{"id":40336,"date":"2014-01-20T16:49:47","date_gmt":"2014-01-20T16:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=40336"},"modified":"2014-03-30T22:16:21","modified_gmt":"2014-03-30T21:16:21","slug":"haswell-v-ivy-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/haswell-v-ivy-gaming\/","title":{"rendered":"Haswell vs. Ivy in Gaming &#8211; The ECS Z87H3-A2X golden motherboard and i7-4770K"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><script type=\"mce-mce-text\/javascript\">\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n<span id=\"mce_marker\" data-mce-type=\"bookmark\"><span id=\"__caret\">_<\/span>\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[ 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=\"mce-mce-text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This evaluation will test our Z87 ECS Golden Board and the latest Haswell Intel platform versus Ivy Bridge.\u00a0 The new ECS motherboard proudly bears the name, <em>GANK Domination Z87H3-A2X<\/em> and we shall pit our new Haswell Core-i7 4770K at stock and overclocked, against our EVGA FTW Z77 motherboard running Ivy Bridge i7-3770K at up to 4.8GHz.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/mb-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-40337 alignright\" alt=\"mb-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/mb-1.jpg?resize=336%2C176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/mb-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/mb-1-150x78.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/mb-1-300x156.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We shall see if the new Haswell platform can gank Ivy Bridge at 4.2GHz and higher.\u00a0 We will be able to compare, by extension somewhat, the performance of our old Bloomfield i7-920 which we also ran benchmarks with at 4.20Ghz with the same GTX 680.\u00a0 However, this time we have a much faster video card, the GTX 780 Ti, which is able to differentiate between CPUs at 1920&#215;1080 and 2560&#215;1600 resolutions, without resorting to using multiple graphics cards in SLI.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In this evaluation we shall introduce 2x4GB of superfast Kingston&#8217;s Hyper-X Predator RAM at speeds of 2800MHz into the mix while using a Kingston 240GB HyperX SSD for benching.\u00a0 We want to see if it is worth it for a gamer to upgrade his CPU platform and we will test ten games, including our eight newest games.\u00a0 And we shall benchmark using synthetic and real world tests to determine the progress Intel has made with Haswell in CPU performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ram-cpu.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-40479\" alt=\"ram-cpu\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ram-cpu-300x169.jpg?resize=300%2C169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ram-cpu-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ram-cpu-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/ram-cpu.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Intel released <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=29402\">Ivy Bridge CPU architecture on 22nm<\/a> in late April of last year. We were able to briefly compare its performance in more than 20 games against our aging flagship 45nm Core i7-920 CPU at 4.2GHz by using a GTX 680 and GTX 690 on both platforms.\u00a0 We are going to build on our earlier evaluation to carry out a complete platform upgrade to compare Ivy Bridge&#8217;s Core i7-3770K IPC directly against Haswell Core i7-4770K at 4.2GHz.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We shall also attempt to reach higher clockspeeds with our Core i7-4770K and will compare further overclocked performance above 4.2 GHz to test Haswell CPU scaling in gaming. We are trying to help answer the question, if an overclocked Core i7-3770K should be upgraded when paired with the very fastest available video cards at the resolutions that gamers play at.\u00a0 We shall also test at maximum details to determine if there are any significant framerate differences between the two platforms at settings that gamers actually use.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We are not going to compare Intel&#8217;s CPU graphics as the EVGA FTW motherboard requires an active HDMI to dual-link adapter to run it, whereas the ECS motherboard does not.\u00a0 Most enthusiasts do not use CPU graphics for intensive 3D gaming, and a GTX 780 Ti or R9 290X or a GTX 680\/770 or R9 280X\/HD 7970 classes of video card are often paired with an i7 3770K\/4770K CPU.<\/p>\n<h3>The Ivy Bridge Architecture vs Haswell<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Core i7-3770K processor is offered in a 22nm 1155-land LGA package (H2) while Core i7-4770K is also 22nm and is offered in a non-compatible 1150-land LGA package, which means you must upgrade your motherboard from Sandy\/Ivy Bridge to support a Haswell CPU.\u00a0 Haswell is Intel&#8217;s &#8220;tock&#8221; which is new microarchitecture, whereas Ivy Bridge was Intel&#8217;s &#8220;tick&#8221; &#8211; a die shrink of Sandy Bridge&#8217;s 32nm architecture.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/i7-4770k.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-40497 alignright\" alt=\"i7-4770k\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/i7-4770k.jpg?resize=280%2C232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/i7-4770k.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/i7-4770k-150x124.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/i7-4770k-300x249.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">There are important differences between Haswell and Ivy Bridge CPUs, including an integrated voltage regulator in Haswell that was formerly part of the Ivy Bridge chipset.\u00a0 Intel has focused on mobile which means lower temperatures and power savings for notebooks, but not so much on the desktop.\u00a0\u00a0 While there are some boosts to IPC (instructions-per-clock) and to performance, Haswell wasn\u2019t designed for overclocking under high load.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of relying on the motherboard to produce a variety of power rails like Ivy, Haswell has a fully-integrated voltage regulator that takes a single input and divides voltage to the required rails. Although overall system power may be reduced by about 20 percent at a comparable idle power to Ivy Bridge, Haswell has an approximately 10 percent increase in load power consumption which adversely affects overclocking.<\/p>\n<p>The fully-integrated voltage regulator and higher power consumption under load mean that Haswell is actually worse than Ivy Bridge at overclocking.\u00a0 We were able to stably run our Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K at 4.5GHz on stock voltage settings; at 4.8GHz with reasonable temperatures in gaming, and benchmark at acceptably high temperatures at 4.9GHz with our Thermaltake Water2.0 CPU cooler.\u00a0 Not so with Haswell, as 4.4GHz was our maximum overclock at stock voltage, while 4.5GHz was completely stable with higher voltage and some tweaks, while 4.6GHz was absolute tops for game benchmarking, and unstable under Linpack or Prime stress testing.<\/p>\n<p>A CPU die shrink usually reduces overclocking potential as the components get smaller.\u00a0 Sandy Bridge overclocked generally better than Ivy Bridge, and Ivy overclocks better than Haswell.\u00a0 Not only does transistor density increase which uses more power, but there is also less die surface area to dissipate heat from.\u00a0\u00a0 Although Ivy Bridge and Haswell are both based on Intel\u2019s 22nm FinFET process, the Haswell integrated voltage regulator makes overclocking more difficult. It also seems that Haswell\u2019s built-in thermal throttling at stock turbo speeds is more aggressive than with Ivy Bridge.<\/p>\n<p>However, for about the same price as an Ivy Bridge chip, there is about 10% more performance. The overclocking ability of Haswell will generally be lower than Ivy, but Haswell\u2019s approximate 10% clock-for-clock advantages over Ivy Bridge means that theoretically a Haswell i7-4770K at 4.5GHz should be faster than an Ivy Bridge i7-3770K at 4.8GHz.\u00a0 We will specifically test this out in PC gaming and with other benchmarks.<\/p>\n<p>Haswell is a more advanced chip than Ivy Bridge.\u00a0 IPC were increased by adding more execution resources and improving out-of-order execution capabilities, with most of them dedicated to brand new features such as AVX2, FMA3, and TSX.\u00a0 These are new features which require software that has been specifically compiled to take advantage of them.\u00a0\u00a0 We are not testing these new features but will focus mostly on gaming and day-to-day computing tasks.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/680-1.jpg?resize=300%2C234\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>We are benching using the <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=29157\">GTX 680<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/evga-gtx-780-reference-version-benchmarked-30-games\/\">GTX 780 Ti<\/a> on both platforms to give you a comparison of our two CPUs&#8217; scaling in games at 1920&#215;1200 and 2560&#215;1600 resolutions and at the maximum details that gamers play at.\u00a0 Nearly two years ago when we performed our original <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/ivy-bridge-3770k-gaming-results-vs-core-i7-920-at-4-2ghz\/all\/1\/\">Ivy Bridge<\/a> evaluation, the GTX 680 was the most powerful single-GPU stock card available and the dual-GPU GTX 690 we used has almost the same performance as two GTX 680s in SLI.\u00a0 Now a single-GPU GTX 780 Ti challenges the dual-GPU GTX 690 in many games, nearly equaling its performance, and we shall use it to benchmark each of our two platforms with the latest drivers.<\/p>\n<p>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).\u00a0 Similarly, the Core i7-4770K also has 4 identical cores, and Haswell is rated for a TDP of 84W.\u00a0 Probably the main advantage offered by Haswell&#8217;s Core i7-4770K is its incredible power savings features on the 22nm process for mobile.\u00a0\u00a0 We shall see what it does for desktop gamers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Z87 Chipset and ECS Golden Series Z87H3-A2X<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Z87 chipset is the non-compatible upgrade to the Z77 Ivy Bridge chipset as the enthusiast chipset for Haswell including Core i7.\u00a0 Z87 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 ECS Golden Series <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecs.com.tw\/ECSWebSite\/Product\/Product_Detail.aspx?DetailID=1476&amp;CategoryID=1&amp;DetailName=Feature&amp;MenuID=181&amp;LanID=0\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.ecs.com.tw\/ECSWebSite\/Product\/Product_Detail.aspx?DetailID=1476&amp;CategoryID=1&amp;DetailName=Feature&amp;MenuID=181&amp;LanID=0', 'Z87H3-A2X']);\" >Z87H3-A2X<\/a> is ECS premium enthusiast motherboard that includes their &#8220;non-stop&#8221; technology and premium 99-hour replacement service. It is currently priced at $254.99 after a $30 main-in rebate at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?gclid=CMPgkoK4jrwCFe87Mgod8x8A3A&amp;Item=N82E16813135358&amp;nm\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.newegg.com\/Product\/Product.aspx?gclid=CMPgkoK4jrwCFe87Mgod8x8A3A&amp;Item=N82E16813135358&amp;nm', 'Newegg']);\" >Newegg<\/a> which is average for a high-quality and fully-featured enthusiast board.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ECS Non-stop Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All ECS Black Series Motherboards are Nonstop certified, including the Z87H3-A2X.\u00a0 Nonstop technology comprises four interlocking tests and enhancements that combine together to protect PCs and defeat many of the most common causes of hardware problems and system instability.<\/p>\n<p>Every ECS Nonstop certified motherboard runs a course of tests that checks and stresses critical components to ensure that they are up to ECS standards through their non-stop testing cycle over 3 days and under extreme environmental conditions. ECS Nonstop boards also include 100 percent Golen Solid long-life capacitors, to protect users from capacitor leakage and failure problems.<\/p>\n<p>ECS Nonstop technology also uses comprehensive electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. The 100 percent ESD protection on Nonstop motherboards is achieved with special circuitry that protects expensive and delicate chips from static build up that can damage or destroy them. So this motherboard is ECS&#8217;s premium board and it is also &#8216;gold&#8217; in every way.\u00a0 There is also a very clearly spelled-out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecs.com.tw\/ecswebsite\/Support\/rmamb.aspx?MenuID=98&amp;LanID=9#\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.ecs.com.tw\/ecswebsite\/Support\/rmamb.aspx?MenuID=98&amp;LanID=9#', 'warranty']);\" >warranty<\/a> on ECS&#8217; web site:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>* ECS Warranty is offered to direct customers with valid ECS invoice only.<\/p>\n<p><b>Warranty Period<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Warranty Period guarantees against defects in workmanship and manufacturing. The warranty is effective from the date of ECS&#8217; original invoice, unless stated otherwise in writing.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; ECS brand Motherboards warranty cover from ECS Invoice 36 months for parts and 24 months for part and labor.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; ECS brand Motherboards with CPU Bundle warranty cover from ECS Invoice 12 months for parts and labor.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; ECS brand VGA Card with NVIDIA Chipset warranty cover from ECS Invoice 36 months for parts and 24 months for part and labor.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; ECS brand VGA Cards with all other Chipset warranty cover from ECS Invoice 12 months for parts and labor.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; ECS brand all other products warranty cover from ECS Invoice 12 months warranty for parts and labor.<\/p>\n<p><b>Contacting ECS for Warranty Service<\/b><\/p>\n<p>A RMA number is valid for 30 days from date of issuance. RMA returns will be thoroughly tested as to all complaints and sent back to customers within 10 working days following receipt of the products by ECS. In the event a defective board cannot be repaired, ECS reserves the right to replace it with like-new refurbished product.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Warranty &amp; Replacement Service<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecsusa.com\/ECSWebSite\/Member\/LoginPage.aspx\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.ecsusa.com\/ECSWebSite\/Member\/LoginPage.aspx', '99-Hour Replacement']);\" >99-Hour Replacement<\/a> Service gives ECS customers in the USA (48 contiguous states) a fast and trouble-free service to replace ECS products if any issues should come up. Simply register the ECS motherboard or VGA card bought after Dec. 31, 2011 on ECS&#8217; website, and if a replacement is needed, ECS will process your return and ship out a replacement within 24 hours after receiving it via 3-Day shipping &#8211; guaranteeing that ECS customers will receive their replacement within 99 hours.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the first class replacement service, ECS customers by registering their products on the ECS website will receive the latest product\/service updates &amp; announcements and be automatically entered in drawing for random prizes.<\/p>\n<p>Register your ECS motherboard or VGA card at: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecsusa.com\/ECSWebSite\/Member\/LoginPage.aspx\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.ecsusa.com\/ECSWebSite\/Member\/LoginPage.aspx', 'http:\/\/www.ecsusa.com\/ECSWebSite\/Member\/LoginPage.aspx']);\" >http:\/\/www.ecsusa.com\/ECSWebSite\/Member\/LoginPage.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Specifications<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Here are the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecs.com.tw\/ECSWebSite\/Product\/Product_Detail.aspx?DetailID=1476&amp;CategoryID=1&amp;DetailName=Feature&amp;MenuID=181&amp;LanID=0\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.ecs.com.tw\/ECSWebSite\/Product\/Product_Detail.aspx?DetailID=1476&amp;CategoryID=1&amp;DetailName=Feature&amp;MenuID=181&amp;LanID=0', 'ECS Z87H3-A2X specifications']);\" >ECS Z87H3-A2X specifications<\/a> from the ECS web site:<\/p>\n<table class=\"table_style2\" width=\"90%\" border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>CPU<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Supports new 4rd gen Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Core\u2122 family, Pentium, Celeron series processors in LGA1150 socket\u00ba\u00a0DMI 5.0GT\/s\u00ba\u00a012 Phase Thermal Design Power\u00ba\u00a0VRD 12.5\u00ba\u00a0100% Solid capacitor design\u00ba\u00a0Supports Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology\u00ba\u00a0Supports Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Hyper-Threading Technology\u00ba\u00a0Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> K Series Unlock CPU Support\u00ba\u00a0Please refer to CPU support list for details<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>CHIPSET<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Z87 Express Chipset\u00ba\u00a0Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Smart Response Technology, Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Smart Connect Technology &amp; Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Rapid Start Technolog<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>GRAPHICS<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Support Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> HD Graphics 4000(Intel 4th gen CPU)\u00ba\u00a0Supports DirectX<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> 11 .1\u00ba\u00a0*DirectX 11.1 &#8211; Only supported with the 4rd Gen Intel processors for LGA 1150 socket\u00ba\u00a0Supports Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> HD Graphics, InTru\u2122 3D, Quick Sync Video, Clear Video HD Technology, Insider\u2122\u00ba\u00a0Supports HDMI 1.4a &amp; Premium Audio\u00ba\u00a0Supports LucidLogiX<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Virtu\u2122 MVP\u00ba\u00a0Supports NVIDIA<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> 2-Way SLI\u00ba\u00a0Supports ATI<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> 3-Way CrossFireX\u2122\u00ba\u00a0Supports Full HD 1080P Blu-ray \/ HD-DVD Playback<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>MEMORY<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Dual-channel DDR3 Memory architecture\u00ba\u00a0Supports DDR3 1600\/1333\/1066 non-ECC, Un-buffered SDRAM Memory\u00ba\u00a0Supports up to 3000(OC),2933(OC),2800(OC)\u00ba\u00a04 X 240-pin DDR3 DIMM socket\u00ba\u00a0Support up to 32 GB*\u00ba\u00a0Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 1.3\/1.2 Memory Modules\u00ba\u00a0Note:Please refer to the latest Memory support list for details\u00ba\u00a0Note: DDR3_1 with DDR3_3 are the same channel, DDR3_2 with DDR3_4 are the same channel by Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Specification<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>EXPANSION SLOT<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a03 X PCI Express X16 Gen 3.0 slot(s)\u00ba\u00a01 X PCI Express X 1 Gen 2.0 slot(s)\u00ba\u00a0Supports NVIDIA<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> SLI Technology\u00ba\u00a0Supports ATI<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> CrossfireX Technology\u00ba\u00a01 X Mini PCI Express X1 slot(s)( Mini SATA supported)\u00ba\u00a01 X PCI slot(s)\u00ba\u00a0*When using two VGA cards, the bandwidth is @8 badnwidth; when using one VGA card, the bandwodth is @16.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>Storage<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Support by Intel\u00ae Z87 Express Chipset\u2022\u00a05 X Serial ATAIII 6Gb\/sLocated in SATA3_1\/2, SATA3_3\/4, SATA3_7 Port\u00ba\u00a0Support by ASM1061 Controler\u2022\u00a02 X Serial ATAIII 6Gb\/sLocated in EXSATA3_5\/6 Port\u2022\u00a02 X eSATAIII 6Gb\/s\u2022\u00a0RAID0, RAID1,RAID5, RAID 10 configuration\u00ba\u00a0Supports Intel<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Rapid Storage Technology\u00ba\u00a0Supports NCQ, AHCI and &#8220;Hot Plug&#8221; functions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>Audio<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a08-Channel HD audio CODEC\u00ba\u00a0Compliant with HD audio specification\u00ba\u00a0Realtek ALC1150+ALC5505 8-channel High Definition audio CODEC\u00ba\u00a0BluRay DVD\/HD DVD support<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>LAN<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Dual Realtek 8111G Gigabit Fast Ethernet Controller\u00ba\u00a0Wake-On-LAN\u00ba\u00a0Dual LAN with Teaming function\u00ba\u00a0Ultra low power consumption<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>Wireless<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Wi-Fi 802.11a\/b\/g\/n wireless LAN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>Bluetooth<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Supports Bluetooth V2.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>USB<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Support by Z87 Express Chipset\u2022\u00a06 X USB3.0 port(s) up to 5Gb\/sBack Panel 4 port(s)Onboard 2 port(s)\u2022\u00a08 X USB2.0 port(s) Up to 480 Mb\/sBack Panel 4 port(s)Onboard 4 port(s)\u00ba\u00a0ECS EZ Charger (Gray USB header)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>REAR PANEL I\/O<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a01 X Audio port (Line-in,4x Line-out, SPDIF out)\u00ba\u00a02 X RJ-45 port with teaming function\u00ba\u00a01 X HDMI port(s)\u00ba\u00a01 X Display port\u00ba\u00a01 X Wireless LAN Dongle\u00ba\u00a01 X Bluetooth Dongle\u00ba\u00a02 X eSATA 6Gb\/s port(s)\u00ba\u00a04 X USB3.0 port(s)\u00ba\u00a04 X USB2.0 port(s)\u00ba\u00a01 X Clear_CMOS Button<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>CONNECTORS &amp; HEADERS<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a01 X 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector\u00ba\u00a01 X 8-pin ATX 12V Power Connector\u00ba\u00a01 X 4-pin CPU_FAN connector\u00ba\u00a01 X 4-pin SYS_FAN connector\u00ba\u00a01 X 3-pin PWR_FAN connector\u00ba\u00a01 X Power on button\u00ba\u00a01 X Reset button\u00ba\u00a01 X Clear_CMOS button\u00ba\u00a01 X Front Panel switch\/LED header\u00ba\u00a01 X Front panel audio header\u00ba\u00a01 X Onboard Buzzer\u00ba\u00a01 X USB 3.0 header\u2022\u00a0Support additional 2 USB ports\u00ba\u00a02 X USB 2.0 header\u2022\u00a0Support additional 4 USB ports<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a0Support EZ charger (gray color)<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X CLR_CMOS header<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X Serial port header (COM)<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X mSATA connector<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X 7S-LED Display<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X ME_UNLOCK header<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X Chassis intrusion header<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X Voltage measure points<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X 80P Switch button<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X Quick OC button<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X BIOS set button<\/p>\n<p>\u00ba\u00a01 X ROM Backup button<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>SYSTEM BIOS<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0AMI BIOS with 64&#215;2 MB SPI Flash ROM\u00ba\u00a0Supports M.I.B X Utility\u00ba\u00a0Supports ACPI 3.0 &amp; DMI\u00ba\u00a0F7 hot key for boot up devices option\u00ba\u00a0Over-Clocking\u00ba\u00a0Graphic OC Support\u00ba\u00a0Dual Display\u00ba\u00a0Support ECS EZ BIOS\u00ba\u00a0Plug and Play, STR (S3) \/ STD (S4) , Hardware monitor, Multi Boot\u00ba\u00a0Multi-Language BIOS\u00ba\u00a0Audio, LAN, can be disabled in BIOS\u00ba\u00a0Dual BIOS\u00ba\u00a0Dual-Monitor function<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>FORM FACTOR<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0ATX Form Factor\u00ba\u00a0305mm(W) X 244mm(H)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>OS Support<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0Windows 7 32-bit\u00ba\u00a0Windows 7 64-bit\u00ba\u00a0Windows 8 32-bit\u00ba\u00a0Windows 8 64-bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame1 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>Certifications<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table_style2_l table2_frame2 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0CE\/FCC Certification\u00ba\u00a0ErP\/EuP Certification\u00ba\u00a0WHCK Certification<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"table2_frame3 table_padding table2_title_left\" width=\"150\"><b>Bundled Software<\/b><\/td>\n<td class=\"table2_frame4 table_padding content left_middle\">\u00ba\u00a0ECS Intelligent EZ Utility : eBLU, eDLU, eOC, eSF\u00ba\u00a0Free Bundle: Norton Internet Security ,CyberLink PowerDVD, CyberLink PowerDirector 9, Muzee with trial version\u00ba\u00a0Creative Sound Blaster Cinema software<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>As one can see, the ECS Golden Series Z87 motherboard is fully-featured. Head over to the next page and we&#8217;ll find more out about our new Haswell Core i7-4770K as we unbox our ECS Golden Series motherboard.<\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle: Z87 Platform Upgrade Introduction--><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Unboxing the Golden Board &amp; Installation--><\/p>\n<p><strong>The ECS Z77H2-AX2 Golden board<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Unboxing and Installation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Everything about the ECS motherboard is gold and black. It comes in a shiny gold box and gold is emphasized everywhere. If you are an enthusiast who likes gold and black, then this is the motherboard for you!\u00a0 For a comparison, here is the older Z77 Golden MB:<a href=\"https:\/\/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\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/MB-12.jpg?resize=432%2C258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/MB-12.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/MB-12-300x179.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The ECS Z77 (above) and Z78 (below) golden flagship motherboards are very similar in layout but not in design.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40475\" alt=\"mb-5\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-5.jpg?resize=480%2C282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-5.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-5-150x88.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-5-300x176.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> The new Z87 motherboard has an ocean theme, and we see a gold and silver stylized fish as well as golden &#8216;waves&#8217; serving as heatsinks, complete with a &#8216;hook&#8217; (unintentionally; however, it intentionally doubles as a thermal monitor).\u00a0 This is one of the most interesting industrial\/artistic designs that we have ever seen.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Fish-hook-waves-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40460\" alt=\"Fish-hook-waves-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Fish-hook-waves-2.jpg?resize=384%2C214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Fish-hook-waves-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Fish-hook-waves-2-150x83.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Fish-hook-waves-2-300x166.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Before we take a closer look at the physical layout of the motherboard and its features, let&#8217;s look at the box that it arrives in.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40464\" alt=\"box-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-1.jpg?resize=480%2C545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-1-132x150.jpg 132w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-1-264x300.jpg 264w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-1-902x1024.jpg 902w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>The box is also golden and it shimmers making it very difficult to capture properly in a picture.\u00a0 It appears to be designed to stand out from other motherboard offerings at retail.\u00a0 The box opens out a full-sized flap that advertises the ECS motherboard&#8217;s features.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40465\" alt=\"box-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-2.jpg?resize=480%2C541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-2-133x150.jpg 133w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-2-266x300.jpg 266w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-2-909x1024.jpg 909w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">And here also we see gaming performance featured as well as long-life premium components.\u00a0 The many features are also printed on the inside of the flap while the motherboard layout is labeled on the box.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-box-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40476\" alt=\"mb-box-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-box-1.jpg?resize=480%2C547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-box-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-box-1-131x150.jpg 131w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-box-1-263x300.jpg 263w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-box-1-898x1024.jpg 898w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Finally, here is the back of the box.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40466\" alt=\"box-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-3.jpg?resize=480%2C531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-3.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-3-135x150.jpg 135w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-3-271x300.jpg 271w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/box-3-925x1024.jpg 925w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> Upon opening the box, we see everything is packed securely. <a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/open.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40478\" alt=\"open\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/open.jpg?resize=480%2C533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/open.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/open-134x150.jpg 134w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/open-269x300.jpg 269w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Here is everything out of the box, aside from the motherboard.\u00a0 Besides the mandatory manual, CD, quick-start guide and cover, the bundle is a little sparse as most of the bundled apps appear to be trials, but the dustplugs and BlueTooth antenna included can be very useful.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The manual is not as helpful as it could be.\u00a0 There are many things listed but not explained.\u00a0 For example, PCIe 3.0 bandwidth is 16X for any of the primary slots, but it is 8x+8x when used with 2-way SLI or CrossFire.\u00a0 Also, extras such as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.magix.com\/index.php?id=12394&amp;L=111\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.magix.com\/index.php?id=12394&amp;L=111', 'Magix']);\" >Magix<\/a> video, photo, and music software needs to be downloaded from ECS&#8217; website. <a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/contents.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40467\" alt=\"contents\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/contents.jpg?resize=480%2C482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/contents.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/contents-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/contents-298x300.jpg 298w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/contents-160x160.jpg 160w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/contents-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>More gold, from another angle.\u00a0 The &#8220;waves&#8221; and the &#8220;fish&#8221; are nice touchs.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40474\" alt=\"mb-4\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-4.jpg?resize=480%2C626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-4.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-4-114x150.jpg 114w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-4-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-4-784x1024.jpg 784w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> The are slots for 4 DIMMs of DDR3 up to 32GB total.\u00a0 Slots 2 and 4 are preferred when using 2 sticks of RAM.\u00a0 There are no white slots as the motherboard manual suggests.\u00a0 The Z87 chipset supports 14 USB 2.0 and 6 USB 3.0 ports while the ECS Golden Motherboard has 8 USB 2.0 ports (4 on the rear panel plus 4 on the motherboard) and 6 USB 3.0 ports (4 on the rear panel plus 2 on the motherboard).<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40473\" alt=\"mb-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-3.jpg?resize=475%2C389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-3.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-3-150x122.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-3-300x245.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 475px) 100vw, 475px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>In the image above (bottom right corner) we see the buttons which control the power switch, automatic overclocking, and multi-function LED which also allows for viewing the CPU core temperatures directly.\u00a0 There are three PCIe 3.0 x16 slots which operate at x8 when more than one is used.\u00a0 At the bottom of the board (above) there is a single 1xPCIe slot and a mini-PCI slot in between the two top PCIe x8\/x16 slots.\u00a0 TriSLI is not officially supported because only the top slot is x16 while the other two are x4 each.\u00a0 If you use three AMD cards in CrossFire-X3, the regular PCI slot is disabled and you have PCIe 3.0 x16\/x4\/x4.<\/p>\n<p>The mini-PCI slot can be very useful for an mSATA SSD as it is connected to a SATA-600 port.<\/p>\n<p>This motherboard supports the stock 1600MHz setting as well as overclocking the RAM to PC3000 speeds and above with overclocking.\u00a0 It will support up to 32GB in a 4x8GB configuration. We used 2x4GB of Kingston&#8217;s new HyperX Predator PC2800MHz DDR3 at speeds of 2800MHz in this motherboard using the automatic XMP profile 1. We were only able to reach 2400MHz in EVGA&#8217;s Z77 FTW motherboard although its XMP profile setting identified it correctly.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-obv.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40477\" alt=\"mb-obv\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-obv.jpg?resize=480%2C260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-obv.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-obv-150x81.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-obv-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Above we can see the other side of the black PCB and &#8211; more gold.<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cp.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40468\" alt=\"cp\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cp.jpg?resize=432%2C185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cp.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cp-150x64.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cp-300x129.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Here is the control panel looking from below.\u00a0 A BlueTooth wireless transmitter makes setting up a home network effortless and convenient as well as eliminating the need for a wireless router.\u00a0 Integrated CPU graphics uses a full size HDMI output that requires no active adapter to DVI as does the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard, and that saves money.\u00a0 There are connections for 7.1+2 audio although the implementation of it is only fair.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40501\" alt=\"mb-6\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6.jpg?resize=480%2C386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6-150x120.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6-300x241.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Below the DIMMs are reset and power switches which are ideal for benching and testing. SATA (Serial ATA) ports are nicely positioned along the edge of the PCB. The motherboard is laid out reasonably well and we like the addition of a third PCIe slot for CrossFire-X3 although Tri-SLI is not supported.\u00a0 There were only two PCIe slots with the ECS Z77H2-AX motherboard and we disliked the positioning of the CMOS reset switch in the Ivy Bridge ECS Z77 where the red jumper is covered up by any full-sized video card. ECS followed our suggestion and moved the reset button to the I\/O panel where it belongs.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/panel-installed.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40502\" alt=\"panel-installed\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/panel-installed.jpg?resize=480%2C151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/panel-installed.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/panel-installed-150x47.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/panel-installed-300x94.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>The ECS golden board also sports Wireless BlueTooth and Wireless LAN dongles. Included are DVI, D-SUB and HDMI for video as well as audio ports. There are 4 USB 2.0 and 4 USB 3.0 ports as well as one eSATA 3Gb\/s port. The audio codec and the Gigabyte LAN are both Realtek.\u00a0 The Realtek audio (ALC1150 codec) is a new chip but it is somewhat noisy in this implementation when used with a good speaker system or with headphones.\u00a0 Wireless BlueTooth 2.0 is incredibly convenient for networking although BlueTooth 4.0 is found on other motherboards.\u00a0 Here we used Windows built-in ad hoc networking to connect our notebook PC with our desktop in a matter of a few seconds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/wifi.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40645\" alt=\"wifi\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/wifi.jpg?resize=480%2C476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/wifi.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/wifi-150x148.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/wifi-300x297.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/wifi-160x160.jpg 160w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/wifi-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The ECS Z87H3-A2X is a very attractive motherboard. Let&#8217;s install our CPU and RAM and then install our ECS motherboard into our Thermaltake tower Overseer RX-I.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Installation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40501\" alt=\"mb-6\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6.jpg?resize=480%2C386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6-150x120.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mb-6-300x241.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>We are going to give a short recap of our installation of the ECS motherboard into our Thermaltake Overseer RX-I.\u00a0 The motherboard arrives with it&#8217;s CPU pins covered.\u00a0 If the board needs RMA service, it must be returned with the protection cap in place to protect the motherboard&#8217;s fragile pins.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40498\" alt=\"intallation-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-2.jpg?resize=480%2C360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-2-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Insert the CPU carefully in the right direction as indicated by the notches on the CPU and the indicated corner mark matches the motherboard placement and lock it down.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40499\" alt=\"intallation-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-3.jpg?resize=480%2C360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-3.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-3-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-3-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Insert the memory DIMMs.\u00a0 If you are using two sticks, make sure to put them in slots 2 and 4; not 1 and 3 as the manual suggests.\u00a0 There are no differences in the colors of the slots as the manual also suggests.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40500\" alt=\"intallation-4\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-4.jpg?resize=480%2C360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-4.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-4-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/intallation-4-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> Needless to say, it was a totally painless installation with the Noctual NH-DH-14 and then with Thermaltake&#8217;s Water2.0 Pro CPU watercooler.\u00a0 As much as we love the amazing Noctua NH-DH14, we like the uncluttered look of the watercooling setup and its ability to work with any RAM.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">As you can see, gold is highlighted against the black and it is pleasing aestetically.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/final-last-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40496\" alt=\"final-last-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/final-last-2.jpg?resize=480%2C360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/final-last-2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/final-last-2-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/final-last-2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Air Cooling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <em>only<\/em> issue with our massive Noctua aircooler is that it covers up a lot of the motherboard and you must remove the outside fan to reach the DIMMs.\u00a0 However, this time, the Kingston HyperX Predator RAM has such a high profile that it was impossible to use our NH-DH14, and so we opted for watercooling.\u00a0 We installed our Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro and were able to match the same 4.6GHz overclock with our Noctua cooler at a slightly cooler temperature. The real main difference is that watercooling is less &#8220;cluttered&#8221; looking.<\/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><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:BIOS &amp; Driver Installation--><\/p>\n<p><strong>BIOS &amp; Driver Installation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Setting up and configuring the BIOS is easy although it is not necessarily intuitive.\u00a0\u00a0 ECS has greatly improved their BIOS menu navigation and you can now use a mouse.<\/p>\n<p>One new upgrade over the Z77 Golden motherboard that we really like is that you can now use a USB flash drive to store 1024&#215;728 resolution screenshots of any BIOS screen by pressing F9.\u00a0 It was not easy to find the right flash drive that would work for us, and some USB slots work better than others, but the end results are much nicer than using a camera to capture images from the display.<\/p>\n<p>This is the first screen that a user is greeted with upon entering the BIOS.\u00a0 It is called EZ Mode.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40676\" alt=\"BIOS-simple\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-simple.jpg?resize=720%2C540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-simple.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-simple-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-simple-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After you pick your language from the Main menu, you have a choice of setting everything to default, entering the Boot, Advanced, Chipset, M.I.B. X (overclocking), Boot, Security and Exit menus.\u00a0 There are more sub-menus that we are not showing as some of them are devoted to options that cannot even be changed.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40670\" alt=\"BIOS-main\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-main.jpg?resize=720%2C540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-main.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-main-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-main-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There are many sub-menus from the Advanced menu as shown below:<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40661\" alt=\"BIOS-advanced\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced.jpg?resize=720%2C540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Here is the CPU Configuration, under the Advanced tab.\u00a0 Some of these settings should probably be changed for moderate overclocking.\u00a0 The settings as shown below are default.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40662\" alt=\"BIOS-advanced-cpu\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-cpu.jpg?resize=720%2C540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-cpu.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-cpu-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-cpu-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Also, under Advanced are the Fan Controls.\u00a0 Default settings as shown were fine for getting our i7-4770K to 4.5GHz.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40663\" alt=\"BIOS-advanced-fan\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-fan.jpg?resize=720%2C540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-fan.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-fan-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-fan-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>PC Health Status is also under the Advanced tab.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40664\" alt=\"BIOS-advanced-health\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-health.jpg?resize=720%2C540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-health.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-health-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-health-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Power Management is under Advanced also.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40665\" alt=\"BIOS-advanced-power\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-power.jpg?resize=720%2C539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-power.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-power-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-power-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>SATA can be configured under this sub-menu of Advanced.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40666\" alt=\"BIOS-advanced-sata\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-advanced-sata.jpg?resize=720%2C542\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There are several sub-menus under Chipset.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40668\" alt=\"BIOSchipset\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOSchipset.jpg?resize=720%2C551\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>M.I.B. X is where the overclocker goes.\u00a0 This is default.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40672\" alt=\"BIOS-mbix-cpu-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-mbix-cpu-2.jpg?resize=720%2C541\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0 Here all the settings are default except for the CPU Ratio which is set to 42 for an overclock to 4.2GHz.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40671\" alt=\"BIOS-mbix-cpu\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-mbix-cpu.jpg?resize=720%2C541\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There are several sub-menus, including for adjusting the memory.\u00a0 Here the BIOS correctly identifies 16GB Kingston&#8217;s HyperX Beast RAM and sets the XMP profile automatically.\u00a0 For benching, however, we used 8GB Kingston&#8217;s HyperX Predator RAM at 2800MHz.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40673\" alt=\"BIOS-mbix-memory\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-mbix-memory.jpg?resize=720%2C540\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There are further adjustments for fine-tuning the DIMMs manually as well as setting Voltage for just about everything.\u00a0 Here we used 1.300V to stabilize 4.2GHz to pass Linpack benching.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40674\" alt=\"BIOS-mbix-voltage\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-mbix-voltage.jpg?resize=720%2C543\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is the Boot Menu and we have highlighted the Windows 7 or other OS configuration.\u00a0 The Kingston HyperX SSD is set to boot first.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40667\" alt=\"BIOS-boot\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-boot.jpg?resize=720%2C544\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Security and passwords can be set in the next menu:<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40675\" alt=\"BIOS-security\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-security.jpg?resize=720%2C542\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Finally, it is time to visit the Exit Menu where we can return to the first screen in EZ Mode, Save, Discard, or Restore Defaults.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40669\" alt=\"BIOS-exit\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-exit.jpg?resize=720%2C543\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>Pressing &#8220;F4&#8221; is the same as &#8216;Save and Exit&#8217; while pressing &#8220;F3&#8221; resets to default. And we have pressed both buttons by mistake because of their close proximity to each other.<\/p>\n<p>The BIOS is a significant improvement over older ECS motherboards, but it ultimately fell a bit short when it came to some important options and we will continue to quest for more than 4.6GHz with our Core i7-4770K.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Driver Installation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The ECS motherboard driver CD works automatically and painlessly to quickly install the needed drivers which are reasonably up-to-date.\u00a0 The latest drivers are found on ECS&#8217; web site.<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/autoset-cd.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40641\" alt=\"autoset-cd\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/autoset-cd.jpg?resize=503%2C332\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>When you begin, the Device Manager reports a lot of &#8220;unknown&#8221; hardware.<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/device-mgr-begin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40642\" alt=\"device-mgr---begin\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/device-mgr-begin.jpg?resize=500%2C295\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>It is possible to do an unattended install as the PC will reboot itself until all of the drivers are installed.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/device-mgr-middle.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40643\" alt=\"device-mgr---middle\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/device-mgr-middle.jpg?resize=500%2C338\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Success!<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/setup-done.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40644\" alt=\"setup-done\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/setup-done.jpg?resize=493%2C412\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>eBLUs and automatic driver updates<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We have never been happy with this feature as it has never worked for us with previous ECS motherboards including for their Z77 Golden motherboard. You are supposed to be able to automatically update your BIOS securely and safetly over the Internet. It promises much, but in the years that we have been using it, it has never worked &#8211; until now!<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/eblu.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40598\" alt=\"eblu\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/eblu.jpg?resize=500%2C431\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We were able to update our ECS Golden motherboard from its shipping BIOS to the very latest conveniently under Windows.<\/p>\n<p>If\u00a0 doesn&#8217;t deliver, you always have a less convenient option to make a bootable flash drive to flash your BIOS.\u00a0 Flashing BIOSes are somewhat risky, so ECS includes a back-up BIOS for the first time in their motherboards in the event of the worst thing happening.<\/p>\n<p>As to the driver updates, just as with years before, if you click on it, you get taken to the ECS web site where you can manually download the drivers. We would hope that they continue to improve this section of their site and support to make it more automatic.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look next at overclocking Haswell on the ECS Golden Series Z78 motherboard.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Overclocking--><\/p>\n<h3>Overclocking<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Core i7-4770&#8243;K&#8221; CPUs are multiplier unlocked and can easily be overclocked to in excess of 4GHz. On the other hand, the non-K 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 i7-4770K also has an unlocked base clock although we did not attempt to adjust it.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC-voltage.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40463\" alt=\"BIOS-OC-voltage\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC-voltage.jpg?resize=614%2C461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC-voltage.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC-voltage-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC-voltage-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We found that we would have liked more practical options in the ECS BIOS and perhaps have better fine-tuning options.\u00a0 Even ECS could not suggest more than very basic setting for a 4.6GHz overclock.\u00a0 Some of the naming is also very confusing as &#8220;Disable Overclocking Lock&#8221; evidently refers to the &#8220;CPU Ratio Lock&#8221; found on other motherboards.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40462\" alt=\"BIOS-OC\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC.jpg?resize=614%2C461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC-150x112.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BIOS-OC-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 614px) 100vw, 614px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>However, we were able to reach a 4.6GHz overclock although it was neither Prime nor Linpack stable. We were unable to get 4.7GHz no matter how much reasonable voltage we applied. We could barely boot into Windows before the system became unstable. Evidently, the issues are not thermal-related as temperatures remained reasonable.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Issues with System RAM and Overclocking<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When setting CPU overclocks it is recommended to move the RAM speeds to default, 1600MHz, or lower.\u00a0 However, we found no stability difference either way and we kept our Kingston HyperX Predator DDR3 at its rather extreme XMP Profile 1 default 2800MHz clocks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Ivy Bridge Overclock versus Haswell&#8217;s (vs. Bloomfield, i7-920)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The highest overclock we could manage with our Core i7-920 was 4.2GHz and it was accomplished stably with our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=28740\">Thermaltake Frio OC CPU cooler<\/a>. To achieve the same 4.2GHz with Core i7-3770K we only needed .03V more added over default to stabilize our system. To reach 4.8GHz required an additional.13V and we needed our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=30184\">Noctua NH-DH14<\/a>. If the reader is interested, they can check out the Noctua NH-DH14 evaluation to see how we reached our maximum overclock with Core i7-3770K, or the Frio OC evaluation to check out the i7-920 overclock.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, we were able to reach 4.2GHz and benchmark with our Core i7-4770K with stock voltage, but needed 1.300V to pass Linpack stress testing.\u00a0\u00a0 At 4.2GHz, temperatures peak in the upper 70s under maximum load, a few degrees over stock settings.\u00a0 To reach 4.4GHz required 1.320V and temperatures peaked at 85C under Linpack&#8217;s load.\u00a0 4.5GHz required 1.335V and Linpack peaked at 89C.\u00a0 To benchmark games at 4.6GHz required 1.360V although our i7-4770K wasn&#8217;t stable under Linpak and temperatures climbed into the low 90s.\u00a0 4.7GHz wasn&#8217;t possible with any voltage nor with tweaks suggested by ECS.<\/p>\n<p>Here are ECS&#8217; suggestions to reach 4.5GHz or 4.6GHz by changing these settings in the BIOS (after loading Optimized Defaults and setting the RAM speeds to 1600Mhz or lower):<\/p>\n<p>Enter M.I.B. X as in the last above posted screen shot and change the CPU Ratio option to <strong>45 <\/strong>or<strong> 46<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Change the Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology option to <strong>Disable<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Set the Boot Performance Mode option to <strong>Turbo Performance<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/4.6-OC-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40648\" alt=\"4.6-OC-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/4.6-OC-1.jpg?resize=600%2C300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/4.6-OC-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/4.6-OC-1-150x75.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/4.6-OC-1-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Change the Spread Spectrum option to <strong>Disable<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/speed-spect-dis.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40649\" alt=\"speed-spect-dis\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/speed-spect-dis.jpg?resize=600%2C270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/speed-spect-dis.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/speed-spect-dis-150x67.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/speed-spect-dis-300x135.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Change the CPU Override Voltage Target option to <strong>1300<\/strong> (as a starting point)<\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong>Change the CPU Voltage mode option to <strong>Override<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-override.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40650\" alt=\"cpu-override\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-override.jpg?resize=600%2C98\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-override.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-override-150x24.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-override-300x49.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(Enter the <strong>Advanced<\/strong> menu in the BIOS)<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-config.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40651\" alt=\"cpu-config\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-config.jpg?resize=600%2C533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-config.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-config-150x133.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cpu-config-300x266.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Change the CPU C3 Report option to <strong>Disable<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Make sure CPU C6 Report option is set to <strong>Disable<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Make sure CPU C7 Report option is set to <strong>Disable<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Make sure Enhanced Halt (C1E) option is set to <strong>Disable<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Making the above suggested changes worked for us at 4.5GHz with Linpack stable, and at 4.6GHz for benching games.\u00a0 Although Haswell&#8217;s temperatures were good &#8211; below 90C under maximum load &#8211; we simply could not reach any higher clocks no matter how much reasonable voltage we added. It also made no difference to the stability if our RAM was clocked at 1600MHz or at 2800MHz, so we ran at it at its highest speed.<\/p>\n<p>In all of our tests between Bloomfield, Ivy Bridge, and Haswell, our CPU is clocked at 4.2GHz using a GTX 680. All of our game benching also uses a GTX 780 Ti to differentiate between the processors, with CPU speeds up to and including 4.6GHz. Our engineering sample\u00a0 of Ivy Bridge&#8217;s i7-3770K can be clocked higher, to 4.8GHz or to 4.9GHz, and when we are trying to demonstrate the effects of CPU scaling on performance, these further overclocks are identified on all of our charts.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s head over to our test configuration.<\/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 i7-4770K (reference 3.5GHz, HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 3.7GHz; also overclocked to 4.2GHz, 4.4GHz, 4.5GHz and 4.6GHz; DX11 CPU graphics), supplied by Intel.<\/li>\n<li>Intel Core i7-3770K (reference 3.5GHz, HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 3.7GHz; also overclocked to 4.2GHz and 4.8GHz; DX11 CPU graphics), supplied by Intel.<\/li>\n<li>ECS GANK Domination Z87H3-A2X motherboard (Intel Z87 chipset, latest BIOS, PCOe 3.0 specification, CrossFire\/SLI 8x+8x) supplied by ECS<\/li>\n<li>EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard (Intel Z77 chipset, latest beta 03-12-13 BIOS, PCIe 3.0 specification; CrossFire\/SLI 16x+16x using Plex chip), supplied by EVGA.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Kingston 8 GB HyperX Predator DDR3 PC2800 RAM (2\u00d74 GB, dual-channel at 2400MHz for Ivy Bridge and 2800MHz for Haswell, supplied by Kingston)<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 680, 2GB (reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 780 Ti, 3GB (reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia<\/li>\n<li>Two 500 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 hard drives<\/li>\n<li>Two 240 GB Kingston HyperX SSDs, supplied by Kingston<\/li>\n<li>Cooler Master Platinum Pro 1000W PSU, supplied by Cooler Master and used for Ivy Bridge platform<\/li>\n<li>Thermaltake ToughPower 775W power supply unit supplied by Thermaltake and used for Haswell platform<\/li>\n<li>Cooler Master Seidon 240 CPU watercooler, supplied by Cooler Master, used for Ivy Bridge<\/li>\n<li>Thermaltake Water2.0 Pro watercooler, supplied by Thermaltake, used for Haswell platform<\/li>\n<li>Onboard Realtek Audio<\/li>\n<li>Genius SP-D150 speakers, supplied by Genius<\/li>\n<li>Thermaltake Overseer RX-I full tower case, supplied by Thermaltake for Haswell platform<\/li>\n<li>Thermaltake Chaser MK II, full tower case, supplied by Thermaltake for Ivy Bridge platform<\/li>\n<li>Philips DVD SATA writer<\/li>\n<li>HP LP3065 2560&#215;1600 thirty inch LCD<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Test Configuration &#8211; Software<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GeForce WHQL 331.95 drivers; High Quality; Single-display Performance mode; Prefer Maximum Performance, Vsync off. No overclocking; power and temperature targets set to maximum with stock voltage and fan profiles.<\/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 forced off in the control panels.<\/li>\n<li>Varying AA enabled as noted in games; all in-game settings are specified with 16xAF always applied; 16xAF forced in control panel for <em>Crysis<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>All results show average frame rates<\/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<h2><strong>The benchmarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>The Game benchmarks<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><em> Crysis<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>STALKER, Call of Pripyat<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><\/em><em>Far Cry 3<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Tomb Raider: 2013<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Crysis 3<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Metro: Last Light<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>GRID 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Splinter Cell: Blacklist <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Batman: Arkham Origins<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Assassin&#8217;s Creed IV: Black Flag<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Synthetic<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>3DMark Vantage<\/li>\n<li>3DMark 11<\/li>\n<li>Heaven 4.0<\/li>\n<li>Valley 1.0<\/li>\n<li>FireStrike\/FireStrike Extreme<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/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 2014<\/li>\n<li>PC Mark Vantage<\/li>\n<li>PC Mark 7<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\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 Suites--><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Synthetic Benching Suites<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sisoftware.co.uk\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/sisoftware.co.uk\/', 'SiSoft Sandra 2014']);\" ><strong>SiSoft Sandra 2014<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SANDRA-rank.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-40565\" alt=\"SANDRA-rank\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SANDRA-rank-294x300.jpg?resize=294%2C300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SANDRA-rank-294x300.jpg 294w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SANDRA-rank-147x150.jpg 147w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SANDRA-rank-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/SANDRA-rank.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 294px) 100vw, 294px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>For all of our testing including gaming, we used our 240GB Kingston Hyper-X SSD.\u00a0 Although there are no average framerate differences running games on a SSD or HDD, we wanted consistency and identical conditions for all of our tests.\u00a0 We also limited our game benchmark suite to ten games; our eight very latest games and two older games that we also benchmarked on Core i7-920.\u00a0 Before we get to gaming, we want to see exactly where the Haswell and Ivy Bridge architectures differ, and there is no better tool than SiSoft&#8217;s Sandra 2014.<\/p>\n<p>There are <a href=\"http:\/\/sisoftware.co.uk\/?d=&amp;f=downandbuy&amp;l=en&amp;a=\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/sisoftware.co.uk\/?d=&amp;f=downandbuy&amp;l=en&amp;a=', 'several versions']);\" >several versions<\/a> of Sandra 2014, including a free version of <a href=\"http:\/\/sisoftware.co.uk\/\/?d=dload&amp;f=sware_dl_3264&amp;l=en&amp;a=\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/sisoftware.co.uk\/\/?d=dload&amp;f=sware_dl_3264&amp;l=en&amp;a=', 'Sandra Lite']);\" >Sandra Lite<\/a> that anyone can download and use.\u00a0 It is highly recommended!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sisoftware.co.uk\/?d=news&amp;f=2014_release\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.sisoftware.co.uk\/?d=news&amp;f=2014_release', 'SiSoft&#8217;s Sandra 2014']);\" >SiSoft&#8217;s Sandra 2014<\/a> is the very latest and it was released November 25, 2013.\u00a0 It has quite a few improvements over Sandra 2013:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>* New CPU benchmark: Scientific Analysis<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 3 common algorithms: GEMM (matrix multiply), FFT (fast Fourier transform), N-Body simulation<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 2 precision: single\/float, double\/FP64<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; SSE2, SSE3, AVX, FMA support where possible<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; same workload as GP scientific analysis benchmark &#8211; to directly compare CPU vs. GPGPU performance.<\/p>\n<p>* New GP benchmark: Scientific Analysis<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 3 common algorithms: GEMM (matrix multiply), FFT (fast Fourier transform), N-Body simulation<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 2 precision: single\/float, double\/FP64<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 2 interfaces: CUDA, OpenCL (with DirectX ComputeShader to come)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; not using any vendor specific library like cuBLAS, cuFFT, MKL, etc.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; same workload as CPU scientific analysis benchmark &#8211; to directly compare CPU vs. GPGPU performance.<\/p>\n<p>* Updated System benchmark: Overall Score<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Replaced GP crypto with financial analysis (now that most CPUs have crypto HWA support there is no point doing crypto on GPGPU)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Updated weights to match modern devices (mobile, laptop, desktop and server)<\/p>\n<p>* Updated CPU benchmark: Arithmetic<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; New libraries for Whetstone SSE3 \/ SSE4.1 \/ AVX<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 2 precision: single\/float, double\/FP64<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; float score is geometric mean of both float and double (was just double before)<\/p>\n<p>* Updated cache\/memory benchmark: latency<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; measure L0 cache latency<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; data and code caches<\/p>\n<p>* Updated cache\/memory benchmark: bandwidth<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; measure L0 cache bandwidth<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">First we run the very latest Sandra benchmark suite with the EVGA FTW Z77 motherboard and Core i7-3770K. Our charts comparing the individual benchmarks are in the performance summary as well as here for easy cross comparison.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40529\" alt=\"Ivy-Sandra-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-1.jpg?resize=720%2C722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-1-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40530\" alt=\"Ivy-Sandra-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-2.jpg?resize=720%2C239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-2-150x49.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-2-300x99.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40531\" alt=\"Ivy-Sandra-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-3.jpg?resize=720%2C198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-3.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-3-150x41.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-3-300x82.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40532\" alt=\"Ivy-Sandra-4\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-4.jpg?resize=720%2C197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-4.jpg 1503w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-4-150x41.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-4-300x82.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-4-1024x280.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 962px) 100vw, 962px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40533\" alt=\"Ivy-Sandra-5\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-5.jpg?resize=720%2C140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-5.jpg 1513w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-5-150x29.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-5-300x58.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-5-1024x199.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 817px) 100vw, 817px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Here are the Whetstone and Dhrystone results:\u00a0 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40535\" alt=\"Ivy-Sandra-whet dhry\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-whet-dhry.jpg?resize=720%2C230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-whet-dhry.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-whet-dhry-150x48.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-whet-dhry-300x96.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here are addt cryptographic results:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-gp.crypto.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40534\" alt=\"Ivy-Sandra-gp.crypto\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-gp.crypto.jpg?resize=720%2C225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-gp.crypto.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-gp.crypto-150x46.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-Sandra-gp.crypto-300x93.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Now it&#8217;s i7-4770K\/Haswell&#8217;s turn at the same settings:<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40544\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-overall\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-overall.jpg?resize=720%2C722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-overall.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-overall-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-overall-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-overall-160x160.jpg 160w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-overall-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40537\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-1.jpg?resize=720%2C182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-1-150x37.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-1-300x75.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40538\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-2.jpg?resize=720%2C182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-2.jpg 1012w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-2-150x37.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-2-300x75.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40539\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-3.jpg?resize=720%2C182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-3.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-3-150x37.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-3-300x75.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40540\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-4\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-4.jpg?resize=720%2C181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-4.jpg 1005w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-4-150x37.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-4-300x75.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 804px) 100vw, 804px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40541\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-5\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-5.jpg?resize=720%2C182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-5.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-5-150x37.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-5-300x75.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40542\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-6\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-6.jpg?resize=720%2C183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-6.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-6-150x38.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-6-300x76.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0\u00a0 Here are the Dhrystone and whetstone benchmarks <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40546\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-whet-dhry-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-whet-dhry-2.jpg?resize=720%2C174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-whet-dhry-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-whet-dhry-2-150x36.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-whet-dhry-2-300x72.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0here is the cryptographic benchmarl<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40543\" alt=\"HAS-Sandra-gp.crypto\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-gp.crypto.jpg?resize=720%2C135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-gp.crypto.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-gp.crypto-150x28.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-Sandra-gp.crypto-300x56.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is a comparison chart including some of the Sandra highlights comparing Ivy and Haswell using the same settings, and also including Bloomfield&#8217;s i7-920 results from 2012:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Sandra.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40685\" alt=\"Sandra\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Sandra.jpg?resize=720%2C325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Sandra.jpg 769w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Sandra-150x67.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Sandra-300x135.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In every case, the new architecture shines over the older ones.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>PC Mark Vantage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.futuremark.com\/benchmarks\/pcmark-vantage\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.futuremark.com\/benchmarks\/pcmark-vantage', 'PC Mark Vantage']);\" >PC Mark Vantage<\/a> was developed primarily for Vista and it has been superseded by PC Mark 7.\u00a0 We are using the Advanced Edition of PCMark Vantage.\u00a0 As with all of our tests, we use 2x4GB Kingston HyperX Predator RAM.\u00a0 The only differences are that we run at 2800MHz on Haswell, but 2400MHz on Ivy Bridge.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40572\" alt=\"IVY--pcmark-vantage-detail-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-1.jpg?resize=600%2C1493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-1-60x150.jpg 60w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-1-120x300.jpg 120w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-1-411x1024.jpg 411w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-21.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40573\" alt=\"IVY--pcmark-vantage-detail-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-21.jpg?resize=600%2C1537\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-21.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-21-58x150.jpg 58w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-21-117x300.jpg 117w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40574\" alt=\"IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-3.jpg?resize=600%2C853\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-3.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-3-105x150.jpg 105w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pcmark-vantage-detail-3-211x300.jpg 211w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Here are the 4770K&#8217;s results.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40575\" alt=\"HAS-pcmark-vantage-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-1.jpg?resize=720%2C838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-1-128x150.jpg 128w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-1-257x300.jpg 257w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40576\" alt=\"HAS-pcmark-vantage-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-2.jpg?resize=600%2C1399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-2-64x150.jpg 64w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-2-439x1024.jpg 439w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40577\" alt=\"HAS-pcmark-vantage-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-3.jpg?resize=600%2C1323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-3.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-3-68x150.jpg 68w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-3-136x300.jpg 136w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-3-464x1024.jpg 464w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40578\" alt=\"HAS-pcmark-vantage-4\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-4.jpg?resize=600%2C1396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-4.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-4-64x150.jpg 64w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pcmark-vantage-4-440x1024.jpg 440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There is a noticeable difference between the scores with Core i7-4770K winning in every metric over Core i7-3770K although settings are identical and both processors and the system memory are overclocked similarly. The newer CPU architecture and platform wins.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Scores: 23033 Ivy Bridge<\/strong> to <strong>27342 with Haswell<\/strong>. Bloomfield&#8217;s<strong> i7-920 scored 18867<\/strong> as a comparison.<\/p>\n<p>We will keep our settings and hardware the same and now run the detailed tests of the basic version of PCMark 7<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1><a href=\"http:\/\/www.futuremark.com\/support\/downloads\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.futuremark.com\/support\/downloads', 'PCMark 7']);\" >PCMark 7<\/a><\/h1>\n<p>We are testing at the same default settings that we tested with PC Mark Vantage. Even the free basic version has some very detailed test results.<\/p>\n<p>First up is the i7-<strong>3770K<\/strong>.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40580\" alt=\"IVY-pc-mark-7--1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-1.jpg?resize=720%2C1124\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-1-96x150.jpg 96w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-1-192x300.jpg 192w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-1-655x1024.jpg 655w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40581\" alt=\"IVY-pc-mark-7--2\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-2.jpg?resize=600%2C1549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-2-58x150.jpg 58w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-2-116x300.jpg 116w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40582\" alt=\"IVY-pc-mark-7--3\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-3.jpg?resize=600%2C1354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-3.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/IVY-pc-mark-7-3-66x150.jpg 66w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And now the Haswell i7-4770K<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40585\" alt=\"HAS-pc-mark-7--1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-1.jpg?resize=720%2C1325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-1-81x150.jpg 81w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-1-163x300.jpg 163w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-1-556x1024.jpg 556w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40586\" alt=\"HAS-pc-mark-7--2\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-2.jpg?resize=600%2C1577\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-2-57x150.jpg 57w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-2-114x300.jpg 114w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40587\" alt=\"HAS-pc-mark-7--3\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-pc-mark-7-3.jpg?resize=600%2C1610\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We notice that the IPC of Haswell is higher than for Ivy Bridge. The synthetic tests clearly show that the newer architecture is faster.<\/p>\n<p>The results: We scored\u00a0 <strong>6300 with Ivy<\/strong> compared with <strong>6886 with Haswell,<\/strong>but only <strong>5117 with Bloomfield<\/strong>. Will this hold true for gaming?<\/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><a href=\"http:\/\/www.superpi.net\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.superpi.net\/', 'Super Pi']);\" >Super Pi<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Super Pis is a single-threaded benchmark which can show the differences in IPC between CPU platforms.\u00a0 Here is the tests, and we choose 1 million digits.<\/p>\n<p>First up is Super Pi on the Core i7-3770K at 4.2GHz.\u00a0 There are two versions we are testing &#8211; v1.8 and v1.9.\u00a0 We used v1.8 for benching the i7-920 also at 4.2GHz and will also compare its results.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40590\" alt=\"Ivy-superpi-1.8\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.8.jpg?resize=500%2C598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.8.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.8-125x150.jpg 125w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.8-250x300.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40591\" alt=\"Ivy-superpi-1.9\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.9.jpg?resize=500%2C584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.9.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.9-128x150.jpg 128w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-superpi-1.9-256x300.jpg 256w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now here are Haswell results at the same settings:<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40588\" alt=\"HASsuperpi-1.8\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.8.jpg?resize=500%2C591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.8.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.8-126x150.jpg 126w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.8-253x300.jpg 253w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40589\" alt=\"HASsuperpi-1.9\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.9.jpg?resize=500%2C593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.9.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.9-126x150.jpg 126w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HASsuperpi-1.9-252x300.jpg 252w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Haswell is faster than Ivy which is faster by a second than Bloomfield. And this is a single-threaded application. Please continue on to Fritz Chess Bench.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/en.chessbase.com\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/en.chessbase.com\/', 'Fritz Chess']);\" >Fritz Chess<\/a> 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.\u00a0 We are using version 12 which is the same version we used for testing Core i7-920.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">First the Core i7-3770K at 4.2GHz:<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-ChesB.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40592\" alt=\"Ivy-ChesB\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-ChesB.jpg?resize=640%2C453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-ChesB.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-ChesB-150x106.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-ChesB-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u00a0Now we\u00a0 run the Fritz benchmark on Haswell&#8217;s i7-4770K at 4.2GHz.\u00a0 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. <a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-ChesB.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40593\" alt=\"HAS-ChesB\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-ChesB.jpg?resize=630%2C651\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-ChesB.jpg 630w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-ChesB-145x150.jpg 145w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/HAS-ChesB-290x300.jpg 290w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here in this multi-threaded benchmark, Haswell at 4.2GHz is faster clock-for-clock than Ivy Bridge and faster than Bloomfield&#8217;s i7-920 at the same clocks.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/FRITZ.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40701\" alt=\"FRITZ\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/FRITZ.jpg?resize=482%2C290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/FRITZ.jpg 482w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/FRITZ-150x90.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/FRITZ-300x180.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.spodesabode.com\/page\/spodemark\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.spodesabode.com\/page\/spodemark', 'CustomPC Benchmark']);\" ><strong>CustomPC Benchmark<\/strong><\/a><\/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>First these tests are run on the Ivy overclocked to 4.2GHz.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-custom-pc.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40594\" alt=\"Ivy-custom-pc\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-custom-pc.jpg?resize=500%2C490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-custom-pc.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-custom-pc-150x147.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-custom-pc-300x294.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Ivy-custom-pc-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">As usual we test next with the Haswell Core i7-3770K also at 4.2GHz.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Has-custom-pc.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40595\" alt=\"Has-custom-pc\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Has-custom-pc.jpg?resize=500%2C488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Has-custom-pc.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Has-custom-pc-150x146.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Has-custom-pc-300x292.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Has-custom-pc-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We are also able to compare our results with Bloomfield&#8217;s Core i7-920 as the benchmark is unchanged since we ran it.\u00a0 Here are the results of Custom PC benchmarking expressed as a chart (lower is faster\/better):<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Cu.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40684\" alt=\"Cu\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Cu.jpg?resize=482%2C487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Cu.jpg 482w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Cu-148x150.jpg 148w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Cu-296x300.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Cu-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Haswell is much faster at video encoding just as Ivy is over Bloomfield.\u00a0 The Z78 Haswell platform wins in all three benchmarks and overall.<\/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 R15.0 version of CINEBENCH can test up to 64 processor threads accurately and automatically.\u00a0 We are testing the older version first which is the same test we gave Bloomfield, and then testing with the newest version.<\/p>\n<p><strong>v11.5<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First the i7-3770K Ivy Bridge at 4.2GHz with the GTX 680 at reference clocks<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-IVY.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40599\" alt=\"cine-bench-11.5-IVY\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-IVY.jpg?resize=500%2C619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-IVY.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-IVY-121x150.jpg 121w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-IVY-242x300.jpg 242w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next, the Haswell Core i7 at 4.2GHz with the reference GTX 680 and the same settings.<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-HAS.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40601\" alt=\"cine-bench-11.5-HAS\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-HAS.jpg?resize=500%2C586\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-HAS.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-HAS-127x150.jpg 127w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-11.5-HAS-255x300.jpg 255w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><em><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Haswell is faster.\u00a0 In fact, Core i7-920 scored 54.23 fps and 7.20 pts!\u00a0 Now we test with the latest benchmark<\/p>\n<p><strong>R15<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First the i7-3770K Ivy Bridge at 4.2GHz with the GTX 680 at reference clocks<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-IVY.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40600\" alt=\"cine-bench-R15-IVY\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-IVY.jpg?resize=500%2C642\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-IVY.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-IVY-116x150.jpg 116w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-IVY-233x300.jpg 233w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next, the Haswell Core i7 at 4.2GHz with the reference GTX 680 and the same settings.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-HAS.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40602\" alt=\"cine-bench-R15-HAS\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-HAS.jpg?resize=500%2C614\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-HAS.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-HAS-122x150.jpg 122w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cine-bench-R15-HAS-244x300.jpg 244w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><em><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Here is the Graph which includes Bloomfield&#8217;s i7-920 for the older benchmark<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-11.5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40682\" alt=\"cinebench-11.5\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-11.5.jpg?resize=482%2C370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-11.5.jpg 482w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-11.5-150x115.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-11.5-300x230.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here is the newest Cinebench:<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-r15.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40683\" alt=\"cinebench-r15\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-r15.jpg?resize=482%2C348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-r15.jpg 482w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-r15-150x108.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/cinebench-r15-300x216.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Haswell is faster in both tests.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.videolan.org\/developers\/x264.html\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.videolan.org\/developers\/x264.html', 'X264']);\" >X264<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>We are using the latest version, V5.0 and also the older version v4.0 which we used when we originally compared Ivy Bridge to Bloomfield.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n<p>V4.0<\/p>\n<p>First up is the Core i7-3770K at 4.2GHz with a GTX 680:<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-IVY.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40603\" alt=\"x264-4-IVY\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-IVY.jpg?resize=500%2C1059\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-IVY.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-IVY-141x300.jpg 141w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-IVY-483x1024.jpg 483w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Average first pass for Ivy Bridge is 182.81 fps while the second pass is 46.84 fps with version 4.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And now the Core i7-4770K.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-HAS.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40604\" alt=\"x264-4-HAS\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-HAS.jpg?resize=500%2C753\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-HAS.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-HAS-99x150.jpg 99w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-HAS-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Average first pass for Haswell is 191.98 fps while the second pass is 51.94 fps with version 4.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>V5.0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First up is the Core i7-3770k at 4.2GHz<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-IVY.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40605\" alt=\"x264-5-IVY\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-IVY.jpg?resize=500%2C525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-IVY.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-IVY-142x150.jpg 142w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-IVY-285x300.jpg 285w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Average first pass for Ivy Bridge is 77.31 fps while the second pass is 16.3 fps with version 5.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And now the Core i7-4770K.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-HAS.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40606\" alt=\"x264-5-HAS\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-HAS.jpg?resize=500%2C706\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-HAS.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-HAS-106x150.jpg 106w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-HAS-212x300.jpg 212w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Average first pass for Haswell is 83.48 fps while the second pass is 18.53 fps.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As we can see, both passes are much quicker on Haswell. The newest architecture is favored in a heavily-multi-threaded task.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40696\" alt=\"x264-4\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4.jpg?resize=482%2C394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4.jpg 482w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-150x122.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-4-300x245.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here is Version 5.0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40697\" alt=\"x264-5\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5.jpg?resize=482%2C353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5.jpg 482w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/x264-5-300x219.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The next series of tests is going to focus on the SSD to see which platform is faster.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/crystalmark.info\/software\/CrystalDiskMark\/index-e.html\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/crystalmark.info\/software\/CrystalDiskMark\/index-e.html', 'Crystal Disk Mark']);\" ><strong>Crystal Disk Mark<\/strong><\/a><\/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 i7-3770k<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/crystal-Disk-Mark-ivy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40607\" alt=\"crystal-Disk-Mark-ivy\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/crystal-Disk-Mark-ivy.jpg?resize=400%2C364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/crystal-Disk-Mark-ivy.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/crystal-Disk-Mark-ivy-150x136.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/crystal-Disk-Mark-ivy-300x273.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now the 4770K<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Crystam-DM-HAS.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40608\" alt=\"Crystam-DM--HAS\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Crystam-DM-HAS.jpg?resize=400%2C363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Crystam-DM-HAS.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Crystam-DM-HAS-150x136.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Crystam-DM-HAS-300x272.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Haswell platform is again quicker.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hdtune.com\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.hdtune.com\/', 'HD Tune']);\" ><strong>HD Tune<\/strong><\/a><\/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>The Ivy Bridge platform is up first.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-ivy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40621\" alt=\"hd-tune---ivy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-ivy.jpg?resize=550%2C471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-ivy.jpg 550w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-ivy-150x128.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-ivy-300x256.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next the i7-4770K<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-has.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40622\" alt=\"hd-tune---has\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-has.jpg?resize=550%2C471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-has.jpg 550w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-has-150x128.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hd-tune-has-300x256.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This same benchmark was used on our i7-920 and its results are included in the chart.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/H-tune.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40693\" alt=\"H-tune\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/H-tune.jpg?resize=486%2C290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/H-tune.jpg 486w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/H-tune-150x89.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/H-tune-300x179.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Haswell platform is fastest.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/alex-is.de\/PHP\/fusion\/downloads.php?download_id=9\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/alex-is.de\/PHP\/fusion\/downloads.php?download_id=9', 'AS SSD']);\" ><strong>AS SSD<\/strong><\/a><\/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, i7-3770k<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40618\" alt=\"asssd-IVY\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-IVY1.jpg?resize=500%2C508\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-IVY1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-IVY1-147x150.jpg 147w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-IVY1-295x300.jpg 295w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-IVY1-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now the i7-4770K<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-has1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40617\" alt=\"asssd-has\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-has1.jpg?resize=500%2C512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-has1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-has1-146x150.jpg 146w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-has1-292x300.jpg 292w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/asssd-has1-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>606 score for Ivy Bridge and 670 score for Haswell<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Haswell&#8217;s plaform is faster.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.attotech.com\/disk-benchmark\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.attotech.com\/disk-benchmark\/', 'ATTO']);\" ><strong>ATTO<\/strong><\/a><\/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 i7-3770K.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-ivy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40620\" alt=\"atto-ivy\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-ivy.jpg?resize=450%2C618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-ivy.jpg 450w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-ivy-109x150.jpg 109w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-ivy-218x300.jpg 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now 4770K:<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-has.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40619\" alt=\"atto-has\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-has.jpg?resize=450%2C610\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-has.jpg 450w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-has-110x150.jpg 110w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/atto-has-221x300.jpg 221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Very similar results.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hd-tach.en.uptodown.com\/\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/hd-tach.en.uptodown.com\/', 'HD Tach']);\" ><strong>HD Tach<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>HD Tach is a low level hardware benchmark for random access read\/write storage devices including SSDs and HDDs. HD Tach uses custom device drivers and low level Windows interfaces to determine the physical performance of the device.\u00a0 It is no longer supported and needs to be run in compatibility mode for Windows 7.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the Long Bench with Ivy.<a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-ivy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40654\" alt=\"hdtach-long-ivy\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-ivy.jpg?resize=600%2C563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-ivy.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-ivy-150x140.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-ivy-300x281.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now we repeat the same test with Haswell with identical settings.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40655\" alt=\"hdtach-long-has\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-has1.jpg?resize=600%2C553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-has1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-has1-150x138.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hdtach-long-has1-300x276.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>290.2 MB\/s average read for Ivy Bridge<\/strong> platform and <strong>312.5 MB\/s for Haswell<\/strong>.\u00a0 Haswell is again faster.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Folder copy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here is a task that we all carry out and it shows the superiority of USB 3.0 over 2.0. Only Ivy Bridge and Haswell natively supports it for Intel platforms; not even Sandy Bridge. Ivy Bridge also brought PCIe 3.0 although it is available to Sandy Bridge owners through BIOS updates for suitable motherboards.<\/p>\n<p>Using the <strong>Haswell<\/strong> platform, it took <strong>1 minute and 10 seconds<\/strong> to copy the Crysis 2 10GB game folder to another location on the same SSD.\u00a0\u00a0<strong>Ivy Bridge took two seconds longer<\/strong>, but it took <strong>1 minute and 30 seconds for i7-920<\/strong> to make the same copy on Bloomfield&#8217;s X58 platform at the same 4.2GHz CPU clocks.<\/p>\n<p>Next, we move on to game-related benchmarks and games. Next up are the synthetics.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle:Gaming Benchmarks &amp; Summary Charts--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Next page...\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-includes\/js\/tinymce\/plugins\/wordpress\/img\/trans.gif?w=720\" 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 style=\"text-align: left;\">First up we look at Vantage with a GTX 680 and i7-3770K at 4.2GHz.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/3d-mark-vantage-ivy1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40657\" alt=\"3d-mark-vantage-ivy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/3d-mark-vantage-ivy1.jpg?resize=480%2C287\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Next, up is Haswell&#8217;s i7-4770K at the same 4.2GHz.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40658\" alt=\"3d-mark-vantage-has\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/3d-mark-vantage-has1.jpg?resize=480%2C257\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>There is a small increase in FPS just as there is in OPS.\u00a0 Interestingly, i7-920 at 4.2GHz and paired with the same stock GTX 680, scored 35511.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>3DMark 11<\/h3>\n<p>Now we look at Futuremark&#8217;s 2011 DX11 graphics-heavy test. Core <strong>i7-3770K<\/strong> at 4.2GHz paired with a reference clocked GTX 680 scores <strong>9531,<\/strong> while the <strong>i7-4770K gets 9652<\/strong>.\u00a0 Our <strong>i7-920<\/strong> with the same GTX 680 scored <strong>9223<\/strong>, but the GeForce drivers make much more of a difference than architectural improvements.<\/p>\n<p>Like with Vantage, Haswell is faster than Ivy Bridge. which in turn, is faster than Bloomfield in this synthetic graphics test. Now let&#8217;s check CPU graphics<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong><em>3DMark 13<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This evaluation is focused on the Core i7-4770K in gaming.\u00a0 Here are Haswell&#8217;s detailed results with a score of 6400:<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/3dmark13-has.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40659\" alt=\"3dmark13-has\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/3dmark13-has.jpg?resize=720%2C282\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>Eventually, we reached<strong> 6465<\/strong> on the basic test with i7-4770K, and <strong>3240<\/strong> on the Extreme, while we got 6446 with i7-3770K and <strong>3248<\/strong> on Extreme.\u00a0 Using the synthetic tests, we can conclude that a GTX 680 is not enough to differentiate mildly overclocked Ivy Bridge from Haswell.<\/p>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s compare our overclocked Core i7-920 versus our Ivy Bridge i7-3770K using a GTX 680 at both stock and also overclocked speeds.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Game Benchmarks with the GTX 680 and the GTX 780 Ti<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here are the benches for the Core i7-4770K at 4.2GHz versus Core i7-3770 also at 4.2GHz. All games have their setting completely maxed out and levels of AA are identified on the chart. The GTX 680 is run at reference clock speeds.<\/p>\n<p>The first chart uses the GTX 680. The first results column is the Haswell i7-4770K at 4.2GH versus Ivy Bridge i7-3700K at 4.2GHz in the second column.\u00a0\u00a0 Please note that when we benchmarked <em>Call of Pripyat<\/em> with the<strong> GTX 680 and Core i7-920 at 4.2GHz<\/strong> we got <strong>37fps at 2560&#215;1600<\/strong> and <strong>61.1fps at 1920&#215;1080<\/strong><em> although Geforce drivers will make the biggest differences.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/680-4.2gh.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40525\" alt=\"680-4.2gh\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/680-4.2gh.jpg?resize=492%2C582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/680-4.2gh.jpg 492w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/680-4.2gh-126x150.jpg 126w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/680-4.2gh-253x300.jpg 253w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>It is a completely mixed bag.\u00a0 It appears that our GTX 680 is not enough to differentiate processors at either 1920&#215;1080 nor at 2560&#215;1600 resolutions in games any more than in synthetic gaming benchmarks.\u00a0 We now install our GTX 780 Ti and compare again.<a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-4.2gh.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40524\" alt=\"780ti-4.2gh\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-4.2gh.jpg?resize=492%2C582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-4.2gh.jpg 492w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-4.2gh-126x150.jpg 126w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-4.2gh-253x300.jpg 253w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>We see a total reversal and a clear trend emerges with the Core i7-4770K being faster than Ivy Bridge i7-4770K at 4.2GHz.\u00a0 Only Crysis 3 shows Ivy 0.1 fps faster and it is very GPU-dependent.\u00a0 The original Crysis shows Haswell significantly faster, especially at 1920&#215;1080.\u00a0 There are only two games that we tested with our Bloomfield i7-920 at 4.2GHz, Crysis and Call of Pripyat, but that was with older drivers (GF 301.xx).\u00a0 However, the games are quite old and most of the driver improvements were made long ago, especially with CoP.<\/p>\n<p>But what about scaling.\u00a0 Well, let&#8217;s just use the GTX 780 Ti and compare at stock 3.7GHz (turbo), 4.2GHz, 4.4GHz, 4.5GHz and even at 4.6GHz (which was barely stable for gaming)<\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Summary Charts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-haswell-scaling.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40527\" alt=\"780ti-haswell-scaling\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-haswell-scaling.jpg?resize=702%2C606\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-haswell-scaling.jpg 702w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-haswell-scaling-150x129.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/780ti-haswell-scaling-300x258.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Big Picture<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Main-gaming-chart.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-40526\" alt=\"Main-gaming-chart\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Main-gaming-chart.jpg?resize=720%2C413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Main-gaming-chart.jpg 1057w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Main-gaming-chart-150x85.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Main-gaming-chart-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Main-gaming-chart-1024x587.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1057px) 100vw, 1057px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you are a gamer, you can definitely &#8220;get by&#8221; with an older CPU. However, we saw the need to upgrade to Haswell and to Ivy Bridge before it, more strongly indicated by most tasks other than gaming.\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>There is absolutely no doubt that Haswell is faster clock-for-clock than Ivy Bridge.\u00a0 Both processors scale similarly but it is noticeable even at the same stock 3.7GHz, that i7-4770K is faster than i7-3770K and the difference becomes more noticeable as the clock speeds go up.\u00a0 It appears that the approximately &#8220;ten percent faster&#8221; clock-for-clock means that the more-difficult-to-overclock Haswell doesn&#8217;t need to clock as high as Ivy Bridge &#8211; Core i7-4770K at 4.5GHz is generally faster in gaming than Core i7-3770K at 4.8GHz.<\/p>\n<p>We also noticed that a GTX 680 is not powerful enough to differentiate i7-4770K from i7-3770K even at 1920&#215;1080 with maxed-out settings that gamers usually choose. However, paired with a really powerful video card like the GTX 780 Ti, the Core i7-4770K is the perfect match for high-end gaming and even multi-GPU and it is noticeably faster at the same clocks over the i7-3770K.\u00a0 Should you upgrade?\u00a0 Probably not from Ivy Bridge, but if a gamer is buying a new CPU and motherboard now, the i7-4770K is probably the best choice to pair with a really fast video card or video cards.\u00a0 And the ECS Z77H3-A2X is a very nice choice for a fully featured motherboard.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>ECS Z78H3-A2X Golden motherboard &#8211; Pros and Cons<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Pros<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The ECS Gank Domination Z87H3-AX2 Golden Board is a beautiful-looking motherboard which accents gold on black in a really nice industrial design without charging a premium.<\/li>\n<li>The ECS Golden Series is a fully-featured Z87 motherboard with premium components and has proved itself to be stable in over a month of use and able to get a reasonable 24\/7 and decently cool-running 4.5GHz overclock on Core i7-4770K.<\/li>\n<li>ECS does extreme testing on their Golden Boards before shipping and they promise great warranty service if your motherboard ever needs RMA<\/li>\n<li>ECS gives a 3-year warranty and even offers advanced RMAs and &#8220;99-hour&#8221; service<\/li>\n<li>In multi-tasking, encoding and almost every other task that we tested including gaming, the Haswell architecture using Core i7-4770K is faster than the Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K and in turn is faster clock-for-clock than Core i7-920.<\/li>\n<li>Dual BIOSes are incredibly useful and this is the first motherboard from ECS with this feature.<\/li>\n<li>Wireless BlueTooth is a great built-in feature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Cons<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The ECS BIOS could be more fully featured with better options for CPU overclocking.<\/li>\n<li>The naming of the board could be better.\u00a0 <em>Gank Domination Z87H3-A2X Golden Board<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/EDITORsCHOICE.jpg?resize=135%2C226\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We feel that ECS has made good progress over the past couple of years in delivering a stable, fully-featured, and very good-looking motherboard that deserves ABT&#8217;s Editor&#8217;s Choice Award.<\/p>\n<p>We believe that Intel&#8217;s Haswell Core i7-4770K is better than the older platform in every way and it will become ABT&#8217;s newest testing platform.\u00a0 All of our evaluations will be performed on Haswell, and we will benchmark games generally at 4.5GHz.<\/p>\n<p>We are looking forward to our follow-up evaluation which will feature Kingston&#8217;s HyperX Predator 2800MHz DDR3.\u00a0 We also expect to be benching a new video card shortly.\u00a0 Stay tuned!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">In the meantime, make sure that you follow us on our ABT forum. You will get the very latest news about upcoming new graphics cards and we are making preparations to attend Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC 2014) in March. We will continue to benchmark our new CPU and you can also help us on the forum by making suggestions for future evaluations.<\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This evaluation will test our Z87 ECS Golden Board and the latest Haswell Intel platform versus Ivy Bridge.\u00a0 The new ECS motherboard proudly bears the name, GANK Domination Z87H3-A2X and we shall pit our&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":40337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7814,3330],"tags":[2944,5191,7364,1228,7365,34,7367,7366,87,7363],"class_list":["post-40336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-featured-content","tag-core-i7-920","tag-core-i7-3770k","tag-core-i7-4770k","tag-ecs","tag-gank-domination-z87h3-a2x","tag-intel","tag-kingston-hyperx-predator","tag-motherboard-evlauation","tag-review","tag-z87"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}