In our continuing coverage of the Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H WB we are moving into the performance side of things. Here is where it becomes difficult to differentiate between companies. The problem is that if you are testing Z77 Express based motherboards you are testing very similar platforms. It is only when you start adding in features to the mix that they separate. So the big deal here is how well do these products perform when you throw in all the advertised features (or at least as many as will work at once)? This is what we try to do with our performances testing. In our feature and design review we showed you what the Z77X-UD5H has to offer, and now we will show you how well it performs when you ask it to give you all of that at once.
Value -Value is another very subjective topic. What is expensive to some might be a deal to others. You can look at this topic in multiple ways. One is raw price and the other is what you get for the money. Each is accurate and both are correct ways to look at price/value. We tend to look at features, performance and real-property when we discuss value. However, we also take into account the raw cash cost of the item. At $210 the Z77X-UD5H WiFi is a good value if you simply compare things feature for feature with many other motherboards out there. When you add in the performance we see here, well... you are still getting a good deal, but there are some boards that are right around the same price range that can do better. The good news is that Gigabyte can correct most of the performance problems that we saw with the right BIOS update. If they can get this taken care of then the $210 price tag will not matter.Conclusion -As the Z77X-UD5H is meant to be at the upper end of Gigabyte’s line up we were a little disappointed with some of the performance we saw here. It is a good board, but it really felt a little immature in terms of the features and even the performance tuning. We know that Gigabyte can do much better than what we are seeing here though so we do expect them to correct the performance issues in the next BIOS revision. For right now, the UD5H is a solid product for general and workstation usage, but we just do not see if working as an overclocker’s or enthusiasts’ motherboard. If you are looking for a solid, stable board for your workstation or even a gaming box that you do not plan to overclock then the Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H WiFi is a board you will want to take a look at.Discuss this in our Forum
