Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD5H-WiFi review

stulid · May 3, 2012

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/IMG_0255.jpg

The front panel connection block to wire your case buttons to and yet another system fan header (bringing the total to 4).

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/IMG_0256.jpg

2 USB2.0 headers (the Red one is 3X power for quick charging) a trusted port Modual connector and next to this a Firewire header.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/IMG_0258-1.jpg

Audio connector for a cases headphone/microphone port, also a digital audio connector for connection to a graphics card/sound card etc.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/IMG_0476.jpg

This is the mSATA , useful for adding a small SSD that can be used for SRT (smart response technology) caching or just a small OS drive located on the board itself.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/IMG_0499-1.jpg

• PCI Express x1
• PCI Express x16 (switches to 8X if a second card is added to the 2nd 16X slot)
• PCI Express x1
• PCI Express x1
• PCI Express x8 (physically 16X long. it drops to 4X if the bottom PCI-E slot is used)
• PCI if you still have an old add-in card
• PCI Express x4 (physically 16X long, only available with an Ivybridge CPU)

This motherboard supports Dual SLI+Crossfire at 8X/8X, it also supports Tri Crossfire at 8X/4X/4X (with a Ivybridge CPU)

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/IMG_0497-1.jpg

This is the Realtek ALC898 onboard sound chip, it has X-fi emulation, has a very high 110dB S/N ratio, two amplifiers are also present to improve the sound quality. It's as good as, if not better than the solutions found on ASUS Republic Of Gamer boards.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/IMG_0506-1.jpg

Left to right,

• Dsub and DVI-D
• Optical S/PDIF, HDMI and Displayport
• Two USB2.0, Firewire and eSATA
• Gigabit LAN and two USB3.0
• Gigabit LAN and two USB3.0
• 7.1 Audio

The two LAN ports are provided by a Intel and Qualcomm Atheros chips, both very well regarded.

http://ark.intel.com/products/52963/Intel-82579V-Gigabit-Ethernet-PHY
http://www.qca.qualcomm.com/technology/technology.php?nav1=48&product=97

Heatsink fitment.

Ok, I don't have a large air cooler anymore, instead using a closed loop water cooler, but if you remember back to my review of the GA-Z68XP-UD4 then you will see that using a Titan Fenrir cooler caused issues with the mounting plate interfering with the first RAM slot, and the fan itself overhanging even the 2nd RAM slot, meaning I could only fit the cooler with the fan on the left hand side as I have tall Dominator RAM , not ideal.

It looks like this issue has been amended on this board and the extra space has been achieved by removing the gap between the RAM slots, an extra 5mm increase will make the world of difference

Splashtop Connect is the smart start page for browser that combines your most visited web sites, your history, your Facebook friends and your real-time news feed into an enhanced view for a more personal Internet experience.

• Intel(R) Management Engine Software(1.5M)
• INF Update Utility
• Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 Driver
• Creative SB X-Fi MB2

This is an SB X-Fi MB 2 package, comprising:
1.THX TruStudio Pro
2.SB Console
3.SB Jukebox
4.Music Server
5.Alchemy
6.EAX Gadget
7.Software Autoupdate

• Intel 825XX Series LAN Driver
• Atheros AR81Family PCI-E Gigabit/Fast Ethernet Controller Driver
• Marvell GSATA AHCI Driver
• Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver
• Intel USB 3.0 Driver
• ON/OFF Charge

• EasyTune 6

An easy-to-use Windows-based system enhancement utility allowing quick access to a variety of performance features.

• @BIOS

@BIOS provides utility for updating BIOS through internet or download BIOS file

•Smart Recovery 2

Smart Recovery 2 allows you to quickly back up and restore your system data in the Windows Vista/Windows 7 operating system.

• DMI Viewer

DMI Viewer provides a management tool for viewing motherboard hardware information.

• Face-Wizard

Face Wizard provides utility for customizing BIOS boot up screen.

• Q-Share

Q-Share is an easy and convenient data sharing tool for computers on a network.

• Update Manager

Gigabyte Update Manager can update Gigabyte utilities by internet

• Auto Green

Automatic system energy saving via Bluetooth phone.

• Acrobat Reader
• Lucid Virtu GPU Virtualization Software

LucidLogix Virtu GPU Virtualization technology allows users to dynamically switch between their built-in graphics and their high-end, 3D discrete graphics cards.

• Atheros LanOptimizer
• Win ZIP
• AIWI Game 64 bit

AIWI is a unique software that connects your PC to your iPhone/iPod touch. Once they are connected, you can use your iPhone/iPod touch as a wireless keyboard or touchpad,

• Intel Rapid Start Technology
• Intel Smart Connect Technology
• Splashtop Streamer

A computer with the Splashtop Streamer can receive connections from any device running Splashtop Remote Desktop

• Firefox browser

• GIGABYTE 3D Power Utility

Users can now enjoy a fully interactive 3D utility that facilitates adjustment of the 3 dimensions that control the power delivery
to your CPU and Memory: Voltage, Phase and Frequency.

• 3TB+Unlock
• EZ setup
• Cloud Station

Bluetooth/WiFi.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/IMG_0537.jpg

Bluetooth 4.0 and IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n support from this little card, a spare USB port so you dont lose the bandwidth of the PCI Epress slot its in.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/wifi.png
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/wifi3.png

Bluetooth works perfectly, the WiFi was able to pick up alot of signals from neighbours houses that are a distance away, impressed a lot.

Creative software.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/Untitled.png

There are more sections, but the ones above are the more interesting sections.

Gigabyte 3D Power Utility.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/cc.jpg

Easy tune 6.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/easytune62.png

Same as before, three selectable OC presets (Green/Yellow/Red) control of the frequencies/voltages/ratios but if you click on the Autotune button (circled) it takes you to another feature,

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/s.png

These needles on the dials sweep around a few times while checking the CPU ratio stability, BCLK stability etc, then after a few restarts and Bluescreens, it finally presents you with its idea of an Overclock, I found this final overclock to not be stable for me, I do actually wonder if I just have a bad overclocking CPU as my manual overclock isnt spectacular either.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/t.png

It can also save this profile for loading into the BIOS and storing.

Lucid MVP.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/lucid.png

This is improved on the Lucid Virtu found on the Z68 boards, it has two more features,

• HyperFormance.
• Virtual Vsync.

Tomshardware said:
Screen tearing is a phenomenon where more than one frame is displayed within a single draw on the screen. Traditional v-sync addresses this by aligning each frame’s output to a single draw cycle, reducing the maximum frames per second to the refresh rate of the monitor (typically 60 Hz). All frames are first completed by the GPU, and those that aren’t synchronous to the display refresh are removed from the output after completion. A frame must be displayed multiple times whenever the GPU’s output capability drops below 60 FPS, resulting in stuttering.

Virtual Vsync attempts to accomplish a similar task without the 60 FPS cap by analyzing rendering time, then instructing the GPU not to start the process on frames that might be later dropped. Preemptive frame elimination reassigns the rendering time that would have been spent on a dropped frame to the next frame, theoretically reducing stuttering. Yet, because this isn’t actual v-sync, it’s still possible to send two frames in a single refresh cycle, and the monitor only displays the first, resulting in an image that appears synced at 60 FPS, even though an app like Fraps will report performance greater than 60 FPS. In fact, this is the test scenario Lucidlogix prefers, reminding us that games that run slower than 60 FPS won't see any benefit from Virtual Vsync.

HyperFormance goes a little further than Virtual Vsync by attempting to preemptively remove any frames that wouldn’t be finished before the next frame is scheduled, again reassigning that rendering time to the next frame. Ideally, average FPS should be increased since partial frames don't tie up rendering resources. The only potential problem with this technology is game compatibility.

Testing.

Test setup,

i5 3570K
GA-Z77-UD5H-WiFi
GA-Z68XP-UD4
Corsair Dominator 1600Mhz (2X2Gb) DDR3
Corsair Force GT 120GB
GTX570
Antec Kuhler 920
Corsair TX750M

SSD performance,
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums...abyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/SSDperforamnce.png

Lucid VirtuMVP with CPU at 4.5Ghz,
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/Lucid-1.png

AIDA64 at 3.4Ghz (Turboboost/Speedstep disabled),
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/AIDA.png

Overclocking,

Using a i5 3570K as mentioned, getting to 4Ghz was easy, all I had to do was set the CPU ratio to 40X, disable Turboboost (or leave the CPU ratio alone and set all four Turbo ratios to 45X if you want the power saving feature) and save+exit the BIOS.

Next up was 4.5Ghz, using these settings,

CPU ratio of 45X
Turboboost disabled
LLC set to Turbo
Vcore set at 1.325v

Then 4.6Ghz with,

CPU ratio of 46X
Turbo disabled
LLC set to Extreme
Vcore set at 1.35v

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/Untitled2.png

4.7Ghz with more Vcore,

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/Untitled3.png

Wprime,
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/WPrime.png

SuperPI,
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/stulidreviews/Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi/superPI.png

Conclusion.

The UD5H is a stunning board, the new UEFI BIOS is easy to use and the mouse cursor is smooth within it, the board is built like a rock, lots of features to aid overclocking within the BIOS and found on the PCB itself, a great amount of connectivity (SATA ports/USB ports) having four display connectors means you can run three monitors using the onboard GFX. The audio quality from the Realtek ALC898 chip is so much better than previous sound solutions on motherboards I have used before.

I have had my GA-Z68XP-UD4 for nearly 9 months and in that time its been an absolute beast compared to the Asrock that came before it, I can see this UD5H continuing in the same fashion.

Pros.
Build quality.
Connectivity.
UEFI is fast and smooth, 3D mode is simple to use.
Brilliant sound quality, makes me miss my X-Fi sound card less.

Cons.
Wish it still had the Black/Grey theme of the previous Z68 boards.

Red Machine D · May 4, 2012

I was already 100% sold on this board as it is, but this made me feel great about my decision. Thank you very much for this very in-depth review.

gersson · May 4, 2012

Can't wait to try it out when I get home

Thanks for all of the nice pics!

pwrusr · May 4, 2012

Wow, great review...

This sold me on the board. The asus is going back after all the FUD that's been raised lately on asus's rma & tech support.

night_2004 · May 4, 2012

Awesome review. Still perplexed by Gigabyte's insistence that a PCI slot be included on the board. Doesn't that sacrifice the PCIe x1 lane that could have been there otherwise? Oh well, at least there isn't some stupid heatsink blocking the top PCIe slot like its predecessor (Z68X-UD5).

pwrusr · May 4, 2012

night_2004 said:
Awesome review. Still perplexed by Gigabyte's insistence that a PCI slot be included on the board. Doesn't that sacrifice the PCIe x1 lane that could have been there otherwise? Oh well, at least there isn't some stupid heatsink blocking the top PCIe slot like its predecessor (Z68X-UD5).

There are some soundcards out there that are only available in PCI.

I'm kinda happy gigabyte included a pci slot.

night_2004 · May 4, 2012

pwrusr said:
There are some soundcards out there that are only available in PCI.

I'm kinda happy gigabyte included a pci slot.

Well if PCI sound cards in demand, then why put the slot below the 2nd GPU slot? You're still screwed if you have CF/SLI.

I guess you can't really win on the layout though since relocating the PCI slot would remove one of the few PCIe x1 slots that would otherwise be available. Maybe if they had put in some kind of PCIe lane switch they could have diverted one of the PCIe x1 slots blocked by a dual GPU to the bottom slot (otherwise bypassing the x8/x8/x4 configuration for non-3x card gamers).

IDK. Just coming from a Z68X-UD5 where I literally cannot put another PCIe card if I needed it (want to add another TV tuner and/or more SATA ports)...yeah...

pwrusr · May 5, 2012

They aren't in high demand. Seemed to be put there for legacy purposes.

I may get some flack for this but...
The thing that I know I'll miss is the PS/2 port. Looks like I'm going to have to look for a replacement to my trusty IBM sk-8811.

Red Machine D · May 5, 2012

pwrusr said:
I may get some flack for this but...
The thing that I know I'll miss is the PS/2 port. Looks like I'm going to have to look for a replacement to my trusty IBM sk-8811.

I may get some flack for this, but you could always use a PS/2 to USB converter. This board seems to have an abundance of USB ports and headers...

pwrusr · May 5, 2012

I've been thinking just that actually.
I have a USB keyboard currently so I'm not in anykind of rush.

stulid · May 5, 2012

Thanks for the positive replies people.

Some of the BIOS's are Beta and dont work with my Corsair K90 keyboard, while others do work with it.

Luckily I have a old Microsoft media keyboard thats PS2 and use a cheap PS2 to USB adapter if I have to enter the BIOS.

Always keep a cheap no-nonsense keyboard stashed away in a cupboard,, you never know when you might need it.

mobhill · May 7, 2012

Thanks for taking the time to give us this great review and pictures. Now you have me leaning towards this board rather than the Z77 Sabertooth I was looking at.

EarthBrain · May 7, 2012

Where is the best place to buy this board ?

pwrusr · May 7, 2012

EarthBrain said:
Where is the best place to buy this board ?

Depends on where you live?
If in the US Newegg is always a safe bet

silversteel · May 7, 2012

Good luck with the Gigabyte board, mated with an Ivy Bridge they seem to have lock up and power off issues. (http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/48463-gz-z77x-ud5h-random-freezing-shutdowns.html).
Mine's been a sheer nightmare of testing EVERY component on known good systems to where it's simply the motherboard.

pwrusr · May 7, 2012

silversteel said:
Good luck with the Gigabyte board, mated with an Ivy Bridge they seem to have lock up and power off issues. (http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/48463-gz-z77x-ud5h-random-freezing-shutdowns.html).
Mine's been a sheer nightmare of testing EVERY component on known good systems to where it's simply the motherboard.

Interesting... I wonder if this is a BIOS issue that needs worked out?

pwrusr · May 8, 2012

I'll be running a 2600K for the foreseeable future on mine. Anyone have any issues with sandybridge CPUs?

stulid · May 8, 2012

pwrusr said:
I'll be running a 2600K for the foreseeable future on mine. Anyone have any issues with sandybridge CPUs?

I ran a 2500K on this board before the 3570K, no issues at all, in fact some online reviews suggest they got to the same overclock with these new Z77 boards but using a lower Vcore than Z68 boards with their Sandybridge chips.

d6bmg · May 8, 2012

Nice review mate!

pwrusr · May 9, 2012

stulid said:
I ran a 2500K on this board before the 3570K, no issues at all, in fact some online reviews suggest they got to the same overclock with these new Z77 boards but using a lower Vcore than Z68 boards with their Sandybridge chips.

That's good know know/hear

NathanP2007 · May 9, 2012

Thanks for the review. I am getting the non Wifi version, to go along with my soon to be purchased 3770K. I have read a few reviews on newegg about the Bios being so young that its causing issues. Though that sucks, i am willing to risk/endure through it. A Z77 motherboard roundup video i had watched basically said Gigabytes Bios are brand new so expect bugs and issues but they will be ironed out over time.

caw2007 · May 10, 2012

I use the non-wifi version of this board with a 2600K and have had zero issues up until today when I rebooted after windows updates and it dumped all my BIOS settings. I was on F5 and went ahead and updated to F6 official. Everything seems to be fine and this is a well known bug that hopefully F6 fixed... I know in beta BIOSes they are going into F8s so clearly they are still ironing out issues. Other than that it's been rock solid and I have no complaints.

Silver5656 · May 10, 2012

any pics with a heatsink installed? I wanted to know how wide of a cpu cooler I could get w/o blocking the first pcix1 or even the pcix16

stulid · May 20, 2012

Silver5656 said:
any pics with a heatsink installed? I wanted to know how wide of a cpu cooler I could get w/o blocking the first pcix1 or even the pcix16

Not from me i'm afraid, I use a closed loop cooler so the area around the CPU socket is clear.

I found this though - http://i45.tinypic.com/2qsz3uw.jpg - thats a Alpenföhn K2

pwrusr · May 20, 2012

stulid said:
Not from me i'm afraid, I use a closed loop cooler so the area around the CPU socket is clear.

I found this though - http://i45.tinypic.com/2qsz3uw.jpg - thats a Alpenföhn K2

Yes, you're going to need a BIIIIIG air cooler to even come close to blocking that first pci-e slot

pchealth 2 · May 23, 2012

stulid said:
Thanks for the positive replies people.

Some of the BIOS's are Beta and dont work with my Corsair K90 keyboard, while others do work with it.

Luckily I have a old Microsoft media keyboard thats PS2 and use a cheap PS2 to USB adapter if I have to enter the BIOS.

Always keep a cheap no-nonsense keyboard stashed away in a cupboard,, you never know when you might need it.

Hello stulid, with regard to your K90 keyboard on Z77X-UD5H I think they got the latest beta F8c to work.
http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/28441-gigabyte-latest-beta-bios.html
Maybe ou want to try.

Eradan · May 24, 2012

I'm interested in the audio capabilities of this board. I have a X-Fi XtremeMusic that I would like to retire when I move to Ivy Bridge so I can use the audio connections on the front of my case.

I tried the onboard audio on my Gigabyte EP45-UD3L (Realtek 888 audio) and while the sound quality was not objectionable, the volume output to my headphones was very weak so I switched back to the X-Fi.

I suppose there's no way to know if the sound on the UD5H will be sufficiently loud until I try it myself. But maybe someone else has compared the UD5H onboard audio with an X-Fi card?

E

reb00tin · May 24, 2012

So Gigabyte finally has fan control ?! Normal, Silent & Manual on ALL 4 fans ? Asus eat your heart out

ill · Jul 1, 2012

Nice review. Board sucks, but nice review. Had the same freezing and blue screen issues with GA-EP45-UD3P. Seems the problem still haunts the updated boards. Too bad for Gigabyte.

Eradan · Jul 2, 2012

ill said:
Nice review. Board sucks, but nice review. Had the same freezing and blue screen issues with GA-EP45-UD3P. Seems the problem still haunts the updated boards. Too bad for Gigabyte.

No issues whatsoever with mine. Board doesn't suck...you just got a bad one.

KayossZero · Jul 4, 2012

ill said:
Nice review. Board sucks, but nice review. Had the same freezing and blue screen issues with GA-EP45-UD3P. Seems the problem still haunts the updated boards. Too bad for Gigabyte.

Well sounds like you got a dud or Pebkac. My UD5H has been flawless with the latest bios(s) on my 3770K @ 4.8ghz and my UD3P has been rock solid stable 3.5+ years running since January 1st 2009 with my E8400 @ 4.3 GHZ.

fullback100 · Jul 27, 2012

Thanks for the review~!

Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD5H-WiFi review

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