(Note: this is not the GeneZ gen 3, which is looking forward to Ivy Bridge with full PCIE 3.0 compatibility, but will require a PCI-E gen 3 CPU, which will be Ivy Bridge).

Z68 is the latest of cougar point based socket 1155 chipsets that combines most of the features of the preceding chipsets while adding some new ones. It has the Integrated Video capability of H67, the overclocking capability of P67, and workstation Virtual IO capabilities (Vt-d) like the Q67/C200 series products.

Adding on to that, the Z68 brings Lucid Virtu graphics to the table and Intel’s (RST) SSD caching capabilities to give your system more features and performance without breaking the bank.

Lucid Virtu enables a combination of the integrated graphics core present in all Core I 2nd generation chips with a discrete video card for when gaming power is needed. There are two methods, combined and discrete. The first allows the user to use the integrated controller until 3D graphics mode is needed, then the discrete power kicks in. Discrete mode uses the added in video card (and monitor is connected to that card. This allows the PC to use discrete cards 24/7 but still have access to AVX encoding features of the CPU.

In the last Z68 review this was not a good trade off unless you routinely encode 1080P video into ipod format. For transcoding (one codec to another), or 1080P to 720P the difference was minimal. So the 2-10% performance detriment across the board was not worth it to save 100% of the time in ipod conversion and no time to slower conversion in high def transcoding.

SSD caching uses up to a 64GB SSD in combination with a regular HDD, giving you the low latency and performance of an SSD with the previously low cost and large capacity of a mechanical drive. It sounds incredible a way to purchase cheap SSDs and get high performance benefit. This gets tested in this review.

ASUS

ASUS comes from the last four letters of the word “Pegasus.” A mythical winged horse, it has been chosen for the company’s name because it represents Strength, Creative Spirit, and Purity. Winged (or even terrestrial) equine science is not something you will find in abundance here at TechREACTION, but rigorous testing and evaluation of manufacturers’ PC-related products is. Strength is definitely an attribute ASUS brings to the table, being the largest motherboard manufacturer in the world. Creative Spirit is epitomized both by being early to market with new technologies as well as the aesthetics they put into their product designs. Purity is exemplified by the total package experience. Products that go above and beyond what one expects, and a knowledgeable staff to help get you working or playing beyond your expectations.

Republic of Gamers

For years since its establishment, ASUS aimed to put an ever-greater emphasis on PC gaming. This process resulted in the 2006 founding of the Republic of Gamers brand (ROG), formed for the sole purpose of delivering the most innovative hardcore hardware for truly dedicated gamers. 
 
Since then, the efforts of the ROG team have led to a constant flow of PC gaming technology that has become legendary among enthusiasts for its performance. ROG is more than just hardware, though – we take an active part in the global gaming community, helping develop the industry by sponsoring events such as QuakeCon, BlizzCon and Dreamhack. Worldwide media have recognized ROG as a leader in PC gaming, with many of our products winning awards and gaining very positive feedback from hardware pros. 
 
With this great response from gamers and the industry, ROG has all the resources it needs to keep working on enabling even better experiences – technology never sleeps, nor should the action!

The Features

The board features many of the standard AM3+ features, such as USB 3.0 and SATA 6 GBps, as well as rapid charging for cell phones and other USB accessories via the enchanced power states of the USB 3.0 controllers. It also supports the next generation AMD FX “Bulldozer” processors as well as handling all of your current Generation AM3 CPU needs. The board supports memory speeds up to 2000 MHz (via OC) and can use AMD overdrive overclocking/tuning software. Most importantly, however, is the inclusion of SLI capability on an AMD system. Such a thing is a shock indeed, and the 990FX chipset saw fit to have both CrossfireX and Tri-SLI capabilities built into it.

What Gigabyte brings to the table on their own is the 2x copper PCB branding, a wicked truly black PCB with a tuned and stable power delivery system. Gigabyte believes in Blu-Ray quality HD sound and all boards are now shipping with 108dB SNR audio. A dual BIOS provides extra system stability in the event of a bad flash or corruption due to extreme overclocking. 3TB+ drives are supported for increasing storage to the maximum limits, and, to further augment your storage needs, it offers a software called XHD, which automatically sets up a RAID0 stripe when using the AMD SATA 6Gbps ports.

Gigabyte is also supporting remote device functionality with BIOS support via some new software. TouchBIOS allows you to attach a touch screen monitor and access the BIOS much like a Android app. CloudOC lets you remotely clock your PC via Bluetooth or 802.x interface. One more feature (Gigabyte loves their 3’s!) is called Autogreen. With an optional Bluetooth transceiver your computer can be set to automatically go into a sleep state when your cell phone leaves the vicinity of the PC.

Without further ado, let’s get onto the GA-99FX-UD5 AM3+ motherboard.

Micro Star International, or MSI as it better known, brings us one of their new G3 line of Intel Z68 motherboards today. The MSI Z68A-GD65 G3, is a feature rich, socket 1155 motherboard, designed for use with the current Intel Core i second generation series, Sandy Bridge CPUs as well as the forthcoming Ivy Bridge processors. Compatibility with a product that will not even be out for another year, implies an expectation of quality, and MSI backs the GD65 (and its big brother the GD80) with a 5 year warranty.

MSI is a known entity among the DIY/Enthusiast market. After building their brand as a “behind the scenes” player in the PC market, they took their technical know how and delved into the enthusiast and overclocking markets like gang busters.

From MSI

Since its founding in 1986, MSI has been demonstrating continued success in digital age. To achieve the best user experience, every component is essential. In the past 25 years, MSI always strives to provide digital products based on its core values –“Innovation” and “Style”. The results are products with superior performance, trusted reliability, excellent user experience and expressive style.

Embracing years of experience in design and manufacturing, MSI mainboard and graphics card have achieved maximum productivity by becoming one of the top 3 in the world. Our hard work has led us to become one of the finest brands in the industry with accumulated sales in more than 120 countries, 150 million mainboard users and 100 million graphics card users worldwide.

Z68 Gen 3

For a complete break down of the specifications arranged nicely with iconic graphics, please visit MSI’s website. We will cover the important aspects here of course.

• Warranty – 5 years
• PCI express – 3rd generation
• CPU support – Current and future LGA1155
• Military class II – Tantalum (Hi-c) and solid caps
• Click BIOS II – Same interface in BIOS as in Windows
• OCGenie II – One button overclocking
• Virtu – Hybrid Graphics between Intel IGP and Discrete video
• THX Studio Pro – High Fidelity audio
• Super Charger – Charge your Cell or media player quickly
• Winki 3 – Quick boot to Linux OS from DVD or USB drive
• 3TB+ Infinity – Use 3TB drives as boot device

MSI is committed to building a superior product that will last well into the next generation. This commitment is evident in the following features.

The warranty period of 5 years applies to both the GD65 and the GD80 G3 motherboards. The Military Class II technology; Hi-C Tantalum solid caps and Super ferrite chokes also play a key role. Tantalum caps were introduced by MSI last year, the ceramic devices offer up to 6 year lifespan at 85C operating temp. While these superior components are more expensive, they offer greater reliability to the end user and actually save money for the manufacturer with reduced repair authorizations (RMA’s).

The PCI Express 3 slots give the motherboard Ivy Bridge compatibility, and ensure that future generations of cards will work to their full potential. Lastly the 3TB+ Infinity support means that not only are the highest density hard drives supported on the motherboard, but that with a compatible OS they can be used as boot drives as well.

*NOTE: Installing Winki 3 also enables HDD backup. Imaging software is used to restore your OS in case of HDD failure. It is surprising not to see this displayed on the package as a feature, it is a great one.

The GD65 is more than just a durably designed motherboard. Features are what users look for with motherboards in the enthusiast range of products. The board sports the usual accessories you would expect on a LGA1155 motherboard: USB 3.0 (supplied by Renesas), SATA 6G, a push button OC tool and a USB super charger utility.

MSI takes it a step further though, including the new Lucid Virtu technology, that gives the user power saving and performance improving options by combining both the IGP located on the Intel CPU as well as a discrete card. THX Studio Pro licensing gives high fidelity controls to the onboard Realtek audio chip, enabling fine control and improvement of audio output. Winki 3 is also included and can be run from the included Driver DVD or installed to a separate USB stick.

The last key feature of the MSI Z68A-GD65 G3 is Click BIOS II. While mouse control in a UEFI BIOS is not unheard on motherboards these days, MSI has taken the next evolution in BIOS control. Installing Click BIOS II in Windows offers the user the same screen layout and features as the BIOS from within your operating system. While some changes will still require a restart, the implications for simplicity are readily apparent.

Due to time constraints for the review, exploring every feature of the board is not going to be possible. Key features are covered however, as well as performance testing with the Virtu GPU enabled. On to the photos!

Today, we look one of their peripheral offerings – a PCI Express expansion card that provides a internal 19 pin USB 3.0 header. The SST-EC03, or simply EC03, is a small PCI Express 1x lane device that adds USB 3.0 connectivity to an older PC, or expands the number of USB 3.0 ports for newer systems that have it already. It also includes a mounting panel that will fit in a 3.5” external front bay.

The Product

The EC03 uses the new Renesas D720200AF1 controller. Similar in most ways to the D720200F controller found on many motherboards with NEC USB 3.0, the new version of the chip provides improved idle mode power saving features, and consumes only 20% of the power required by the older chip.

Unlike many other PCI-E devices, the EC03 uses a 4 pin peripheral connector for power. This allows the elimination of power rectifiers, thus decreasing cost and increasing efficiency. However, it also means running one more wire across the interior of one’s case, something many enthusiasts may not be keen on doing.

Next: A Closer Look at the EC03

Sapphire Technology is well known for their line of AMD/ATi video cards but they are also making motherboards. What can a video card company bring to the table? Name recognition that has been earned over the years by producing quality products.

Packaging

Sapphire has an all business approach with the packaging by pointing out the features. Other than the “Pure Platinum” badge it is a no frills look.

Product Shots

The Mosfets need no cooling and the Bluetooth does not take up a USB port. The design is pretty good; especially having the MINI-PCIe (bottom right) slot on the bottom of the board. Things are a bit less cramped than boards that have the slot located on the top.

Next: Specifications and Software

The P8P67 PRO is one of the latest Cougar Point motherboards from ASUS for the LGA 1155 “Sandy Bridge” architecture. Targeted between the basic P8P67 and the Deluxe, the motherboard aims to bring nearly all of the power of the Deluxe, at a more modest price point.

For a more detailed breakdown of the Sandy Bridge Architecture with features like ASUS DIP2 and Digi+ VRM (covered in brief in this review), please check out the P8P67 Deluxe review.

The P8P67 Pro brings choices to the table. Without the added cost of a PCIE PLX chip, the Pro still brings 3 PCIE x16 slots and 2 PCIE x1 slots into play leaving the exact configuration up to the user, because not all slots can run at the same time.

The Pro version of the P8P67 series includes: integrated Bluetooth connectivity, DTS Ultra-PC audio license, and an Intel Network device to socket 1155 much like the Deluxe. It lacks the full bandwidth of the Deluxe model, and focuses on users that are not running multiple GPUs with bandwidth-hungry SATA3 (6GB/sec) and USB3 devices.

ASUS

ASUS comes from the last four letters of the word “Pegasus.” A mythical winged horse, it has been chosen for the company’s name because it represents Strength, Creative Spirit, and Purity. Winged (or even terrestrial) equine science is not something you will find in abundance here at TechREACTION, but rigorous testing and evaluation of manufacturers’ PC-related products is. Strength is definitely an attribute ASUS brings to the table, being the largest motherboard manufacturer in the world. Creative Spirit is epitomized both by being early to market with new technologies as well as the aesthetics they put into their product designs. Purity is exemplified by the total package experience. Products that go above and beyond what one expects, and a knowledgeable staff to help get you working or playing beyond your expectations.

Next: Specifications & Packaging

MSI has seen the potential in the new AMD Fusion CPU. The MSI E350IA-E45 is a feature rich micro ITX board with the potential to be the heart of your next HTPC with it’s excellent integrated graphics; an effective home server with its 4x SATAIII ports, or even an adequate daily driver with DDR3 support and low heat output.

The packaging is pretty standard, including two SATA cables. The rear panel has a nice set of external connections. With 8 USB ports (two of which are USB 3.0), PS2 port, Gigabit LAN, Optical audio out, COAX audio out, standard audio jacks, D-Sub and HDMI out, this board is not lacking.

Internal headers and connections include: com port header, 2x USB 2.0 connectors, 1x front panel audio connector and a TMP connector. This little board seems pretty well outfitted.

The HSF is well designed with a decent amount of surface area and is also pleasing to the eye. In addition, the PCIe slot is good for those wanting a little more horse power out of an add-in GPU. Keep in mind that it is only 4x V2 and big cards may not work due to the proximity of the 24 pin connector and the memory slots.

The standard slots and sockets are great compared to some boards that require a non-standard power supply and use laptop memory.

The only potential issues with the design of the board were the single fan header and the battery location. The other limitation is the 4x PCIe slot, but that is more related to the CPU/Chipset than the actual board design itself.

Next: Background

Gigabyte has been on a role in the last few years with their mid-range lineup of motherboards, specifically the UD3 and UD4 series, have a huge following and are highly regarded within the community.  They have earned their spot for good reason too, and the value pricing combined with top notch overclocking capabilities have been a tough act to follow.  With the release of Intel’s latest platform, will the Gigabyte mid-range hold onto it’s competitive edge? 

The Gigabyte P67A-UD4

P67A-UD4 & box

The motherboard that we have for you today sits right in the middle of the P67 lineup at $189.99.  It carries the “Ultra Durable 4″ naming scheme of it’s predecessors, which indicates a balance between price and features, in comparison with the UD3 line and the higher end UD5 and UD7.  For example, the UD4 shares the Realtek ALC892 audio codec of the UD3 boards, but supports Crossfire and SLI technology like the UD5 and UD7 boards.  However, if you plan to run two graphics cards in your system, whether AMD or Nvidia based, this is the least expensive solution that will support a dual PCIe x8 configuration.  It also splits the difference with a 12 phase VRM design, compared to a 6 phase design on the UD3, and a 20 or 24 phase on the UD5 or UD7 respectively. 

A Closer Inspection

On paper that means the UD4 is the best choice for a serious gaming machine or workstation at a mid-range price.  The UD5 and UD7 do have compelling features, but the difference in price will make the UD4 the choice for most cost sensitive buyers.  The question is; does the UD4 have what it takes to convince buyers in this highly competitive market? 

P67A-UD4 layout

We are big fans of the new color scheme, it’s aesthetically pleasing while remaining unique.  This is the first time we’ve seen a matte black PCB on a mass production motherboard and looks great!  The UD4 only includes 4x fan headers, which is about average for a mid range board, however 5x or more would make it a bit more appealing. 

P67A-UD4 top

The board supports up to four 8GB DDR3 DIMMs and has a 12 phase VRM design cooled by a robust heatsink. 

P67A-UD4 onboard I/O

1. 1 x front panel audio header
2. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
3. 3 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
4. 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header
5. 1 x serial port header

It’s also worth noting that the UD4 does not feature any on-board buttons. This makes using the board on a test bench a bit more tedious, but for most users, it will be a non-issue.  The CMOS jumper may be an issue for many users (more on that in a bit). 

P67A-UD4 storage

1. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
2. 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors

The P67 chipset supports native control of up to 6 SATA hard disk drives, two of which can be SATA3 devices.  There aren’t any 3rd party controllers built-in, so no legacy IDE drives here.  In order to get more storage options, you’d have to step all the way up to the UD7, or simply add on a 3rd party PCI/PCIe controller.  The board does have Gigabyte’s DualBIOS™ technology for redundancy in case of BIOS corruption.  Gigabyte also claims 3GB+ boot compatibility, typically a limitation of this “old” BIOS technology.  Gigabyte is also promising compatibility with UEFI in the future. 

P67A-UD4 PCIe layout

The UD4 has a fairly straightforward layout with two physical PCIe x16 slots for dual graphics cards.  If only the top slot is occupied, it operates electrically at PCIe x16.  When both slots are in use, each one operates electrically at PCIe x8. 

P67A-UD4 CPU socket

The LGA1155 socket will accept all aftermarket cooling solutions developed for the LGA1156 socket as well.  Here you can see the 12 phase VRM design, which Gigabyte actually calls a 6+6 design allowing the board to run on only 6 phases to save power when the CPU isn’t fully loaded. 

P67A-UD4 back panel I/O

1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
2. 1 x coaxial S/PDIF Out connector
3. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
4. 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
5. 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
6. 2 x eSATA 6Gb/s ports
7. Gigabit ethernet jack
8. 6 standard analoug audio connectors

P67A-UD4 backside

Next: Overclocking on the UD4…

ASUS comes from the last four letters of the word Pegasus. A mythical winged horse that they have chosen for their company name; it represents Strength, Creative Spirit and Purity. Flying Horse Experience is not something you will find in droves here at TechREACTION, but rigorous testing and evaluation of manufacturers PC related products is. Strength is definitely an attribute ASUS brings to the table, being the largest motherboard manufacturer in the world. Creative Spirit is epitomized both by being early to market with new exciting technologies as well as the aesthetics that they put into their product designs. Purity is exemplified by the total package experience. Products that go above and beyond what one expects, and a knowledgeable staff to help get you working and playing beyond your expectations.

The P8P67 Deluxe is a LGA1155 Socket motherboard supporting Crossfire and SLI in a x8/x8 configuration, or a single GPU with up to 16 Lanes of PCIE 2.0 bandwidth at its disposal. 16+2 phase power supplies more than enough clean power to the CPU to max out the capabilities of the Sandy Bridge architecture, and 4 additional phases will handle the DRAM slots for pushing modern 2000+ MHz DDR3. The board features a UEFI BIOS, Bluetooth, Power Over E-SATA, and an Intel Network IC. Two integrated USB 3.0 ports with 2 more added through the included front panel expansion device, and 4 SATA 3 (6 Gbps) ports provided by the PCH and Marvell controller.

Digi+ Power Dual Processor enhancements allow the motherboard to both overclock, and enhance low power capabilities of the architecture, through use of the EPU and TPU processors. ASUS again institutes the Mem Ok! feature to enhance memory compatibility. Firewire is included on the IO panel, as well as up to 10 channel audio by mixing the 7.1 rear connections with concurrent 2 channel front panel audio.

LEDs abound with post indicators for Memory, CPU, VGA, Boot devices and RAM. (Dubbed the QLED Diagnostic system).Decorative LEDs, a 2 digit post code display and lit on-board power and reset buttons round out the illumination fixtures.

In an effort not to put the cart before the horse, the full feature portion of the P8P67 Deluxe review will follow an introduction to the new Sandy Bridge CPUs and Cougar Point based motherboards.

Sandy Bridge In Brief:

Sandy Bridge is the newest “tock” architecture from Intel. Based on the popular Westmere chips of 2010, the CPU has been redesigned with multiple new features. Ring bus topology has replaced QPI with bandwidth up to 96GB/s, new 256 bit AVX instructions for improved FP operations, an improved GPU with turbo feature, and 32nm design for lower power usage. The Sandy Bridge CPU is more efficient than previous generation CPUs. Sandy Bridge will also include a Video Transcoder on-die, as well as a new cache for micro-ops.

Sandy Bridge uses an LGA1155 socket for mounting, and is not compatible with the previous generation LGA1156; neither CPU or Motherboard. The heatsink mounting pattern, however, is 1156 compatible. So a new HSF will not need to be purchased if you are upgrading from a P55 platform. While certain features remain the same, (IOH and ICH have been replaced with a singular PCH, like LGA1156) other improvements have been made. In lieu of using an MCM design of CPU and NB on silicon, the LGA1155 is a true on-die chip with IMC and GPU included as a single unit.

The GPU shares L3 cache with the CPU and will come in one of two styles, single or dual core (referred to as GT1 or GT2), which will have 6 or 12 Execution Units respectively. The 12 unit GPU is reported to be equal to or better than a Radeon HD 5450 Discrete GPU, and slightly more than twice as powerful as the old LGA1156 GPUs. The GPUs will also feature Turbo mode, much like the CPUs do today. A special motherboard (dubbed H67, with H61 available at a future date) will be needed to use the integrated graphics core.

With the abolition of QPI and UnCore, the L3 Cache will now run at CPU speed. When CPU turbo is initiated, L3 Cache speed will also increase. However, CPU and GPU Turbos are mutually exclusive, and only one item can use the Turbo feature at a time. The L3 Cache being tied to CPU means that when the GPU cores increase in speed, the memory speed does not. This may not be an issue at all as the amount of memory is very small to begin with, however on memory deprived discrete GPUs, memory speed often has a very limiting effect on performance.

DMI 2.0 will provide x8 PCIE 2.0 lanes operating at 5GT/s (full speed PCIE 2.0). This doubles the bandwidth of the the LGA1156 DMI bus and is a much needed change, as USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbs drives are becoming more common, it will be easier to saturate the old standard. Providing 4GBs in one direction provides future scalability for multiple drives in RAID arrays, USB 3.0 Ready Boost devices and Gigabit Ethernet.

The Sandy Bridge platform will have minimal Bus Clock adjustment capability in an effort to reduce overclocking. However, to offset this, Intel has also lowered their prices on the “K series” CPUs, which are multiplier unlocked. Unfortunately, at this time even the unlocked multiplier CPUs have an upper limit. Theoretically 57x, in practice however this number is often much lower.

Sandy Bridge Motherboards:

Not all “chipsets” are created equally. At launch time, manufacturers released P67 and H67 motherboards. The main difference according to Intel specification is access to the integrated GPU via the Flexible Display Interface (FDI). H67 also does not natively support dual 8/8 PCIE 2.0 slots, but only a single x16 Lane slot. However, Manufacturers will be free to make changes to these specifications based on 3rd party hardware as will be commented on in the following review.

H61 will be a low cost motherboard solution. Removed features will be RAID support, 2 less PCIE lanes for the DMI Bus, and 4 less USB 2.0 ports. None of the chipsets feature USB 3.0 support, so manufacturers will include them using chips from VIA or NEC (now called Renesas Electronics Corporation).

Another important note is that H67 and H61 at this time feature locked memory multipliers. The P67 does support unlocked memory multipliers. Combined with the poor BUS speed adjustments available on the Sandy Bridge platform, this could result in a lack of high-end memory sales for the H series chipsets.

Overclocking Limitations:

As mentioned previously, Intel has decided to limit overclocking on the Sandy Bridge platform. However, with the 2500K and 2600K bringing unlocked multiplier goodness to the masses at a reasonable price, the limitation to manipulate the BUS speeds will effect those purchasing the lower tier CPUs more than anyone. The flexibility to control memory speeds will also be hindered without the ability to control the BCLK beyond a few points, unless manufacturers offer greater control over memory multipliers than what is present on current gen motherboards.

The limitation of the overclocking ability is tied to the fact that Intel has one clock generator for every bus on the CPU. Be it USB, SATA, PCIE or CPU. It remains to be seen if motherboard manufacturers will be able to implement a work around as they have done in the past with PCI/AGP locks, or more recently with PCIE.

ASUS has been great with Intel BUS speeds in the past, root for their R&D team to figure out this dilemma.

Next: First Look…

If you haven’t already seen our complete Asus Maximus IV Extreme (MIVE) motherboard review, Parts ONE and TWO, you’re missing out. Part 1 covered synthetic testing with the i7 2600K CPU at 5.1GHz to give an idea of the power that this platform contains. Part 2 was a full blown comparison between X58 and Sandy Bridge, with a helping of AMD Thuban for good measure. We also awarded the MIVE the TechREACTION.net Gold Silicon award for its outstanding performance.

Today, we’ll give you a look at another top P67 choice; the Gigabyte P67A-UD7. Currently it is the top choice for Sandy Bridge users looking for Gigabyte flavor in their builds. This will be a true head-to-head comparison between the two motherboards’ performance, overclocking, and ease of use factors. All of these things are important for enthusiasts in this market, so with luck, Gigabyte will meet and exceed our expectations in regards to these features with the UD7. Read on…

Gigabyte P67A-UD7

V.S.

Asus Maximus IV Extreme

Both of these boards represent each company’s premier P67 offering at this time. They each support numerous USB3.0 ports, dual NICs, triple SLI and top quality components. Each company has attempted to infuse a plethora of overclockinging features to keep all enthusiasts, from gamers to hardcore overclockers, happy and…well…enthused. Each claims to be the best, but there is only one problem with that; they both cannot be the best. This statement creates a conundrum, but never fear; TechREACTION is here!

Next: A Closer Look At The P67A-UD7