that in the near future the representatives of the “seventh” series will almost completely displace their predecessors from the main market segments. In any case, the Z77 will definitely completely replace the Z68 - they cost the same, the basic functionality is comparable, so the “free” USB 3.0 alone is more than enough to change the leader. And the business line of boards will definitely be updated - for similar reasons. Perhaps the ultra-budget segment will not notice the new products, since it will continue to sell the most primitive models based on the H61 without any additional controllers. But in the budget and mid-range segment, the bulk of production is likely to move to the B75 and Z75. Maybe on H77, but the prospects of this chipset, frankly, give us some doubts. It is clear that the company highly values ​​​​Smart Response technology and hopes for its active use: in the previous line of chipsets only the Z68 supported it (which also appeared later than everyone else), and in the new one there are as many as three chips. However, such a pricing policy can achieve exactly the opposite. On the other hand, a lot depends on the manufacturers - what they consider necessary to complete the boards with will be actively sold.

From the point of view of other market trends, the most significant is that support for USB 3.0 will become a standard feature of mass-market computers, and this will certainly spur the spread of the third version of the interface. Thunderbolt will also come out of the underground, so far promoted only through the efforts of Apple. However, we are not talking about mass scale here yet, but at least All manufacturers have already prepared one motherboard supporting this interface. In general, all this (coupled with new processors) should make the LGA1155 platform more attractive than last year, even if it doesn’t change it radically. That is, there is no incentive to replace the existing board (except perhaps for some owners of the most simple models on the H61, who eventually found out that the limitations of this chipset were a bit too much for them), but they weren’t even available for purchasing a product from last year’s collection.

Chipset motherboard- a set of microcircuits that form a link between the main components: processor, RAM, input-output system. For Inte Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, many current motherboards have H77 and Z77 chipsets. Despite the identity of the installed processors for both chipsets, the difference between them can become critical, especially for gaming systems or overclocking.

Chipset H77- a chipset on a motherboard from Intel that supports Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, introduced in the spring of 2012 as the successor to the H67 chipset.
Chipset Z77- a chipset on a motherboard from Intel that supports Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, introduced in the spring of 2012 as the successor to the Z68 chipset.

Comparison of H77 and Z77 chipset

The difference between the H77 and Z77 chipsets will only be noticeable to a gaming system user or an overclocking enthusiast. The most important difference between the Z77, which became the flagship of the line at the time of release, is the ability to overclock not only the GPU, but also the memory and CPU. Naturally, in this case the potential of processors with an unlocked multiplier will be fully revealed. The H77 chipset is a version for less demanding and productive systems, and graphics overclocking capabilities are built into it, as in all chipsets of the seventh line.
In addition, the H77 chipset, unlike the Z77, does not support SLI and Crossfire technologies, that is, running two video cards simultaneously to increase performance graphics system not available. This is already losing its appeal for gamers. On the other hand, for home computers and business solutions, the H77 chipset will perfectly form the basis of the system.
Another difference between the Z77 chipset and the H77 is the PCIe configuration. The junior H77 model supports 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes for one device (discrete video card), while the Z77 provides PCIe lane splitting for three devices according to the 1 ? PCIe 3.0 x16 or 2? PCIe 3.0 x8 or 1? PCIe 3.0 x8 + 2? PCIe 3.0 x4.
Today, motherboards in the hi-end segment are based on Z77 chipsets; H77 is designed for mid-range systems. As a rule, the Z77 costs more overall than the H77, but the cost of the chipsets themselves, according to the manufacturer, differs minimally.

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between the H77 chipset and the Z77 is as follows:

The Z77 chipset is designed for gaming-class systems, while the H77 is for mid-range systems.
The Z77 chipset supports overclocking of the processor, memory and graphics, while the H77 supports graphics only.
The H77 chipset does not support SLI and CrossFire technologies.
The Z77 chipset makes it possible to connect three PCIe devices due to the splitting of 16 lanes into three streams.
Motherboards based on the Z77 chipset are more expensive.

Would have gone unnoticed if not for the planned announcement of new Intel processors Ivy Bridge. The announcement of new processors was postponed several times due to clearly far-fetched pretexts - some problems, development not yet completed, etc. Our opinion remains the same - there is only one reason for the delay in the announcement - the lack of a competitor from AMD. In the absence of competition, it is stupid to show “trump cards”, since old processors continue to be sold at the same price. In order to prepare for the announcement, the sale of new motherboards began.
New Intel Ivy Bridge processors will be presented in a couple of weeks. It is expected that the top model Core i7-3770K will be offered to users for $320 per copy, and the low-end model Core i5-3450s will cost users $182. Naturally, the announcement of copies will be gradual. Dual-core Core i3 Ivy Bridge processors should be expected no earlier than the second half of summer. Considering the tempting cost of the new generation of processors, many users today should think about preparing their motherboards to support them and support the new PCI-Express 3.0 bus. To be fair, it should be noted that new Intel Ivy Bridge processors will have to work on older motherboards after a banal BIOS update, and support for the PCI-Express 3.0 bus does not add any real performance to the graphics subsystem; its relevance will be determined when creating multi-graphics configurations .

Perhaps the low importance of all the listed features, which do not bring any revolution to the LGA 1155 platform, forced Intel to abandon the stormy announcement that many of us have already become accustomed to. The emergence of new motherboards based on Intel Z77 Express is carried out without unnecessary noise and pathos. Intel fans know without any announcements that the company makes certain fundamental innovations in its products every two years. First of all, we mean a complete change in the microarchitecture of processors and a reduction in the technological process of their production. The new Intel Ivy Bridge processors will meet this latter requirement, as they will be manufactured using a more refined technological process.

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The new Intel Z77 Express chipset is fully compatible with existing processors Intel Sandy Bridge, as well as the upcoming Ivy Bridge solutions. Similar compatibility will be provided for most LGA 1155 motherboards based on sixth generation chipsets. Naturally, the use of new processors within old motherboards imposes some additional restrictions on them. But these restrictions are not significant and are limited only by software technologies, since the shortcomings of the sixth generation chipsets were compensated by the wiring of additional controllers by motherboard manufacturers. Owners of motherboards based on Intel Z77 Express will also suffer losses. The manufacturer has completely removed the data from the old Intel Z77 Express chipsets. Few people are upset about this fact, since new expansion cards for this slot are no longer produced.

The new Intel Z77 Express chipset should be considered as a replacement for the acclaimed Intel Z68 Express. Why sensational? Because the announcement of this chipset took place late and it was offered at a clearly inflated price. Among the advantages, it offered simultaneous operation of integrated graphics with the ability to overclock the processor, as well as the ability to work with software technology Intel Smart Response. We view the latest technology quite critically, as well as the Lucid Logix technology, which allows us to at least somehow use the integrated graphics core of the processor in conditions modern systems with discrete graphics.

Perhaps our skepticism about Lucid Logix technology may soon be dispelled, as Intel plans to integrate higher-performance graphics into its Ivy Bridge central processors. Time will tell how true this turns out to be. The new graphics core of Intel Ivy Bridge processors will make it possible to connect three different monitors to one system unit and output a different signal to them. Reportedly this function will work exclusively for those users who purchase motherboards based on the new seventh generation chipsets.

Otherwise, motherboards based on Intel Z77 Express chipsets do not stand out in any way compared to motherboards based on Intel Z68 Express. This is due to the fact that many of the shortcomings of the latest chipset were compensated for by soldering additional controllers, which made Intel Z68 Express motherboards even more functional than Intel Z77 Express motherboards. Both motherboards cannot boast of trouble-free overclocking. In any case, the user will have to buy processors with an unlocked multiplier and pay Intel extra to overclock his processor. In short, the LGA 1155 platform is very beneficial to the manufacturer, so it was decided to give it a second life by transferring processors to a more refined technological process and releasing new motherboards based on the new seventh generation chipsets.

Among software benefits The new chipset should highlight the Rapid Storage Technology - Rapid Start, which ensures a faster exit of the computer to operating mode from hibernation. This technology more focused on working with solid state drives. In this case, the user's computer will completely turn off even if you select sleep mode rather than hibernation when suspending work. The second Intel Smart Response technology has been described by us many times and we will not dwell on it again. Equipment

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The Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H motherboard comes in a white box. Availability indicated on the front of the box digital system power supply, 3D BIOS UEFI and others key features, which are typical for most motherboards based on Intel Z77 Express.

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On the back of the box, the manufacturer goes into more detail about the technical features of the solution. Everyone is mentioned here technical features product from the specifications in expanded form.

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The package includes:
- motherboard,
- instructions,
- disk with drivers and software,
- 4 SATA cables,
- NVIDIA SLI bridge,
- plug for input/output ports. External inspection of the motherboard

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The motherboard has black textolite. The lightweight design of the cooling system, which was achieved through the use of modern circuits nutrition central processor and low power consumption of the new Intel Z77 Express chipsets.

Where we usually see the radiator, there is an mSATA slot for installing storage devices, for example, solid-state memory - SSD.

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The motherboard has four expansion slots. The memory architecture is dual-channel, but the manufacturer did not consider it necessary to highlight pairs of slots with a different color. All modern modules are supported random access memory, including XMP profiles.

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Next to the RAM slots there is a start button, a reboot button, and a BIOS reset button. The voltage measurement points on the board are located somewhat closer to the edge of the motherboard.

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The motherboard has three PCI-Express 16x slots, but only two of them are ready to accept graphics cards for collaboration. This is due to the fact that the slots operate in 16x+8x+4x formats.

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The mSATA slot is located quite close to the CPU heatsink, which must be taken into account when choosing the latter.

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The motherboard has two SATA III ports and four SATA II ports, which are powered by Intel chipset. There is also a Marvell 88SE9172 chipset, which made it possible to solder two eSATA ports.

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The motherboard can please its owner with six soldered USB 3.0 ports, two eSATA ports, graphic ports DVI, HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, a full set of audio ports, including optical, gigabit LAN port. Motherboard BIOS

Gigabyte's new 3D BIOS concept was the company's response to UEFI interfaces. Although this interface appeared much later than the UEFI interface, it was thanks to it that the company managed to win back its regular fans who were tired of the old BIOS with a blue window.

The technical capabilities of the BIOS are standard; overclocking is possible if a processor with the letter K is purchased.

When overclocking the Core i7 2600K processor with the board, it was independently overclocked to 4200 MHz at a voltage of 1.32 V. After additional manual work, we managed to reach 4.9 GHz at a voltage of 1.47 V. Conclusion
Motherboards from Gigabyte have enjoyed well-deserved trust and demand for quite a long time. The Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H product will also be no exception. It supports all the features of the Intel Z77 Express chipset and offers additional features due to soldered controllers. The inability to combine three graphics cards at once is not critical for this category of motherboards.

Z77 Express: a great replacement for older models

Components Intel platforms Maho Bay, including the Z77 Express chipset and processors based on it, were in our laboratory at the beginning of the year. And yet the company waited until April, holding back the release of new equipment, allowing partners to sell out as many systems based on Sandy Bridge, before calling the architecture "previous generation".

After chipset Z77 Express processors based on it quickly followed and for both components we came to the same conclusion: overall a new generation hardware just a little better than Z68 Express and architecture Sandy Bridge .

However, Maho Bay's improvements are more preferable for those planning to replace an older system. If you already have a system based on architecture Sandy Bridge, there is no point in upgrading. But if you use something like Core processors 2 or Phenom, then upgrade to the chipset Z77 Express and processor is quite logical.

If you were patient enough and didn't rush to buy Sandy Bridge, working on equipment two or three years ago, then probably about X79 out of the question. If so, you'll be pleased to know that the Maho Bay platform sticks to its predecessor's prices. On the other hand, if you listen to advice, then you probably share our high requirements to the quality, stability and functionality of the equipment.

With savings in mind, we're kicking off our motherboard reviews Z77 Express with models occupying a central place in the enthusiast market - in the price range of $160-$220.

	ASRock Z77 Extreme6	Asus P8Z77-V Pro	Biostar TZ77XE4
PCB version	1.02	1.02	5.0
Chipset	Intel Z77 Express	Intel Z77 Express	Intel Z77 Express
	12 phases	16 phases	12 phases
BIOS	P1.30 (04/12/2012)	0906 (03/26/2012)	Z77CF412 (04/12/2012)
BCLK frequency 100.0 MHz	100.46 (+0.46%)	100.30 (+0.30%)	100.01 (+0.01%)
Internal interfaces
PCIe 3.0 x16	2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8)	2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8)	2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8)
PCIe 2.0 x16	1 (4 lines from PCH)	1 (4 lines from PCH)	1 (4 lines from PCH)
PCIe x1/x4	1/0	2/0	1/0
Mini PCIe	1	No	No
USB 2.0	3 (6 ports)	4 (8 ports)	2 (4 ports)
USB 3.0	1 (2 ports)	2 (4 ports)	1 (2 ports)
IEEE-1394	1	No	No
SATA 6 Gb/s	4 (1 shared w/eSATA)	4	4
SATA 3 Gb/s	4	4	4 (1 shared w/eSATA)
	2	6	1
	4	No	2
	1	1	1
S/PDIF Inputs/Outputs	Only way out	Only way out	Only way out
Power button	There is	No	There is
Reset button	There is	No	There is
CLR_CMOS button	No	No	There is
Diagnostic panel	digital	LED indicators	digital
Old interfaces		2 x PCI	serial, 2 x PCI
P/S 2	1	1	1
USB 3.0	4	4	2
USB 2.0	2	2	4
IEEE-1394	1	No	No
Net	one	one	one
eSATA	1 (shared w/SATA)	No	1 (shared w/SATA)
CLR_CMOS button	There is	No	No
Digital audio output	optic	optic	No
Digital audio input	No	No	No
Analog audio ports	5	6	6
Video output	VGA, DVI-D, DisplayPort, HDMI	HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, DVI-D	DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA, DVI-D
Other devices	No	Wi-Fi module 802.11n	No
Drive controllers
SATA chipset	2 x SATA 6 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3 Gb/s	2 x SATA 6 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3 Gb/s	2 x SATA 6 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3 Gb/s
Chipset RAID modes	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10
Additional SATA ports	ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s 1 shared w/eSATA	ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s	ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6Gb/s
USB 3.0	EJ168A PCIe Intel Z77 embedded	2 x ASM1042 PCIe Intel Z77 embedded	Z77 built-in
IEEE-1394	VT6308P PCI 2 x 400 MB/s	No	No
Gigabit Ethernet
Primary LAN	BCM57781 PCIe	WG82579V PHY	RTL8111E
Secondary LAN	No	AR9485 PCIe Wi-Fi	No
Sound
HD Audio Codec	ALC898	ALC892	ALC898
DDL/DTS connection	No	DTS Connect	No

Functionality of motherboards based on the X77 chipset
	ECS Golden Z77H2-A2X	Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H	MSI Z77A-GD65
PCB version	1.0	1.0	2.1
Chipset	Intel Z77 Express	Intel Z77 Express	Intel Z77 Express
Number of voltage regulator phases	8 phases	8 phases	12 phases
BIOS	120328 (03/28/2012)	F7 (03/28/2012)	V10.3 (03/27/2012)
BCLK frequency 100.0 MHz	99.77 (-0.23%)	100.89 (+0.89%)	100.0 (+0.0%)
Internal interfaces
PCIe 3.0 x16	2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8)	2 (x16/x0 or x8/x8)	3 (x16/x0/x0, x16/x8/x0, x16/x4/x4)
PCIe 2.0 x16	No	1 (4 lines from PCH)	No
PCIe x1/x4	2/0	3/0	4/0
Mini PCIe	1	No	No
USB 2.0	1 (2 ports)	3 (6 ports)	3 (6 ports)
USB 3.0	1 (2 ports)	1 (2 ports)	1 (2 ports)
IEEE-1394	No	No	1
SATA 6 Gb/s	4	2	4
SATA 3 Gb/s	2	4 (1 shared w/eSATA)	4
4-pin fan socket	1	5	3
3-pin fan socket	2	No	2
Front panel audio connectors (FP-Audio)	1	1	1
S/PDIF Inputs/Outputs	Only way out	Only way out	No
Power button	There is	There is	There is
Reset button	There is	There is	There is
CLR_CMOS button	No	There is	No
Diagnostic panel	digital	digital	digital
Old interfaces	Serial, Floppy, 2 x PCI	No	No
I/O Panel Connectors
P/S 2	No	1	1
USB 3.0	4	6	2
USB 2.0	4	No	4
IEEE-1394	No	No	No
Net	one	one	one
eSATA	1	2	No
CLR_CMOS button	No	No	There is
Digital audio output	optic	optic	optical + coaxial
Digital audio input	No	No	No
Analog audio ports	5	6	6
Video output	VGA, DVI-D, HDMI	VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, DiplayPort	HDMI, VGA, DVI-D
Other devices	Bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi	No	No
Drive controllers
SATA chipset	2 x SATA 6 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3 Gb/s 1 x eSATA 3 Gb/s	2 x SATA 6 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3 Gb/s	2 x SATA 6 Gb/s 4 x SATA 3 Gb/s
Chipset RAID modes	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10	0, 1, 5, 10
Additional SATA ports	ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6 Gb/s	88SE9128 PCIe 2 x eSATA 6 Gb/s	ASM1061 PCIe 2 x SATA 6 Gb/s
USB 3.0	ASM1042 PCIe Intel Z77 embedded	VL800-Q8 PCIe Intel Z77 embedded	Z77 built-in
IEEE-1394	No	No	VT6315N PCIe 1 x 400 MB/s
Gigabit Ethernet
Primary LAN	RTL8111E PCIe	AR8151 PCIe	WG82579V PHY
Secondary LAN	AR9271 USB Wi-Fi	No	No
Sound
HD Audio Codec	ALC892	VT2021	ALC898
DDL/DTS connection	No	No	No

ASRock Z77 Extreme6

With a $165 price tag for the Z77 Extreme6, ASRock is targeting the mid-range where enthusiasts want a three-card configuration, an optional USB 3.0 controller, an optional SATA 6Gbps controller, a two-digit diagnostic display, and a CLR_CMOS button on the rear input panel. /output for quick recovery after an unsuccessful acceleration.

Additional controllers increase the total number of USB 3.0 ports to eight and the number of SATA 6 Gb/s ports to four. However, one of the additional SATA ports is still shared with the eSATA connector.

ASRock even adds a mini-PCIe port above the main x16 slot so you can connect laptop adapters such as internal maps Wi-Fi.

There is no ideal way to connect a third PCIe 3.0 video card to the LGA 1155 platform, since processors on the architecture provide only 16 lanes. The Z77 Extreme6 motherboard splits these lanes into x8/x8 mode when it detects a graphics card in the second slot, while the third x4 slot relies on the slower PCIe 2.0 controller. This model Best suited for dual graphics configurations, ASRock is adding extra space between the two wideband slots to better cool full-size graphics cards.

It's hard to complain about the motherboard layout. The USB 3.0 connectors for the front panel are well located, the SATA ports are directed towards the drives, the firmware can be changed, and the latch of the eight-pin processor power connector is directed downward. However, a closer inspection reveals some minor flaws, such as the front-panel audio jack is located too far in the lower right corner, and this board has a single BIOS chip when the target market is dominated by dual-chip boards. We were also surprised by the presence of connectors for a floppy drive and a serial port next to the audio jack.

The Z77 Extreme6 motherboard package includes four SATA cables, a dual SLI bridge and a USB 3.0-to-3.5" adapter with a built-in 2.5" tray. In addition, ports can be moved to back panel I/O using the included bracket.

ASRock Z77 Extreme6 Firmware

The Z77 Extreme6 firmware allows the processor to reach 4.77 GHz at 1.30 V using a base clock of 101.4 MHz and a 47x core multiplier.

In the OC Tweaker menu, the XMP configuration is located on home page along with power settings. The board identified the memory as DDR3-2704 and we were able to use it in DDR3-2700 mode at a stable level.

The most important voltage settings can be found by scrolling through the main menu, located above the Z77 Extreme6's three custom firmware profiles.

A separate DRAM Configuration submenu presents primary, secondary and tertiary timings. Light-colored options offer direct control, while dark-colored options can be switched from Auto to Manual to open a menu of hidden settings.

Asus P8Z77-V Pro

The $220 price point represents the top of the mid-market for enthusiasts and is justified by the special features found on the Asus P8Z77-V Pro. A PCIe module on the I/O panel adds WiFi connection and complements Gigabit Ethernet, two additional USB 3.0 controllers give four additional ports In addition to those controlled by the chipset, another SATA 6 Gb/s controller supports two additional drives, a sixteen-phase (12+4) CPU voltage controller guarantees stability during overclocking, the CLR_CMOS button on the I/O panel will help overclockers restore initial settings and an optional BIOS will allow you to start over when the reset doesn't work.

Asus makes a brilliant move and leaves USB ports 2.0 on the rear panel for connecting a keyboard and mouse. Four more headers add eight front-panel ports, in addition to two front-panel USB 3.0 connectors.

Asus-exclusive features like MemOK, TPU, EPU and USB BIOS Flashback are also present. The MemOK feature temporarily lowers the memory clock to allow access to manual settings in UEFI, and has been useful in the past for booting poorly programmed models. The TPU feature automatically overclocks the system to Asus' specified levels, while the EPU automatically underclocks the CPU core voltage for additional power savings. USB BIOS Flashback allows firmware to be updated from a flash drive installed in a special port, but we also found that the feature allows the system to boot with different profiles.

The board has three PCIe x16 slots, although only two of them operate at PCIe 3.0 speeds via the onboard controller. The second slot takes eight lanes from the first when a card is installed in it, and the third slot uses four lanes of the PCIe 2.0 controller on the chipset. Asus knows that most enthusiasts computer games will consider the board for a dual graphics configuration, and positions the main PCIe slots with a large gap for maximum cooling.

The company did not skimp and placed six four-pin fan connectors on the board, each supporting improved control technology. We already wanted to classify the P8Z77-V Pro model as a high-end product, but we noticed the absence of some functions. For example, there is no diagnostic panel on the board, although there are LED indicators next to various devices showing that they are working. Testers will probably be disappointed by the lack of power and reset buttons on the board, although they are not important if the board is installed in a case. We also did not find a voltage control point, which makes it impossible to connect measuring instruments. Asus seems to prefer that we rely on software readings. There is also no FireWire controller, although most users no longer use it. One of the additional internal USB 3.0 connectors will be covered by a third video card, but it is unlikely that enthusiasts will install a fast card in the second-generation four-channel slot.

Apparently, cost-cutting measures may relegate a high-end motherboard (for all other functions) to the realm of mid-budget PCs, but almost any motherboard over $200 includes eSATA support. Asus has not forgotten about this and added a plug with eSATA/USB 3.0 connectors for the rear panel to the kit. We will leave our opinion on this for the conclusion of this article.

The 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter is installed between USB 2.0 and the display connectors on the rear I/O panel, and the antenna is connected there too. The kit also includes four SATA cables, external wifi antenna and dual bridge SLI.

Firmware Asus P8Z77-V Pro

The P8Z77-V Pro overclocks our processor to 4.77 GHz at 1.30 V with a base frequency of 101.4 MHz times 47. Instead of using manual settings, defined by Asus, we started overclocking A.I.Tuner in X.M.P. mode.

Memory is defined in DDR3-2703 mode, and when a lower CPU multiplier is used, the P8Z77-V Pro board can boost G.Skill DDR3-2666 memory to stable DDR3-2715 levels.

If the values ​​are shown in red (as Core Voltage 1.30 V and System Agent Voltage 1.20 V in our case) this means that they are higher than recommended for , although some of our engineer friends advise the opposite. We asked a lot of questions before choosing these settings, but only time will tell the competence of these tips.

The DRAM Timing Control submenu allows you to configure primary, secondary and tertiary timings.

The CPU Power Management menu provides multiplier control for fixed mode, along with some current limits. Asus claims that the Automatic power setting is sufficient for most users, barring aggressive overclockers, and we never experienced power failure or lockup when using it.

Probably the most important parameter The Digi+ Power Control submenu is Load-line calibration. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the Auto setting kept the CPU core stable under varying loads.

Biostar TZ77XE4

The motherboard sells for about $150, and to get this model into today's review, we had to look for the most expensive supplier. We can say that it is cheap enough to participate in the next review of more affordable motherboards based on the Z77 chipset. Even though Biostar may compete in the cheaper price range, the company is confident enough in its products to provide the TZ77XE4 for testing against more expensive models.

By competitors' standards, at $160 the TZ77XE4 looks basic. It relies on a chipset with four USB 3.0 ports and shares eSATA with one of the internal ports. If you don't take into account the lack of additional USB 3.0 controllers, the Biostar motherboard can be compared to the model from ASRock for $165.

Both manufacturers offer internal reset and power buttons. Both have a Port 80 diagnostic display, swappable BIOS ROMs, and a CLR_CMOS switch, which is located on the rear I/O panel for the ASRock and directly on the board for the Biostar TZ77XE4. The TZ77XE4 board layout supports a triple graphics configuration with plenty of space between the three x16 slots, but the third slot is still limited to the Z77 controller's four PCIe 2.0 lanes.

Biostar engineers place the top x16 slot as close as possible to the DIMM slots between the mounting holes so that they are located as close to the top edge of the board as possible. This eliminates conflict between the video card and the DIMM slot latches, although the placement of the CPU interface has not changed. This arrangement limits the width of the CPU cooler to approximately 135 mm, and the offset of the DIMM slots can affect memory overclocking. While we can't test every cooler on the market for compliance, our tests will show if there are DIMM slot misalignment issues.

There are other unusual solutions, for example, the audio connector for the front panel is located above the second slot for the video card, and USB connector 3.0 for the front panel above the third slot. This does not accommodate graphics card coolers, but they may block PCIe x1 slots depending on how the card components are positioned.

The TZ77XE4 ships with four SATA cables, dual CrossFire and SLI bridges, and an I/O panel shield. There are not too many components, but quite enough for most assemblers.

Firmware Biostar TZ77XE4

The TZ77XE4 overclocks our processor to 4.74 GHz at 1.30 V with a base frequency of 100.9 MHz and a x47 multiplier.

Power and memory management are located in the same O.N.E menu. The first XMP profile allows you to enable DDR3-2692 mode on two G.Skill DDR3-2666 modules, but tests with four modules showed less impressive results.

In the overclocking menu O.N.E. More notable is the presence of settings for primary and secondary timings. Most competitors separate these options into a separate submenu to avoid cluttering the main menu.

The voltage parameters are located at the very bottom of the O.N.E menu.

ECS Golden Z77H2-A2X

ECS designers use gold, an international mark of quality, to highlight the abundance of features on the $220 Golden Z77H2-A2X motherboard. The platform contains USB Bluetooth receiver and Wi-Fi, an additional pair of USB 3.0 ports and an eSATA port on the I/O panel. With this feature set, ECS hopes to outshine its competitors.

Along the front edge of the board there is a mini PCIe slot for miniature devices (like laptops). The absence of a third video card slot is immediately noticeable. But considering that most users won't be using the four-lane PCIe 2.0 slot for graphics, this isn't such a big deal. The two slots still provide 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes from the CPU, which operate in x16/x0 or x8/x8 modes, depending on the number of graphics cards. The optional SATA 6Gb/s controller adds two internal ports, but the Z77H2-A2X only provides six. The reason is that one of the SATA 3 Gb/s ports of the chipset is used for eSATA, and the other is designed for an mSATA slot, which only exists in the firmware.

Like ASRock and Biostar, ECS did not forget about the internal power and reset buttons for the Z77H2-A2X board, but testers who need full reset, you will have to rely on the jumper for CLR_CMOS. ECS also solders the firmware IC directly onto printed circuit board, but at least the module has enough space to store user configuration profiles.

Above the four DIMM slots is a series of Easy Measure points that allow advanced users to easily check core, DIMM, memory controller, and integrated graphics voltages using meters.

We're not entirely clear why ECS would place one of the x1 slots directly below the top graphics card slot, leaving the next slot empty, given that most graphics card coolers occupy the second slot position and rarely intrude on the third. This limits PCIe switch placement, but does not explain why the current layout could not be ported.

By limiting the Z77H2-A2X motherboard to only two PCIe x16 graphics cards, ECS is able to accommodate USB connector 3.0 for the front panel on the bottom edge of the board without the slot conflict that many competitors often encounter. On the other hand, the audio connector for the front panel is still too far in the lower right corner and in some cases it will not be easy to route the cable.

Six SATA cables will make any builder happy. Also included in the Z77H2-A2X kit is a USB 3.0 adapter for the front panel, a flexible SLI bridge and internal antenna Wi-Fi.

Firmware ECS Golden Z77H2-A2X

Despite the fact that the firmware of earlier ECS solutions for enthusiasts was not up to par with its competitors, with the Z77H2-A2X board the company still reached a decent level. For the first time in modern history Setting the CPU Voltage Mode parameter to Ignore SVID allows you to set the desired voltage level, instead of guessing the result on the slider.

We had no problems tuning the processor to a competitive level of 4.69 GHz at 1.30 V, although we obtained this voltage at 1.25 V.

In our memory, this is the first board from ECS that provides Vdroop compensation, although it would be more correct to say “over-compensation”, since the lower parameter set to Enabled mode brings us closer to the desired limit.

The CPU Overclocking Configuration submenu includes settings for the base frequency, CPU multiplier, and power management.

By clicking on the Chipset Overclocking Configuration item, we get to the memory menu. XMP is supported correctly, although you must switch to manual mode to access primary, secondary and tertiary timings.

The motherboard does not assume an individual Auto value for each timing, but retains the same values ​​when changing, which is probably even better. For these screenshots, we first set XMP Profile to 1 and these settings returned when we switched to the manual configuration.

The Z77H2-A2X motherboard offers the highest DDR3-2741 memory mode in its class on a pair of G.Skill DDR3-2666 modules, but this figure decreased when tested with four DIMM slots occupied.

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H

Gigabyte's Z77X-UD3H motherboard offers a surprisingly rich feature set for the $160 price tag, including four USB 3.0 ports and a separate eSATA 6Gbps controller, in addition to the integrated chipset controller. The mSATA connector is also on the board and borrows one of the chipset's four SATA 3 Gb/s ports for SSD caching.

The layout of the board allows you to install two full-size video cards in two PCIe 3.0 slots, and at the same time there will be enough space between them for effective removal of hot air. However, the limitations of LGA 1155 platforms make themselves felt; sixteen CPU lines allow you to install one card in x16 mode or two in x8/x8 mode. When cards are installed, the mode is selected automatically. The third x16 slot is limited to four PCIe 2.0 lanes

The Z77X-UD3H includes all the features found in the competition, including internal power, reset and CLR_CMOS buttons, as well as a Port 80 diagnostic display. Gigabyte highlights the overclocking capabilities of the Z77X-UD3H with a series of voltage detection points in the top right corner. It's important to note that this is the cheapest motherboard that comes with two manually selectable BIOS ROMs.

The front-panel USB 3.0 connector is located behind the top edge of the memory slots, which is quite convenient. But there are also a few drawbacks to the board's layout. Firstly, the Intel Z77 chipset has only two USB 3.0 ports on the I/O panel, which during installation operating system will be occupied by the keyboard and mouse, since the other four ports will require a special driver to operate. Second, all four I/O panel ports share a single 5Gbps PCIe chipset connection. Thirdly (and most importantly), the audio connector for the front panel, located in the lower right corner, is too far away and in some cases, when pulling the wire to it, it will not be enough for about one and a half centimeters. Fourth (less significant), the latch of the eight-pin processor power connector is directed upward, which can create difficulties when disconnecting it in systems where the power supply is on top and the cable is pulled behind the motherboard.

For most users, the pros of the Z77X-UD3H outweigh the cons. And this is very important, given the relatively low cost of the board.

In the package you will find four SATA cables and a flexible SLI bridge. The set is not the widest, but will satisfy the needs of most assemblers.

Firmware Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H

Gigabyte produces reliable firmware with good opportunities for overclocking, but still often irritates us with its huge number of submenus, across which various settings are scattered. Main menu M.I.T. shows no more than the system status and a list of these same submenus.

For example, the Advanced Frequency Settings submenu shows only the base processor frequency, CPU and DRAM multipliers. Jumping to another submenu, we will find power management for the CPU as a whole and for each core individually.

We achieved a stable frequency level of 4.76 GHz at a voltage of 1.30 V using a base frequency of 101.32 MHz multiplied by 47.

Intel XMP modes work well in the Advanced Memory Settings submenu, but to change timings you need to go to an additional submenu. Changing the DRAM Timing Selectable parameter to Quick binds both channels to the same settings, and Expert mode allows you to change the timings for each channel separately.

Using voltage and timing settings, we were able to configure two G.Skill DDR3-2666 modules to DDR3-2721 mode.

The Advanced Voltage Settings submenu contains another list of submenus that could generally be combined. The 1.305V setting actually results in a voltage of 1.30V, and setting the VCore Load-Line Calibration to Turbo keeps the CPU voltage the same regardless of load.

MSI Z77A-GD65

Many review sites use the MSI Z77A-GD65 board to announce the chipset Z77 Express. Most of the characteristics are the same as those of competitors. However, MSI has added its own hybrid digital voltage regulator, which gives a slight increase in stability when overclocked.

Many authors argue that the USB 2.0 ports provided by the chipset should be used for low-bandwidth peripherals. This includes a USB mouse and keyboard. And since both devices are often needed, there should be at least two ports on the I/O panel. The MSI motherboard has four of them, while some motherboards have none at all.

For $170, we'd prefer fewer USB 2.0 ports and more USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel. Also, the value of the board could be increased due to the eSATA port. But the MSI developers instead decided to use one additional controller for the internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports.

Overclockers will immediately notice the presence of power, reset, O/C Genie and CLR_CMOS buttons on the rear panel. The Z77A-GD65 also includes a two-digit display, voltage detection points, and a BIOS ROM switch.

Given the FireWire port on the I/O panel, we were a little surprised to find an internal IEEE-1394 port. Perhaps MSI added it for older cases with FireWire connectors on the front panel, since many people do not like/fear/don't trust unconnected ports. Newer cases will benefit from using the front panel USB 3.0 header, which is located at the front of the board to avoid conflicts with graphics card slots.

Perhaps the most surprising feature of the Z77A-GD65 motherboard is the inclusion of two small dual-lane PCIe 3.0 switches between the second x16 slot and the battery. All boards in today's review automatically switch sixteen lanes of one slot to x8/x8 mode for CrossFire and SLI configurations, but the Z77A-GD65 supports x8/x4/x4 mode for configurations of three video cards. This should excite MSI's competitors since the third generation PCIe x4 slot provides the same bandwidth as the second generation PCIe x8 slot. This is enough for a triple CrossFire configuration if your hardware (CPU and GPU) are PCIe 3.0 compliant.

Mathematically, four PCIe 3.0 lanes are superior to four PCIe 2.0 lanes, so it's safe to say that MSI offers the best motherboard for triple SLI/CrossFire configuration in today's article. Therefore, we do not recommend PCIe 2.0 cards for users who plan to use three video cards in combination. These models are better suited for installing other devices without affecting graphics throughput.

Besides the complexity of deciding how to use the third PCIe x16 slot, there are several options in the Z77A-GD65 board layout. minor flaws. The eight-pin CPU power connector latch faces up, and the front-panel audio connector is too far in the lower right corner. The first problem is reflected in the difficulties with connecting wires in some cases with a top-mounted power supply, and the second is related to the difficulty of pulling wires that are not long enough.

We doubt MSI will ever get Nvidia's approval for the x8/x4/x4 design, so having a dual SLI bridge is to be expected. A configuration of three cards in a CrossFireX combination is possible using bridges included with two Radeon video cards. Like most competitors, the set includes four SATA cables.

Firmware MSI Z77A-GD65

MSI places the overclocking controls in a relatively small window in the center of the screen. If you don't pay attention to the "bloated" design, we get a good set of settings. On the first page of the OC menu there are settings for the base frequency, CPU multiplier and memory frequency.

Using a voltage of 1.30 V, we were able to overclock the processor to 4.77 GHz. It is worth noting that at this level of overclocking, we only used the Thermalright MUX-120 cooler with one fan for cooling.

Below you can find additional voltage settings and several submenus. We were able to configure two G.Skill DDR3-2666 modules to DDR3-2709 mode using the XMP values ​​of the MSI Z77A-GD65 board.

The CPU Features submenu includes settings for power and core multipliers. Increasing the base multiplier in the main menu allows the board to ignore the multipliers of each core.

In the Advanced Timing submenu, the user has access to settings for primary, secondary and tertiary timings. This menu includes settings for both channels if you set the Link parameter in the DRAM timing mode line of the main menu, or for each separately if you select Unlink.

Configuration and tests

Test configuration
CPU	Intel Core i7-3770K (Ivy Bridge): 3.50 GHz, 8 MB shared L3 cache, LGA 1155
CPU cooler	Thermalright MUX-120, thermal paste w/Zalman ZM-STG1
Memory	G.Skill F3-17600CL9Q-16GBXLD (16 GB), DDR3-2200 to DDR3-1600 CAS 9, 1.60 V
Net	Built-in Gigabit Networking
Video card	Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 1.5 GB: 772 MHz GPU, GDDR5-4008
Sound	Built-in HD Audio
Storage device	SSD Samsung 470 Series 256 GB, SATA 6 Gb/s
Second drive	SSD Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240 GB, SATA 6 Gb/s
Nutrition	Seasonic X760 SS-760KM: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold
Software and drivers
operating system	Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Chipset	Intel INF 9.3.0.1019 WHQL
Graphics driver	Nvidia GeForce 296.10
Virtu MVP	Version 2.1.110, GPU virtualization, HyperFormance off, Virtual Vsync off.

The Thermalright MUX-120 is quiet enough to handle the heat of an overclocked CPU with a core voltage of 1.30V. Our engineer friends say that 1.30V won't make much of a difference to CPU longevity, while a higher voltage level would require a more powerful system cooling.

While the G.Skill F3-17600CL9Q-16GBXLD modules provide us with the default DDR3-1600 CAS 9 settings we need for our tests, they are no longer fast enough to get the most out of today's best memory controllers. The company provided us with a new F3-2666C11Q-16GTXD Trident X DDR3-2666 kit specifically for expanding overclocking capabilities.

The Seasonic X760 SS-760KM 80 PLUS Gold power supply continues to perform well in efficiency tests and provides stable performance when overclocked.

Today we bypass PCIe 3.0 because this moment We do not have a compatible video card. Required level graphics performance To test the gaming capabilities of each motherboard, a reference will be provided GeForce video card GTX 580.

Tests and settings
3D games
Battlefield 3	Company mode, "Going Hunting" 90 seconds Fraps Test setting 1: Medium quality (AA off, 4x AF) Test Setup 2: Ultra Quality (4x AA, 16x AF)
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	Patch 1.4.27, Celedon Aethirborn level 6, (25 sec FRAPS) Test setup 1: DX11, high quality, (8x AA, 8x AF) Test Setup 2: DX11, Ultra Quality, (8x AA, 16x AF)
Metro 2033	Full version of the game, built-in test, "Frontline" scene Test Setup 1: DX11, High, AAA, 4x AF, No PhysX, No DoF Test Setup 2: DX11, very high, 4x AA, 16x AF, no PhysX, DoF enabled
DiRT 3	V1.01, run with parameter -benchmark example_benchmark.xml Test setting 1: high quality, no AA Test Setup 2: Ultra Quality, 8x AA
Audio/video tests
iTunes	Version: 10.4.1, 64-bit Audio CD ("Terminator II" SE), 53 min., converted to AAC audio format
Lame MP3	Version 3.98.3 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min., WAV to MP3 conversion, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 kbps)
MediaEspresso 6.5	Version 6.5.1210_33281: 1080i HDTV (449 MB) on iPad H.264, 1024x768
MediaConverter 7	Version 7.1.0.68: 1080i HDTV (449 MB) on iPad, SmartFit profile
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.95 Video: Big Buck Bunny (720x480, 23,972 frames) 5 minutes, Audio: Dolby Digital, 48,000 Hz, six channels, English, in Video: AVC Audio: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile)
Main Concept Reference	Version: 2.2.0.5440 MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 with HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2 channels, 16-Bit, 224 kbps), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
Tests - applications
WinRAR	Version 4.1: THG-Workload (464 MB) in RAR, Command line options "winrar a -r -m3"
WinZip	Version 15.5 Pro: THG-Workload (464 MB) in ZIP, Options command line"-a -ez -p -r"
7-Zip	Version 9.22: THG-Workload (464 MB), Command line options "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5"
Adobe Photoshop CS5	Version 12.1 x64: 15.7 MB TIF image filter: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates
ABBYY FineReader	Version: 10.0.102.82 Reading PDF saving in Doc,