The gaming motherboard range from a manufacturer is one with a lot of focus in terms of design and function due to the increase in gaming related PC sales. On the Haswell-E side of gaming, GIGABYTE is putting forward the X99-Gaming G1 WiFi at the top of its stack, and this is what we are reviewing today.

One of the main points not noted to most end-users is that while a large company like GIGABYTE delivers many different product areas, such as motherboards, graphics cards, server products or gaming peripherals, each of these areas is a separate business unit within the company. Each business unit works somewhat independently from the rest, with their own marketing, sales and design departments. This system sometimes falls afoul when there a product areas designed to work together or share similar traits, such as the motherboard BIOS team and the server BIOS team that are essentially working on similar frameworks but completely independently. When it comes down to end-users and in particular the big growth segments in home computing such as gaming, both the motherboard business unit and the graphics card business unit should ideally work together to build the company brand. This was in progress with our last GIGABYTE gaming motherboard review, but finally seems to have been cemented with X99.

GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI Overview

There's no such thing as feature overload when it comes to motherboards, but the X99-Gaming G1 WIFI comes close. At times we have remarked certain motherboards for being expensive due to their features and not every owner would use them, but in the case here we can see most if not all being applicable to most users. Features can fall into two bins - passive, such that they work independently of any use, and interactive, such that they require the user. There being plenty of both here:

Passive:

• PowIRStage ICs with Cooper Bussmann chokes
• 30-micron gold socket and DRAM/PCIe slots
• LED lighting for audio path and back panel
• Gold plated audio ports
• AMP-UP with PCB separation
• Double-distance screw mounting holes
• Larger Heatsink Design

Interactive:

• 4-way GPU support
• M.2 SSD
• M.2 WiFi
• Sound Core 3D Audio Codec
• Dual Killer and Intel Network arrangement
• Upgradeable OP-AMP
• DAC-UP USB Ports
• SATA Express
• Software Package
• Q-Flash Plus USB
• 12 USB 3.0 ports (2 PCH headers for 2 each, 8 via Renesas hubs)

We will cover almost all of these throughout the review, but on top of this is support for up to 64GB of 1Rx8 RDIMM modules, ten SATA 6 Gbps ports (two are shared with M.2/SATAe), an onboard CPU overclocking button, a Thunderbolt add-in card header, five fan headers and voltage measurement points for extreme overclockers. All of this is bundled in the E-ATX (305mm x 259mm) form factor.

The BIOS and software packages are similar to those we saw on the GIGABYTE X99-UD7 WIFI we reviewed back at launch, which means plus points for the software but the BIOS is held back a little due to the HD mode being harder to read and gauge. Our issues with audio similar to that on the X99-UD7 WIFI appeared again, although it only seems to affect our quantitative testing software more than quality. The system uses Sound Core 3D rather than Realtek as well.

Performance has a number of plus points over previous X99 motherboards including power consumption and faster POST times. The near 100 microsecond DPC Latency is also a plus point. Due to its lack of MultiCore Turbo on the BIOS we tested, it falls behind at stock on some CPU benchmarks but automatic overclocking to 4.1 GHz makes that relatively painless.

At $340 on Newegg at the time of writing, the Gaming G1 WIFI sits in that $280-$360 mire between the low and high end X99 offerings but it makes a good stand with plenty of onboard features to help prove its position.

Visual Inspection

One of the most obvious features to notice when removing the board from the box is the extended heatsink arrangement around the board. This encompasses a section to the left of the socket, the power delivery, the chipset and another section above the PCIe. For high end motherboards I am a fan of this connected heatsink design as it allows more non-IC airflow focused cooling such liquid cooling.

The board is color coded to red and black with grey DRAM slots. While this is bolstered by the red lighting when switched on, the green and gold of the audio section of the motherboard might detract from the overall look. One suggestion here would be for GIGABYTE to look at adding an audio protective plate to continue the red and black Gaming styling.

Alongside the double empty distance screw holes, the socket area is relatively clean with a fine eye to distinguish where the traces are on the motherboard due to the coating applied. The socket itself, like the DRAM slots and PCIe slots, use a 30-micron gold coating to increase resistance to corrosion and other elements that might befoul the connectors. This is 6x the standard amount of gold applied, and 2x most other manufacturer implementations. The socket area has access to only two headers – the four pin CPU fan header in white at the top right and a 4-pin CPU_OPT near the 24-pin power. The board has three other SYS fan headers at the bottom of the board, also all 4-pin.

The top right of the motherboard houses GIGABYTE’s onboard tools for extreme overclockers:

This is a cut down version from the X99-SOC Force, but we still get a power button, a BIOS selection switch, a dual BIOS enabling switch, a reset button, a clear CMOS button, a Direct To BIOS button, voltage check points and a two-digit debug display. As expected there are no frequency adjustment tools here, as buying the Gaming range tends not to lead towards extreme ‘every MHz counts’ arrangements.

Below this we have a SATA power port for extra power to the VGA slots. This is recommended should a user need 3+ PCIe devices that all require extra power. Next we get ten SATA ports, all from the chipset, with the first six being RAID capable and the following four are not due to PCH limitations. In the middle here is a SATA Express slot which shares bandwidth with the SATA ports within as well as the M.2 slot on the motherboard. This means only one set can be used at a time, but there are capable of RST.

The bottom of the motherboard contains the three aforementioned fan headers as well as two USB 3.0 headers (from the chipset), two USB 2.0 headers, the front panel audio header, the front panel header and a Thunderbolt header.

The audio portion of the motherboard takes the usual AMP-UP styling used on GIGABYTE’s boards with Realtek but this time applied to the Creative Sound Core 3D codec. This means an EM shield for the codec, upgraded filter caps, PCB separation and gold connectors on the rear panel. GIGABYTE has also equipped the board with an upgradeable OP-AMP for users who like to adjust their setup, as well as a Gain Boost switch to implement additional amplification for high impedance headphones.

To the right of the audio in-between the PCIe slots are our M.2 connections, with the WiFi card already preinstalled. The M.2 PCIe SSD slot supports up to PCIe 2.0 x2 from the chipset, with 2242, 2260 and 2280 sized drives.

One of GIGABYTE’s marketing points for the X99-Gaming G1 WIFI is the PCIe layout, and due to additional onboard timing circuitry is using the full 40 PCIe lanes from the motherboard such that:

Here the x16/x16/x8 from the CPU is only split on one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot to give PCIe 3.0 x8/x8. GIGABYTE also arranges their PCIe numbering system slightly differently, such that instead of counting one two then three from the top, GPUs should be placed in the order of the slots labeled one-two-three-four. This gives three-way setups a full x16/x16/x8 layout with a 40 PCIe lane CPU, or x16/x8/x4 with the 28 lane CPU. Users with an i7-5820K and tri-SLI setups will therefore have to use PCIe slots one, two and four to get x8/x8/x8.

The rear panel features the two USB DAC-UP ports in yellow with a combination PS/2 port underneath. Then comes an auto-OC button, a fast boot button and the ClearCMOS button. The eight USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel are derived from the PCH but come through two Renesas hubs. The white port at the bottom is for GIGABYTE’s Q-Flash Plus system to update the BIOS via a USB stick without DRAM, CPU or a PCIe card installed. We also get dual NICs, one from Intel and one from Killer. The audio jacks are gold plated to reduce corrosion, and we also get the 2T2R antenna connections.

Part of the package is also a UV light based rear IO panel which connects to one of the headers. This can be controlled in software to be on, off, pulse, or react to audio.

Board Features

GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI
Price	US (Newegg)
Size	E-ATX (305mm x 259mm)
CPU Interface	LGA2011-3
Chipset	Intel X99
Memory Slots	Eight DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB Support for non-ECC UDIMMs Support for non-ECC RDIMM 1Rx8 Modules Up to Quad Channel, 2133-3000 MHz
Video Outputs	None
Network Connectivity	Intel I218-V Killer E2201
Onboard Audio	Creative Sound Core 3D
Expansion Slots	2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 2 x PCIe 3.0 x8 3 x PCIe 2.0 x1
Onboard Storage	6 x SATA 6 Gbps, RAID 0/1/5/10 4 x S_SATA 6 Gbps, no RAID 1 x SATA Express 1 x M.2 PCIe 2.0 x2
USB 3.0	2 x Onboard Headers (PCH) 8 x Rear Panel Ports (PCH via Renesas Hubs)
Onboard	10 x SATA Ports 1 x SATA Express 1 x M.2 PCIe 2.0 x2 2 x USB 3.0 Headers 2 x USB 2.0 Headers 5 x Fan Headers Power/Reset Buttons Two-Digit Debug BIOS Switches Direct-To-BIOS Button ClearCMOS Button Voltage Measurement Points Audio Gain Switch Replaceable OP-AMP Thunderbolt Header Front Audio Header Front Panel Header
Power Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8-pin CPU 1 x SATA for VGA
Fan Headers	1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x CPU-OPT (4-pin) 3 x SYS (4-pin)
IO Panel	2 x USB 2.0 (with DAC-UP) 8 x USB 3.0 (via Renesas Hubs) Combination PS/2 Port OC Button Fast Boot Button ClearCMOS Button Q-Flash Port (one of the USB 3.0) Intel I218-V Network Port Killer E2201 Network Port Audio Jacks
Warranty Period	3 Years
Product Page	Link

Due to the level of consistency between BIOSes and software packages within the same chipset from the same company, our overview of the X99-Gaming G1 WIFI almost mirrors the one of the X99-UD7 WIFI package that we reviewed during the launch of X99.

GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI BIOS

For X99, several things have changed for the BIOS. The classic mode gets a facelift and moves to a cleaner but blockier interface with a good contrast between text and background. In the HD mode, the text now all fits in the boxes and there is some improvement to adjust the visual differentiation between background and text, but more could still be done. Interactivity is still quite minimal, with classic and HD mode featuring many of the same options slightly rearranged.

The first entry screen is the Startup Guide which is the main recipient of text adjustment, but we also get a few more options to fill up this 3x3 grid.

Most of these are self-explanatory. Fast boot gives options related to Windows 8 such that devices are not initialized until later in the OS boot process, speeding up overall POST time:

The SATA controller option text now all fits nicely into each of its boxes, although due to the dual AHCI controller nature of the chipset and only six SATA ports having access to RAID, it does not help the user much if the drives are plugged in the wrong ports:

Ideally we would see an explanation giving SATA versus sSATA ports on the motherboard used, and what drives are installed where.

The Startup Options allows the user to boot into any of the four modes available. The HD mode does offer a smaller sized version with less information if the monitor is not capable of 1920x1080.

Despite a nice start guide for users, it would help if the initial screen detailed the system, perhaps in the top left. We want to see the name of the motherboard, the BIOS used, the CPU installed, the DRAM installed and frequencies where possible. That way any user trying to debug the system without having access to the insides will be able to see immediately what is at hand.

The standard classic mode gets an update from the blue interface to a sleeker grey and white menu system. The layout is pretty much the same as before, along with the information provided. For example, the entry point offers the model name of the motherboard and the BIOS version, but no mention of the CPU installed.

The overclocking options in the GIGABYTE BIOS are only for manual overclocking, and split into several sub-menus coming from MIT. The Frequency menu allows the user to adjust the CPU and DRAM:

In order to adjust the per-core ratios or the Uncore and C-states, the CPU Core Settings menu is provided:

Note that there are no voltage options in either of these menus. GIGABYTE’s reasoning is that the voltage options are solely for the voltage menu, but I differ. Motherboard manufacturers can place the same option in multiple menus, but often choose not to for reasons of layout or space or to avoid confusion. I do not see that as an issue – if anything, I believe it would enhance the experience especially for an enthusiast wanting to adjust these settings. So while the voltage settings are not duplicated, the DRAM frequency strap is – we see it here in the Advanced Frequency menu and also in the Advanced Memory menu:

It makes no sense to duplicate this option and not others.

In order to adjust sub-timings for the memory, as with previous GIGABYTE motherboards, the memory timing mode must be changed to ‘Manual’ to set a rule for all modules or ‘Advanced Manual’ to set per-module timings.

GIGABYTE has adjusted how the BIOS communicates what each option means to the user in the top right of the screen. I remember one of my contacts at GIGABYTE was writing the initial drafts for these info texts earlier in the year, and remarking that it was no small feat especially after several iterations and then sending it to the translators for other languages and making sure no subtleties were lost.

The Advanced Voltage Setting menu is split into several sub-options.

The Power Settings menu is for voltage protection options, current protection and switch rate adjustment. The most important option though is the Load Line Calibration for the FIVR:

As mentioned in the help text, the top setting will maintain 100% voltage at load to combat the regular voltage drop across the processor as the workload varies.

The Core Voltage menu is where the meat of the CPU voltage options are:

Adjustments to the VRIN (FIVR), VCore and Cache voltages are here, with only absolute values allowed. Other manufacturers offer both offset and absolute choices for these values although I find offset values more applicable for automatic overclocking options.

The fan controls in the classic mode are in the PC Health option from the MIT tab.

While the system has four temperature sensors and five fan headers, the level of fan speed options in the BIOS is very basic.

For anyone not used to a value describing how one variable adjusts with another, the options here might make no sense. The power applied to a fan is a ‘PWM’ number from zero to 255. GIGABYTE’s options allow you to adjust that value based on the temperature, in terms of ‘PWM per ºC’. So a CPU temperature of 50ºC at 2 PWM per ºC will give a value of 100, which means that 100/255 = 39.2% of the full power of the fan is used. To confuse the matter even more, a fan does not respond linearly to power increases, and GIGABYTE does not mention of this value has a base number.

Other manufacturers have the fan controls in the BIOS at a state where they are a lot easier to follow, and GIGABYTE has fallen behind in adapting their controls to a more interactive interface that is easier to understand.

The BIOS Features tab relates to the boot order and fast boot options:

The Peripherals tab involves LED options, enabling onboard controllers and an interesting option relating to KVM switches:

The Chipset tab is for SATA adjustments, with GIGABYTE offering different menus for the sSATA (non-RAID) and SATA (RAID) AHCI controllers:

The rest of the classic BIOS allows for power management and BIOS flashing, with the Save and Exit menu giving boot override possibilities.

The full HD mode uses a similar sort of option arrangement in the middle of the screen with as much information as you can pack into the surrounding edges. Most BIOSes need something like this around the edge to tell the user about the system, although I might suggest that having bars underneath values such as ‘CPU VRIN’ are ultimately not necessary and could be cleaned up. The ideal BIOS is one that displays everything succinctly without wasted space but still visually effective. For example, perhaps graphing the voltage change over time in the BIOS is not particularly helpful.

GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WiFi Software

Similarly to the BIOS, the software has been upgraded over the past 18 months. Easy Tune 6 is out, and the new interface is a sleek color-on-black design. This allows GIGABYTE to alter the color palette depending on what motherboard is being used – blue for Ultra Durable, orange for SOC and yellow/green for gaming. So despite the accents on our X99-Gaming G1 WIFI being red, the software has a default green-on-black style, but this can be adjusted in the preferences.

The base menu system is called APP Center which shows the various ‘apps’ in a scrollable window. The Live Update element on the bar is fixed, while the rest are sorted in alphabetical order. I primarily use EasyTune for overclocking or System Information Viewer for fan controls, and the apps can be moved around to any order.

@BIOS is the interface for updating the BIOS through the operating system. This front screen shows the details of the motherboard (note the 128 Mb BIOS chip), and the tabs on the side allow the BIOS to be updated by directly downloading the BIOS from the server or via a file. The bottom selection, Face-Wizard, allows a user to adjust the POST image on startup.

Ambient LED adjusts the lighting for the rear panel and the heatsink on the motherboard at the same time. In still mode, both lights are on constantly with pulse having the lights phase in and out. Beat mode keeps track of audio coming through the speaker ports on the rear panel and adjusts its intensity based on the music playing. I tried with various artists and the lights to adjust depending on slow and fast music, although during fast music it comes across as very flashy.

USB Blocker allows the administrator to block different types of devices used in the USB ports. GIGABYTE’s main use for this is in an office environment to stop employees using mass storage, or for public machines such as in libraries.

The Cloud Station Server is a relatively new part of GIGABYTE’s software package, allowing for overclocking, remote control, hotspot functionality and adjusting use based on proximity to a Bluetooth device (such that the system hibernates if >10m from a paired Bluetooth phone).

EasyTune is the big one for overclocking, and GIGABYTE offers several tools to help with automatic overclocks. We tested each of these and with a sufficient CPU 4.1 GHz should be a walk in the park. The Auto Tuning aspect also hit 4.1 GHz on our sample.

Manual overclocking can also be performed, and here GIGABYTE allows voltages by offset rather than the absolutes given in the BIOS.

Users can also adjust the phase control and load line calibration in the 3D Power tab.

For users wanting to create RAID arrays using the chipset based solution, EZ Setup provides the tabs:

Ideally I would have liked this software to detect all the devices I have connected and list them, in case they were plugged into the wrong SATA ports for RAID as shown above. This software will also allow users to use an SSD as a cache for a large disk drive.

The Fast Boot application does what it says on the tin, with an extra option to allow users to restart and enter the BIOS directly.

One of the newer tools in GIGABYTE’s arsenal is Game Controller, which allows both macro generation and introduces a ‘Sniper Mode’ for improved mouse accuracy. We have played with the macro generator before, and nothing much has changed – it needs some form of tutorial as well as the ability to adjust and move individual elements of the macro. Currently, if you make a mistake in making the macro, there is no way of adjusting a single element.

The System Information Viewer shows what the system has in it in terms of the processor, motherboard and memory, although the main use of this app is for the fan controls.

The software comes with four general fan settings which are applied to all the fans when selected.

The advanced tab offers a calibration button that tests each fan in the system then the user can use that data to adjust the multi-point graph. That being said, I am unsure why the software does not to the mathematics for the user such that we get a graph of fan speed (RPM) against temperature – it would be really easy to do. GIGABYTE should also consider adding hysteresis to the fan configuration, as this allows the fan to remain at high mode when cooling down in order to speed up the process.

A user can also adjust the system to provide alerts when the temperatures or fans reach a maximum value. Other manufacturers provide similar alert systems, although typically users can select a high and a low value to produce a warning. The Hardware Monitor button here unfortunately did not work in our test system.

The Smart Time Lock feature is a super upgraded version of ASRock’s Online Management Guard but completely shuts down the system when the specified time limit is reached, or the system is in non-use time. This has applications for parents who want to limit the time their children use the computer for non-school activities.

Smart Recovery will take an image of a drive for safe keeping and allow a user to restore he image should the system be compromised. Perhaps not ideal is that the user must install this software in order to restore the image – it would make sense if part of the software was baked into the image so it could self-extract and apply to the system it is run on.

One feature we have not seen before is V-Tuner, which allows for GPU overclocking when applicable graphics cards are used. Here we had a non-GIGABYTE GTX 770 in play and it saw all the information as needed.

The last app for GIGABYTE is its update software. Compared to previous iterations we have tested, this successfully finds software that needs updating and performs the process of uninstalling and reinstalling as required. One issue that needs to be addressed here though is the size of each update needs to be made available to the user before it is selected to download. Otherwise those on slow or limited connections might be stranded with a 600MB update of audio drivers they might decide to postpone for another time.

Edit: We are being told that the latest version of the software does mention the size of the download. Awesome.

GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI In The Box

Gaming motherboards, as we have mentioned repeatedly over the years, have a tough task on their hands. They need to provide an experience in line with the brand philosophy, but also be price sensitive in terms of hardware and bundling. As a gaming motherboard benefits from research into new features it arguably puts pressure on the bundle contents in order to reach a price point. Because the X99.Gaming G1 WIFI has so much in terms of additional features it might be prudent to expect little in the box. However, as this is aimed at the multi-GPU crowd it complements the $340 on Newegg pricing with the following:

• Driver Disk
• Manuals
• Rear IO Shield with built-in LEDs
• Six SATA Cables
• 2T2R WiFi Antenna
• Flexi 2-way Crossfire Bridge
• Flexi 2-way SLI Bridge
• Rigid Short 3-way SLI Bridge
• Rigid Long 3-way SLI Bridge
• Rigid 4-way SLI Bridge
• 1-to-3 Power Cable (2x4 ATX 12V)

The addition of the CrossFire cable is fairly rare in motherboard packages, and is welcome despite AMD's movement away from them. It will still take at least one more generation to remove the need for them completely however.

Many thanks to...

We must thank the following companies for kindly providing hardware for our test bed:

Thank you to OCZ for providing us with PSUs and SSDs.
Thank you to G.Skill for providing us with memory.
Thank you to Corsair for providing us with an AX1200i PSU.
Thank you to MSI for providing us with the NVIDIA GTX 770 Lightning GPUs.
Thank you to Rosewill for providing us with PSUs and RK-9100 keyboards.
Thank you to ASRock for providing us with some IO testing kit.
Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with Nepton 140XL CLCs.

Test Setup

Test Setup
Processor	Intel Core i7-5960X ES 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 3.0 GHz (3.5 GHz Turbo)
Motherboards	GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI
Cooling	Cooler Master Nepton 140XL
Power Supply	OCZ 1250W Gold ZX Series Corsair AX1200i Platinum PSU
Memory	Corsair DDR4-2133 C15 4x8 GB 1.2V G.Skill Ripjaws 4 DDR4-2133 C15 4x8 GB 1.2V
Memory Settings	JEDEC @ 2133
Video Cards	MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB (1150/1202 Boost)
Video Drivers	NVIDIA Drivers 332.21
Hard Drive	OCZ Vertex 3 256GB
Optical Drive	LG GH22NS50
Case	Open Test Bed
Operating System	Windows 7 64-bit SP1
USB 2/3 Testing	OCZ Vertex 3 240GB with SATA->USB Adaptor

 

GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI Overclocking

Experience with GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI

Both the software and the BIOS offers options from 3.7 GHz to 4.1 GHz in 200 MHz increments for our i7-5960X. Compared to some other motherboard offerings, these values should be hit by all CPUs and is somewhat conservative - perhaps a 4.3 GHz option might stoke the fire a little. We also have an energy saving mode (1.2 GHz constant) and an auto-overclock mode that attempts to find the best overclock. This part of the package requires flash, but the process is automated without letting the user define the maximum voltage/temperature or how strenuous the tests have to be.

For manual overclocking we used the BIOS in classic mode, starting at 3.5 GHz and 1.000 volts. Our final result was 4.3 GHz peak with 4.2 GHz under 75ºC during a mixed AVX load. Due to the testing of this motherboard, we were unfortunately between CPUs and only had our limited sample that has trouble hitting 4.4 GHz in any motherboard, so by that measure the X99-Gaming G1 WIFI gave the CPU a good run.

Methodology

Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with PovRay and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.

For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (100ºC+). Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.

Overclock Results

System Performance

Power Consumption

Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single MSI GTX 770 Lightning GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the OCZ 1250W power supply. This power supply is Gold rated, and as I am in the UK on a 230-240 V supply, leads to ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.

While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.

While idle power consumption is not the lowest, peak power consumption under load nudges around the 200W barrier. The power delta between idle and load is 131W, which matches the GIGABYTE X99-UD7 WIFI numbers within a watt.

Windows 7 POST Time

Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows 7 starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.) 

A default POST time under 20 seconds for an X99 motherboard is quite impressive.

USB Backup

For this benchmark, we transfer a set size of files from the SSD to the USB drive using DiskBench, which monitors the time taken to transfer. The files transferred are a 1.52 GB set of 2867 files across 320 folders – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30 second HD videos. In an update to pre-Z87 testing, we also run MaxCPU to load up one of the threads during the test which improves general performance up to 15% by causing all the internal pathways to run at full speed.

USB 3.0 seemed a little slow in our testing compared to some other boards.

DPC Latency

Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.

If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.

The X99-Gaming G1 WIFI nudged the 100 microsecond barrier which is our ideal aim for X99.

CPU Performance

Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives in essence an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, memory subtimings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.

For reference the X99-Gaming G1 WIFI did not use MultiCore Turbo on BIOS F8c that we used.

Point Calculations – 3D Movement Algorithm Test: link

3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz and IPC wins in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores.

Compression – WinRAR 5.0.1: link

Our WinRAR test from 2013 is updated to the latest version of WinRAR at the start of 2014. We compress a set of 2867 files across 320 folders totaling 1.52 GB in size – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30 second 720p videos.

Image Manipulation – FastStone Image Viewer 4.9: link

Similarly to WinRAR, the FastStone test us updated for 2014 to the latest version. FastStone is the program I use to perform quick or bulk actions on images, such as resizing, adjusting for color and cropping. In our test we take a series of 170 images in various sizes and formats and convert them all into 640x480 .gif files, maintaining the aspect ratio. FastStone does not use multithreading for this test, and thus single threaded performance is often the winner.

Video Conversion – Handbrake v0.9.9: link

Handbrake is a media conversion tool that was initially designed to help DVD ISOs and Video CDs into more common video formats. The principle today is still the same, primarily as an output for H.264 + AAC/MP3 audio within an MKV container. In our test we use the same videos as in the Xilisoft test, and results are given in frames per second.

Rendering – PovRay 3.7: link

The Persistence of Vision RayTracer, or PovRay, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 2-3 minutes on high end platforms.

Synthetic – 7-Zip 9.2: link

As an open source compression tool, 7-Zip is a popular tool for making sets of files easier to handle and transfer. The software offers up its own benchmark, to which we report the result.

Gaming Performance

F1 2013

First up is F1 2013 by Codemasters. I am a big Formula 1 fan in my spare time, and nothing makes me happier than carving up the field in a Caterham, waving to the Red Bulls as I drive by (because I play on easy and take shortcuts). F1 2013 uses the EGO Engine, and like other Codemasters games ends up being very playable on old hardware quite easily. In order to beef up the benchmark a bit, we devised the following scenario for the benchmark mode: one lap of Spa-Francorchamps in the heavy wet, the benchmark follows Jenson Button in the McLaren who starts on the grid in 22nd place, with the field made up of 11 Williams cars, 5 Marussia and 5 Caterham in that order. This puts emphasis on the CPU to handle the AI in the wet, and allows for a good amount of overtaking during the automated benchmark. We test at 1920x1080 on Ultra graphical settings.

Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite was Zero Punctuation’s Game of the Year for 2013, uses the Unreal Engine 3, and is designed to scale with both cores and graphical prowess. We test the benchmark using the Adrenaline benchmark tool and the Xtreme (1920x1080, Maximum) performance setting, noting down the average frame rates and the minimum frame rates.

Tomb Raider

The next benchmark in our test is Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is an AMD optimized game, lauded for its use of TressFX creating dynamic hair to increase the immersion in game. Tomb Raider uses a modified version of the Crystal Engine, and enjoys raw horsepower. We test the benchmark using the Adrenaline benchmark tool and the Xtreme (1920x1080, Maximum) performance setting, noting down the average frame rates and the minimum frame rates.

Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs is a benchmarking wet dream – a highly complex benchmark that can bring the toughest setup and high resolutions down into single figures. Having an extreme SSAO setting can do that, but at the right settings Sleeping Dogs is highly playable and enjoyable. We run the basic benchmark program laid out in the Adrenaline benchmark tool, and the Xtreme (1920x1080, Maximum) performance setting, noting down the average frame rates and the minimum frame rates.

Battlefield 4

The EA/DICE series that has taken countless hours of my life away is back for another iteration, using the Frostbite 3 engine. AMD is also piling its resources into BF4 with the new Mantle API for developers, designed to cut the time required for the CPU to dispatch commands to the graphical sub-system. For our test we use the in-game benchmarking tools and record the frame time for the first ~70 seconds of the Tashgar single player mission, which is an on-rails generation of and rendering of objects and textures. We test at 1920x1080 at Ultra settings.

GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI Conclusions

Gaming motherboards are now one of the bigger markets in the industry. OEM and channel models still take the title in terms of numbers, but most of the talk around a brand ends up on the gaming side of the equation in terms of how the company is developing new features or how aggressive they are in pricing. Even if a user ends up buying a B85-HD3, how the X99-Gaming G1 WIFI looks might provide future aspirations and build confidence in the way the brand operates. At least that's the hypothesis behind the marketing, or when it comes to reviewing the range of motherboards on offer. Most motherboard manufacturers prefer websites and media like AnandTech to review the high end models in order to show off their best features in that regard.

The GIGABYTE X99-Gaming G1 WIFI has plenty of features to boast about, including the upgraded power delivery, Sound Core 3D based audio with AMP-UP, full four-way GPU support, M.2 WiFi, dual NICs, DAC-UP USB Power, an upgradeable OP-AMP, SATA Express and twelve USB 3.0 ports. Because a gaming motherboard is all about the experience, we also get enhanced lighting and a rear panel that also bathes itself in a glow. While this isn't a strictly functional addition, the gaming experience is not always geared 100% towards function, as indicated by the PCB and heatsink styling that aims to provide something nice to look at. The integration of GIGABYTE's GPU gaming brand logo helps identify that both business units are working together as well.

Down sides of the package start with a lack of MultiCore Turbo, giving slightly lower stock CPU performance, although any basic overclock does overcome this and one of the positive points from the board includes the auto-overclocking software which worked rather well on our CPU. We were unable to take regular audio benchmarks due to the Sound Core 3D software interfering with the signal, and the BIOS is not as easy on the eyes as one might hope. Other motherboards in this market also use M.2 x4 as a potential upgrade path, which might be preferred over SATA Express.

Plus sides include the low power consumption and the POST times, nudging under 20 seconds by default. The GIGABYTE software is also developing, with the auto overclock and fan-testing evolving over the generations. The App Center interface is easy to get into as well. Some users might consider two NICs as well as WiFi a bit excessive, but it offers a multitude of options depending on the user environment. This inclusion tends to be the par for the course on high end models, and GIGABYTE is embracing the M.2 WiFi standard rather than mini-PCIe which is interesting to see.

At $340 it sits at the higher end of the X99 product stack but aims to be one of GIGABYTE's flagship models. During testing it sailed through with little-to-no issues, and with a few minor adjustments that could come from a minor BIOS or software update (MultiCore Turbo, 4.3 GHz auto overclock option, better BIOS fan controls, HD BIOS that is easier on the eye) it should be highly competitive.