GIGABYTE Z97X-Gaming G1 Black Edition Review

AkG · May 9, 2014

BIOS Rundown - Classic Mode Cont'd

BIOS Rundown - Classic Mode

The Advanced Power Settings section is particularly interesting for those who like to tweak since it allows for control over all elements of the VRM. Though once again we do wish GIGABYTE had included even more granular control over LLC (Load-Line Calibration) for the CPU.

The PC Health Status section is fairly good as it has readouts for most of the critical voltages and temperatures while the BIOS-based fan control has also improved. However, we found the Smart Fan tab in EasyTune does feature a little bit richer fan PWM functionality.

The System Information section displays the motherboard model name, BIOS version, allows users to set the BIOS language and set an administrator password. Boot device priority, enable/disable the full screen logo, selection of Windows 8 features and Boot Mode modifications can all be addressed within the BIOS features section.

The Peripherals section is where you can enable or disable all of the various onboard devices (FireWire, GbE LAN, audio codec, USB 3.0, RAID, etc). This is also where SATA devices can be set to IDE, AHCI, or RAID mode. The Power Management section contains the power management settings linked to the various power-saving sleep modes.

The Save & Exit section is pretty self-evident but you can also save or load BIOS profiles from within this area.

AkG · May 10, 2014

BIOS Rundown - Smart Tweak Mode

BIOS Rundown - Smart Tweak Mode

In the previous generation of GIGABYTE 'gaming' orientated motherboards the 'other' BIOS interface would have been called Dashboard Mode. This new Z97 model replaces that with a new mode which takes the best parts of Dashboard and removes the fluff. Called Smart Tweak Mode it is meant mainly for knowledgeable and experienced users who know their way around a BIOS but could appeal to intermediate users since there a completely customizable user interface here. As its name suggests, Smart Mode is actually very smart, albeit not very forgiving and certainly not filled with all the classic mode features. Instead this mode's main focus is overclocking.

In keeping with its minimalistic approach, the color scheme is black and white with only the occasional dash of color. As with the Classic Mode, Smart Tweaker consists six main sections: Frequency, Memory, Voltage, Miscellaneous, Home, and Save & Exit. Each section also has many subsections, but within them you will find a nearly endless array of overclocking options laid out in a surprisingly intelligent manner. In fact, for all but heavy tweakers these pre-configured pages will be more than good enough and if they the Home section allows for customizable pages. Much like Dashboard mode these additional blank pages are what push things over the top and make this mode nearly perfect for overclockers.

The Frequency section has only two sub-pages: Frequency and Advanced CPU Core sections. The default Frequency sub-page deals with all the usual 'simple' or 'auto' overclocking features the BIOS has to offer and includes pre-configured 'performance upgrades' which only require selecting one from a dropdown menu to implement.

As the name suggests the Advanced CPU Core Settings page allows for more fine grain control over the CPU settings. These included PLL settings, uncore ration & frequency, Turbo ratio, as well as an assortment of options that can help improve high overclock stability.

The Memory section has three sub-pages but only two are needed unless you populate all four memory slots. IN the default layoutyou will be able to select the memory multiplier, change the performance profile, monitor memory voltage, and obviously tweak timings.

The other two pages are dedicated to each memory channel. Within these pages you will find just about every memory setting that an enthusiast or overclocker will need to fine-tune their modules.

The Voltage section is pretty self-evident: it allows you to control the voltages to the various core parts of the system. To be precise you can control the power settings of the motherboard itself (e.g. Loadline calibration), the current proction levels and even PWM phase controller on the advanced Power settings page. The CPU core voltage page controls the voltage levels for the CPU and contains all the main voltages any overclocker will need access to dial in an overclock. The chipset voltage control page deals with PCH core and IO settings, while DRAM voltage control allows tweaking the voltages of the ram. To be blunt this last one should have been rolled into the Memory section as having to go to two different sub-sections is annoying. For this reason we recommend making use of the Home section and putting such options on the same custom page!

As mentioned previously the Home page allows you to create new pages consisting of only your settings. All. In. One. Place. When you do take the time to do this, this section is the only section you will ever visit again.

The Save & Exit section is pretty self-evident, but you can also change the mouse sensitivity and also which BIOS mode to use as the default.

AkG · May 10, 2014

Included Software

Included Software

“Killer” NPU Software Stack

The Qualcomm Atheros ‘Killer’ E2201 network processing unit or NPU comes with its own software stack. Unlike previous iterations, the driver and its associated application have been completely overhauled and given the full 'Metro' makeover. This actually results in a vast improvement as many of the features are much easier to find and not hidden behind countless menus. Unfortunately, if network customization isn’t within your comfort zone, it is very doubtful this particular feature would allow for any noticeable improvements over Intel-based solutions.

Sound Blaster Pro Studio

As has become the norm on today’s higher end PC gaming motherboards, GIGABYTE has included Creative’s Core3D audio chipset and its associated controller software. This application is very complete, boasts features like a full-band equalizer, noise reduction capabilities, and allows for the tweaking of individual channel volume levels.

Creative’s unique Scout Mode has also been rolled into this particular board. This enhances the soundstage for improved positional auditory cues in games. While it cannot exactly transform a sows ear into a silk purse, if you use it in conjunction with a pair of good headphones it has the capability to provide a noticeable advantage that you would not normally get from ‘onboard’ sound solutions.

GIGABYTE App Center

As with the G1.Sniper before it, GIGABYTE 's App Center is actually a launching pad for GIGABYTE’s disparate catalog of programs (or at least most of them). It is fully customizable and permanently resides in Windows’ notification area / system tray. To be blunt, for quick and painless navigation, this is one of the better examples out there.

Game Controller, FastBoot, Smart TimeLock, & System Information Viewer

Game Controller is an excellent addition to an already good suite of programs and will actually help some gamers. Much like ASRock's Fatal1ty's Key Master and Mouse Polling applications, this program allows for the creation of macros on keyboards and mice which lack such abilities. Basically, it replaces the software that comes with higher-end gaming peripherals and while not perfect, it is very good at doing precisely this.

Also like ASRock's application, GIGABYTE includes a Sniper option which temporarily allows you to change the DPI settings of any mouse, thus enhancing precision. In testing, this works every bit as good as Fatal1ty's version and can turn even the most basic mouse into a headhunting, zombie killing beast. For its intended audience this little option makes the Gaming G1 WiFi Black Edition much more enticing than the G1.Sniper 5 ever could hope to be.

Smart Switch provides a conventional start menu for windows 8. While not as powerful as Classic Menu it is nice to see Gigabyte include and automatically install such a program as not everyone knows about Classic Menu, but everyone needs a menu system when it comes to Windows 8!

System Information Viewer is another new program that shows extremely fine grain details on the state of your system with everything from CPU to memory to fan voltages covered. As an added bonus it also allows for quick configuration of any fans attached via either the four presets or total custom fan profile creation that is similar in its implementation to Asus' Fan Xpert 2 application.

Smart TimeLock allows for quick and easy configuration of exactly when the system can access the Internet but much like USB Blocker it is based on a fundamentally flawed premise: that software cannot be overridden. This means that since it is a software-based solution we just can’t put much faith in it. Such high level blocks are very easy to circumvent and only BIOS-level options can be considered even remotely secure.

AkG · May 10, 2014

Included Software, pg.2

@BIOS, USB Blocker, EZ Setup, & Live Update

The @BIOS program is fairly standard Windows based BIOS flashing tool which allows for saving the active BIOS to a file, updating via a saved file or connecting to GIGABYTE’s servers so the BIOS can be flashed to the latest version available. While Windows based BIOS flashing has come a long way, using the ultra-easy Q-Flash on startup does diminish the usefulness of this program, especially when you consider the fact that it does increase the chances of a bad BIOS flash and you still will have to reboot the system for any changes to take effect. However, if you want simple, easy to use Windows-based utility this is about as good an option as we have seen recently.

The USB Blocker program is an interesting addition, albeit one that is fundamentally flawed. It allows anyone with administrator rights the ability to pick and choose what types of USB devices can be seen by the OS. For example, if the Gaming G1 is used at a LAN party and you don’t want any random stranger plugging in a USB flash drive and downloading a virus to the system, USB Blocker tells the OS to ignore any attached USB storage devices. Unfortunately since it is a software-based solution we just can’t put much faith in it.

EZ Setup gives users a simple way to quickly and easily switch between IDE, RAID and AHCI disk modes from within Windows without having to modify or re-install the OS. This however is only a small part of what it can accomplish since EZ Setup can allow for quick and painless implementation of some of Intel’s latest technologies. In addition to being able to setup and modify Smart Response Technology (a hybrid SSD+HDD setup) you can also quickly turn on Rapid Start which allows a system to go from Hibernation mode to fully useable in mere seconds.

As an added bonus Intel’s Smart Connect feature can also be controlled which can bring a system out of sleep and update your social media information (e.g. download email, refresh your Facebook page, etc.) at set intervals. While none of these options are critical or even of interest to most consumers, GIGABYTE has made implementing them painless.

The Live Update program basically pings GIGABYTE's servers and checks for updates. It does this automatically when App Center is loaded but you will have to press on its icon before you can install any found updates. As an added bonus you can choose which updates to install and it is certainly not an all or nothing affair.

AkG · May 10, 2014

Included Software, pg.3

Smart Recovery 2

While it may have received a makeover since the G1.Sniper 5, Smart Recovery 2 is basically the same as what it was in past generations. Put simply it may still not be up to Acronis True Image levels, but it is well above average for a free shadow copy program.

For anyone who has never used Smart Recovery, Smart Recovery 2 is kind of like Windows Restore / Apple Time Capsule where you can roll back system settings or files to a previous implementation. Users can select just about any day, week, or month to roll back from, without having had to manually tell the program to create a backup flag. The first time you run it, it will scan and make a backup of your entire system and then, unlike the original Smart Recovery, check every hour for any modifications and backup just the files that have been changed.

Easy Tune

As with the G1.Sniper 5, the most important application in the GIGABYTE App Center is the Easy Tune utility. This is the heart and soul of GIGABYTE’s software suite and will be the most used program of the bunch.

When you open it up you will be greeted with a simple and clean interface that has been refined and simplified. Both Smart Fan and System Information have been removed and given their 'own' program: System Information Viewer. In combination with various improvements this makes the new implementation of East Tune the most powerful and easy to use version GIGABYTE has released to date.

When you open it up you will be greeted with a simple and clean interface. Along the left side of the screen are the four main sections of the Easy Tune program: Smart Quick Boost, Advanced CPU OC, Advanced DDR OC, and 3D Power.

While not listed along the side there is a fifth section: the hardware monitor. This upgraded and improved monitor runs along the side of the main application in a separate window and gives a well-tailored overview of voltages and other important system information in real(ish) time.

The majority of the real estate is given over to dealing with features and abilities of whichever option is chosen, but the default screen on start-up is Smart Quick Boost. In previous times this section is where you would spend the majority of your time while using this application but this is no longer the case as the majority of overclocking features are now in the two Advanced sections. Instead of trying to be too many things at once, the new and refined Smart Quick Boost deals simply with push button 'auto' overclocking.

The automatic options have now been expanded and cover a wider range of options. The main options are still Light, Medium, Extreme, and ‘Energy Saving’. Energy Saving deals with under-clocking rather than overclocking. This is actually a pretty novel idea for anyone that has excess system resources that only need to be used in certain instances. As with the previous generation, the Light option will provide a 4.1GHz overclock, the Medium 4.3GHz and the Extreme is still 4.5GHz on K-series chips. As a nice addition GIGABYTE has included the aptly labeled 'Default' option which removes any overclock and restores the stock performance levels of your CPU.

While these options are good enough, there is actually now a sixth option: Auto Tuning. Auto Tuning is a feature that was removed from the G1.Sniper 5 and we are pleased to see its return. It allows consumers to simply press a single button and let the software apply, and then quickly stability test any overclock. If it passes it will then increase the overclock, reboot and retest until the short stability test fails. We still recommend extended stability testing before considering any auto overclock truly stable, but this is a great addition for any novice overclocker as it will find a very good starting point upon which to start.

The manual overclocking abilities are accessed via the other three sections, but are easy to find as their names are very self-evident.

All CPU related manual overclocking will be found on the Advanced CPU overclocking tab, all RAM will be found on the Advanced DDR overclocking section and voltage will be found on the 3D Power section. All three sections are filled with features that most overclocking enthusiasts will need - but without first entering the BIOS to access them. However a reboot needs to be performed for any settings to take effect.

AkG · May 10, 2014

Test System & Testing Methodology

Test System & Testing Methodology

To full test the built in over-clocking abilities of a given motherboard, we have broken down testing into multiple categories:

Stock Turbo Boost - To represent a 4770K at stock with turbo enabled.

Software - To represent a Gaming G1 Wifi BE at best proven stable overclock achieved via included software based overclocking (4.3GHz).

Manual OC –To represent an experienced overclocker that is looking for the optimal long term overclock to maximize system performance while keeping voltage and temperatures in check (4.7GHz).

We chose benchmark suites that included 2D benchmarks, 3D benchmarks, and games; and then tested each overclocking method individually to see how the performance would compare.

The full list of the applications that we utilized in our benchmarking suite:

3DMark 8
3DMark 2013 Professional Edition
AIDA64 Extreme Edition
Cinebench R11.5 64-bit
SiSoft Sandra 2013.SP4
SuperPI Mod 1.5mod
RightMark Audio Analyzer 6.2.5
Sleeping Dogs Gaming Benchmark
Metro: Last Light Gaming Benchmark
Tomb Raider
BioShock Infinite

Instead of LinX or P95, the main stability test used was the AIDA64 stability. AIDA64 has an advantage as it has been updated for the Haswell architecture and tests specific functions like AES, AVX, and other instruction sets that some other stress tests do not touch. After the AIDA64 stability test was stable, we ran 2 runs of SuperPI and 2 runs of 3DMark to test memory and 3D stability. Once an overclock passed these tests, we ran the full benchmark suite and then this is the point deemed as “stable” for the purposes of this review.

To ensure consistent results, a fresh installation of Windows 8.1 was installed with latest chipset drivers and accessory hardware drivers (audio, network, GPU) from the manufactures website. The BIOS used for overclocking and benchmarking was version 1301 and the Nvidia drivers used were version 332.21.

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Our test setup consists of an Intel Haswell 4770K, GIGABYTE Gaming G1 BE motherboard, two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 video cards, 16GB of G.Skill Trident X 2133 9-11-11-31 1.6v memory, a Intel 335 180GB SSD, and a WD Black 1TB. All this is powered by an EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000 watt PSU.

For cooling we used a Corsair H105 AIO w/ four 140mm fans attached. For hardware installation testing we also used a Noctua NH-U12S and a XSPC Raystorm waterblock.

Complete Test System:

Processor: Intel i7 4770K Retail Lot# 3335B824
Memory: 16GB GSkill 2166 Trident X 9-11-11-31 1.6v
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 x 2
Hard Drive: 1x 180GB Intel 335 SSD. Western Digial Black 1TB.
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 AIO

Special thanks to EVGA for their support and supplying the SuperNOVA 1000 P2.
Special thanks to G.Skill for their support and supplying the Trident X RAM.
Special thanks to NVIDIA for their support and supplying the two GTX 780s

AkG · May 10, 2014

Feature Testing: Audio & Wireless Performance

Feature Testing: Onboard Audio

While the Gaming G1 WiFi Black Edition is mainly orientated towards PC gaming enthusiasts, the upgraded onboard audio is one of its main selling features. As such, it behooves us to see exactly what this upgrade brings to the table. To do this we have used RightMark Audio Analyzer.

This is one area we expected the Gaming G1 to impress and we weren't disappointed in the least. These results may not be as good as some audiophile grade PCIe based sound solutions, but they are much better than what used to be included 'free' with motherboards in the past.

By the same token these results are really no different than the G1.Sniper 5 it replaces. Worse still, since GIGABYTE now only includes one op-amp instead of two, the new gaming orientated board has less versatility than its predecessor.

Feature Testing: 802.11AC Wireless

As with the included onboard audio, the included 802.11AC wireless abilities of the GIGABYTE Gaming G1 WiFi Black Edition is one of its main selling features. To see exactly how good this 802.11AC upgrade brings to the table we have used some of our standard wireless testing scenarios. These tests include both real world file transfer performance and real world signal performance. The router used was an Asus RT-AC68U 'AC1900' router.

To test signal strength we use inSSIDer, a program which can graph signal strength of all wireless signals being received by the computer’s wireless NIC.For real world testing we have taken 10GB worth of small file and large file mixture and pushed from one wireless connected computer to a second computer connected via wired Ethernet. Testing will be done via MS RichCopy. For clarity sake we have averaged both the transmission and reception performance into one aggregate number.

GIGABYTE has always included decent wireless solutions with their gaming motherboard line and the new Gaming G1 is no exception. For most consumers this level of performance is more than enough and only a few early adopters will have a 802.11AC router capable of saturating this add-on card's abilities.

AkG · May 10, 2014

Feature Testing: Software Auto-Overclocking

Feature Testing: Software Auto-Overclocking

In the previous generation we felt there was one area in which GIGABYTE could have improved: auto overclocking. While their suite of tools was good, it just didn't feel complete in a time when the competition was coming up with ways to automatically stress test alongside their automated process.

While some enthusiasts may turn up their noses at the idea of software auto overclocking, having a tool at your disposal that delivers a quick, easy and stable performance uplift with a minimum of user involvement can be a huge time saver. Hence why a lack of stress testing within the Sniper 5's stable of tools didn't sit well with us.

This situation has now changed with the Black Edition. Beyond the usual Easy Tune software options of Light (4.1GHz), Medium (4.3GHz), Extreme (4.5GHz) and Energy Saving, the Auto Tuning option finally brings back an incremental approach to auto overclocking. It slowly increases clock speeds and voltage while running a stress test to ensure stability. In theory this should allow your processor to reach an optimal frequency without using one of the arbitrary, potentially unstable, presets.

Unfortunately, Auto Tune's implementation leaves a lot to be desired as it appears to simply start with the Light preset, then if it passes the built in ultra-quick stability test, moves on to Medium and then finally Extreme. It still doesn't touch uncore speeds, nor does it even try to modify memory performance besides implementing the XMP profile.

Perhaps the most egregious misstep is how short the stability testing is; anything beyond an instant crash is generally going to pass the Auto Tune's checker check. We fully expected this integrated test to take at least five minutes per run, yet it is more like 1 minute, at most.

The first time we tested the Auto Tune stability test, it locked the system up once the Extreme (4.5GHz) was attained. a manual reset was then necessary whereupon it automatically downgraded the overclock to the Medium (4.3GHz) setting. If this was the end of our journey, we would have been completely satisfied since all users would have to do is see if it a particular test passes and if it doesn't, reboot a let Auto Tune knock clock speeds back one rung.

Unfortunately, the very next time we tried the Auto Tune feature it actually passed and "certified" the Extreme / 4.5GHz setting as stable. Of course barely 20 minutes into our normal stability testing using AIDA64 the system locked up, proving that GIGABYTE's assumed stable overclock was anything but. We tried a third time and once again it locked up and downgraded the overclock upon failing the built-in stability test. The fourth time it once again passed, but once again failed our stability testing.

This situation presents a problem since it seems like Auto Tune acts like a game of overclocking Russian Roulette where you never know whether or not its acceptance of a "stable" clock speed will end up crashing the system. That's unacceptable in a time when competitors like ASUS, ASRock and MSI can offer tools that actually achieve reasonably automatically adjusted frequencies without any stability guesswork. As you might expect, we think Easy Tune's auto feature needs a serious tuneup before it can be considered a viable overclocking tool.

On the positive side, the 'Medium' preset of 4.3GHz was rock solid and fully stable. Of course, it should be rock solid and stable as GIGABYTE 's Auto Tune applied 1.315volts. For a simple 400Mhz overclock. These presets don't appear to modify the VRM LLC settings either. This meant the voltages were left bouncing around. To be fair the variance was minimal and at its 'worst' this meant 1.313V or a vdroop of 0.002. Obviously you will need good CPU cooling to keep such voltage levels in check.

AkG · May 10, 2014

Manual Overclocking

Manual Overclocking

After the less than stellar software based overclocking we had our hopes on attaining good frequencies with manual overclocking. Considering the achievements of past GIGABYTE boards, the expectations were high and with good reason since they provide an excellent suite of tools designed to make achieving high frequencies as easy as possible.

Put simply, when it comes to overclocking the GIGABYTE Gaming G1 Black Edition checks all the necessary boxes. On the hardware end of the equation the all-digital voltage subsystem (which proved to me more than capable of handling our 4770K) coupled with its integrated water blocks is rock solid. Mix in a BIOS that may not be precisely laid out in the most efficient manner, but is easily customizable and you do have a recipe for success.

All anyone really needs is a CPU that is capable of handling higher overclocking stresses, and a cooling system capable of keeping the CPU from thermal throttling. Since we have access to both these items, working with the Gaming G1 was a rather pleasant experience.

Naturally, the very first thing we did was take all the potential BIOS adjustment features and create a custom page in the Smart Tweak BIOS mode which did save a lot of time in the long run. However, using the modes in their default format (either Classicor Smart Tweak) is more than doable provided you want to navigate through a few pages as the overclock gets dialed in.

On the software side of the equation GIGABYTE's App Center and its much improved hardware monitor abilities were actually useful this time around. Its features a substantially quicker refresh rate and more in-depth readings which came in handy while tweaking the manual overclock. For this reason it certainly is a good tool to have in your arsenal and should not be ignored, even if you do plan to spend the majority of your time in the BIOS.

This actually brings us the next improvement: being able to implement FastBoot. The Sniper 5 didn't include an option to reboot into the BIOS so FastBoot couldn't be used until an overclock was dialed in. While this does only add a few seconds per reboot, mashing the keyboard on reboot did get tiresome. Now the Black Edition allows you to boot directly into the BIOS without any user involvement. It may not seem like much but it's a feature we welcomed with open arms.

On its own such features are certainly not something we would base our entire purchasing decision on, but are a nice little bonus the takes some of the frustration out of overclocking. More to the point, it is these minor refinements that simply underscore the time and effort GIGABYTE has put into making this motherboard the most overclocking friendly 'gaming' product they have ever released.

To be fair the results you see above are only partially due to the Gaming G1's hardware and malleable interface. The rest has been achieved through leveraging a horribly cold Canadian 'spring' with temperatures dipping down to zero at night and the resulting precipitous drop in ambient temperatures. Needless to say, 4770K's still run hot and even dual 140mm bay AIOs need every bit of help they can get to keep Intel's best from entering a China Syndrome meltdown event.

Even with cooling being taken out of the equation our 4770K hit a voltage and temperature wall at just past the 4.7GHz zone. Anything beyond 4.7GHz (even with massive increase in voltages) resulted in a non-stable system. After working within the chip’s boundaries, 4.4GHz on the uncore was also possible but past this point even chilly room temperatures were not enough to keep the CPU from thermal throttling.

With this taken care of we turned our attention to the RAM. By loosening the timings we were able to overclock our memory kit from the XMP profile of 2133 to 2400 quite easily. This combination was extremely easy to dial in and once again it was our parts and not the motherboard which were the limiting factor. This combination of 4.7GHz CPU, with 4.4GHz uncore, and DDR3-2400 RAM levels resulted in a fast, yet very stable system, something the included Auto Tune software overclocking application was unable to accomplish.

While we honestly doubt many consumers interested in the Gaming G1 will also be interested in 'non-K' / non-CPU ratio multiplier overclocking, base clock manipulation is an easy and straightforward process. As with the previous generation the Gaming G1 offers multiple preset options to start with. With only a moderate amount of effort we hit 170.90Mhz. This is certainly not the highest we have been able to accomplish with this particular 4770K but is still decent nevertheless.

Taken as a whole this motherboard may not actually be targeted directly at overclockers but its combination of good features, a customizable BIOS, and various software refinements will allow you to easily push frequencies far further than most CPU cooling solutions will allow.

AkG · May 10, 2014

System Benchmarks

System Benchmarks

In the System Benchmarks section we will show numerous benchmark comparisons of the 4770K and Gaming G1 using the stock speed (turbo enabled), software overclock of 4.3GHZ and our manual overclock of 4.7GHz. This will illustrate how much performance can be gained by the various overclocking options this board has to offer.

For reference the CPU speeds, memory speeds, memory timings, and uncore speeds used for these tests are as follows:

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SuperPI Benchmark

<i>SuperPi calculates the number of digits of PI in a pure 2D benchmark. For the purposes of this review, calculation to 32 million places will be used. RAM speed, RAM timings, CPU speed, L2 cache, and Operating System tweaks all effect the speed of the calculation, and this has been one of the most popular benchmarks among enthusiasts for several years.

SuperPi was originally written by Yasumasa Kanada in 1995 and was updated later by snq to support millisecond timing, cheat protection and checksum. The version used in these benchmarks, 1.5 is the official version supported by hwbot.</i>

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CINEBENCH R11.5

<i>CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer's performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON's award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation.

In this system benchmark section we will use the x64 Main Processor Performance (CPU) test scenario. The Main Processor Performance (CPU) test scenario uses all of the system's processing power to render a photorealistic 3D scene (from the viral "No Keyframes" animation by AixSponza). This scene makes use of various algorithms to stress all available processor cores. The test scene contains approximately 2,000 objects which in turn contain more than 300,000 polygons in total, and uses sharp and blurred reflections, area lights, shadows, procedural shaders, antialiasing, and much more. The result is displayed in points (pts). The higher the number, the faster your processor.</i>

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<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Gaming_G1_BE/cinew.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
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Sandra Processor Arithmetic & Processor Multi-Media Benchmarks

<i>SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. The software suite provides most of the information (including undocumented) users like to know about hardware, software, and other devices whether hardware or software. The name “Sandra” is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means "defender", "helper of mankind".

The software version used for these tests is SiSoftware Sandra 2013 SP3. In the 2013 version of Sandra, SiSoft has updated operating system support, added support for Haswell CPUs, as well as added some new benchmarks to the testing suite. The benchmark used below is the Processor Arithmetic benchmark which shows how the processor handles arithmetic and floating point instructions. This test illustrates an important area of a computer’s speed.</i>

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Gaming_G1_BE/sis.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

PCMark 8 Benchmark

<i>Developed in partnership with Benchmark Development Program members Acer, AMD, Condusiv Technologies, Dell, HGST, HP, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Samsung, SanDisk, Seagate and Western Digital, PCMark 8 is the latest version in FutureMark’s popular series of PC benchmarking tools. Improving on previous releases, PCMark 8 includes new tests using popular applications from Adobe and Microsoft.

The test used in below is the PCMark 8 Home benchmark. This testing suite includes workloads that reflect common tasks for a typical home user such as for web browsing, writing, gaming, photo editing, and video chat. The results are combined to give a PCMark 8 Home score for the system.</i>

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Gaming_G1_BE/pcm8.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

AIDA64 Benchmark

<i>AIDA64 Extreme Edition is a diagnostic and benchmarking software suite for home users that provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives.

The benchmarks used in this review are the memory bandwidth and latency benchmarks. Memory bandwidth benchmarks (Memory Read, Memory Write, Memory Copy) measure the maximum achievable memory data transfer bandwidth. The code behind these benchmark methods are written in Assembly and they are extremely optimized for every popular AMD, Intel and VIA processor core variants by utilizing the appropriate x86/x64, x87, MMX, MMX+, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE4.1, AVX, and AVX2 instruction set extension.

The Memory Latency benchmark measures the typical delay when the CPU reads data from system memory. Memory latency time means the penalty measured from the issuing of the read command until the data arrives to the integer registers of the CPU.</i>

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Gaming_G1_BE/aida.jpg" border="0" alt="" />
<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Motherboard/Gaming_G1_BE/aida_lat.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Results: As you can see the software based overclocking results do provide a tangible improvement over what a stock 4770K can accomplish. However, at only 4.3Ghz the Gaming G1's software results are rather mediocre compared to the manual overclocking results. The manual overclocking results just underscore exactly how much can be gained by putting a bit of time into overclocking.

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discussion GIGABYTE Z97X-Gaming G1 Black Edition Review

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BIOS Rundown - Classic Mode

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BIOS Rundown - Smart Tweak Mode

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Included Software

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@BIOS, USB Blocker, EZ Setup, & Live Update

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Test System & Testing Methodology

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Feature Testing: Onboard Audio

Feature Testing: 802.11AC Wireless

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Feature Testing: Software Auto-Overclocking

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Manual Overclocking

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System Benchmarks

SuperPI Benchmark

CINEBENCH R11.5

Sandra Processor Arithmetic & Processor Multi-Media Benchmarks

PCMark 8 Benchmark

AIDA64 Benchmark

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GIGABYTE Z97X-Gaming G1 Black Edition Review