{"id":31216,"date":"2012-08-20T17:39:37","date_gmt":"2012-08-20T16:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=31216"},"modified":"2012-08-20T17:55:47","modified_gmt":"2012-08-20T16:55:47","slug":"evgas-z77-ftw-motherboard-is-built-for-extreme-overclocking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/evgas-z77-ftw-motherboard-is-built-for-extreme-overclocking\/","title":{"rendered":"EVGA&#8217;s Z77 FTW motherboard is built for extreme overclocking!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n                                                                                                                         google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We\u00a0received a Z77 FTW motherboard from EVGA\u00a0and have been\u00a0comparing its performance\u00a0for\u00a0a month to\u00a0our ECS Z77H2-A2X motherboard\u00a0after we benchmarked <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=30448\">Bloomfield versus Ivy Bridge<\/a>.\u00a0 Now we want to see if we can push\u00a0our Core i7-3770K\u00a0to its maximum clockspeed under high-end air or water cooling, and determine if the EVGA FTW motherboard can make a difference.\u00a0\u00a0 The EVGA Z77 FTW is geared toward the overclocker and it is almost unique as\u00a0one of very few\u00a0Socket 1155 motherboards that supports 4-way SLI plus PhysX.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/z77ftw.jpg?resize=360%2C261\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Using\u00a0the Ivy Bridge platform, we\u00a0saw good performance\u00a0improvement in gaming by overclocking our DDR3 but found no performance difference between having 4GB or 8GB\u00a0of system memory.\u00a0With the\u00a0ECS motherboard, we noted that\u00a0adding two more sticks of RAM &#8211; from 2x2GB to 2x4GB &#8211;\u00a0destabilized our CPU overclock somewhat and\u00a0it needed more voltage to compensate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The EVGA Z77 FTW\u00a0motherboard is built for enthusiasts and it retails for $330, but it can be purchased for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188120\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188120', '$309.99 at Newegg']);\" >$309.99 at Newegg<\/a> at time of writing, and it&#8217;s about $90 more than the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135305\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135305', 'ECS Golden Series motherboard']);\" >ECS Golden Series motherboard<\/a> that we reviewed last month.\u00a0 Naturally we will compare their performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The ECS MB comes with wireless LAN and Bluetooth and can support 2-way SLI while\u00a0the FTW motherboard eschews\u00a0all frills and\u00a0offers a single mini-DP display, but supports 4-way Quad-SLI with 4 videocards where\u00a0the cards are\u00a0supplied by a PLX chip\u00a0allowing for\u00a0much more PCIe\u00a0bandwidth to the individual cards than the ECS motherboard can provide.\u00a0 We already saw that <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=30825\">a single GTX 690 requires more bandwidth than PCI3 3.0 8x can provide<\/a>.\u00a0 And the FTW motherboard features two CPU power connectors (for a total of 300W!)\u00a0and two PCIe power connectors to plug right into the motherboard to assure overclocking stability that most motherboards lack.<\/p>\n<p>The EVGA Z77 FTW is a &#8220;plus&#8221; sized\u00a0EATX motherboard that is a far cry from the Gigabyte mATX Z77 motherboard that <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=29402\">we originally tested our Core i7-3770K<\/a> with.\u00a0\u00a0 It&#8217;s dimensions are wider than a regular ATX board at 12&#8243;long x 10.375&#8243; wide (304.8mm x 263.5mm). However,\u00a0using the Gigabyte\u00a0mATX motherboard, our Core i7-3770K\u00a0was able to achieve 4.8GHz, the same speed that we also matched with our ECS motherboard.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Gigabyte-mATX-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-30690\" title=\"Gigabyte-,mATX-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Gigabyte-mATX-1.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Gigabyte-mATX-1.jpg?resize=300%2C225 300w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Gigabyte-mATX-1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the mATX motherboard did not allow\u00a0our GTX 690 to properly seat itself in the PCIe slots over the SATA ports, and CrossFire and SLI was really hard to fit on such a small board. However, we noted that performance was nearly identical in the benchmarks that we compared at the same settings with the ECS Z77H2-A2X motherboard.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/MB-12.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-30633\" title=\"MB-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/MB-12.jpg?resize=346%2C207\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/MB-12.jpg?resize=346%2C207 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/MB-12-300x179.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 346px) 100vw, 346px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, we completely upgraded our platform from using Seagate 7200 rpm hard disk drives to\u00a0two Kingston\u00a0240GB Hyper-X SSDs as well as upgrading from 4GB to 8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 PC1866.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KINGSTON-DDR3-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-30656\" title=\"KINGSTON-DDR3-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KINGSTON-DDR3-2.jpg?resize=346%2C212\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KINGSTON-DDR3-2.jpg?resize=346%2C212 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KINGSTON-DDR3-2-300x184.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 346px) 100vw, 346px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kingston sent us two slightly different 240GB HyperX SSDs &#8211; one is designated &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239050\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239050', '3K']);\" >3K<\/a>&#8220;(below left) for the number of program\/erase cycles that the NAND inside the SSD is rated for, and it is less expensive than the &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=20-139-602\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=20-139-602', 'regular&#8221; HyperX SSD']);\" >regular&#8221; HyperX SSD<\/a> (below right) which is rated for 5K cycles.\u00a0 Both the ECS and the EVGA Z77 motherboards were tested\u00a0using the\u00a0same HyperX (5K) drive (right).\u00a0 We still run our game benchmarks from our Seagate 500GB HDDs as HDD gaming performance is identical to SSD gaming performance\u00a0and we need the higher capacity of\u00a0our HDD\u00a0to store\u00a0all of our games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KINGsTONhyperX-SSD-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-30636\" title=\"KINGsTONhyperX-SSD-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KINGsTONhyperX-SSD-1.jpg?resize=432%2C133\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KINGsTONhyperX-SSD-1.jpg?resize=432%2C133 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/KINGsTONhyperX-SSD-1-300x92.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0<strong>Core i7-3770K&#8217;s built-in HD 4000 Graphics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>One improved\u00a0feature of Intel&#8217;s new Core i7 CPU is that Intel&#8217;s latest DX11 HD 4000 graphics\u00a0are integrated directly into the CPU. The Sandy Bridge processors use DX10 Intel HD 3000 Graphics with twelve execution units (EUs) whereas HD 4000 graphics is now DX11 and it has 16 EUs operating at 1150MHz in the Core i7-3770K.\u00a0 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-29408\" title=\"layoutt\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/layoutt.jpg?resize=300%2C124\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/layoutt.jpg?resize=300%2C124 300w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/layoutt.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>CPU graphics\u00a0is a convenience for many Intel users who no longer have to buy discrete graphics cards to run the latest DX11 games or to run three displays.\u00a0 However, buying a discrete video card is\u00a0rarely an issue for PC gamers as integrated graphics (IG) performance is never sufficient for them. Since\u00a0most enthusiasts using this Z77 FTW motherboard\u00a0are unlikely to use HD Graphics at all, we shall\u00a0not test\u00a0it.\u00a0 Performance should be identical or within benchmarking margin of error between all three Z77 motherboards supporting CPU graphics that we have evaluated so far.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31278\" title=\"MB-connectors\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-connectors.jpg?resize=480%2C228\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-connectors.jpg?resize=480%2C228 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-connectors-300x142.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>Please note that to use the EVGA Z77 FTW&#8217;s\u00a0mini-DisplayPort out, you will need a native DisplayPort display or else use\u00a0an active DisplayPort to DVI (or HDMI) adapter which <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158262&amp;nm\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158262&amp;nm', 'costs close to $100']);\" >costs close to $100<\/a>.\u00a0 Our passive mini-DP to DVI adapter did not work.\u00a0 The is a negative for the FTW motherboard as even\u00a0a HDMI out connector would have probably been more practical\u00a0for more users\u00a0if there isn&#8217;t enough room for a DVI connector, and comparatively few displays have DisplayPort.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>The Core Ivy Bridge i7 Architecture<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Core i7-3770K processor is offered in an 1155-land LGA package (H2). Here is an example of the Ivy Bridge desktop platform block diagram.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-29404\" title=\"Diagram\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Diagram.jpg?resize=480%2C437\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Diagram.jpg?resize=480%2C437 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Diagram-300x273.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We are benching games\u00a0using <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=29157\">the GTX 680<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=29519\">the GTX 690<\/a> on at 1920&#215;1200 and 2560&#215;1600 resolutions and at the maximum details that gamers play at.\u00a0 It is logical to pair a top video card with a top overclocking motherboard.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/GeForce_GTX_690_3qtr.jpg?resize=300%2C237\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>At time of writing, the GTX 690 (above) is the fastest video card and the GTX 680 (below) is the most powerful stock single-GPU available as it trades blows with the GHz edition of the HD 7970.\u00a0 In fact,\u00a0the GTX 690 has almost the same performance as two\u00a0GTX 680s\u00a0in SLI and it uses more bandwidth than PCIe 3.0 8x can provide!<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/680-1.jpg?resize=300%2C234\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Core i7-3770K has four identical 3.5GHz Ivy Bridge cores, and is rated at a TDP of 77W. As with the other Ivy Bridge Core i7 CPUs, they have a large pool of shared L3 cache, along with four L2 cache pools (one for each core) and a pair of dedicated pools of L1 cache (again, one per core).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Accurate Temperature Reporting<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-31524\" title=\"Debugled-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-1.jpg?resize=277%2C300\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-1.jpg?resize=277%2C300 277w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-1.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 277px) 100vw, 277px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Overclocking our Core i7-3770K to 4.8GHz on the ECS motherboard appeared to\u00a0leave plenty\u00a0of thermal headroom as temperatures were being reported in the low 80sC.\u00a0 However, when we tried a higher clock, 4.9GHz would not even boot on the ECS motherboard.\u00a0\u00a0This doesn&#8217;t\u00a0make any\u00a0sense until we realized &#8211; from testing the EVGA FTW motherboard with the same CPU cooler &#8211; that the temperatures were being under-reported.<\/p>\n<p>Probably the main advantage offered by Ivy Bridge&#8217;s Core i7-3770K is its incredible power savings features on the 22nm process. Ivy Bridge is a refinement of Sandy Bridge and a node shrink that should give us some performance improvement over last generation along with a lot of power savings and new features.\u00a0 One amazing thing that we noted on the EVGA FTW motherboard, although we were able to max out our overclock for our cooling, we still retained all\u00a0the power saving features for our Core i7-3770K when\u00a0it was at idle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Z77 Chipset and the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Z77 chipset is the premium chipset for Ivy Bridge including Core i7 which supports both CPU multiplier and IGP overclocking (for unlocked Intel CPUs), Quick Sync, and SATA 6.0Gbps as well as PCIe 3.0. It also supports Intel Virtu Technology, which uses the IG for less demanding tasks and the discrete GPU for more intensive applications, saving energy. With this chipset, Intel has further refined their Smart Response (SSD caching).<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0Z77 FTW is EVGA&#8217;s\u00a0premium enthusiast motherboard that take full advantage of Intel&#8217;s Z77 chipset for maximum stability and overclocking with features as\u00a0noted on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/products\/moreInfo.asp?pn=151-IB-E699-KR&amp;family=Motherboard%20Family&amp;sw=5\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/products\/moreInfo.asp?pn=151-IB-E699-KR&amp;family=Motherboard%20Family&amp;sw=5', 'EVGA&#8217; site']);\" >EVGA&#8217; site<\/a>.\u00a0 It goes way above and beyond the usual motherboard to provide the enthusiast\u00a0with the ability to \u00a0connect fourteen SATA devices at once!\u00a0 And it is nearly unique in providing up to 4-way SLI plus PhysX or CrossFireX.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31344\" title=\"FEATURES-SPECS\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/FEATURES-SPECS.jpg?resize=480%2C134\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/FEATURES-SPECS.jpg?resize=480%2C134 600w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/FEATURES-SPECS-300x84.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Specifications<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Here are the EVGA Z77 FTW specifications from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/articles\/00677\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/articles\/00677\/', 'EVGA&#8217;s site']);\" >EVGA&#8217;s site<\/a>:<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31345\" title=\"FEATURES\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/FEATURES.jpg?resize=480%2C124\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/FEATURES.jpg?resize=480%2C124 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/FEATURES-300x77.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As one can see, the\u00a0FTW\u00a0is fully-featured. Head over to the next page and we&#8217;ll find more out about the new Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K as we unbox our EVGA Z77 FTW\u00a0motherboard.<\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle:EVGA Z77 FTW Introduction--><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Unboxing, Layout &#038; Installation--><\/p>\n<p><strong>The EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Unboxing and Installation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The EVGA Z77 FTW\u00a0motherboard comes in a black box and\u00a0red is emphasied.\u00a0 This is a theme that is repeated on the motherboard and it is effective and visually very good looking.\u00a0 The box emphasizes Ivy Bridge&#8217;s features including USB 3.0 and Sata III\/6G.\u00a0 It is PCIe express 3.0 ready to take full advantage of SLI (and CrossFireX).<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31271\" title=\"boxx\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/boxx.jpg?resize=480%2C453\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/boxx.jpg?resize=480%2C453 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/boxx-300x282.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Turning the box over,\u00a0we see\u00a0it\u00a0advertise the\u00a0EVGA motherboard&#8217;s features.\u00a0 Warranty is 3 years and it is suggested that the end user register online for an extension.\u00a0 The board is now identified by the serial number and the warranty is transferrable.\u00a0 The famous EVGA 27\/7 support is proudly displayed and this Z77 motherboard is eligible for the 90-day step-up program.\u00a0 Eleet, the free windows based overclocking utility is also advertised and is included in the software on the driver CD.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31268\" title=\"box-obv\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-obv.jpg?resize=480%2C412\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-obv.jpg?resize=480%2C412 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-obv-300x257.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-side.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-31269 alignleft\" title=\"box-side\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-side.jpg?resize=122%2C425\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-side.jpg?resize=122%2C425 564w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-side-293x1024.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 122px) 100vw, 122px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31270\" title=\"box-side2\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-side2.jpg?resize=147%2C408\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-side2.jpg?resize=147%2C408 370w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/box-side2-108x300.jpg 108w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 147px) 100vw, 147px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">And here also we see gaming performance stressed on the end panels.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u00a0Upon opening the box, we see everything is packed securely in a plastic clamshell and that there are a lot of accessories as befits a flagship motherboard.\u00a0 Here is everything right out of the box to show how well it is packed for shipping.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-31362\" title=\"CONTENTS\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS.jpg?resize=300%2C174\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS.jpg?resize=300%2C174 300w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The motherboard comes in large anti-static &#8220;clamshell&#8221; packaging which is becoming popular.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there is a lot of material to recycle or trash and it is a large package to store.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On the upside, it protects the motherboard and accessories very well during shipping.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31363\" title=\"CONTENTS-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS-1.jpg?resize=480%2C697\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS-1.jpg?resize=480%2C697 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS-1-206x300.jpg 206w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CONTENTS-1-705x1024.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Above\u00a0are all of the accessories completely\u00a0unpacked.\u00a0\u00a0Included\u00a0are a manual and a installation poster-style guide along with a driver CD and Eleet overclocking utility.<\/p>\n<p>If your case doesn&#8217;t have the latest connectors, a 4-port USB 2.0 bracket and a 2 port USB 3.0 bracket, as well as a FireWire 1394a bracket are included.\u00a0 There are\u00a0two SATA power adapters,\u00a0two each\u00a03G and 6G data cables and there are 2- and 3-way SLI bridges.\u00a0 Of course, there is also the I\/O shield.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31266\" title=\"accessories\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/accessories.jpg?resize=553%2C737\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/accessories.jpg?resize=553%2C737 768w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/accessories-225x300.jpg 225w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/accessories.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 553px) 100vw, 553px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The visual installation guide\u00a0works well in practice\u00a0and it might be\u00a0helpful to also include a DVD video guide. The user manual is useful but it does not cover the BIOS at all.\u00a0 One of the most useful resources to take full advantage of your new\u00a0Z77 FTW motherboard is the EVGA community.\u00a0 They have a forum section dedicated to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.evga.com\/forums\/tt.aspx?forumid=81\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.evga.com\/forums\/tt.aspx?forumid=81', 'the EVGA\u00a0Z77 motherboards']);\" >the EVGA\u00a0Z77 motherboards<\/a> and\u00a0some of the most helpful posters and dedicated staff anywhere!<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Layout<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard features 7+1 Phase PWM including\u00a0dual 8-pin power connectors for the ultimate in CPU overclocking capabilities.\u00a0 Both of the 8-pin power plugs are easily accessed as they are located directly above the CPU socket.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CPU-power.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-31525\" title=\"CPU-power\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CPU-power.jpg?resize=300%2C183\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CPU-power.jpg?resize=300%2C183 300w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CPU-power.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We only used one power connector and was able to easily get stability at 5.0GHz.\u00a0\u00a0 The second power connector would be likely used for extreme overclocking perhaps under liquid Nitrogen.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31272\" title=\"MB-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-1.jpg?resize=480%2C432\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-1.jpg?resize=480%2C432 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-1-300x270.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The POSCAP capacitors and now having three times\u00a0the usual amount of\u00a0gold in the\u00a0CPU socket pins are also designed to help with overclocking\u00a0stability.\u00a0 The PWM area has a heatsink that also covers the PLX PEX8747 chip.\u00a0 Because of the intelligent layout, there is room to\u00a0install large CPU\u00a0coolers such as our Noctua NH-DH14 as well as\u00a0for installing multiple large video cards.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31274\" title=\"MB-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-3.jpg?resize=480%2C266\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-3.jpg?resize=480%2C266 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-3-300x166.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In addition to supporting Intel Socket 1155 CPUs, the Z77 FTW motherboard\u00a0boasts five PCI-e 3.0 x16\/x8 slots and one PCI-e 2.0 x1 slot,\u00a0making it one of the rare boards that is suitable for\u00a0up to four-way SLI or CrossFireX while using an additonal slot for PhysX &#8211; that&#8217;s four video cards running simultaneously.\u00a0 You\u00a0can even disable various PCI-e lanes with onboard switches located above the SATA ports.<\/p>\n<p>The are slots for 4 DIMMS of DDR3 up to 32GB total. This motherboard supports the stock 1600MHz setting as well as overclocking the RAM to\u00a02133MHz. Beside the DIMMs is the reset switch which is ideal for open benching and testing. \u00a0 Next to the reset switch, the debug LED is very conveniently placed and very easily visible through most cases&#8217; clear side panel which is especially important since it doubles as a CPU thermal monitor.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-casewindow.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-31526\" title=\"Debugled-casewindow\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-casewindow.jpg?resize=300%2C231\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-casewindow.jpg?resize=300%2C231 300w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-casewindow.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can easily read the average CPU core temperature directly\u00a0which is partly made possible by moving the ATX power connector to the side of the motherboard so that the power cable is inserted at\u00a0180 degrees to the board, instead of the usual 90 degrees.\u00a0 Of course, you are probably going to need a full-sized tower or a oversized mid-tower to accomodate this FTW motherboard and the cables.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31276\" title=\"MB-5\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-5.jpg?resize=480%2C321\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-5.jpg?resize=480%2C321 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-5-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At the bottom of the board is a PCIe power connector (above, bottom left edge) which also inserts 180 degrees to the motherboard and an additional PCIe power connector above the PCIe slots (below, red arrow).\u00a0 Using one of them is mandatory for running more than one video card and two are provided for when extra stability is needed.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Pcieconn-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31523\" title=\"Pcieconn-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Pcieconn-2.jpg?resize=480%2C332\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Pcieconn-2.jpg?resize=480%2C332 480w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Pcieconn-2-300x207.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Below the ATX power connector are the PCIe switches which allow individual slot to be turned off and on.\u00a0 This would probably be useful for troubleshooting SLI or CrossFire configurations.\u00a0 Below the PCIe switches are four SATA 6Gbps connectors and there are total of ten additional SATA 3Gbps ports including two eSATA.\u00a0 You can actually have 14 SATA devices connected at one time.\u00a0 USB is also well-provided for with ten USB 2.0 ports and six USB 3.0 ports.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31366\" title=\"IO-connectors\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/IO-connectors.jpg?resize=480%2C85\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/IO-connectors.jpg?resize=480%2C85 480w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/IO-connectors-300x53.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The the onboard USB 3.0 header and the bottom USB 3.0 ports closest to DisplayPort connector on the I\/O panel are native to the Intel Chipset.\u00a0\u00a0As well as\u00a0the USB and eSATA ports, are included a PS\/2 port (which is great for some keyboards), as well as a clear CMOS button for convenience, mini-Display port, optical port, dual LAN ports and five audio jacks.\u00a0 One of the things we disliked on the ECS motherboard was that it was very inconvenient to clear the CMOS; the motherboard&#8217;s\u00a0only\u00a0jumpers\u00a0are covered by an add-in video card.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.evga.com\/images\/forum\/darkmode.png?resize=213%2C214\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Other features include a jumper (image above, from EVGA&#8217;s site)\u00a0to shut off all of the LEDs except for the debug, and a toggle switch to select from three BIOSes.\u00a0 If one BIOS gets corrupted, it is quite easy to flash it from a good BIOS.\u00a0 This is an excellent feature for users who push their hardware to the limit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SLI\/CrossFire<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Using the PLX chip,\u00a0the FTW motherboard\u00a0is\u00a0x16\/x16 when using PCI-E Slots 2 and 4.\u00a0EVGA designed the board layout in such a way that a single GPU will get PCI-e lanes directly from CPU when in PCI-e Slot 1.\u00a0 The PLX bridge chip is used in 2-Way, 3-Way and 4-Way SLI configurations.<\/p>\n<p>One thing that we didn&#8217;t like was that by using PCIe Slots 2 and 4, the cards were too close to each other and there were thermal issues with running EVGA GTX 660 Ti Superclocked video cards in 2-way SLI.\u00a0 Although\u00a0slots 2 and 4\u00a0are not quite as close as a regular\u00a0X58 motherboard, for example, we still needed to install a 240mm side case fan into the side panel of our Thermaltake Overseer RX-I full tower to cool our multiple video cards.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot2-4-2vc-x8x8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31519\" title=\"Slot2-4--2vc-x8x8\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot2-4-2vc-x8x8.jpg?resize=480%2C571\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot2-4-2vc-x8x8.jpg?resize=480%2C571 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot2-4-2vc-x8x8-252x300.jpg 252w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Of course, by moving the cards further apart, we cooled them off now, but we are now getting x8\/x8 PCIe 3.0 bandwidth instead of the full 16x each supplied to slots 2and 4.\u00a0 We used slots 1 and 4 but you can certainly use 1 and 3.\u00a0The difference in running Vantage was <strong>30918 for a single x16 GTX 660 Ti<\/strong> and <strong>43905 using x16\/x16<\/strong> PCIe bandwidth\u00a0versus <strong>43626 using x8\/x8 slots<\/strong> in Vantage which is almost no difference at all.\u00a0 PCIe 3.0 x8 bandwidth should not be an issue unless you are running\u00a0two <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=30825\">GTX 690s in\u00a0Quad-SLI<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot1-4-2vc-x8x8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31520\" title=\"Slot1-4--2vc-x8x8\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot1-4-2vc-x8x8.jpg?resize=480%2C485\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot1-4-2vc-x8x8.jpg?resize=480%2C485 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot1-4-2vc-x8x8-296x300.jpg 296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Another great feature of the FTW motherboard is that everything is\u00a0very well marked on the\u00a0motherboard and even the DIMMs are clearly identified.\u00a0 If there is any doubt, the setup guide and the user manual can be quite helpful.\u00a0 And of course, the EVGA forum community is a wealth of easily accessible information.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31277\" title=\"MB-6\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-6.jpg?resize=480%2C266\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-6.jpg?resize=480%2C266 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-6-300x166.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard from the other side (below).\u00a0 Everything about it is &#8220;heavy duty&#8221; and well-built for overclocking.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31280\" title=\"MB-obv2\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-obv2.jpg?resize=480%2C421\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-obv2.jpg?resize=480%2C421 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/MB-obv2-300x262.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0EVGA Z77 FTW\u00a0is a very attractive motherboard.\u00a0We installed our CPU and RAM first and then installed our\u00a0FTW motherboard into our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=30823\">Thermaltake tower Overseer RX-I<\/a>.\u00a0 Originally we used a <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=30184\">Noctua NH-DH12<\/a>\u00a0which had plenty of room inside the case and it fit easily over the RAM with no issues.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31528\" title=\"install-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/install-1.jpg?resize=480%2C412\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/install-1.jpg?resize=480%2C412 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/install-1-300x257.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Installation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Using the FTW motherboard we had\u00a0 a totally painless installation with the Noctual NH-DH-14 and then with Thermaltake&#8217;s Water2.0 Pro CPU watercooler. The Thermaltake Water2.0 Performer and Pro will both be featured in an upcoming &#8220;Air vs. Water&#8221; shootout with the NH-DH14 this week.\u00a0 As much as we love the amazing Noctua NH-DH14, we like the uncluttered look of the watercooling setup.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31522\" title=\"Slot1-1vc\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot1-1vc1.jpg?resize=384%2C478\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot1-1vc1.jpg?resize=384%2C478 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Slot1-1vc1-241x300.jpg 241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We have everything set up. Let&#8217;s turn our PC on and head for the BIOS.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Inside the EVGA Z77 FTW BIOS--><\/p>\n<h3>The BIOS<\/h3>\n<p>The UEFI BIOS used on the EVGA Z77 FTW lacks mouse support and other graphical interface features that are found on the ECS Z77 motherboard, for example.\u00a0 Navagating EVGA\u2019s BIOS finding settings\u00a0was not a\u00a0problem, although there so many options that\u00a0even for more experienced users it can take awhile to find settings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Choices.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31529\" title=\"Choices\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Choices.jpg?resize=384%2C238\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Choices.jpg?resize=384%2C238 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Choices-300x185.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The BIOS is divided into 7 sections (above) &#8211; Overview, Advanced, Chipset, Overclocking, Boot. Security and Save\/Exit.\u00a0 The basic performance tuning options are easily accessible under the Overclocking tab and a quick overclocking mode can be enabled to disable all other features and improve stability without\u00a0searching for\u00a0each individual setting nested inside other tabs.<\/p>\n<p>Setting up and configuring the BIOS is relatively easy although it is not necessarily intuitive.\u00a0 First you are presented with the Overview where you set up the date and time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/1st-screem.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31530\" title=\"1st-screem\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/1st-screem.jpg?resize=480%2C312\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/1st-screem.jpg?resize=480%2C312 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/1st-screem-300x195.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here is the Advanced Menu again\u00a0and we have highlighted the ACPI configuration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Choices1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31536\" title=\"Choices\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Choices1.jpg?resize=480%2C297\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Choices1.jpg?resize=480%2C297 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Choices1-300x185.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now under ACPI settings:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ACPI-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31532\" title=\"ACPI-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ACPI-2.jpg?resize=480%2C310\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ACPI-2.jpg?resize=480%2C310 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ACPI-2-300x193.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">From the Advanced tab, there are many options to configure SATA.\u00a0 Of course, we picked ACHI mode.<a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Chipset-sata.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31533\" title=\"Chipset-sata\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Chipset-sata.jpg?resize=480%2C330\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Chipset-sata.jpg?resize=480%2C330 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Chipset-sata-300x206.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Also in Advanced is the\u00a0PC Health Status\u00a0with further sub-tabs to monitor temperatures, fan speed and voltage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/boardtemps.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31534\" title=\"boardtemps\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/boardtemps.jpg?resize=480%2C315\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/boardtemps.jpg?resize=480%2C315 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/boardtemps-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here again under Advanced\u00a0is a screen where you have control over the many fan headers<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/fanspeed.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31535\" title=\"fanspeed\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/fanspeed.jpg?resize=480%2C323\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/fanspeed.jpg?resize=480%2C323 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/fanspeed-300x202.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Chipset is for configuring the System Agent (SA)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Chipset-system-agent.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31537\" title=\"Chipset-system-agent\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Chipset-system-agent.jpg?resize=480%2C304\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Chipset-system-agent.jpg?resize=480%2C304 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Chipset-system-agent-300x190.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And there is a lot to do under SA including Graphics Configuration<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PreGraphics-System-agent.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31538\" title=\"PreGraphics-System-agent\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PreGraphics-System-agent.jpg?resize=480%2C323\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PreGraphics-System-agent.jpg?resize=480%2C323 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PreGraphics-System-agent-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And of course, under Graphics Configuration there are even options for the LCS<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Graphics.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31539\" title=\"Graphics\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Graphics.jpg?resize=480%2C316\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Graphics.jpg?resize=480%2C316 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Graphics-300x197.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Opening LCD Control makes one realize just how customizable this FTW&#8217;s BIOS is &#8211; there are literally hundreds of options available to follow as tab leads to another.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Graphics-LCD-control.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31540\" title=\"Graphics-LCD-control\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Graphics-LCD-control.jpg?resize=480%2C318\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Graphics-LCD-control.jpg?resize=480%2C318 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Graphics-LCD-control-300x198.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Overclocking is the section where the enthusiast will probably spend most of his time tweaking settings relating to overclocking.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/OC-CPU-5g-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31541\" title=\"OC-CPU-5g-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/OC-CPU-5g-1.jpg?resize=480%2C360\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/OC-CPU-5g-1.jpg?resize=480%2C360 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/OC-CPU-5g-1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Right from the main Overclocking tab is where the end user will do most of the basic overclocking. We changed the CPU\u00a0Multiplier Setting\u00a0from Auto (35) to\u00a048 for 4.8GHz and to\u00a050 for 5.0GHz.\u00a0 VDroop is Disabled and Internal PLL Voltage Override is set to Enabled.\u00a0 All we had to do was to find the voltage appropriate to our\u00a0specific CPU&#8217;s\u00a0overclock.\u00a0 We\u00a0keyed in 1325mV for 4.8GHz and just over 1400 for 5.0GHz proved to be about right for our Core i7-3770K.<\/p>\n<p>What is amazing is that under CPU configuration, we were able to keep the power-saving features built into Ivy Bridge for when the CPU was not under load.\u00a0 Those particular settings are under the CPU Power Management Configuration tab.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Advanced-CPU.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31542\" title=\"Advanced-CPU\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Advanced-CPU.jpg?resize=480%2C320\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Advanced-CPU.jpg?resize=480%2C320 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Advanced-CPU-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here is the CPU Power Management tab and whatever you do, do not disable Turbo boost or you will not be able to overclock at all!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/OC-CPU-voltage-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31543\" title=\"OC-CPU-voltage-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/OC-CPU-voltage-1.jpg?resize=480%2C360\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/OC-CPU-voltage-1.jpg?resize=480%2C360 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/OC-CPU-voltage-1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We left CPU Voltage here at Auto although we could just highlight it and type in an acceptable value.\u00a0 Note that all the power-saving features of Ivy Bridge are in place &#8211; at 4.8GHz!\u00a0 If you are worried about your CPU throttling during a high oveclock, you should consider disabling C1E, C3, C6 and C7.<\/p>\n<p>With the ECS motherboard we had to add .13V to stabilize our overclock at 4.8GHz with 4GB (2x2GB) of system RAM. Using 8GB and twice the DIMMs (4x2GB), we had to add even more voltage to stabilize our overclock at 4.8GHz.\u00a0 We had no such issues with filling all of our DIMMs in the FTW motherboard although if you are a serious overclocker, you will use only two.<\/p>\n<p>We now went back and from the Overclocking tab we highlighted Memory Configuration:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Memory-profile.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31544\" title=\"Memory-profile\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Memory-profile.jpg?resize=480%2C303\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Memory-profile.jpg?resize=480%2C303 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Memory-profile-300x189.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Automatic is the lowest memory settings, or 1200MHz, but there are many options if you choose Manual.\u00a0 With manual mode, you have quite a bit of control over the memory timings.\u00a0 We chose XMP Profile 1 which corresponds to Kingston HyperX DDR3 which was correctly set to 1867MHz with all the correct timings.\u00a0 If we chose XMP\u00a0Profile 2 it would be set at\u00a01600MHz.<\/p>\n<p>The next section is the Boot Configuration<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Bootconfig.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31545\" title=\"Bootconfig\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Bootconfig.jpg?resize=480%2C303\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Bootconfig.jpg?resize=480%2C303 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Bootconfig-300x189.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0After that is Security:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/security.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31546\" title=\"security\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/security.jpg?resize=480%2C309\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/security.jpg?resize=480%2C309 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/security-300x193.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s time to exit and save.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/f10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31547\" title=\"f10\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/f10.jpg?resize=480%2C302\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/f10.jpg?resize=480%2C302 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/f10-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Finally we have the exit screen with save and exit. Pressing &#8220;F10&#8221; at any time\u00a0is the same as &#8216;Save and Exit&#8217;.\u00a0 Just confirm.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The EVGA Z77 FTW\u00a0BIOS is excellent and compares with the very best.\u00a0 Mouse support would be nice but it is not necessary.\u00a0 We also found the voltage and temperature\u00a0measurements were\u00a0very accurate compared to what some motherboards reported.<\/p>\n<p>We were able to not only match the 4.8GHz overclock of our Gigabyte Z77 mTX and ECS z77 motherboard, but to go much higher &#8211; reaching 4.9GHz with complete stability and also 5.0GHz although we need to tweak our cooling better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>BIOS Flashing under Windows<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We have never been happy with this feature as it rarely has worked for us under Windows.\u00a0One is\u00a0supposed to be able to automatically update your BIOS under Windows. It promises much and works for many.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it didn&#8217;t deliver for us and we\u00a0used the\u00a0less convenient option to make a bootable flash drive to flash\u00a0to the latest beta 107\u00a0BIOS from late July.<\/p>\n<p>If you have to flash your BIOS manually, there are step by step instructions found on EVGA&#8217;s forum and a lot of helpful posters and staff who will be happy to assist you if you have questions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Overclocking & Watercooling--><\/p>\n<h3>Overclocking<\/h3>\n<p>Core i7-3770&#8243;K&#8221; CPUs are multiplier unlocked and can easily be overclocked to well in excess of 4GHz. On the other hand, the Core i3 CPUs are locked and cannot be overclocked in the traditional manner. Only the base clock may be overclocked which overclocks the entire system. Overclocks of 3-5+% with stability are reported and there can be a small performance boost. The Core i7-3770K also has an unlocked base clock although we did not attempt to adjust it.<\/p>\n<p>As we mentioned in the introduction, our Core i7-3770K was clocked to 4.8GHz on the ECS motherboard, the same clockspeed that we have achieved on our Gigabyte, ECS and now EVGA FTW Z77 motherboards.\u00a0 There appears to be plenty of thermal headroom left, yet when we tried a higher clock, 4.9GHz would not even boot on the ECS motherboard.\u00a0 It doesn&#8217;t make the slightest bit of sense until we realized &#8211; from testing the EVGA FTW motherboard with the same CPU cooler &#8211; that the temperatures were being drastically under-reported.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/occt-4.8GHz-max1.jpg?resize=480%2C421\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is the same Noctua NH-DH14 under identical conditions on the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard.\u00a0 Notice the dramatic differences in the reported temperatures, about 9C degrees!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/z77FTW-4.8GHZ-Noctua.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"z77FTW-4.8GHZ-Noctua\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/z77FTW-4.8GHZ-Noctua.jpg?resize=480%2C428\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0We were able to match the 4.8GHz overclock of the Gigabyte mATX Z77 motherboard with our ECS motherboard, although we were unable to get 4.9GHz no matter how much reasonable voltage we applied. We could boot into Windows but the system was unstable and when we attempted 5.0GHz, the CPU throttled. Evidently, the issues\u00a0were partially\u00a0thermal-related as reported temperatures only appeared to\u00a0be around or below 80C under load when they were probably closer to 90C at 4.8GHz and it only got worse when we tried to overclock further.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-mini.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31549\" title=\"Debugled-mini\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Debugled-mini.jpg?resize=188%2C212\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fortunately EVGA has included a temperature sensor that reports the average temperature of the cores that appears to be quite accurate. We found that by changing a few key settings in the BIOS, we were able to achieve 5.0GHz although not at the temperatures we would have liked.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Using the EVGA BIOS to reach 5.0GHz with our i7-3770K<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The settings that we adjusted to reach 5.0GHz are described in our BIOS section under Overclocking.<\/p>\n<p>Here is 4.9GHz using our Noctua NH-DH14<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/z77FTW-4.9GHZ-Noctua.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31405\" title=\"z77FTW-4.9GHZ-Noctua\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/z77FTW-4.9GHZ-Noctua.jpg?resize=480%2C434\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/z77FTW-4.9GHZ-Noctua.jpg?resize=480%2C434 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/z77FTW-4.9GHZ-Noctua-300x271.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Of course, <\/strong>temperatures are out of control but that is an issue with the cooling, not the motherboard.\u00a0 EVGA has the tools to easily do what two other motherboards simply could not manage.\u00a0 Fortunately, during this evaluation, Thermaltake sent us their Water2.0 Pro and we were even able to push our Core i7-3770K to 5.0GHz!<\/p>\n<p><strong>At last, 5.0GHz!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31281\" title=\"Water2.0-5.0GHz-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Water2.0-5.0GHz-1.jpg?resize=360%2C293\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Water2.0-5.0GHz-1.jpg?resize=360%2C293 600w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Water2.0-5.0GHz-1-300x244.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We are looking forward to fine-tuning our 5.0GHz overclock in an upcoming evaluation of the Thermaltake Water2.0 Performer and Pro\u00a0this week as we compare high-end air cooling\u00a0versus water.\u00a0 However, it is very impressive that the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard allowed such a simple and stable overclock at 5.0GHz whereas the ECS and Gigabyte motherboards stopped the CPU dead in its tracks at 4.8GHz.\u00a0 Overclockers looking to get every last bit of performance out of their Ivy Bridge CPU should have the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard on a very short list.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Issues with 8GB (2x4GB) of System RAM and Overclocking with ECS motherboard<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When we upgraded our Ivy Bridge platform from 4GB to 8GB system RAM (2x2GB to 4x2GB) for the last round of benching games and for all of the other tests, we noticed that it took significantly higher voltage on the ECS motherboard\u00a0to stabilize the CPU overclock and the system.\u00a0\u00a0 There were no such issues to report with the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard.\u00a0 It really is engineered with stability in mind and for the maximum overclock.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s head over to our test configuration.\u00a0 Most of the gaming benches were run at 4.8 GHz while the synthetic benchmarks were run at 4.2GHz so as to compare with our ECS motherboard and also indirectly with the Core i7-920 we compared last month.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Test Configuration--><\/p>\n<h3>Test Configuration<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Test Configuration &#8211; Hardware <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Intel Core i7-3770K (reference 3.5GHz, HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 3.7GHz; also overclocked to 4.2GHz, 4.8GHz, 4.9GHz and 5.0GHz; DX11 CPU graphics), supplied by Intel.<\/li>\n<li>EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard (Intel Z77 chipset, shipping and latest Beta BIOS 107 July 26, 2012; USB\/PCIe 3.0 Specification; CrossFireX and Quad-SLI using PLX chip for extended PCIe bandwidth)<\/li>\n<li>ECS Z77H2-A2X motherboard (Intel z77 chipset, shipping BIOS, USB\/PCIe 3.0 specification; CrossFire\/SLI 8x+8x)<\/li>\n<li>Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-DH3 Series 7 mATX motherboard (shipping BIOS, USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0 specification, CrossFire\/SLI 8x+8x)<\/li>\n<li>8 GB Kingston DDR3 PC 1866 Kingston RAM (2\u00d72, 3&#215;2 and 4&#215;2 GB, dual- and tri-channel at 1833MHz; supplied by Kingston)<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 680, 2 GB (reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 690, GB (reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia<\/li>\n<li>Two identical 500 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 hard drives<\/li>\n<li>Kingston HyperX SSD 240 GB, supplied by Kingston<\/li>\n<li>Thermaltake ToughPower 775 W power supply unit supplied by Thermaltake<\/li>\n<li>Thermaltake Overseer RX-I supplied by Thermaltake<\/li>\n<li>Thermaltake\u00a0Water2.0 Pro watercooler supplied by Thermaltake<\/li>\n<li>Noctua NH-DH14 CPU cooler, supplied by Noctua<\/li>\n<li>Philips DVD SATA writer\/Sony DVD SATA writer<\/li>\n<li>HP LP3065 2560&#215;1600 thirty inch LCD<\/li>\n<li>ASUS VG278 1920&#215;1080 120Hz 3D Vision 2 ready 27&#8243; display supplied by ASUS\/Nvidia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Test Configuration &#8211; Software<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GeForce WHQL 301.42 drivers\u00a0and latest drivers for Series 7 motherboards.<\/li>\n<li>Windows 7 64-bit; very latest updates<\/li>\n<li>Latest DirectX<\/li>\n<li>All games are patched to their latest versions.<\/li>\n<li>VSync is off in the control panel.<\/li>\n<li>Varying AA enabled as noted in games<em><\/em>; all in-game settings are specified with 16xAF always applied if possible; 16xAF forced in control panel for <em>Crysis.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>All results show average rates as noted.<\/li>\n<li>Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.<\/li>\n<li>Windows 7 64, all DX9 titles were run under DX9 render paths, DX10 titles were run under DX10 render paths and DX11 titles under DX11 render paths.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The benchmarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>The Game benchmarks<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Serious Sam 3, BFE<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Left 4 Dead 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Crysis<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>World in Conflict <\/em><em> <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Far Cry 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Just Cause 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Resident Evil 5<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Alien vs. Predator<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Battleforge<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> STALKER, Call of Pripyat<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>F1 2010 <\/em><em> <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Metro 2033<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> Lost Planet 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> H.A.W.X. 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Civilization 5<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Total War: Shogun II<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Crysis 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Dirt 3<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Deus Ex: Human Revolution<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Batman: Arkham City<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Max Payne 3<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Other Tests<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Super Pi<\/li>\n<li>Fritz Chess Bench<\/li>\n<li>Custom PC Benchmark<\/li>\n<li>Cinebench<\/li>\n<li>x264 HD<\/li>\n<li>Crystal Disk Mark<\/li>\n<li>AS SSD<\/li>\n<li>ATTO<\/li>\n<li>Folder copy<\/li>\n<li>HD Tach<\/li>\n<li>HD Tune<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Synthetic Benching Suites<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>SiSoft Sandra 2012 SP4c<\/li>\n<li>PC Mark 7<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Synthetic Gaming Benchmarks<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Heaven 3.0<\/li>\n<li>Vantage<\/li>\n<li>3DMark11<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We have got an interesting project going. First we look at synthetic and real world benches before we head for gaming results.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Synthetic Benchmark Suite--><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Synthetic Benching Suites<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>SiSoft Sandra 2012 SP4C<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For gaming we used our Seagate 7002.12 series hard disk drives because they have 500GB of storage. We tested 17 games which are imaged on the SSD and also on the HDD and we could find no real difference in frame rates for benchmark testing performance. We also tested Ivy Bridge with 4GB of RAM vs 8GB and the results are charted in the gaming section and in the summary charts section.\u00a0 Gaming benchmarks are run at 4.8GHz\u00a0 For all of our testing other than gaming, we used our 240GB Kingston Hyper-X SSD and our Core i7-3770K\u00a0CPU is overclocked\u00a0to 4.2GHz<\/p>\n<p>First we run the complete Sandra benchmark suite with the ECS motherboard. Our charts comparing the individual benchmarks are in the performance summary here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sandra-1.jpg?resize=480%2C164\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sandra-2.jpg?resize=480%2C140\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sandra-3.jpg?resize=480%2C107\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sandra-41.jpg?resize=480%2C146\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now\u00a0the\u00a0EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31384\" title=\"SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=600%2C602\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=600%2C602 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-1-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-1-298x300.jpg 298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31385\" title=\"SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-2.jpg?resize=600%2C164\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-2.jpg?resize=600%2C164 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-2-300x81.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31386\" title=\"SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-3.jpg?resize=600%2C147\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-3.jpg?resize=600%2C147 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-3-300x73.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31387\" title=\"SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-4\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-4.jpg?resize=600%2C160\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-4.jpg?resize=600%2C160 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-4-300x79.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31388\" title=\"SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-5\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-5.jpg?resize=600%2C163\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-5.jpg?resize=600%2C163 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-680-4.2GHz-5-300x81.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now lets look at processor arithmetic for the ECS Z77 motherboard.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Sandra-ProcAARITH.jpg?resize=480%2C185\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And now lets look at processor arithmetic for EVGA.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31389\" title=\"SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=480%2C481\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=480%2C481 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-1-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-1-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31390\" title=\"SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-2.jpg?resize=480%2C124\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-2.jpg?resize=480%2C124 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-2-300x77.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31391\" title=\"SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-3.jpg?resize=480%2C126\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-3.jpg?resize=480%2C126 1000w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/SANDRA-arith-680-4.2GHz-3-300x78.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>Here are some of the Sandra highlights comparing the ECS to the EVGA Z77 motherboards<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sandra2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31556\" title=\"Sandra\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sandra2.jpg?resize=402%2C246\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sandra2.jpg?resize=402%2C246 402w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sandra2-300x183.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 402px) 100vw, 402px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard is slightly ahead of the ECS motherboard in most of these synthetic tests except in the File Systems Aggregate where the FTW motherboard achieves a significantly higher score.\u00a0\u00a0Look for this\u00a0to show up\u00a0in the FTW&#8217;s superior SSD benchmarking results further on in this evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>PCMark 7<\/h1>\n<p>PCMark 7 has replaced PCMark Vantage as it is more specific to Windows 7 and to DX11.\u00a0 We are testing at the basic settings of the free version. First up is the ECS motherboard:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30601\" title=\"PCMark7-3770k-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/PCMark7-3770k-11.jpg?resize=415%2C889\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/PCMark7-3770k-11.jpg?resize=415%2C889 415w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/PCMark7-3770k-11-140x300.jpg 140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30571\" title=\"PCMark7-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/PCMark7-2.jpg?resize=413%2C1443\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/PCMark7-2.jpg?resize=413%2C1443 413w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/PCMark7-2-293x1024.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30602\" title=\"PCMark7-3770k-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/PCMark7-3770k-22.jpg?resize=413%2C1534\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-30572\" title=\"PCMark7-3770k-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/PCMark7-3770k-3.jpg?resize=389%2C1570\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Next up is the EVGA FTW motherboard<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31380\" title=\"PCMark11-680-4.2GHz-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PCMark11-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=312%2C1468\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31381\" title=\"PCMark11-680-4.2GHz-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PCMark11-680-4.2GHz-2.jpg?resize=311%2C1403\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31382\" title=\"PCMark11-680-4.2GHz-3\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PCMark11-680-4.2GHz-3.jpg?resize=310%2C1027\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PCMark11-680-4.2GHz-3.jpg?resize=310%2C1027 310w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PCMark11-680-4.2GHz-3-309x1024.jpg 309w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0Less than 100 points separate the two motherboards.\u00a0 We are well within\u00a0any margin of benching error.<\/p>\n<p>Before we look at gaming differences, we need to look at more benchmarks including real world applications that many of us use daily, including calculation, file copying, SSD testing, encoding video, multi-tasking, image editing and gaming.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:More Tests--><\/p>\n<h1><strong>More Tests<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Super Pi<\/h3>\n<p>Here is the test and we choose 1 million digits..\u00a0 Here is Super Pi on the\u00a0ECS\u00a0Z77 motherboard with Ivy at\u00a04.2GHz<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30565\" title=\"SUPER-PI---3770k\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/SUPER-PI-3770k.jpg?resize=500%2C590\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/SUPER-PI-3770k.jpg?resize=500%2C590 500w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/SUPER-PI-3770k-254x300.jpg 254w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now the FTW motherboard under the same setting. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31392\" title=\"superPi-680-4.2GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/superPi-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=511%2C599\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/superPi-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=511%2C599 511w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/superPi-680-4.2GHz-255x300.jpg 255w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>Identical performance from a single-threaded application. Please continue on to Fritz Chess Bench.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Fritz Chess Bench<\/h3>\n<p>Fritz Chess Benchmark is found within the game&#8217;s program files and basically it crunches numbers to test your processor&#8217;s speed. Deep Fritz takes advantage of massive calculations and multi-threaded performance to work any CPU fully. It loads all threads 100% and will drive your CPU temperatures way up.<\/p>\n<p>Besides showing relative speed when compared to a P3 1.0GHz CPU, it also shows the nodes completed. The faster your CPU, the more nodes completed.\u00a0 First up\u00a0is the Core i7-3770K at 4.2GHz on the ECS motherboard.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30550\" title=\"fritzchess-3770k\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/fritzchess-3770k.jpg?resize=550%2C505\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/fritzchess-3770k.jpg?resize=550%2C505 550w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/fritzchess-3770k-300x275.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here is the EVGA FTW motherboard:<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31377\" title=\"Fritz-680-4.2GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Fritz-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=460%2C483\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Fritz-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=460%2C483 460w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Fritz-680-4.2GHz-285x300.jpg 285w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0Fritz runs marginally faster on the ECS motherboard.\u00a0 Now on to CustomPC benchmark.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>CustomPC Benchmark<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>CustomPC benchmark use widely available open-source applications to carry out the tasks that most of us perform on a regular basis. There are three tests, each of which measure different aspects of a PC\u2019s performance. These tests themselves are not synthetic benchmarks but instead they use real world image, video and multi-tasking tasks to test the performance of your computer.<\/p>\n<p>The tests are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>GIMP Image Editing<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>H.264 Video Encoding<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Multi-tasking<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of\u00a0these tests are run on the overclocked to 4.2GHz Core i7-920.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">As usual we test first with the\u00a0ECS motherboard.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/CUSTOM-PC-3770K.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30548\" title=\"CUSTOM--PC-3770K\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/CUSTOM-PC-3770K.jpg?resize=525%2C500\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/CUSTOM-PC-3770K.jpg?resize=525%2C500 525w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/CUSTOM-PC-3770K-300x285.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Here are the results of Custom PC with the EVGA MB<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31376\" title=\"CustomPC-ftw680\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CustomPC-ftw680.jpg?resize=480%2C469\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CustomPC-ftw680.jpg?resize=480%2C469 480w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CustomPC-ftw680-300x293.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CustomPC.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31557\" title=\"CustomPC\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CustomPC.jpg?resize=481%2C493\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CustomPC.jpg?resize=481%2C493 481w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CustomPC-292x300.jpg 292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 481px) 100vw, 481px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">There\u00a0is almost no difference.<\/p>\n<h3>CINEBENCH<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.maxon.net\/downloads\/cinebench.html\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.maxon.net\/downloads\/cinebench.html', 'CINEBENCH']);\" >CINEBENCH<\/a> is based on MAXON&#8217;s professional 3D content creation suite, CINEMA 4D. This latest 11.5 version of CINEBENCH can test up to 64 processor threads accurately and automatically.<\/p>\n<p>First the i7-920 at 4.2GHz with the GTX 680 at reference clock using the ECS motherboard.<em><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Cinebench-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30541\" title=\"Cinebench-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Cinebench-1.jpg?resize=502%2C599\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Cinebench-1.jpg?resize=502%2C599 502w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Cinebench-1-251x300.jpg 251w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 502px) 100vw, 502px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here is the EVGA motherboard running the same thing in the same conditions.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31373\" title=\"CineB-680-4.2GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CineB-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=480%2C559\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CineB-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=480%2C559 480w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CineB-680-4.2GHz-257x300.jpg 257w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>ECS motherboard is slightly faster in the OpenGl test while the FTW motherboard takes the CPU test by a hair.<\/p>\n<h3>X264<\/h3>\n<p>Basically this test encodes a HD video clip into a x264 video file. The first pass is very quick and the second one is much slower and much more demanding of a task as it does the actual encoding. This benchmark is heavily mult-threaded.\u00a0We use the Core i7-920 at 4.2GHz.2GHs using first\u00a0the ECS Z77 motherboard.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/x264-HD-3770k.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30561\" title=\"x264-HD-3770k\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/x264-HD-3770k.jpg?resize=500%2C819\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/x264-HD-3770k.jpg?resize=500%2C819 500w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/x264-HD-3770k-183x300.jpg 183w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Now\u00a0the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31395\" title=\"x264-680-4.2GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/x264-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=461%2C742\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/x264-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=461%2C742 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/x264-680-4.2GHz-186x300.jpg 186w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/x264-680-4.2GHz-637x1024.jpg 637w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s pretty close.\u00a0 The next series of tests is going to focus on the hard disk drive (HDD) or SSD as a performance upgrade for both PCs<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Crystal Disk Mark<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CrystalDiskMark is a HDD benchmark utility for your hard drive that enables you to measure sequential and random read\/write speeds. Here are some key features of \u201cCrystalDiskMark\u201d:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Measure sequential reads\/writes speed<\/li>\n<li>Measure random 512KB, 4KB, 4KB (Queue Depth=32) reads\/writes speed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>First up is the i7-920 and\u00a0the ECS motherboard:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/CrystalDiskMark.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30546\" title=\"CrystalDiskMark\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/CrystalDiskMark.jpg?resize=412%2C366\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/CrystalDiskMark.jpg?resize=412%2C366 412w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/CrystalDiskMark-300x266.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now the Ivy Bridge platform with the EVGA\u00a0motherboard. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31375\" title=\"CrystalDM-680-4.2GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CrystalDM-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=424%2C364\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CrystalDM-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=424%2C364 424w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/CrystalDM-680-4.2GHz-300x257.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>This is the first time that we see a difference strongly favoring one motherboard over another.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HD Tune<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>HD Tune <\/strong>is a hard disk utility which has the following functions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Benchmark measures the performance of:\n<ul>\n<li>Transfer Rate<\/li>\n<li>Access Time<\/li>\n<li>CPU Usage<\/li>\n<li>Burst Rate<\/li>\n<li>Random Access test<\/li>\n<li>Write benchmark<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Hard Disk information which includes partition information, supported features, firmware version, serial number, disk capacity, buffer size, transfer mode<\/li>\n<li>Hard Disk Health\n<ul>\n<li>S.M.A.R.T. Information (<strong>S<\/strong>elf-<strong>M<\/strong>onitoring <strong>A<\/strong>nalysis and <strong>R<\/strong>eporting <strong>T<\/strong>echnology)<\/li>\n<li>Power On Time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Error scan<\/li>\n<li>Temperature display<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>First the ECS MB<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/HDTune-3770k.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30555\" title=\"HDTune-3770k\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/HDTune-3770k.jpg?resize=500%2C410\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/HDTune-3770k.jpg?resize=500%2C410 500w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/HDTune-3770k-300x246.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31379\" title=\"hdtune-680-4.2GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/hdtune-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=480%2C390\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/hdtune-680-4.2GHz.jpg?resize=480%2C390 480w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/hdtune-680-4.2GHz-300x243.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0Again we see a faster transfer rate with the EVGA FTW motherboard.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>AS SSD<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>AS SSD is especially designed for Solid State Drives (SSD). The tool contains synthetic and practice tests. The synthetic tests determine the sequential and random read and write performance of the SSD without use of the operating system caches. In Seq-test the program measures how long it takes to read and write a 1 GB file. In the 4K test, read and write performance for random 4K blocks are determined. The 4K-64-thrd test are similar to the 4K procedure except that the read and write operations on 64 threads are distributed as in the usual start of a program.<\/p>\n<p>In the copying test, two large ISO file folders are created, programs with many small files, and a games folder with small and large files. These three folders are copied by the OS copy command with the cache turned on. The practice tests show performance with simultaneous read and write operations<\/p>\n<p>AS SSD gives an overall &#8220;score&#8221; after it runs the benchmarks. These scores and comparisons are summed up in the performance summary charts.<\/p>\n<p>First up, i7-920 at 4.2GHz on the ECS platform.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ASDDD-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30537\" title=\"ASDDD-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ASDDD-1.jpg?resize=515%2C512\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ASDDD-1.jpg?resize=515%2C512 515w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ASDDD-1-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ASDDD-1-300x298.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 515px) 100vw, 515px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now Ivy on the FTW\u00a0motherboard\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31371\" title=\"ASSD-680-4.2GHz-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ASSD-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=480%2C470\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ASSD-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=480%2C470 480w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ASSD-680-4.2GHz-1-300x293.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>The FTW is faster.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>ATTO<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>ATTO is a disk benchmark. The ATTO Disk Benchmark measures a storage system;s performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Options are available to customize the tests, including queue depth, overlapped I\/O and even a comparison mode.<\/p>\n<p>First up is i7-920 at 4.2GHz using ECS.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ATTO-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30539\" title=\"ATTO-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ATTO-1.jpg?resize=479%2C607\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ATTO-1.jpg?resize=479%2C607 479w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ATTO-1-236x300.jpg 236w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 479px) 100vw, 479px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Results are similar to our previous tests\u00a0with the EVGA motherboard ahead in the SSD benching.\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31372\" title=\"ATTO-680-4.2GHz-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ATTO-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=480%2C614\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ATTO-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=480%2C614 480w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/ATTO-680-4.2GHz-1-234x300.jpg 234w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>HD Tach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>HD Tach is a low level hardware benchmark for random access read\/write storage devices iincluding SSDs and HDDs. HD Tach uses custom device drivers and low level Windows interfaces to determine the physical performance of the device.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the Long Bench with the ECS motherboard.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-30553\" title=\"HDtach-long-3770k\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/HDtach-long-3770k.jpg?resize=480%2C352\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/HDtach-long-3770k.jpg?resize=480%2C352 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/HDtach-long-3770k-300x219.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With this test, we are just measuring the burst speed &#8211; now the FTW motherboard:\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31378\" title=\"hdtech-680-4.2GHz-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/hdtech-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=480%2C357\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/hdtech-680-4.2GHz-1.jpg?resize=480%2C357 600w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/hdtech-680-4.2GHz-1-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0Again this test is in favor of the EVGA motherboard.\u00a0 Now we move on to game-related benchmarks and games.\u00a0 First\u00a0up are the synthetics and now we are beginning to bench each motherboard with our Core i7-3770K at 4.8GHz.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Gaming Benchmarks &#038; Summary Charts--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Next page...\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-includes\/js\/tinymce\/plugins\/wordpress\/img\/trans.gif?w=720\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<h1><strong>Game-related benchmarks<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h3><strong>The synthetics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>3DMark 11 and Vantage are useful tests to track changes within the same system and they are often used to give a rough comparison between platforms.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Vantage<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>First up we look at Vantage with a GTX 680 and i7-3770K at 4.8GHz first on the ECS motherboard scored <strong>35511<\/strong>.\u00a0 Here are the detailed settings for the FTW motherboard which scores a little less.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31394\" title=\"Vantage-690-4.8GHz-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Vantage-690-4.8GHz-1.jpg?resize=477%2C276\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Vantage-690-4.8GHz-1.jpg?resize=477%2C276 981w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Vantage-690-4.8GHz-1-300x174.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 477px) 100vw, 477px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>Now with a 690 on the EVGA\u00a0 motherboard.\u00a0 Scaling is good and the FTW edges the ECS with <strong>47176<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31393\" title=\"Vantage-690-4.8GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Vantage-690-4.8GHz.jpg?resize=472%2C275\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Vantage-690-4.8GHz.jpg?resize=472%2C275 984w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Vantage-690-4.8GHz-300x175.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Scores are similar with the FTW board scoring a little higher on this synthetic test.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>3DMark 11<\/h3>\n<p>Now we look at Futuremark&#8217;s latest DX11 graphics-heavy test. First up is Core i7-920 at 4.8GHz on the ECS\u00a0motherboard with a stock GTX 680 scores <strong>9164<\/strong>. However, when we first tested the FTW, \u00a0with the same conditions and the same GTX 680, the EVGA motherboard had a score\u00a0significantly less with <strong>8798<\/strong>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31368\" title=\"3DM11-680-4.8GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/3DM11-680-4.8GHz.jpg?resize=312%2C1293\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/3DM11-680-4.8GHz.jpg?resize=312%2C1293 312w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/3DM11-680-4.8GHz-247x1024.jpg 247w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 312px) 100vw, 312px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Please note that the above score was achieved with\u00a0the EVGA\u00a0FTW&#8217;s shipping BIOS from May.\u00a0 Does the BIOS the\u00a0motherboard uses make a performance difference in gaming?\u00a0 We were surprised with the results just by flashing our BIOS to the latest July 26, 2012 107 Beta.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31369\" title=\"3DM11-680-4.8GHz-new-Bios\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/3DM11-680-4.8GHz-new-Bios.jpg?resize=288%2C1248\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/3DM11-680-4.8GHz-new-Bios.jpg?resize=288%2C1248 288w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/3DM11-680-4.8GHz-new-Bios-69x300.jpg 69w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/3DM11-680-4.8GHz-new-Bios-236x1024.jpg 236w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There is a noticeable\u00a0performance\u00a0difference\u00a0simply by using the latest beta\u00a0107 BIOS as the FTW board comes within 20 points of the ECS motherboard.\u00a0\u00a0The EVGA performance tweak in the BIOS setting may have an effect on individual games.\u00a0 We left it on as we could not find much difference either way overall.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Now we look at Core i7-3770K at 4.8GHz paired with\u00a0a same reference GTX 690 on the EVGA FTW motherboard.\u00a0 There is good scaling in this synthetic test.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31370\" title=\"3DM11-690-4.8GHz\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/3DM11-690-4.8GHz.jpg?resize=301%2C1083\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s check\u00a0actual game performance.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>The Game Benchmarks with the GTX 680 and the GTX 690<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Here are the benches for the Core i7-3770 at 4.8GHz on the ECS motherboard versus the EVGA FTW motherboard running at the same speed. All 20\u00a0games have their setting completely maxed out and levels of AA are identified on the chart. The GTX 680 and the GTX 690 are run at their reference clock speeds and we use the same 8GB of Kingston HyperX DDR3 at 1866MHz.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Summary Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The chart is self-explanatory.\u00a0 EVGA is compared to ECS using the GTX 680 and the GTX 690 at the same maxed-out settings with the CPU at 4.8GHz.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/GameSummaryChart-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31516\" title=\"GameSummaryChart-1\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/GameSummaryChart-1.jpg?resize=450%2C484\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/GameSummaryChart-1.jpg?resize=450%2C484 450w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/GameSummaryChart-1-278x300.jpg 278w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/GameSummaryChart-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-31517\" title=\"GameSummaryChart-2\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/GameSummaryChart-2.jpg?resize=450%2C484\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/GameSummaryChart-2.jpg?resize=450%2C484 450w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/GameSummaryChart-2-278x300.jpg 278w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Overall there is very little difference.\u00a0 Except for probably three games, the results are generally within the benching margin of error.\u00a0 For example, looking at <em>Max Payne 3<\/em>, we notice that there is a single frame rate&#8217;s difference at 25600&#215;1600 &#8211; <strong>45 versus 46<\/strong>.\u00a0 However, <em>the final calculation was actually\u00a0<strong>45.4 fps versus 45.6 fps<\/strong>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>There are rounding errors naturally-built in also as well as benching &#8220;noise&#8221; &#8211;\u00a0 the margin of error is generally accepted as up to 3%.\u00a0 Couple this with using\u00a0a Beta BIOS for the FTW motherboard and any differences are rather negligible.\u00a0 One very good thing about EVGA is that they work on new BIOSes long after others drop support for them.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the results between the two motherboards are very similar as befits high-end Z77 motherboards, with the EVGA FTW motherboard leading\u00a0in SSD benching and, of course overclocking and stability.\u00a0 Let&#8217;s head for our conclusion.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Conclusion--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It is clear to us that if you want to overclock your Ivy Bridge CPU, most overclocking friendly motherboards will get your CPU to a decent overclock.\u00a0 However, if you want to overclock so as to get the absolute highest maximum overclock, there are only a handful of motherboards that can do this and one of the very\u00a0best is the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard.\u00a0 Couple that with stable support for 4-way SLI plus PhysX, and your list will become very short indeed, with the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard topping it in our opinion.<\/p>\n<p>We held back on upgrading to Sandy Bridge last year, partly because our old Bloomfield\u00a0X58 motherboard supports the full PCIe 2.0 16x+16x specification whereas Sandy Bridge is 8x+8x PCIe 2.0. Now that the PCIe bandwidth has been nearly doubled\u00a0with Ivy Bridge to 3.0, 8x+8x PCIe 3.0 offers no disadvantage to running the GTX 680 on the ECS motherboard.\u00a0\u00a0However, a pair of overclocked GTX 690s would exceed 8x bandwidth and the FTW&#8217;s PLX chip that extends the 16x\/16x PCIe 3.0 bandwidth to Slots 2 and 4 would be very useful in maintaining the very highest graphics performance.<\/p>\n<p>Although the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard is $90 more than the ECS Golden Series Z77H2-A2X board, it is well-worth the extra expense for the serious overclocker.\u00a0 The FTW BIOS just has that many more useful options than the ECS motherboard and there is a lot more stability built into the EVGA board itself.<\/p>\n<p>Having two power connectors for the CPU and two for PCIe may seem like overkill when most motherboards have one or none, yet this board can handle a much higher CPU\u00a0overclock than the others.\u00a0 We were also impressed with the FTW being able to overclock to 5.oGHz with all the DIMMs filled\u00a0using the same voltage to the CPU.\u00a0\u00a0In contrast,\u00a0the ECS motherboard had issues maintaining its 4.8GHz overclock when we upgraded from 4GB (2x2GB) to 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3.<\/p>\n<p>The EVGA Z77 FTW is built to support the most extreme graphics setups with support for 4-way SLI\/CrossFireX and extreme graphics overclocking.\u00a0 And 14 SATA\u00a0ports and 16\u00a0USB ports mean great convenience and functionality.\u00a0\u00a0And there is Dual-LAN for faster connections.<\/p>\n<p>We see the EVGA has a great layout for easy accessibility and visibility whether it is open on a bench or in a case.\u00a0 The LED debug\/temperature sensor is a great\u00a0feature and it is easy to view through\u00a0most case side-panel windows.\u00a0 The angled ATX power connector and PCIe connector make sense in making extra room on the board itself.<\/p>\n<p>The active cooling fan probably isn&#8217;t necessary until all the PCIe slots are filled, then it becomes critical; and fortunately it is very quiet.\u00a0 There are many system fan headers on the motherboard and they are well-placed and very useful.\u00a0 We might nitpick the BIOS for lacking mouse support and the necessity to use PCIe Slots 2 and 4 for 16x\/16x PCIe 3.0 bandwidth to each card in 2-way SLI, but this is one of the best motherboards of its kind anywhere and a side case fan should be used for extreme graphics anyway.\u00a0 If you are looking for extreme multi-graphics capability, this is one of the few boards that can handle 4-way SLI plus PhysX, and CrossFireX.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0potentially more serious\u00a0fault\u00a0is requiring an expensive active\u00a0mini-DisplayPort adapter that will add $100 to the cost of the board if end users want to use the integrated\u00a0Intel CPU graphics and if they do not have a native DisplayPort display.\u00a0 This will probably not affect too many end users of this board as they are looking for overclocking multi-GPU PCIe graphics cards instead of bothering to use integrated graphics at all.\u00a0 Overall, we have come to love and\u00a0appreciate\u00a0the EVGA Z77 FTW\u00a0motherboard over the past couple of months and it has become our flagship motherboard at ABT.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><em><strong>EVGA Z77 FTW\u00a0Pros and Cons<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n<h3><em><strong>Pros<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard\u00a0is a very good looking motherboard and a uniquely capable overclocker&#8217;s dream<\/li>\n<li>It\u00a0is a fully-featured Z77 motherboard with premium components which have proved itself to be stable and able to get an excellent\u00a05.0GHz overclock on Core i7-3770K that two other Z77 motherboards simply could not achieve.<\/li>\n<li>There are three distinct BIOSes which\u00a0contribute to\u00a0worry-free testing.\u00a0 The BIOS has all the options an extreme overclocker could desire<\/li>\n<li>The layout of the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard is superb.\u00a0 The easy-to-see debug LED\/temperature monitor is a very useful feature and the CMOS reset is right on the IO panel.\u00a0\u00a0The FTW motherboard uses\u00a0a well thought-out design that makes great use of limited space.<\/li>\n<li>Two PCIe power connectors and two CPU power connectors along with premium components guarantee great stability.\u00a0 Convenience is everywhere with fan headers and even the individual PCIe lanes can be switched on or off.<\/li>\n<li>EVGA has excellent support and they\u00a0promise great warranty service if your motherboard ever needs RMA service with 3 years tied to the serial number, not the user. And the warranty can even be extended by registering it with EVGA.<\/li>\n<li>EVGA has an amazing community with great support for the end user in getting the fullest potential out of their PC<\/li>\n<li>If you are looking for a superb overclocking capable motherboard that supports 4-way SLI and PhysX or CrossFireX with a PLX chip to supply 16x\/16x PCIe 3.0 bandwidth and many USB and SATA headers,\u00a0EVGA&#8217;s\u00a0Z77 FTW motherboard is the prime motherboard to consider.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><em><strong>Cons<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>The EVGA BIOS could be mouse-friendly.<\/li>\n<li>The IO panel only has a mini-DisplayPort out.\u00a0 It costs about $100 for an active adapter if the end user does not have a native DisplayPort Display.\u00a0 However, most users of this board probably wouldn&#8217;t use Intel&#8217;s CPU graphics anyway.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><em>We feel that\u00a0EVGA has produced one of the\u00a0best\u00a0fully-featured and extreme graphics capable overclocking Z77 motherboard and it\u00a0deserves ABT&#8217;s Editor&#8217;s Choice Award.\u00a0 It is highly recommended by this editor!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/EDITORsCHOICE.jpg?resize=135%2C226\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We are looking forward to our follow up evaluation which will feature Kingston&#8217;s HyperX SSDs right after we publish our Thermaltake Water 2.0 evaluation &#8211; High-end Aircooling versus water &#8211;\u00a0this week.\u00a0 You can also expect a Sapphire HD 7750 Low Profile evaluation this week along with ABT news and our regular features.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure you follow us on our ABT forum. You will get the very latest tech news\u00a0and\u00a0participate in some of the best tech discussions found anywhere.\u00a0 You can also help us on the forum and make suggestions for future evaluations and we are planning our expansion including an End of Summer contest with great prizes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Happy Gaming!<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Mark Poppin<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">ABT Senior Editor<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=31216\"><img decoding=\"async\" align=top title=\"Author: Mark Poppin\" src=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/FINAL-IMAGELink.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,7814,5],"tags":[589,5642,4863,5122,5202,1502,5641],"class_list":["post-31216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-articles","category-gaming","tag-evga","tag-extreme-overclocking","tag-game-benchmarks","tag-gtx-680","tag-gtx-690","tag-sandra","tag-z77-ftw-motherboard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}