Continued from Part I: Overview. Link: *www.digit.in/forum/reviews/186670-asus-z97-motherboard-review-part-i-overview.html
6. OS Installation, benchmarks:
The OS installation went without any issues.
The power profile was set to high performance mode to prevent power saving states triggering while benchmarks.
Please note that these benchmarks are not an absolute measure of the motherboard performance but a measure of the platform performance. Overclock potential however is a measure of the motherboard quality and performance.
I don't have much to tell here. We will compare scores at stock and overclocked conditions.
Testing methodology: CPU performance and memory performance were tested with well known benchmarking software such that scores can be compared also. Relative performance is shown at stock and overclocked settings and then compared.
Benchmarks(stock performance):
Validation: CPU-Z Validator 4.0
Cinebench R11.5:
*i.imgur.com/1ZDVWBq.jpg
Scores 8.12 points.
Cinebench R15:
*i.imgur.com/nnJjs2d.jpg
755 points there. You can compare scores with other CPUs on the chart.
AIDA CPU Queen:
*i.imgur.com/1PojMuD.png
AIDA CPU Photoworxx:
*i.imgur.com/vQQAeGC.png
AIDA CPU AES:
*i.imgur.com/xTZiYWu.png
AIDA cache and memory benchmark:
*i.imgur.com/KUkZo4Z.png
Super Pi 1.5, 32M:
*i.imgur.com/xfytS2r.jpg
wPrime 1.55, 1024M:
*i.imgur.com/0G2QIDk.jpg
Benchmarks(overclocked performance):
CPU Clock : 4.3 GHz (43*100), Voltage: 1.3V
Memory clock 2400 MHz DDR3 12-13-12-30 1T @ 1.65V
NB Clock : 4.1 GHz
The CPU was an average overclocker with respect to core clock. However, the IMC was very good and it had no issues handling the 1600 MHz RAMs at 2400 MHz with complete stable operation.
Validation: CPU-Z Validator 4.0
Cinebench R11.5:
*i.imgur.com/Wc59rG7.jpg
It scores 9.5 points! Much higher than that at stock. We will do an analysis later.
AIDA CPU Queen:
*i.imgur.com/kvoOqt9.png
AIDA CPU Photoworxx:
*i.imgur.com/CFUrf9a.png
AIDA CPU AES:
*i.imgur.com/6OMimrr.png
AIDA cache and memory benchmark:
*i.imgur.com/h26ERk1.png
Super Pi 1.5, 32M:
*i.imgur.com/dxHdlxW.jpg
wPrime 1.55, 1024M:
*i.imgur.com/RX7bqlb.jpg
Analysis:
Cinebench R11.5: Stock: 8.12, Overclocked: 9.5. Performance gain: 17.00%(approx)
AIDA CPU Queen: Stock: 47373, Overclocked: 54998. Performance gain: 16.10%(approx)
AIDA CPU Photoworxx: Stock: 14462, Overclocked: 19929. Performance gain: 37.80%(approx)
AIDA CPU AES: Stock: 16810, Overclocked: 19537. Performance gain: 16.22%(approx)
For the rest, there is appreciable difference and performance increases proportionately in all the benchmarks.
System performance is very good and especially, the memory bandwidth improved a lot after overclocking the memory and the NB.
7. Bundled software:
The Asus AI Suite III comes with newly designed Graphical User Interface(GUI). Lets check out some screenshots.
*i.imgur.com/zhkXyzx.png
*i.imgur.com/lQr4HuL.png
You can configure overclock settings, fan speeds and Digi+ VRM settings from Windows.
*i.imgur.com/0JTyQ5c.png
*i.imgur.com/kOHAPU8.png
You can set time for system restart, shut down and sleep operations. You can also set alert messages if something goes wrong with the fans and/or temperatures. This can be very useful if you leave your system unattended often.
*i.imgur.com/AJvPubG.png
*i.imgur.com/YKEJFmn.png
There is also a separate software called Turbo LAN. It can be used to tweak network settings.
8. Temperature testing:
There were no thermal issues faced with the system. The CPU temperatures were less than 70 at maximum load at stock settings. Overclocking the CPU led that to be around 80 to 87 degree C. The chipset temperature stayed around 52 degree C.
9. Summary and conclusion:
Pros:
1. Good layout
2. Feature packed- SATA Express, PCIe M.2 support
3. Good quality of components
4. Good cleaning of the board this time
5. Good audio performance(Stereo crosstalk separation was very good)
6. Good performance to price ratio
Cons:
1. Average CPU VRM
2. Traditional DRAM VRM(no Digi+ VRM on DRAM VRM)
3. Minor bugs in the BIOS(can be fixed in a later BIOS revision)
Verdict:
This motherboard is a very good budget friendly Z97 chipset based board from Asus. It has all the major features of a premium range board. Good audio performance, selection of Intel Ethernet IC will impress gamers as well.
Overall, an 8.0 out of 10!
*i.imgur.com/vaVk69G.png
Thanks for reading. Hope you like it. Please share your opinions. Criticisms and suggestions are warmly welcome.
Last but not the least, I would like to express my thanks to Asus India for providing me the sample.
About me:
A 4th year computer science engineering student with a passion to research on computer hardware and getting the best out of a product at a price.
6. OS Installation, benchmarks:
The OS installation went without any issues.
The power profile was set to high performance mode to prevent power saving states triggering while benchmarks.
Please note that these benchmarks are not an absolute measure of the motherboard performance but a measure of the platform performance. Overclock potential however is a measure of the motherboard quality and performance.
I don't have much to tell here. We will compare scores at stock and overclocked conditions.
Testing methodology: CPU performance and memory performance were tested with well known benchmarking software such that scores can be compared also. Relative performance is shown at stock and overclocked settings and then compared.
Benchmarks(stock performance):
Validation: CPU-Z Validator 4.0
Cinebench R11.5:
*i.imgur.com/1ZDVWBq.jpg
Scores 8.12 points.
Cinebench R15:
*i.imgur.com/nnJjs2d.jpg
755 points there. You can compare scores with other CPUs on the chart.
AIDA CPU Queen:
*i.imgur.com/1PojMuD.png
AIDA CPU Photoworxx:
*i.imgur.com/vQQAeGC.png
AIDA CPU AES:
*i.imgur.com/xTZiYWu.png
AIDA cache and memory benchmark:
*i.imgur.com/KUkZo4Z.png
Super Pi 1.5, 32M:
*i.imgur.com/xfytS2r.jpg
wPrime 1.55, 1024M:
*i.imgur.com/0G2QIDk.jpg
Benchmarks(overclocked performance):
CPU Clock : 4.3 GHz (43*100), Voltage: 1.3V
Memory clock 2400 MHz DDR3 12-13-12-30 1T @ 1.65V
NB Clock : 4.1 GHz
The CPU was an average overclocker with respect to core clock. However, the IMC was very good and it had no issues handling the 1600 MHz RAMs at 2400 MHz with complete stable operation.
Validation: CPU-Z Validator 4.0
Cinebench R11.5:
*i.imgur.com/Wc59rG7.jpg
It scores 9.5 points! Much higher than that at stock. We will do an analysis later.
AIDA CPU Queen:
*i.imgur.com/kvoOqt9.png
AIDA CPU Photoworxx:
*i.imgur.com/CFUrf9a.png
AIDA CPU AES:
*i.imgur.com/6OMimrr.png
AIDA cache and memory benchmark:
*i.imgur.com/h26ERk1.png
Super Pi 1.5, 32M:
*i.imgur.com/dxHdlxW.jpg
wPrime 1.55, 1024M:
*i.imgur.com/RX7bqlb.jpg
Analysis:
Cinebench R11.5: Stock: 8.12, Overclocked: 9.5. Performance gain: 17.00%(approx)
AIDA CPU Queen: Stock: 47373, Overclocked: 54998. Performance gain: 16.10%(approx)
AIDA CPU Photoworxx: Stock: 14462, Overclocked: 19929. Performance gain: 37.80%(approx)
AIDA CPU AES: Stock: 16810, Overclocked: 19537. Performance gain: 16.22%(approx)
For the rest, there is appreciable difference and performance increases proportionately in all the benchmarks.
System performance is very good and especially, the memory bandwidth improved a lot after overclocking the memory and the NB.
7. Bundled software:
The Asus AI Suite III comes with newly designed Graphical User Interface(GUI). Lets check out some screenshots.
*i.imgur.com/zhkXyzx.png
*i.imgur.com/lQr4HuL.png
You can configure overclock settings, fan speeds and Digi+ VRM settings from Windows.
*i.imgur.com/0JTyQ5c.png
*i.imgur.com/kOHAPU8.png
You can set time for system restart, shut down and sleep operations. You can also set alert messages if something goes wrong with the fans and/or temperatures. This can be very useful if you leave your system unattended often.
*i.imgur.com/AJvPubG.png
*i.imgur.com/YKEJFmn.png
There is also a separate software called Turbo LAN. It can be used to tweak network settings.
8. Temperature testing:
There were no thermal issues faced with the system. The CPU temperatures were less than 70 at maximum load at stock settings. Overclocking the CPU led that to be around 80 to 87 degree C. The chipset temperature stayed around 52 degree C.
9. Summary and conclusion:
Pros:
1. Good layout
2. Feature packed- SATA Express, PCIe M.2 support
3. Good quality of components
4. Good cleaning of the board this time
5. Good audio performance(Stereo crosstalk separation was very good)
6. Good performance to price ratio
Cons:
1. Average CPU VRM
2. Traditional DRAM VRM(no Digi+ VRM on DRAM VRM)
3. Minor bugs in the BIOS(can be fixed in a later BIOS revision)
Verdict:
This motherboard is a very good budget friendly Z97 chipset based board from Asus. It has all the major features of a premium range board. Good audio performance, selection of Intel Ethernet IC will impress gamers as well.
Overall, an 8.0 out of 10!
*i.imgur.com/vaVk69G.png
Thanks for reading. Hope you like it. Please share your opinions. Criticisms and suggestions are warmly welcome.
Last but not the least, I would like to express my thanks to Asus India for providing me the sample.
About me:
A 4th year computer science engineering student with a passion to research on computer hardware and getting the best out of a product at a price.