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CORSAIR Neutron GTX Raid 0 mode performance is excellent. Most benchmark is almost double the performance. Most software has 70% improved, also write curve is very stable. Intel Rapid Storage Technology starts to support Raid 0 Trim in 7 series chipset. For the enthusiasts or requiring high speed transfer, this is a good news. Also make SSD be used in more environment. CORSAIR Neutron Series extends warranty to 5 years and uses latest LM87800 Controller. Neutron uses ONFI NAND Flash which is lower price and full 256GB capacity. Neutron GTX uses Toggle NAND Flash which is higher performance with 16GB buffer. This is the difference in two Neutron 256GB models. SATA3 SSD read performance has reached 500 MB/s since long time ago. Recently, SSD design is more on writing performance to reach 400~500 MB/s or 4K performance to 300 MB/s. Another goal is non-declining at 85~95K Random 4K IOPS after using for long time. You can see SATA3 SSD trying hard to utilize 6Gb/s bandwidth. The performance is getting higher and higher. CORSAIR Neutron GTX is most benchmark are one of the best in SSD market. The price is slight higher. With new controller, it brings another options to users in high end SSD market. This article is also post in my blog - WIND3C, Any comments are welcome.

Neutron GTX 240GB Installs Windows7 Ultimate 64bit for booting time test All drivers except LAN and Intel Smart Response Technology installed. BootRacer Time to Logon 3~4 seconds Time to Desktop 9.373~10.436 seconds Install LAN driver and plug in LAN cable Time to Logon 4~5 seconds Time to Desktop 9.202~11.964 seconds Basically, after entering desktop, LAN will search for a while, so you can see the booting time is 1~2 seconds longer. Neutron GTX booting speed is excellent. It takes less than 12 seconds with all drivers installed. Of course, the booting speed will be slower due to users installed TSR. This is just for your reference. 2nd part is using tow 240GB with Raid 0 mode Two CORSAIR Neutron GTX 240GB install on SATA3. It's Non-OS system drive without data. Test performance on Intel Z77 platform. HD Tune Pro 5.00 Black Size is a special feature. Left side is default 64K and right is 8MB. 64K - Read - Average 1044.0 MB/s Access Time 0.035ms 8MB - Read - Average 1047.6 MB/s Access Time 0.034ms 64K - Write - Average 888.5 MB/s Access Time 0.013ms 8MB - Write - Average 886.9 MB/s Access Time 0.013ms In Raid 0 mode, no matter Black Size set at 64K or 8MB, all can get very high speed. The speed is almost double the single SSD performance. File Benchmark Sequential 4KB randon Read - 110266 IOPS / Write - 129829 IOPS ATTO DISK Benchmark over 8KB test can reach max read 1109 Mb/s and write 930.2 MB/s. Sequential 4KB randon Read increases 18% and 4KB random Write increases 54%. ATTO DISK Benchmark in 8KB is almost reaching the highest performance already. If you are using more small size files, you still can experience Neutron GTX high speed. CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 1019 MB/s Write - 900.5 MB/s <All 0xFF, 0Fill> Read - 1036 MB/s Write - 901.2 MB/s <All 0x00, 1Fill> Read - 1006 MB/s Write - 900.6MB/s CrystalDiskMark benchmark is almost same as HD Tune Pro. It's close to double performance. AS SSD Benchmark - 1897 Seq Read - 994.13 MB/s Write - 900.63 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 553.72 MB/s Write - 508.71 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark total score increases around 67%. Seq Write performance is even 2 times more than single SSD. PCMark Vantage - HDD Score : 96420 SSD Benchmark TOTAL => 7779.48 PCMark Vantage - HDD Score increases 67%. SSD Benchmark TOTAL is 70% more. Neutron GTX 240GB Raio 0 installed Windows7 Ultimate 64bit to test booting time. All drivers except LAN and Intel Smart Response Technology installed. BootRacer Time to Logon 3~4 seconds Time to Desktop 9.248~10.216 seconds Raid 0 booting speed is almost the same. However, 9.2~10.2 is the fastest speed I have ever seen. Former several SSD still took 11~14 seconds.

It supports 3 PCI-E X16, 3 PCI-E X1 and 1 PCI. In design, components and upgradability are all good. Intel chipset always has better IO transfer rate. Also, 7 series chipset officially supports Raid 0 Trim. System Configuration CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K MB: GIGABYTE Z77X-UP5 TH DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator Platinum CMD16GX3M4A2400C9 VGA: Intel HD Graphics 4000 HD: CORSAIR Neutron GTX 240GB / TOSHIBA 5400rpm 500GB POWER: XIGMATEK Tauro 400W Bronze Cooler: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit Single CORSAIR Neutron GTX 240GB installed on SATA3. It's Non-OS system drive without data. Test performance on Intel Z77 platform. HD Tune Pro 5.00 Black Size is a special feature. Left side is default 64K and right is 8MB. 64K - Read - Average 448.0 MB/s Access Time 0.028ms 8MB - Read - Average 521.7 MB/s Access Time 0.029ms 64K - Write - Average 173.5 MB/s Access Time 0.024ms 8MB - Write - Average 389.5 MB/s Access Time 0.026ms In 64K Write, it's not stable. However, some parts have good performance. Especially, Access Time is less than 0.030ms. It's really helpful for shorten waiting time. File Benchmark Sequential 4KB randon Read - 93132 IOPS / Write - 84069 IOPS ATTO DISK Benchmark over 128KB, the max read is 550.3 Mb/s and write is 465.1 MB/s. In Random 4K test, the max read performance is 90 IOPS and max write is 85 IOPS. You can see the performance is almost same as official specs. CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 533.6 MB/s Write - 457.5 MB/s <All 0xFF, 0Fill> Read - 533.7 MB/s Write - 458.7 MB/s <All 0x00, 1Fill> Read - 533.7 MB/s Write - 457.8 MB/s CrystalDiskMark default test in random and sequential are the same performance. This part is similar to Marvell Controller. it's one of LM87800 Controller advantages. By the way, Write Seq and 4K QD32 are higher than Marvell Controller. AS SSD Benchmark - 1136 Seq Read - 516.87 MB/s Write - 440.97 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 363.93 MB/s Write - 302.26 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark total score is 1136. For most SATA3 SSD, this score is really high. 4K-64Thrd breakthrough 300MB/s is another index for new high performance SSD. Compression Benchmark is consistent straight line. Read is above 510MB/s and write is about 429MB/s. PCMark Vantage - HDD Score : 75785 SSD Benchmark TOTAL => 4577.92 5 minutes - 100% Read / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 94687.41 5 minutes - 100% Write / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 84414.03 As you can see IOMETER 2008 Random Read / Write 4KB benchmark is very good. The important thing is running after 30 minutes, it doesn?t decline as SandForce. Neutron GTX uses LM87800 Controller should be same as Marvell flaunting non-declining technology.

These years, Solid-State Drive becomes key weapon to enhance PC performance. For 3D performance, VGA is the key. For multi-tasking and graphic design, high end CPU is the must. Besides these, for on/off PC, saving files or executing programs all need SSD. Intel and AMD launched several native SATA3 chipset in 2 years. Now, every SSD providers are designing for the best performance in SATA3 6Gb/s. So far, CORSAIR has 6 series SSD product lines. They use different controllers and NAND Flash to rich SSD performance and diversity. As mainstream SSD, Corsair has specific models for SandForce and Marvell controllers, CORSAIR Performance and Force Series. In 2012, they launched a new SSD line, called Neutron Series, which is the one in this article. Neutron Series has general and GTX product lines. Let?s start from the packing. You can see the model name is Neutron GTX. The performance is higher. Contents Left side is black 2.5? to 3.5? adapter, SSD installation screws and product manual. Right side is Neutron GTX 240GB. The shell is metal with gray coating. The touch texture is more like matte with grain. CORSAIR provides 5-year warranty. The capacity has 120/240/480GB. Size is 2.5?. Capacity is 240GB. As per official specs, ATTO Disk Benchmark max read/write is 550/470 MB/s. Random 4K read can reach 90 IOPS and Random 4K write is 85 IOPS. Backside is same material and color as front. Lower right is SATA3 and power connectors. There are 2 silver laser stickers on shell. As warranty and internal hardware security, you better leave it as origin. Neutron Series both lines, the thickness is 7mm. For PC users, It's no impact. For slim NB, it provides better upgradability. Many slim NB change 2.5? SATA to 7mm HDD. This is perfect fit to it. Neutron GTX 240GB Inside Front and back sides are without screws. It's fixed by latch. I would like to warn you that sticker moved will void the warranty. Please don?t try if it's not necessary. The PCB has 8 TOSHIBA TH58TEG7DDJTA20, Toggle NAND Flash memory Left has one Samsung K4T1G084QF, DDR2 800, and 128MB. You need to take our 3 screws to see the other side PCB. There is one more Samsung K4T1G084QF to make 256MB DRAM Cache. There are also 8 TOSHIBA TH58TEG7DDJTA20 NAND Flash which is same specs as Plextor M5 Pro. 19nm TOSHIBA NAND Flash single capacity is 16GB, so total is 256GB. Using similar design as SanForce structure, 16GB is moved for buffer, so the model is 240GB. Controller is the key selling point for CORSAIR Neutron Series, Link_A_Media LM87800 Controller. Between shell and chipset, they also put thermal paste. What?s the performance difference between SandForce and Marvell? You will see in following test. System is Intel Z77 chipset, GIGABYTE Z77X-UP5 TH. It's mid-high end in Z77 market. It provides 2 latest Thunderbolt Ports. Ultra durable 5 uses IR3550 PowIRstage to make MOSFet temperature lower.

Temperature(Room is 22˚C) Enter to OS Desktop - 40 CPU Full Speed - 55 LinX 0.6.4 Disabling AMD C&Q power saving feature do testing. 32nm APU and FX CPU are low temperature in most software. Sometimes, even lower than room temperature, like 8~16. As CPU is not thermoelectric Cooling, it should be higher than room after power on. It?s impossible numbers, so just ignore the AIDA. As EasyTune6, CPU temperature is 55 as full speed which is quite good with mid end cooler. As 32nm, the temperature performance is good. I recommend you to use MB bundle software or UEFI BIOS to check the accurate temperature. Power Consumption Enter to OS Desktop - 44W CPU Full Speed - 165W LinX 0.6.4 CPU and GPU both Full Speed - 183W OCCT Power Supply Test Even disable AMD C&Q power saving technology, it?s only 44W as OC to 4.5GHz. CPU full speed is 165W which still too high. GPU full speed only increase 18W is very good. Power consumption is weakness for AMD. Finally, it moves to 32nm, but the power consumption doesn?t decrease efficiently. GIGABYTE F2A85X-UP4 Pros 1. Black PCB with good quality. Trinity APU structure makes high end MB parity. 2. Using IR3550 PowlRstage PWM to lower MOSFET tmeperature 3. 7 SATA3 and 1 eSATA3 for better expandability 4. IO has 4 different video output ports and supports 4 USB 3.0 devices 5. Build in debug LED and 3 buttons for bare system users Cons 1. CPU full speed power consumption is too high 2. Better to have 2 PCI slots Performance ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 81/100 Components ★★★★★★★★★☆ 86/100 Specifications ★★★★★★★★★☆ 88/100 Appearance ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 83/100 C/P Value ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 82/100 As the test above, you can see the difference between FM2 Trinity APU and FM1 Llano APU. Trinity APU advantage is CPU clock can pull high and DDR3 clock is one level higher as well. Temperature and power consumption are similar as they are both 32nm. 5800K built-in 3D performance improves a lot, especially in DX11 supported games. Latest Trinity APU still focus in mid to low end market to provide more parity options. New chipset specs are better than A75 and supporting more SATA3. If you own FM1 already, you don’t really need to upgrade to FM2. If you are planning to buy a new entry PC and require 3D performance more than CPU, Trinity APU can be a good choice for you This article is also post in my blog - WIND3C, Any comments are welcome.

FRYRENDER Running Time => 10m 39s x264 FHD Benchmark => 13 PCMARK7 => 3644 Windows8 Experience Index - CPU 7.4 FM2 5800K clock after OC is much higher than FM1 3850. As 5800K using dual module quad core structure, the clock and OC ability are improved a lot. If we just look at performance in CINEBENCH, the CPU single and multiple threads numbers are as below. FM2 5800K OC 4492MHz and i3-3220 default 3293MHz. i3-3220 Single Core CPU is 26.2% higher, and 5800K multi-CPU is 14.5% higher. FM2 5800K OC 4492MHz and FM1 3850 OC 3540MHz 3850 Single Core CPU is 14.8% higher and 5800K multi-CPU is 7.4% more. As multi-tasking Fritz Chess Benchmark, these 3 CPUs performance is similar. It?s up to your requirement to decide which one is more suitable for you. 2134.8 CL10 11-9-32 ADIA64 Memory Read - 12368 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 15474 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 11136 MB/s FM2 default clock can pull to 2133 which is higher than FM1 1866. In ADIA64 Memory Read, the bandwidth increases 20%. However, in Sandra and MaXXMEM, it?s lower than FM1. As new structure characteristic and bandwidth performance, you can decide by high clock or bandwidth. 3D Performance Test Built-in AMD Radeon HD 7660D 3DMark Vantage => P6155 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1920 X 1080 => 71.70 FPS FINAL FANTASY XIV 1920 X 1080 => 1245 Unigine Heaven Benchmark 1280 X 720 => 34.8 FPS 3DMark Vantage is 20% higher than previous Radeon HD 6550D with 3850. StreetFighter IV Benchmark and FINAL FANTASY XIV performance is similar. However, Unigine Heaven Benchmark test DX11, it?s almost double the 3D performance. 5800K built-in AMD current most high end Radeon HD 7660D, the 3D performance is excellent. This is the advantage of AMD APU platform. It?s designed for pull high built-in 3D performance for entry 3D demand users. SATA3 Test SSD is CORSAIR Force GS 240GB AS SSD Benchmark - 719 Seq Read - 524.01 MB/s Write - 270.50 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 214.89 MB/s Write - 194.63 MB/s ATTO DISK Benchmark over 512KB test can reach 540.5 Mb/s read and 517.5 MB/s write. SSD Benchmark TOTAL => 4020.13 Trinity APU latest A85X chipset supports 8 native SATA3 ports. For users who own many HDD o SSD, the transfer rate is a key factor. In the past, AMD SATA transfer rate is not as good as Intel. However, it improves step by step. Form the test above, you can see overall read/write performance and 4K - 64Thrd are both in good level. However, for 4K read/write performance is only 50~60% of Intel chipset. It must improve in the future. Also as SSD Raid 0 Trim technology and performance, I hope AMD new chipset can catch up as well.

UEFI Screen CPU Clock Ratio adjusts from 38 to 45. It means OC 5800K to 4.5GHz. DDR3 enables Extreme Memory Profile to run at 2133. DRAM Advanced Parameters, manually setup as CL10 11-9-32 Voltage Page CPU Vcore 0.80000~2.30000V DRAM Voltage 1.100~2.620V CPU set as 1.46250V and DRAM set as 1.600V PC Health Status As OC setup above, the CPU temperature is over 41 degree C. It?s more accurate in UEFI temperature info. As CPU temperature, I will have further test later. Test Configuration CPU: AMD A10-5800K MB: GIGABYTE F2A85X-UP4 DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT DDR3 1866 8GX2 VGA: AMD Radeon HD 7660D HDD: CORSAIR Force GS 240GB POWER: XIGMATEK Tauro 400W Bronze Cooler: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 OS: Windows8 64bit Performance Test CPU 99.82 X 45 => 4491.76MHz DDR3 2129.4 CL10 11-9-32 Hyper PI 32M X 4 => 24m 19.084s CPUMARK 99 => 525 Nuclearus Multi Core => 13711 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 15.77/7568 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 223483 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 3.64 pts CPU(Single Core) => 1.15 pts

AMD launched Llano APU with FM1 socket in July 2011. Later on, AMD launched Socket FM2 in Oct 2012. FM2 and FM1 CPU sockets are not compatible. Please be aware of it before upgrade. In the past, the advantage of AMD platform was compatible sockets. It?s too fast for this transition. FM2 code is Trinity APU. It combines AMD AM3+ Bulldozer structure. The price is lower to make APU platform parity. Chipset can use A75 and A55, but supports FM2 Socket. AMD also launched a new chipset for Trinity APU, more high end A85X. CPU is current most high end Trinity APU, A10-5800K. 32nm, 4-Cores, 3.8GHz, Turbo Core to 4.2GHz Max TDP is 100W and built-in GPU is AMD Radeon HD 7660D FM1 and FM2 CPU are 32nm which is no improvement in manufacturing. FM2 socket is 904Pin and FM1 is 905Pin. There is one pin less as you can see in pic. MB is GIGABYTE most high end for FM2 Socket, F2A85X-UP4 The price is just a little bit higher than A10-5800K. Building high end FM2 platform is not too costive. It?s black and gray as main design of GIGABYTE high end MB. It?s own durable design. Blink of an eye, it?s 5th generation. 2oz PCB and 60A Ferrite core choke and latest IR3550 PowIRstage chip. In my previous review, I have shared the good temperature performance of IR3550 PowIRstage. Lower-Left Corner 3X PCI-E X16, they are X16, X8 and X4. Supporting AMD Dual Graphics and MD CrossFire 3 X PCI-E X1 1 X PCI Realtek ALC892 audio supports 7.1 channels and High Definition Audio Realtek RTL8111F LAN chip and TPM slot Lower-Right Corner 7 X Black SATA provided by A85X, supporting SATA3 It Supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10 and JBOD. Right side is debug LED and dual 64 Mbit Flash BIOS Upper-Right Corner 4 X DIMM DDR3 support 1066/1333/1600/1866. Max DDR3 capacity is 64GB. It supports AMD Memory Profile / Extreme Memory Profile. Next is 24-PIN power connector and front USB 3.0 connectors. Upper-Left Corner F2A85X-UP4 CPU left side is iron-gray sink. It?s 8-phase digital PWM. Upper-left is 8Pin power connector. FM2 socket supports AMD A and Athlon series CPU Red button is power, blue is Reset and black is Clear CMOS. IO 1 X PS2 KB/Mouse 1 X D-Sub / DVI-D / HDMI / DisplayPort 4 X USB 3.0/2.0(Blue) 2 X USB 2.0(Black) 1 X S/PDIF optical outpur 1 X eSATA 6Gb/s Port 1 X RJ-45 LAN 6 X audio jacks

StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1280 X 720 => 143.98 FPS FINAL FANTASY XIV 1280 X 720 => 2472 You can see the 3D performance increase 3-4 times more after using Radeon HD 7700. General ITX Case is designed for saving space. You only can use short or Low Profile cards. You have to put this into your consideration. Power Consumption Enable C1E, Enter to OS Desktop - 24W Disable C1E, Enter to OS Desktop - 33W Enabling and disabling CPU C1E power saving cause 9W difference. It?s about 37.5% power saving. Running LinX to make CPU full speed - 51W Running OCCT Power Supply Test - 70W CPU full speed and CPU+GPU full speed are 19W different. It means HD Graphics 2500 full speed will consume 19W. Adding AMD Radeon HD 7700 and running OCCT Power Supply test - 95W After changing to AMD Radeon HD 7700, power consumption increases 41W. AMD Radeon HD 7700 consumes less power in general usage. It?s quite power saving. Intel latest ITX platform is saving power dues to 22nm manufacturing. Many ITX Cases bundle with 150~200W Power Supply which are enough for general use. GIGABYTE B75N Pros 1.B75N uses black PCB for better texture 2.Dual LAN and dual HDMI for better video and network transmission. 3.Built-in Mini PCI-E slot to install WiFi card 4.Using 22nm entry dual core CPU, the temperature and power consumption performance is good. 5.DDR3 max clock and integrated GPU performance also improve by Ivy Bridge structure. Cons 1.Price should be more competitive. 2.DDR3 1866, enable XMP, only shows DDR3 1796 Performance ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 80/100 Components ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 83/100 Specifications ★★★★★★★★★☆ 86/100 Appearance ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 82/100 C/P Value ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 84/100 GIGABYTE launched H77N WIFI and B75N LGA 1155 ITX both are competitive. Comparing to the others, the specs are impressive and price is also acceptable. Especially, H77N WIFI bundles BT4.0/WiFi card and antenna, the price is just a little bit higher than B75N. For users has WiFi demand, it?s a good C/P value ITX MB. All major MB brands have several ITX MBs in the market and price is very reasonable. Just like B75N, it is little higher than other Micro ATX B75 MBs. In the past, ITX MB price was 50~100% more than M-ATX. Parity ITX platform is a trend, if you would like to build a small PC or HTPC. Windwithme has 5-6 athletic shoes. I just bought one basketball and one running shoes. I will make a review as I have free time. ADIDAS CROSS 'EM basketball shoes. After trying on, the price and comfort are both good. The other is ASICS GEL-KAYANO 18. I make quite much research and try on before buying. The online reviews are very positive. I hope my first ASICS try can be a good experience. This article also post in my blog - WIND3C, All comments are welcome.

For ITX platform users, most will use Intel original CPU Cooler. Besides the convenience, it?s also hard to find ITX CPU Cooler. Thermalright, high end cooler maker, just launched a high end cooler for ITX platform. The model is AXP-100. Packing is corrugated paper with black printing. Contents Left is manual, right is installation parts, and lower right is cooler. The fan spec is L 108.25mm X H 101.5mm and Noise Level is 22~30 dBA. AXP-100 body is nickel-plated. 6 heat-pipes improve thermal conduction. L 121.1mm X W 105.47mm X H 44.15mm, the height with fan is 5.8cm. CPU contact face is mirror polished. It looks like a boutique, and the price is also high. If you would like to build a high end ITX PC or look for better heat dissipation, AXP-100 is one of the options. However, big CPU cooler will interfere with DIMM1, you also can use standard height DDR3. Temperature (Room is 19) Enter to OS Desktop - 23~27 CPU Full Speed - 41~43 LinX 0.6.4 Comparing AXP-100 with Intel original cooler, when entering to OS desktop, it?s 1~3 lower and full speed is 5~6 lower. The cooler performance is good at full speed condition, but the improvement is not huge. It dues to Core i3-3220 is low heat. If I used Core i5 or i7 CPU, I believed AXP-100 would be much better. 3D Performance Test Intel Core i3-3220 built-in HD Graphics 2500 3DMark Vantage => P1761 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1280 X 720 => 45.00 FPS FINAL FANTASY XIV 1280 X 720 => 726 HD Graphics 2500 is 30~50% faster than HD Graphics 2000. However, the score is only entry level. If you use ITX PC as media player or limited 3D usage, it?s good enough. If you would like to play 3D games, I do recommend you to install VGA. Adding AMD Radeon HD 7700 3DMark Vantage => P7994

CPU is Intel Core i3-3220, most entry Ivy Bridge so far. The clock is 3.3GHz, physical 2 Cores with Hyper-Threading for 4 threads, called 2C4T. It?s 22nm, TDP 55W and 3MB L3 Cache. System Performance Test CPU 99.8 X 32 => 3292.41MHz DDR3 1796 CL9 10-9-27 2T Hyper PI 32M X4 => 14m 14.585s CPUMARK 99 => 514 Nuclearus Multi Core => 14268 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 13.29/6378 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 191818 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 3.17 pts CPU(Single Core) => 1.32 pts PCMARK7 => 3099 Windows8 Experience Index - CPU 7.2 Core i3-3220 single thread performance is very high. 2C4T structure also works well for multi-tasking. If you have higher performance demand for file converting or graphics related applications, you can consider Core i5 or i7 CPU. It will improve the performance. DRAM Test DDR3 1796 CL9 10-9-27 2T ADIA64 Memory Read - 18452 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 22463 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 19663 MB/s DDR3 1995.4 CL9 11-10-27 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 19416 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 25345 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 20886 MB/s Ivr Bridge Momory Controller improves a lot. B75 chip can reach DDR3 2000. Previous Sandy Bridge CPU with entry chipset only supported DDR3 1066~1333. Comparing Intel two generations, DDR3 clock improves a lot. The bandwidth increases 25%. Temperature (Room is 19) Enter to OS Desktop - 26~28 CPU Full Speed - 47~49 LinX 0.6.4 The test above is using Intel original cooler. The result is quite good already. 22nm is another Ivy Bridge advantage. Core i3-3220 temperature is quite low in default clock. If installing in chassis, I estimate the temperature will rise 5~8 degree C more which is still acceptable.

2012, almost all active MB brands launched ITX boards. ITX advantage is smaller dimension. If using high performance CPU, GPU or WiFi technology support, it may create more value to PC as competing with smart phones, tablets or laptops. GIGABYTE former two generations Intel ITX MB specs were normal and late. For Ivy Bridge structure, the specs are improved a lot. It?s capable to compete with the others. Taiwan has two models, H77N WIFI and B75N. The PCB designs are almost the same. The main difference is H77N WIFI built-in BT4.0 / WiFi card and antenna. H77 chipsets supports two SATA3 devices, but B75 only supports one. This article is testing GIGABYTE B75N. It uses better texture black PCB. If you have WiFi demand, you can choose H77N WIFI. CPU PWM is 4+1 phases. B75 cannot adjust CPU ratio, so it?s enough for Core i7. B75N market price is higher than other B75 ITX MB. However, the specs and components are quite high level. Lower Side 1 X PCI-E X16 3.0 supports X16 bandwidth. Dual LAN chips are both Realtek RTL8111E. Audi chip is Realtek ALC892, supporting 7.1 channels and High Definition Audio technology. Right Side 2 X DIMM DDR3 support 1066/1333/1600(Must use Ivy Bridge CPU) DDR3 max capacity is 16GB, supporting Extreme Memory Profile technology. Upper Side 1 X White SATA, support SATA3 by B75 3 X Black SATA, support SATA2 by B75 Upper left corner is Mini PCI-E slot for installing WiFi/BT 4.0 card. Lower left corner is 24-PIN power connector. IO 1 X PS/2 KB/Mouse 2 X USB 3.0(Blue) 2 X HDMI 1 X DVI-I 4 X USB 2.0(Black) 2 X RJ-45 LAN 1 X S/PDIF Optical output 5 X Audio jacks In 3D BIOS main screen, it shows major parts explanation as cursor over. UEFI DaulBIOS the other interface is traditional screen. Most users are more familiar. Test System Configuration CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 MB: GIGABYTE B75N DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT DDR3 1866 8GX2 VGA: Intel HD Graphics 2500 / AMD Radeon HD 7700 HDD: Seagate Momentus 500G POWER: XIGMATEK Tauro 400W Bronze Cooler: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 OS: Windows8 64bit

PCMark Vantage - HDD Score : 77278 CrystalMark Sequential Read 1045.61 MB/s Sequential Write 940.61 MB/s PCMark Vantage HDD Score is same as single drive. I think it?s software issue. CrystalMark still has almost double speed. IOMETER 2008 1 minute - 100% Read / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 75398.85 3 minutes - 100% Read / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 68926.28 IOMETER 2008 Random Read 4KB increases 24~35%. 1 minute to 3 minutes later, the performance drops 9%. 1 minute - 100% Write / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 112569.77 3 minutes - 100% Write / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 112823.49 IOMETER 2008 Random Write 4KB increases about 23%. SSD Benchmark TOTAL => 7455.18 This software also increases 48%. Windwithme mentioned several times when sharing SSD Raid 0 test. That moment, Intel Rapid Storage Technology didn?t support Raid 0 Trim mode. So the speed would drop after using for long time. Few months ago, Storage Technology Drive 11.5 released and official support Raid 0 Trim. This is really a good news for Raid 0 mode users. It also pushes SSD further performance and applications to wider range. SandForce SF-2281 controller has been launched over 18 months. From high end SATA3 SSD position to current 80% market share, the price is close to entry SATA3 SSD. As different service terms and warranty, the price is different. Popularity and price is SandForce strength. The weakness is random write beginning is risng from 200 more MB/s to 500 MB/s slowly. This time, CORSAIR Force GS uses different NAND Flash ICs. Some performance is improved a little. As Max Random 4k Write (IOMeter 08) over 90k IOPS (4k aligned) is the major improvement. This article shares you the different performance of SandForce SF-2281 controller with different NAND Flash. Also, Intel Rapid Storage Technology Drive high performance in Raid 0 mode. You can use it as your reference for further SSD purchasing. This article is also in my blog - WIND3C, Any comments are welcome.

3 minutes - 100% Write / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 91553.28 The former review of SandForce SSD, the performance is lower after 3 minutes. It may be caused by firmware. As GS using SandForce controller, IOMETER 2008 Random Read / Write 4KB test are very good. 1 minute and 3 minutes test difference is minor. You can treat it as acceptable deviation. SSD Benchmark TOTAL => 5026.30 This result is much higher than 3700 by Marvell 88SS9174-BKK2 controller SS. You can see SandForce controller SSD still has his advantage in some software. Second part is two 240GB GS runs at Raid 0 mode. Two CORSAIR Force GS 240GB both install at white SATA3 port. None OS system drive without any data. Test at Intel Z77 platform. HD Tune Pro 5.00 Black Size is the special part of this software. Left side default is 64K and right side is 8MB. 64K - Read - Average 1028.7 MB/s Access Time 0.123ms 8MB - Read - Average 1040.1 MB/s Access Time 0.122ms 64K - Write - Average 325.8 MB/s Access Time 0.094ms 8MB - Write - Average 891.9 MB/s Access Time 0.153ms Read - Random Access & Extra tests Write - Random Access & Extra tests File Benchmark Sequential 4KB randon Read - 84750 IOPS / Write - 169440 IOPS ATTO DISK Benchmark over 128KB test, max read is 1118.4 Mb/s and max write is 1047.5 MB/s CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 1012 MB/s Write - 529.9 MB/s <All 0xFF, 0Fill> Read - 1064 MB/s Write - 993.1 MB/s <All 0x00, 1Fill> Read - 1063 MB/s Write - 875.5 MB/s HD Tune Pro 5.00 most items are almost double speed. CrystalDiskMark scores are also the same. ATTO DISK Benchmark is a good software to test SSD best read/write performance with short time. The max score is almost double as well. You can see the Raid 0 mode really improves the performance. AS SSD Benchmark - 1423 Seq Read - 1031.05 MB/s Write - 517.00 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 456.30 MB/s Write - 407.31 MB/s In Raid 0 mode, AS SSD Benchmark score increases about 75%.

64K - Write - Average 336.7 MB/s Access Time 0.143ms 1MB - Write - Average 331.4 MB/s Access Time 0.108ms Read - Random Access & Extra tests Write - Random Access & Extra tests File Benchmark Sequential 4KB randon Read - 66732 IOPS / Write - 91984 IOPS ATTO DISK Benchmark over 512KB test, max read is 557.9 Mb/s and max write is 535.6 MB/s CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 524.1 MB/s Write - 288.7 MB/s <All 0xFF, 0Fill> Read - 527.4 MB/s Write - 524.9 MB/s <All 0x00, 1Fill> Read - 527.6 MB/s Write - 525.1 MB/s CrystalDiskMark default test is random. You can see right side performance is lower. It?s characteristic of SandForce controller. It has lower performance in random algorithm. Left pic is CrystalDiskMark sequential mode. The write performance is close to official specs. AS SSD Benchmark - 811 Seq Read - 519.43 MB/s Write - 274.13 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 224.70 MB/s Write - 214.04 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark Seq Write is similar to CrystalDiskMark. Compression Benchmark write starts from 280MB/s to over 480MB/s. SandForce in Sequential Write uses special algorithm, this is key weakness of SandForce controller. In sequential or random read, 4K performance and continuous write, SF-2281 controller is very good. PCMark Vantage - HDD Score : 78671 CrystalMark Sequential Read 503.02 MB/s Sequential Write 500.48 MB/s IOMETER 2008 1 minute - 100% Read / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 55773.68 3 minutes - 100% Read / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 56190.92 1 minute - 100% Write / 100% Random 4KB Total I/Os per Second => 91791.99

Solid-State Drive does improve C performance in past 4 years. No matter DeskTop PC or Notebook both shorten the system processing time. It?s why SSD still so popular after launching many years. However, the high price also impact the popularity. Every year, SSD price is almost 50% off. The price segment is based on 100 or 200USD. As history price record, 2 years ago, 200USD only could have 60GB, last year was 120GB and this year is 240GB. This year, you can find many 120GB SSD below 100USD. This price point is acceptable. 3 years ago, CORSAIR, from USA, started their SSD product line which was pioneer in this field. Controller also moved from SAMSUNG to SandForce or Marvell. Different controller focus on different performance and price segment. This GS SSD is Force Series. It had Force 3 and GT, 2 versions. Force Series uses SandForce controller with different NAND Flash ICs. Let?s look at packing first. Gold is a representative color of GS. Contents Left side is product warranty card, middle is Force GS 240GB and right side is back 2.5? to 3.5? rack and screws. Product size is 2.5?. The capacity is 240GB.，Official max speed is 555/525 MB/s at ATTO Disk Benchmark. Random 4K max write is 90k IOPS. It?s very high specs of 4K performance in current SSD market. Metal shell with red coating and tactile impression is grain texture. CORSAIR offers 3 years warranty. The family has 128/180/240/360/480GB. Capacity provides rich choices. Users can choose the suitable one by budget or demand. Back is black metal with matte hair line. It improves the product texture. Lower left is SATA3 and power connectors. Next is silver laser sticker. As warranty and internal hardware safety, we better to keep it in original state. Force Series GS uses popular SandForce SF-2281 controller. NAND Flash uses 16 SanDisk Mark 24nm ICs, 16GB each. If you are interested in Force GS internal build, you can search in Google. The test platform is Intel Z77 chipset, GIGABYTE G1.SNIPER M3. It?s mid-end gaming series using Micro ATX. It emphasizes audio and LAN chips. It equips Creative latest CA0132, quad-core audio processor. It supports THX, CRYSTAL VOICE, and etc. It has 3 PCI-E X16, 1 PCI-E X1. The expandability is very good as Micro ATX form factor. Also Intel chipset IO performance is better. The SATA3 should have better performance in SSD. System Configuration CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K MB: GIGABYTE G1.SNIPER M3 DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT 1866 8GBX2 VGA: Intel HD Graphics 4000 HD: SanDisk Extreme 240GB / WD 1TB 7200rpm POWER: Thermaltake TR2 600W Cooler: XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 OS: Windows8 Ultimate 64bit Single SanDisk Extreme 240GB install at white SATA3 port None OS system drive without any data. Test at Intel Z77 platform. HD Tune Pro 5.00 Black Size is the special part of this software. Left side default is 64K and right side is 1MB. 64K - Read - Average 408.7 MB/s Access Time 0.116ms 1MB - Read - Average 521.3 MB/s Access Time 0.117ms HD Tune Pro 5.00 set Black Size as 1MB almost reaching the best performance.

BootRacer Time to Logon 6~8 seconds Time to Desktop 26~28 seconds It's about 33~35 seconds from boot up to get in to OS desktop. Because MSI original OS comes with some add on programs, this will make the boot up time slower. Come pare to the Windows 7, Windows 8 will be 6~14 seconds longer time depends on different conditions. Maybe it's because the Windows 8 will get to the "Start" page and then get on the Desktop, that will takes more time. Dual SSD with RAID0 really make the notebook boot up much faster, also faster when installing, loading or saving programs. If we use HDD for boot up with Windows 8, will takes more than 1 minute to get to the OS desktop. If user install their pure clean Windows only with drivers, that could make the boot up time faster around 20 seconds. Temperature presents (Room environment 21℃) 38~40℃ when idle mode. (Cooler Boost off) 34~38℃ when idle mode. (Cooler Boost on) Run the InteBurn Test to make CPU with full loading - 73~86℃(Cooler Boost off) Run the InteBurn Test to make CPU with full loading - 72~77℃(Cooler Boost on) We use idle mode and full loading test to compare the Cooler Boost fan function to check difference. The temperature difference of Cooler Boost on and off, it's about 2 degree when idle, and biggest gap is 11 degree when CPU is full loading burning test, so the Cooler Boost really helps when users need it. Besides the fan performance, about the noise of the cooler, it's not easy to hear the fan noise if Cooler Boost is off, and Cooler Boost will make the noise louder for sure. But the noise is not high frequency that makes people uncomfortable, if you listen to the music or play games with Dynauido sound system, you will not hear the noise even you turn on the Cooler Boost. Many notebooks with Dual Core will be 40℃ more when idle mode, and full loading will be 80~90 degree. So the temperature of GT70 with Core i7 and GTX675MX is really well controlled, MSI did have good design skill on the thermal solution with small space inside the notebook. Conclusion of MSI GT70 Dragon Edition: Pros: 1. Dragon Edition makes the chasses with special coating with Dragon Tattoo, also improve the packing a lot. Upgraded hardware on GTX675MX and Killer Double Shot. 2. Dual mSATA3 SSD and 2.5 inch 750GB HDD makes great balance of performance and capacity. 4xDDR3 DIMM with good extend of the RAM size. 3. Rich on IO interface, 3 USB3.0 and 2 USB2.0, with HDMI, D-Sub and eSATA as well. 4. Full size keyboard by Steelseries with back light, add on Turbo, Cooler Boost to boost up GPU and fan performance. 5. Special 2 channel with 1 subwoofer design with Sound by Dynaudio system, the sound quality even better than previous version of GT70. 6. Built in 1920x1080 Full HD matted display, that will makes your eyes more comfortable when gaming or watching movies. 7. Latest Killer Double Shot function, the LAN is faster and WiFi comes with 2x2 and 2.4GHz/5GHz dual band design. Cons: 1. SSD will be better if use the Micron or Marvell control chip. 2. Maybe IPS panel is more expensive, but still expect the GT70 could option with IPS panel in the future. 3. The NVIDIA graphics driver still need to improve on Windows 8 system, some 3D benchmark or games still can't get good performance on GTX675MX with full speed. 4. Recommend to use Creative Sound Core3D quad core sound chipset. Performance Rated: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 92/100 Material Rated: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 90/100 Specification Rated: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 86/100 ID Design Rated: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 88/100 Cost/Value Rated: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 70/100 Recent years some friends start to use notebooks to replaced PC desktop, their performance demand is not so high. But right now a notebook with better performance is more popular, because more people wants to use their laptop to play more games with Full HD resolution, and they also need high performance to take out for business trip or better mobility, these demand makes the high performance notebook market raising up every year. MSI got into the Gaming laptop market very early years ago, and keep enhance their products with better material and features for gamers every year. windwithme did share the GT70 with GTX680M version few months ago, this time add on some different software and more temperature benchmarks, also the first time to make benchmarks with Windows 8. You could refer last article to make some detail comparison. The GT70 Dragon Edition is limited version, the price range is close as previous GT70, the Dragon Edition did have some upgrade on GPU and some hardware, the Cost/Value is even better than regular version, but they are still at higher price segment. If you got limited budget but still want good performance laptop, you could consider GE60/GE70 at lower price range, GT70 if more suitable for top performance demand users. Hope MSI could come out better design with better price Gaming laptop in 2013. This is also post in my blog - WIND3C, All comments are welcome.

CrystalMark 2004R3 => 300008 CINEBENCH 11.5 OpenGL => 26.57 fps CPU => 6.31 pts CPU (Single Core) => 1.38 pts PCMark7 => 5435 Windows 8 Benchmarks CPU performance increase a little because of the i7-3610QM 2.3GHz upgraded to i7-3630QM 2.4GHz. PC Mark 7 over 5400 scores, this is really high as a notebook platform. Windows 8 built in benchmarks is more accurate than Windows 7, CPU/RAM got really high scores, especially the Super RAID dual SSD RAID0 makes the storage up to 8.3 points. GT70 built in with 2 GPU, one is Intel HD4000 from Core i7-3630QM, the other is NVIDIA GeForce GTX675MX with 4 GB DDR5 vRAM. 3DMark 11 - P4186 BIOHAZARD 5 Benchmark 1920 X 1080 => 119.2 fps Heaven Benchmark 3.0 DX11 1920 X 1080 => 53.2 FPS Previous GT70 comes with GTX675M, this time it upgraded to GTX675MX, the 3D performance is around 15%~20% higher than GT675M. The 3D benchmark programs above got really high scores in notebook field, GT70 Dragon Edition presents very smooth gaming experience with Full HD resolution and highest effects on most of the heavy loading games. GT70 Dragon Edition built in with 2 mSATA interface with 2 128GBx2 SSD on RAID0 mode as C: drive for Windows 8 system used. The drive D: is a SATA2 interface with 750GB 7200rpm HDD for data storage. Below is the benchmarks of drive C: from Super RAID with 2 SSD RAID0. HD Tune Pro 5.00 Read - Average 986 MB/s Access Time 0.100ms ATTO DISK Benchmark over 128k could reach the highest reading speed with 1064.1 Mb/s, and writing speed up to 1025.0 MB/s CrystalDiskMark Seq Read - 914.6 MB/s Write - 365.0 MB/s <All 0xFF, 0Fill> Read - 994.7 MB/s Write - 845.9 MB/s <All 0x00, 1Fill> Read - 995.8 MB/s Write - 854.6 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark - 955 Seq Read - 958.29 MB/s Write - 345.25 MB/s 4K - 64Thrd Read - 276.39 MB/s Write - 316.77 MB/s The random access tests will be lower when in CrystalDiskMark on the right image and AS SSD Benchmark Compression Benchmark writing start from 300MB/s more, and over 900MB/s at last. Depends on the benchmark result, these 2 SSD should be used with SandForce SF-2281 chip, Random Writing is the weakness, and it's really good performance on 4k access and other writing or reading benchmarks. Most 120GB SSD with SF-2281 chip used 120GB, and use the extra 8GB as the cache buffer. Recently the new version of 128GB SSD could use complete 128GB capacity, GT70 use the new version with 128GBx2 capacity.

The Dragon Head tattoo on the right side of the palm rest. The placement of keyboard is same as desktop keyboard, the numeric key on the right side is good to input numbers easier. The Keyboard By SteelSeries design comes with good typing sound, the force feedback and durability is better than most of normal laptop keyboards. The key in the middle is power button, shine with white light when turn on. The feature control panel designed with touch sensor, with 6 feature to control. Left 1 is GPU Turbo boost key, left 2 is Cooler boost key. Sound By Dynaudio speaker system aside the control panel with metallic cover. The back light keyboard could switch with multi colors, it's orange, green and blue right now. You could also change it become single red color to fit the same color tone of GT70 Dragon Edition. 17.3" LED back light matted monitor, with 1920x1080 Full HD resolution. HD WebCam supports 1280x720 30fps recording and 1280x1024 photo snapshot. The back side of the laptop. From right: heat sink hole \ HDMI \ eSATA \ D-Sub \ RJ-45 LAN \ AC \ Lock Previous version of GT70 only used Killer Gaming LAN, but this time GT70 Dragon Edition used both Killer LAN and Killer WiFi with Wireless-N1202 chipset, it supports 2x2 and 2.4GHz /5GHz bandwidth, these 2 was called "Killer Double Shot", for really faster internet access and lower gaming pin rate. Left side. From right: Line out \Line in \Mic-in \ Headphone \ SDXC card reader \ 3x USB3.0 Right side. From right: Blu-Ray burner drive \ 2x USB2.0 The GT70 Dragon Edition used Windows 8 OS. It's the hardware information in the device manager of Windows 8. System benchmark tests Nuclearus Multi Core => 23251 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 24.95/11973

In recent 2 years, MSI did not focus on the Ultrabook series as many other brands, they mainly focused on high performance of Gaming series Notebooks, that makes MSI to become a well known gaming products company in the market, also shows how important of the Gaming related market. MSI Gaming, Dell Alienware and ASUS ROG are the top 3 of the gaming laptop products in the gaming laptop market, that's the well known brands in the gaming laptop market. The higher product position comes with much higher price range. MSI extend their Gaming series become more price range segments, GT series on the top, GX series based on AMD platform, and GE series focus on the performance level market with better Cost/Value, so that more consumer could consider their GE series with better price range. This time we would like to share the latest version of MSI GT70 - The GT70 Dragon Edition. The GT70 Dragon Edition totally changed with their box design, make it slimmer and with better looks of their dragon logo to impressed gamers and power users. The ID design of GT70 Dragon Edition. Compare with their regular GT70, the GT70 Dragon Edition use red metallic cover design with the Dragon Tattoo on it, that makes GT70 more gaming style and high performance looks. The metallic cover with normal light will be deep red, but the metal will reflect light of the color with different angle, so the color of the red will be lighter when outdoor with sunshine. Besides the box size become slimmer, the interior design is also become better, every accessory was put with lint bag, makes it looks higher quality with better protection. On the bottom of the laptop, 4 corners comes with 5 soft pad for stand. The subwoofer of 2.1 channel speaker was placed on the up left side, it presents really good quality on low frequency sound stage. Battery on the down left side, up right side comes with CPU, GPU(MXM module) and DDR3 DIMMs. DDR3 designed with 4 DIMMs, use dual channel design and built in with 4GBx2, supports up to 32GB (8GBx4). And it comes with 3 SATA interface, supports mSATA with RAID 0 function. Accessories. Driver DVD, quick guide and 2 years warranty book. The battery designed with 9 Cell, 7800mAh. The 180W adaptor was made by Delta with good quality. Gaming style mouse, it's 3200dpi optical but good positioning and good handling, but if it's larger and with laser optical will be better. The limited accessory is the necklace with the shield of MSI Gaming Series Dragon Edition, it's very special and only comes with GT70 Dragon Edition. The placement of C side. The red part is also metallic material with dragon tattoo, it's good of touch feeling when using, but you will feel cold in winter. ..... The Dragon Tail image on the left side of touch pad. The touch pad is really good, very sensitive and good on positioning, make it easier to control. The signal lights from left side, Bluetooth mode, WiFi mode, Battery status, Suspend mode, HDD access.

3D Performance - PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-2DHV3 3DMark Vantage => P33910 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1920 X 1080 => 383.69 FPS Unigine Heaven Benchmark 3.0 1920 X 1080 => 100.7 FPS When running with VGA - AMD Redaon 7970, the 3D performance is very high. Unfortunately, I only got one7970 card. As single card performance, Z77X-UP7 is above standard. You can see 3~5% difference in 3D performance. It may be caused by Windows8 or latest AMD driver. If there is any opportunity in the future, I will test 3DMark Vantage to see the detail 3D performance. Power Consumption Test Enter to OS Desktop - 103W CPU full speed by running LinX - 246W FurMark Test - 430W i7-3770K disable C1E, OC to 4.8GHz and combo with AMD HD7970 VGA. The platform uses none 80Plus 600W Power Supply to compare the power consumption status. When entering to OS desktop, you can see the power consumption is very low. When CPU or GPU full speed, the power consumption increases a lot. You can see even Z77X-UP7 is 32-phase CPU PWM, it doesn?t cause any extra loading. Temperature Test (Room is 26˚C) Enter to OS Desktop - 33~38˚C CPU full speed by running LinX - 80~86˚C When i7-3770K OC to 4.8GHz, I suggest you to use high end fan or water cooler. During test, the room is 6˚C cooler than summer. CPU full speed is around 80~86˚C If it?s winter, the temperature will be a little bit lower. Under this temperature condition, if you are installing in chassis, the inner air flow will be very important. At same room temperature, I test the MOSFET temperature. GIGABYTE launched IR3550 PowlRstage in Computex 2012 as own high end MB new PWM design. When disabling C1E and entering to OS desktop, it?s about 35.7. When burning system, the max is around 46.7. The temperature is very low. I will compare it with other Z77 MOSFET in the future. GIGABYTE Z77X-UP7 Pros 1.UP7 owns more OC designs and better hardware specs, comparing to UD7. 2.UEFI BIOS has two interfaces for users to choose. 3.Exclusive OC-Touch design and 32-phase CPU digital PWM enhance the OC capability. 4.Using IR3550 PowlRstage latest PWM design to lower the MOSFET temperature. 5.Unique BT4.0 / Wi ? Fi card to connect your all mobile devices. 6.Supporting max 4-Way AMD CrossFireX/nVIDIA SLI technology. Cons 1.CPU voltage in full speed or standby is not stable in default setting. 2.DDR3 bandwidth can be improved. 3.Should use better audio chip. Performance ★★★★★★★★★☆ 89/100 Components ★★★★★★★★★☆ 90/100 Specifications ★★★★★★★★★☆ 92/100 Appearance ★★★★★★★★★☆ 88/100 C/P Value ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 69/100 Z77X-UP7 is improved a lot in both hardware and software comparing to Z68X-UD7. For example, new IR3550 PowlRstage PWMa and 32-phase digital CPU PWM. It supports max to 4-Way AMD CrossFireX/nVIDIA SLI and exclusive BT4.0 / Wi-Fi card. OC-Touch OC design is for users to OC in bare system and extreme OC. The color changes to black with orange which is more eye catching. Z77X-UP7 is one of GIGABYTE most high end model in Z77. It uses own most high end components and specs in 2012. As it?s a top model, the price is also high in Z77 MB. As the top MB product, C/P value is always low. It?s suitable for higher budget and top specs demanders. Recently, windwithme shared GIGABYTE Z77X-UP7 and ASUS Maximus V Extreme, top 2 brands high end Z77. Mainly, I only do air cooling OC or some performance tuning. I hope it’s useful for your reference. This is also post in my blog - WIND3C, All comments are welcome.

CrystalMark 2004R3 => 411934 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 9.78 pts CPU(Single Core) => 2.04 pts PCMARK7 - 6140 Windows8 Experience Index - CPU 8.4 This is my first time using Windows8 for product review. Hyper PI 32M is 30~40 sec faster and the other software also improved more or less. The special part is Windows8 experience index break through the CPU 7.8 limitation in WIN7. Also, Windows8 installed capacity is 10GB less than Windwos7. It?s a little faster than WIN7 in booting. Booting screen is similar with tablet or smart phone, touch panel devices. After entering main screen, the interface is almost same as Windows7. However, there are some new features. As general users, it takes time to get used to the new interface. DDR3 is USA CORSAIR Dominator Platinum series, CMD16GX3M4A2400C9. The packing is very unique. It?s a 2 layers stack. Each layer consists of 4GB X 2. Dominator Platinum is CORSAIR most high end DDR3 product line. The heatsink quality and design are even better than Dominator GT series. The picture is DDR3 2400 4GB X 4. The internet shows Dominator Platinum has launched DDR3 2800. DDR3 top with white metal heatsink. I guess it?s the reason for naming Platinum. It bundles with CORSAIR original DHX(Dual-path Heat eXchange) Cooling technology with better cooling ability. After power on, the top of black heatsink will light blue-white. It makes quality even better. DRAM Bandwidth Test DDR3 2401 CL9 11-11-31 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 24658 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 28598 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 28481 MB/s The test is running at DDR3 2400 1T and 4G X 4. Z77X-UP7 4DIMM OC ability is quite good. The gap is not big between 2 and 4DIMM. DDR3 2600.8 CL10 12-12-34 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 25760 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth -30088 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 28829 MB/s DDR3 2667.8 CL11 12-12-35 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 25935 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth -30221 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 29371 MB/s After comparing three DDR3 clock, you can see the bandwidth is rising gradually from DDR3 2400 to 2666. Even though Ivy Bridge structure bandwidth increasing range is not big, the extreme clock has improved a lot from Sandy Bridge. As DDR3 OC, I think it?s more about memory quality, voltage, and CL tuning. It takes time to find out the best CL and clock.

Z77 high end version also use big surface heatsink. It looks elegant. It features ultra-thin metal fins, the heatsink provides greater surface area so that quicker heat exchange can occur. OC-Touch Z77X-UP7 this design is better than Z68X-UD7. Red button is power button. Two + and ? for adjusting CPU and BCLK. Gear is for BCLK steps switch. Right hand side is LN2 switch and below has 8 touch points for voltage measurement. GIGABYTE displayed IR3550 PowlRstage in ComputeX 2012. This new PWM design uses in own mid to high end MBs. It delivers 60A per phase and lower temperature than former PWM design. Z77X-UP7 uses 37-phase digital PWM, 32-phase CPU + 2-phase VTT + 3-phase Intel HD GPU. GIGABYTE UEFI interface provides 7 languages. I remember it seems didn?t support Korean in previous version. Intel Core i7-3770K default ratio is 35. I set it as 48 to run at 4800MHz. Enable X.M.P. and this CORSAIR DDR3 auto set to 2400 and CL. Vcore Loadline Calibration is important feature for CPU OC. CPU voltage set as 1.350V and Vcore Loadline Calibration is default. When CPU is full speed, voltage will drop around 2 levels. As the pic, I switch to Extreme and set CPU to 1.350V. It?s 1.356V as standby and 1.368V as full speed. I set i7-3700K to 1.350V. It can pass all software stalely. DDR3 voltage is 1.650V as the other key voltage in OC. Test Configuration CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K MB: GIGABYTE Z77X-UP7 DRAM: CORSAIR Dominator Platinum CMD16GX3M4A2400C9 VGA: PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-2DHV3 HD: CORSAIR Performance Pro Series 256GB POWER: Thermaltake TR2 600W Cooler: CORSAIR Hydro Series H100 OS: Windows8 64bit CPU 100.0 X 48 => 4801.5MHz(Disable Turbo Boost and C1E) DDR3 2401 CL9 11-11-31 1T(Enable X.M.P. mode) Hyper PI 32M X 8 => 10m 53.985s CPUMARK 99 => 756 Nuclearus Multi Core => 35398 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 37.79/18137

2012 is very important for PC market. There are more and more mobile devices coming. Especially smart phones and tablet PCs. It really impacts traditional PC and NB markets. This change does benefit the users which you can see the change in MB market. More brands start to enhance their service terms and conditions. GIGABYTE also launched their 4 years warranty in Taiwan. For mid to high end Intel Z77 platform, the price drops from former 170UD to 120USD. High end Z77 price is around 10~15% lower than previous chipset. Except the MB enthusiasts market, the price drop is good for general users. GIGABYTE high end MB has 2 product lines. One is Gaming series, Z77 model called G1.SNIPER3. The other one is designing for OC and extreme performance, the board for this review, called Z77X-UP7. GIGABYTE used to use UD with numbers as model name. This model changes to UP with number. First, you can see the Z77X-UP7 board. The color is black and orange which is different with past UD7. Z77X-UP7 is E-ATX, size is 30.5cm x 26.4cm. Most ATX case can install it, except shrinking ATX case. It?s for Overclocking market. The following part will introduce all the details. Accessories Product Manual, software manual and drivers CD. 3.5? front panel controller board, BT4.0/WiFi card, 4-Way SLI bridge. IO panel, back panel SATA bracket, SATA cables, WiFi antenna. CrossFireX / 2-Way and 3-Way SLI bride, voltage cables. Lower-Left 3 X PCI-E X16 support X16 bandwidth. 2 X PCI-E X16 support X8 bandwidth. It supports up to 4-Way AMD CrossFireX/nVIDIA SLI technology. 3-Way AMD CrossFireX/nVIDIA SLI bandwidth is X16 + X16 + X16 4-Way AMD CrossFireX bandwidth is X16 + X8 + X16 + X8 4-Way nVIDIA SLI bandwidth is sX8 + X8 + X8 + X8 2 X PCI-E X1 LAN chips are Atheros GbE and Intel GbE LAN. It builds in Realtek ALC898 audio chip supporting 7.1 channel and High Definition Audio technology. Design in Taipei Lower-Right 2 X White SATA by Z77 support SATA3. 4 X Black SATA by Z77 support SATA2. It supports hybrid RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10. The max performance decides by installed SATA devices. 4 X Gray SATA by Marvell 88SE9172 support SATA3, RAID 0 and RAID 1. 1 X mSATA supports SATA2. If you install mSATA, SATA2 port 5 will not work. Right hand side is debug LED, MB and SB are dual BIOS switcher, and blue round button is RST_SW. Upper Right 4 X DIMM DDR3 support 1066/1333/1600/2666(OC) and DDR3 max capacity is 32GB. It supports Extreme Memory Profile technology. Next is 24-PIN power connector and front USB 3.0 connector. Upper Left Z77X-UP7uses new fins design with heat pipe. CPU metal cover is better quality by plating process. Behind the heat pipe, there are 2 8-pin power connectors for high power consumption usage after OC. IO 1 X PS2 KB/Mouse 1 X D-Sub / DVI-D / HDMI / DisplayPort 6 X USB 3.0/2.0(Blue) 2 X RJ-45 LAN 1 X S/PDIF Optical output 6 X Audio jacks

CPU Full Speed - 53~56 LinX 0.6.4 Using Intel original cooler, i3-3220 is good in OS Desktop. Full speed is lower than 60 degree C. This is also better than average. After Ivy Bridge phases in 22nm, K sku CPU temperature after OC is not improved. However, for general use, the temperature performance is excellent. Power Consumption Test Enable C1E and Enter to OS Desktop - 30W Disable C1E and Enter to OS Desktop - 38W Running LinX to Full Speed CPU - 57W In Sandy Bridge, Intel has lower the TDP much comparing to 1st gen Core i. After Ivy Bridge phase-in 22nm, it?s even 10~20% lower. The Ivy Bridge doesn?t improve much in ratio due to Sandy Bridge TDP is very low already. Also, I don?t use 80Plus power supply this time. If I change to 80Plus, it will improve more. LGA 1155 chipset has H61, B75, H77 and Z77. These four chipsets have different specs and features. I do recommend you to study first before buying. The price is much cheaper than the past. Four chipsets entry models price is very close. It?s around 15~30USD for each segment. Most MB brands have many models for each chipset. You can choose by your budget, favorite brands and specs. Intel revealed Ivy Bridge Core i3 is renewing product line as the price is same as Sandy Bridge Core i3. For positioning is also the same. Entry i3-3220 bundles HD2500 and i3-3225 is with HD4000. If 3rd gen Core i3 price can be lower, it will be more attractive. Windwithme shares Ivy Bridge entry Core i3-3220 performance for your reference. I also hop Pentium series can be released earlier. This is also in my blog - WIND3C, All comments are welcome.