Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 Th in Detail

In that location's no shortage of Intel Z77-based motherboards from Gigabyte, with well over a dozen different models in production today. This lineup is home to several unique products such as the G1.Sniper iii and Z77X-UP7, likewise as the new TH (Thunderbolt) boards: the Z77MX-D3H Th, Z77X-UP4 TH and the Z77X-UP5 Th.

Although it'due south i of the pricier Z77 motherboards at $250, we think the Z77X-UP5 Th's price is justified because its rich feature set up. The Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB was featured in our Z77 roundup this twelvemonth and it was our favorite board at $210 thanks to its wealth of features, and so nosotros hope to find the same this time.

The Z77X-UP5 TH features a mass of onboard SATA, eSATA, Firewire, and USB 3.0 ports, iii PCIe x16 slots, high-quality audio, plenty of display outputs, too equally a PCIe add together-in card supporting Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi. Very few Z77 motherboards we've seen are able to match the Z77X-UP5 TH in terms of raw features.

The Z77X-UP5 TH uses the aforementioned PCI Express x16 configuration as the Z77X-UD5H-WB we reviewed, supporting both AMD Quad CrossFireX and Nvidia Quad SLI via two PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, which run at x8/x8 when both are occupied. The third PCIe x16 slot supports the older 2.0 standard and is wired for x4 bandwidth.

The board has four DIMM slots for up to 32GB of RAM running at 1066, 1333 and 1600MHz, while 2133 and 2400MHz are possible via overclocking. Whereas the Z77 provides six SATA ports (2 6Gb/s), Gigabyte includes a Marvell 88SE9172 6Gb/s controller for another 2 ports: i is onboard and colored grey, one is used for eSATA on the rear I/O panel.

There'south also an mSATA connector above the primary PCIe 3.0 x16 slot for SSDs using Intel'due south Smart Response Technology, though this occupies the Z77'southward fifth SATA 3Gb/s port when in use.

Network connectivity comes from a single Gigabit network controller, existence the Intel WG82759V. A Bluetooth 4.0/Wi-Fi PCIe x1 expansion card, the GC-WB300D, is also included and represents a $30 value. It supports Smart Ready applied science and has a Mini PCIe port that is loaded with an Atheros AR5B22 bill of fare.

The Realtek ALC898 codec supplies seven.i aqueduct sound, while this Gigabyte implementation also supports X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity and EAX Avant-garde HD 5.0 technologies, making it a relatively loftier-end solution.

The Z77X-UP5 Thursday carries six USB 2.0 ports (2 on the I/O panel, four via headers), every bit well as eight USB 3.0 ports (four in back, 4 via headers). Intel used two VIA VL810 Hubs to turn the Z77's four USB iii.0 ports into eight.

FireWire is also on the menu cheers to the VIA VT6308, an quondam PCI solution that supports two 400Mb/south IEEE1394a ports (1 on the I/O panel, one via header). Providing the board with legacy PCI support is the ITE IT8892E chip, a PCIe x1 to PCI 32-bit bridge supporting three PCI slots.

As pleased equally nosotros are near the all-encompassing USB 3.0 connectivity and FireWire support, the crown jewel is Thunderbolt. Using the Intel DSL3510L chip, the Z77X-UP5 TH offers two Thunderbolt ports allowing users to daisy concatenation upward to 12 devices plus two displays.

While ane of the legacy PCI interfaces is connected to the VIA VT6308S, another provides a traditional PCI slot. Yet, the good news is Gigabyte has included three PCIe x1 slots, giving the Z77X-UP5 TH a more than mod feel compared to many other Z77 motherboards we've seen.

The Z77X-UP5 TH features Gigabyte's new 3D Power engineering science, which is an all new hardware and software-based digital power engine for both the PWM and retentivity that delivers boggling power delivery command.

Information technology utilizes a new digital PWM controller with precise auto voltage bounty to evangelize a steady flow of power to the CPU and memory no thing the loading. Gigabyte is the first in the industry to utilize digital memory controllers for non merely the retention, but VTT and VSA, for real-fourth dimension monitoring and adjusting.

The digital memory command allows users to monitor and record DDR power and current in existent-time while gaming, overclocking or at idle. Users can also set OVP (Over Voltage Protection) to safeguard their retention, accommodate memory Load-line Scale to set memory vdrooping for a quicker response time and conform memory PWM frequency on the fly.