GIGABYTE Z68X UD4 Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅11-05-11
Test Setup & Overclocking

CPU Intel Core i5 2500K (3.3GHz)
Motherboards
- GIGABYTE Z68-UD4
- Foxconn Rattler P67
- ASUS Sabertooth P67
- ASUS P8P67 (LGA1155)
- Foxconn P67A-S
- ECS P67H2-A (Black Extreme)

Memory 4GB Kingston HyperX CL9 1600MHz
CPU Cooler Noctua NH-D14
Graphics ZOTAC GTX 460
PSU OCZ Fatal1ty 750W

All P67 Sandy Bridge motherboards will be benchmarked against each other using the Intel Core i5 2500K. The maximum overclock will also be included within the proceeding benchmark tests to identify performance gains as a result of tweaking CPU clock speed via the multiplier.

Overclocking

As previously mentioned in our Intel Core i5 Sandy Bridge Roundup - overclocking is achieved by altering the multiplier rather than the BCLK. So the BCLK stays at 100MHz and the multiplier is modified. So if we have 100MHz on the BCLK and 40 for the multiplier this will obviously output 4GHz. We chose to use the Intel Core i5 2500K across each of the motherboard tests and indeed for the overclocking due to its unlocked multiplier.

With overclocking simplified on Sandy Bridge, this means that achieving the best overclock couldn't be easier. CPU voltage and multiplier just need to be modified accordingly. I tried two different Intel Core i5-2500K chips during the overclocking process here and settled for 4.5GHz @ 1.4v. Guidelines do specify that around this region of voltage and beyond can have a negative impact on longevity of a chip. I even tried tweaking PLL and VTT but both chips would not play ball. 4.5GHz is still a rather impressive overclock, although it would have been nice to take it higher.

NOTE: Voltage in CPU-Z doesn't show actual voltage. Z68 isn't currently fully supported.



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