We've seen incremental updates to Intel's processor architectures yield small performance benefits in games for the past several generations. However, a great many enthusiasts dislike some of the platform restrictions Intel put in place. For instance, CPUs built around the LGA 1156, 1155, and 1150 interfaces have integrated PCI Express controllers limited to 16 lanes of connectivity. Of course, that's a great way to help minimize latency. But Nvidia's official stance is that those available lanes support a maximum of two GeForce graphics cards. A third would force you to split into x8, x4, and x4 links. So what's a fan of three-way SLI supposed to do?
Stepping up to LGA 2011 gives you access to 40 lanes of third-gen PCIe, but you also have to take an architectural step backwards. Up until Intel launched its Ivy Bridge-E-based chips, you actually had to take two steps back. And beyond higher-priced components, you're talking about using more power and generating more heat, too.

But there's a solution, which isn't particularly new. Used to enable AMD's and Nvidia's fastest dual-GPU graphics cards, PLX Technology's ExpressLane PEX8747 48-lane PCIe 3.0 switch acts a lot like a repeater hub, broadcasting the same data to multiple devices, turning 16 lanes on one end of the switch into 32 lanes on the other, without dividing bandwidth (since CrossFire and SLI require all GPUs to receive identical data).
The usual marketing caveats apply, beginning with PLX calling this a 48-lane switch when, again, it takes 16 lanes on one end and facilitates 32 on the other. Moreover, three- and four-card configurations do cause bandwidth division, cutting dual 16-lane links into eight-lane interfaces. And finally, there’s the slight latency penalty of adding another component, though that seems minor considering both graphics vendors drop the switch onto their GeForce GTX 690 and Radeon HD 7990 without negative consequence.

| LGA 1150 ATX Motherboard Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASRock Z87 Extreme9/ac | Asus Z87-WS | Gigabyte Z87X-UD7 TH | MSI Z87 XPower | |
| PCB Revision | 1.02 | 1.04 | 2.0 | 1.1 |
| Chipset | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express | Intel Z87 Express |
| Voltage Regulator | 12 Phases | Eight Phases | 16 Phases | 32 Phases |
| BIOS | P2.00 (11/27/2013) | 1504 (10/04/2013) | F2 (11/08/2013) | 1.4 (11/27/2013) |
| 100.0 MHz BCLK | 100.00 (+0.00%) | 99.94 (-0.06%) | 99.77 (-0.23%) | 100.01 (+0.01%) |
| I/O Panel Connectors | ||||
| P/S 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| USB 3.0 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| USB 2.0 | 2 | 4 | None | 2 |
| Network | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| CLR_CMOS Button | 1 | None | None | 1 |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Video Out | HDMI, Dual Thunderbolt | Mini DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI, Full DisplayPort | Dual HDMI, Dual Thunderbolt (Three displays) | Dual HDMI, DisplayPort |
| Other Devices | eSATA, DisplayPort In (for pass-through) | Dual eSATA, USB BIOS Flashback | None | Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Module |
| Internal Interfaces | ||||
| PCIe 3.0 x16 | 4 (x16/x0/x16/x0 or x8/x8/x8/x8) | 4 (x16/x0/x16/x0 or x8/x8/x8/x8) | 4 (x16/x0/x16/x0 or x8/x8/x8/x8) | 4 (x16/x0/x16/x0 or x8/x8/x8/x8) |
| PCIe 2.0 x16 | None | None | None | None |
| PCIe 2.0 x1 | 1-standard, 1-Mini (filled) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| USB 3.0 | 2 (4-ports) | 1 (2-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) |
| USB 2.0 | 3 (6-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 10 (shared with eSATA) | 10 (shared with mSATA) | 10 | 10 (shared with mSATA) |
| 4-Pin Fan | 2 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 4 | None | 2 | None |
| FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| S/PDIF I/O | None | Output Only | Both | None |
| Internal Buttons | Power, Reset | MemOK, CLR_CMOS, DirectKey, Power, Reset | Ratio +/-, BCLK +/-, CLK increments, OC Turbo, OC Tag, OC IGN, Power, Reset, CLR_CMOS | Ratio +/-, BCLK +/-, Discharge, OC Genie, Go2BIOS, Power, Reset, CLR_CMOS |
| Internal Switch | Dual BIOS | EPU, TPU | OC Trigger, BIOS Mode, BIOS ROM, Slot Disable | OC mode, CLK increments, BIOS ROM, Slot Disable |
| Diagnostics Panel | Numeric | Dual Numeric | Numeric | Numeric |
| Other Devices | Serial COM port, USB Port | Serial COM port, USB Port, IEEE1394 | Serial COM port | Voltage check pins |
| Mass Storage Controllers | ||||
| Chipset SATA | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s (Total) Shared w/eSATA, mSATA | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s (Total) Shared with 1x mSATA | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s | 6 x SATA 6Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Add-In SATA | 2 x ASM1061 PCIe 4 x SATA 6Gb/s, 1 x eSATA (shared) | 88SE9230 PCIe x2 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ASM1061 PCIe 2 x eSATA | 88SE9230 PCIe x2 4 x SATA 6Gb/s | 2 x ASM1061 PCIe 4 x SATA 6Gb/s, |
| USB 3.0 | 2 x ASM1074 Hub 8 x USB 3.0 Ports | ASM1074 Hub 4 x USB 3.0 Ports | 2 x PD720210 Hub (8-ports) | 2 x ASM1074 Hub 8 x USB 3.0 Ports |
| Networking | ||||
| Primary LAN | WGI217V PHY | WGI210AT PCIe | WGI217V PHY | Killer E2205 PCIe |
| Secondary LAN | WGI211AT PCIe | WGI210AT PCIe | WGI210AT PCIe | None |
| Wi-Fi | BCM4352 PCIe 802.11ac Dual-Band (2x2; 867 Mb/s) | None | Intel 7260 PCIe 802.11ac Dual-Band (2x2; 867 Mb/s) | Intel 2230 PCIe 802.11n Single-Band (2x2; 300 Mb/s) |
| Bluetooth | By 802.11ac Combo | None | By 802.11ac Combo | By 802.11n Combo |
| Audio | ||||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC1150 | ALC1150 | ALC898 | ALC1150 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | DTS Connect | DTS Connect | None | None |
| Warranty | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years |
Three of the above boards have a fifth PCIe x16 slot, but they're all limited to four x16 cards. Located between the first and third x16 slots, the fifth x16 interface is wired directly to the CPU, bypassing the PEX8747 bridge. Anyone not interested in three- or four-way SLI would be better off buying a less expensive motherboard without the PLX switch, so the folks in the market for these platforms can just go ahead pretending the extra slot isn't even there.
Two of the boards in today’s test offer Intel’s Thunderbolt technology, which pairs DisplayPort graphics and PCIe in a single serial signal. Compatible devices eat into both cable bandwidth and the Z87 Express chipset’s eight PCIe 2.0 lanes however, requiring ASRock and Gigabyte to add yet another PLX bridge, the four-lane PEX8605. Adding storage devices to the mini-DisplayPort connectors forces displays down from 4K-capable to a maximum of 2560x1600, while on-board devices and PCIe x1 slots are similarly made to share bandwidth over the PEX8605.
ASRock hides its two Thunderbolt interfaces under four USB 3.0 ports, maintaining enough room to stick a CLR_CMOS button next to one of them as well. The full-sized DisplayPort connector passes an external signal through to a Thunderbolt port; the HDMI connector can be used for another display.
Both GbE ports interface with Intel controllers to support teaming mode, and ASRock also adds Broadcom’s 802.11ac-capable mini-PCIe card for wireless networking. Those are features that could make the Z87 Extreme9/ac perfect in an enthusiast's principal workstation. We only seem to be missing antenna connectors on the rear I/O panel...

Instead, we get a plastic-faced 5.25” adapter tray, which replaces the firm’s familiar 3.5” USB 3.0 bay adapter, to host internal wireless antennas in addition to a pair of USB 3.0 ports. The bay adapter we knew so well could take a 2.5” SSD internally. In this version, it's able to accept a pair of solid-state drives. But if you want to swap out the internal antennas for high-gain or directional alternatives, you'll have to find yourself a slot adapter for the back of the board. This shouldn't be an issue unless you're fighting for more range.
The second x16 slot is wired directly to the CPU; using it bypasses the PEX8747 PCIe 3.0 bridge and all four corresponding x16-length slots. Though we see four dual-lane pathway switches beneath that slot, ASRock tells us that there's no way to go CPU-direct for x8 and x8 two-way configurations. If you want to use two cards, you instead need to go x16 and x16 using PLX Technology's switch, and slots one and four. The company's bundled SLI bridge supports that spacing arrangement.
Other layout features include a second eight-pin EPS12V connector to feed extra current to the 12-phase voltage regulator (if desired), a second front-panel USB 3.0 header behind the first header at the front edge for easy four-port front-panel configuration, an extra four forward-facing SATA 6Gb/s ports (totaling 10), a second replaceable BIOS I/C, and an extra USB 2.0 port that fits external drives.
Other than the lack of external Wi-Fi antenna connectors, the only insurmountable layout problem is a front-panel audio header that’s a little too far back in the bottom-rear corner to fit the short cables of some cases.

My assumption when I started writing this story was that once the pieces were in place to support three-way SLI, accommodating four cards should be easy. ASRock's Z87 Extreme9/ac doesn’t include a four-way SLI bridge however, instead requiring you to connect the first card to the second, the third to the fourth, and the fourth to the second using separate bridges. This arrangement is illustrated in the company's user manual.
What you do get is a three-way SLI bridge, ten internal SATA cables, and the previously-mentioned bay adapter, which includes two front-panel USB 3.0 ports, an internal Wi-Fi antenna, and support for up to two 2.5” SSDs.
ASRock includes a variety of freeware and trial software on its installation CD, in addition to ODM-supplied and its own branded applications. These include XFast USB by FNet, XFast LAN packet prioritization by cFos, Restart to UEFI, and various freeware and shareware discussed in a previous review. Realtek’s DTS-enabled audio control interface replaces the non-DTS-enabled Creative software found in some of the firm’s other high-end boards.
We were able to confirm much of ASRock’s OC Tweaker functions through CPU-Z and DIMM slot measurements. The program’s limits are tied to motherboard hardware limits, which are fairly consistent for ASRock’s full-sized enthusiast-grade motherboards.


ASRock A-Tuning also has an automatic overclocking algorithm with a built-in stability test. It pushed our Core i7-4770K to 4.30 GHz at 1.20 V, which is a perfectly acceptable target for this heat-constricted CPU. Our tests at 1.25 V generally yield a limit of around 4.6 GHz.

The Thunderbolt device manager is new to the Z87 Extreme9/ac, and accurately shows that I have no Thunderbolt devices to connect. Fortunately, our storage editors handle those details, and the hardware on this board is consistent with previously-tested configurations.
The Z87 Extreme9/ac OC Tweaker menu leads with a list of factory-configured overclocking presets from 4.0 to 4.8 GHz, but most of those require too much voltage to run for more than a few seconds on our CPU before thermal throttling kicks in and knocks it back down. Next on the menu are CPU ratio and BCLK settings for manual O/C configuration.

The motherboard properly detects this memory’s DDR3-3000 XMP profile and Haswell’s DDR3-2933 memory controller limit, choosing that ratio and increasing the base clock to 102.3 MHz to compensate.

Everyone major motherboard company has figured out ways to override the CPU’s integrated voltage control. The 1.235 V setting produces a nominal voltage of 1.25 V on the Z87 Exteme9/ac, and load compensation pushes it a little past 1.26 V. Even if a company were to figure out a way to fool the volt meter, full-load temperatures would be a dead giveaway.

All major manufacturers also cheat on DIMM voltage, pushing 10% or more past the set limits to allow a higher overclock at a setting users believe is safe. Our volt meter showed an actual 1.65 to 1.655 V when using the motherboard’s 1.635 V setting.

Primary, secondary, and tertiary memory timings are adjustable over a wide margin to allow super-high memory overclocks.

The Tools menu shows an image of detected components (System Browser), allows flashing firmware from the UEFI GUI (Instant Flash), and stores up to three O/C configurations as user profiles.
Asus understands that a user paying for the PEX8747 bridge will probably use it, and smartly leaves out the fifth slot that would have stolen the bridge’s lanes. The Z87-WS also lacks Thunderbolt, allowing Asus to remove two controllers (the Thunderbolt controller and PLX Technology's PCIe 2.0 bridge) compared to several of its competitors. Buyers who don't need those features are rewarded with a $45 price reduction compared to ASRock's board on the previous pages.
Also missing from this reduced-price model are a couple of USB 3.0 hubs, which means that more of the remaining ports get full bandwidth. On the plus side are two eSATA ports with their own controller, two additional USB 2.0 ports on the I/O panel, and no reason to complain about any missing antenna connectors.
What appears to be a CLR_CMOS button is actually used for an Asus-exclusive feature called USB BIOS Flashback. A custom IC allows the board to update its firmware from a thumb drive with nothing more than a power supply attached. This is particularly useful when pairing motherboards that've been sitting in inventory a while with brand new CPUs, since the old BIOS often doesn't recognize the new CPU. I recently watched a technician use the feature to recover from a bad flash, as I listened to his call with Asus tech support.
The extra four internal SATA 6Gb/s ports (for a total of ten) are fed by a two-lane PCIe-based controller for added bandwidth compared to ASRock's board, which helps fulfill the Z87-WS’s “workstation” theme. Asus expects this board to be fully loaded with devices. The only sharing necessary is for mSATA, which disables one of the port connectors when it's populated.
Layout highlights include a secondary EPS12V input to support additional CPU current when overclocking, a second status indicator panel to further aid diagnostics, an internally-mounted external USB 2.0 port for ReadyBoost fanatics, a front-panel IEEE-1394 header for users of old scanners and digital cameras, and a front-panel audio header that’s been moved approximately one inch forward from its traditional rear-corner location. Asus appears to understand that the cables of many cases are too short to reach the corner, and compensates accordingly. Bravo!
The company is also fairly proud of the way it supports end users, and likes to remind us about its MemOK memory underclocking button (to assist re-configuration), DirectKey button (to boot directly to UEFI), EPU mode switch to allow auto-underclocking for energy savings, and TPU mode switch that enables a slight (ratio-based) to moderate (ratio- and BCLK-based) overclock for enhanced performance.

In addition to its ten SATA 6Gb/s cables and four-, three-, and two-way SLI bridges, the Z87-WS includes breakout plates for nine-pin serial port, USB 2.0, and IEEE1394 FireWire.
Asus’ standard applications suite includes Digi+ voltage regulator modes, AI Charger+ USB charging booster, EZ Update software updater, EPU energy-saving underclocking profiles, Fan Xpert2 enhanced fan control, USB 3.0 Boost for UASP and USB Turbo modes, Boot Setting reboot to firmware GUI, Network iControl packet prioritization, “Wi-Fi Go!” launching point for wireless networking and AP-mode controls, and TurboV Evo software-based overclocking. The easiest way to get a list of applications included in Asus AI Suite is from its Uninstall menu. Most of these applications must be installed jointly but can be uninstalled separately if desired.

Google and Norton applications are installed with drivers and must be manually de-selected from the Asus InstAll to avoid later annoyances.
The TPU submenu of AI Suite’s Dual Intelligent Processors 4 menu provides Windows-level access to most of the overclocking controls found in the UEFI. These include CPU ratio and base clock controls, as well as voltage levels for most DRAM, chipset, and CPU interfaces.

There are also four ways to set automatic overclocking: as “Ratio Only” or “BCLK-First”, and as “Fast Tuning” or “Extreme Tuning”. These automatic overclocking techniques are also carried into software from the firmware side, where on-board switches provide similar functionality.

In “Fast Tuning” mode, ratio-first overclocking gets us to 4.3 GHz at 1.185-1.240 V. That completely realistic overclock is destroyed when ratio-first is set to “Extreme Tuning” mode, as the increase to 1.36 V causes instantaneous thermal throttling. Forget the shown 4.90 GHz; you’ll only see it at idle.

“Fast Tuning” in “BCLK-First” mode gives us 4.25 GHz at 125 MHz BCLK and a fixed 1.175 V. That’s perfectly stable, even on air cooling.


“Extreme Tuning” in “BCLK-First” mode pushes 4.8 GHz at 1.275 V, but our full-load test crashes so hard the motherboard can't recover on its own. We had to discharge the board and use its CLR_CMOS button to restore functionality.
Asus’ UEFI includes a custom-configurable start page with XMP and fan settings, called Easy Mode. But if you really want to make changes easily, you'll instead set the boot options to kick you into the “Advanced Mode”.

Enabling XMP in Advanced mode means choosing XMP as an overclocking baseline, and making additional adjustments from there. The Ai Tweaker menu starts off with that setting, strap ratios for BCLK overclocking, and eventually BCLK frequency.

Further down the Ai Tweaker menu are CPU multiplier, DRAM frequency, and DRAM timing controls.

We’re three pages down the list before we reach CPU voltage controls, but are instantly made happy by one of our findings. While most enthusiast-class motherboards purposely add somewhere around 10% to both set and reported voltage, the Z87-WS gives us 1.25 V at its 1.25-volt setting.

DIMM voltage, on the other hand, turns up the same old tricks we've been observing for a while now from many board vendors. In order to achieve the best memory stability, Asus' Z87-WS adds around 30 to 35 millivolts to our chosen setting. Test consistency and accuracy demands that we choose 1.62 V to achieve the proper 1.65 volts.

Three pages of DRAM settings cover the expected range of primary, secondary, and tertiary options, along with a few additional wave form controls.
Default settings for the Digi+ Power menu provided our hardware with excellent voltage stability.

Gigabyte attempts a features coup with its Z87X-UD7 TH, beginning with the Thunderbolt headers found on ASRock’s sample and continuing into the two-lane RAID controller supported by Asus. We also find the pair of USB 3.0 hubs used by ASRock, along with the two I/O panel and two front-panel ports those hubs supply.
Gigabyte ups its Wi-Fi ante with a $55 dual-band 802.11ac / Bluetooth module manufactured by Intel. Supporting 867 Mb/s transfer rates, the module rests upon a PCIe 2.0 x1 expansion card.

It turned out that the U.S. had a brief exclusive with the board at a lower-than-expected price. After its recent worldwide launch, pricing info looks a lot more realistic. Today, Newegg lists the Z87X-UD7 TH for sale at $430.
Further inspection proves that the Z87X-UD7 TH looks the part of a $430 motherboard. In addition to the expensive PCIe 3.0 switch needed to make three- and four-way SLI work, the motherboard-down RAID controller, the Thunderbolt controller needed to pipe data across the mini-DisplayPort connector, and the PCIe 2.0 switch needed to give Thunderbolt devices their connectivity without disabling other on-board devices, we also find a 16-phase voltage regulator. Oh, and about Thunderbolt: this is the first board from Gigabyte to be Thunderbolt 2-certified, combining both 10 Gb/s channels into a single 20 Gb/s channel.

Anyone who thinks they might be able to push the limits of that 16-phase voltage regulator also knows that they’re going to make a lot of heat. Gigabyte equips the Z87X-UD7 TH voltage regulator with both a fan and a liquid-cooling channel.

Buttons at the front of the board control both base clock and multiplier ratios through a background application, which is perfect for tuners who don't want to reboot or open up another GUI while making adjustements. Other buttons control base clock increment size (0.1 or 1 MHz), enable a pre-configured overclock setting, and save current settings with a tag after resetting BIOS. Yet another button sets the system to retain component power after shut down…which would be perfect if the firm would introduce a DDR3-based version of its i-RAM.
A few things are imperfect though, including a front-panel audio header that’s around 0.5” too far into the rear corner for the cables of some cases to reach, a second front-panel USB 3.0 header that’s sure to be blocked by a fourth graphics card, and the problem that the third graphics card covers up the last PCIe x1 slot. If you do use three or more double-slot graphics cards, you'll be forced to give up the valuable Intel 802.11ac/Bluetooth combo card.

If we were to give up the Wi-Fi card for the sake of three- and four-way SLI, the Z87X-UD7 TH would still look like a fairly solid sub-$400 board. It still includes two-, three-, and four-way SLI bridges, a CrossFire bridge, a 3.5” bay adapter for front-panel USB 3.0, and six SATA cables.
Gigabyte’s software remains consistent from previous reviews, though the Z87X-UD7 TH also includes Creative’s X-Fi MB3 application. Tuning software also remains the same, though limits are motherboard-specific.

We still get the pre-configured overclocks of 4.1 GHz at stock voltage to 4.5 GHz at 1.30 volts.Custom settings are easier to read after we crop out the items that aren't configurable.

BCLK can be adjusted up to 266.66 MHz, DRAM data rates to 2933 MHz, CPU multiplier to 64x, and CPU Vcore to 2.0 V, just like in firmware. We were able to confirm several of these settings functional through CPU-Z and a volt meter.

Automatic tuning pushed our CPU to 4.60 GHz at 1.545 V, causing instantaneous thermal throttling under load. Worse still, it also set our DDR3-3000 memory’s XMP profile without regard to the motherboard’s incapability to run it past DDR3-2800 at 1.65 volts. We got this screen shot only after replacing the DDR3-3000 with some DDR3-2200.
Gigabyte’s UEFI opens to a high-resolution home page with system status bars on both sides and firmware information at the bottom. Frequently-adjusted settings are found in its customizable home menu.

A press of the F6 switch toggles to low-resolution mode, where we can more easily show actual settings. The frequency tab of the Performance menu, for example, begins with automatic overclock presets in 20% intervals, for which anything over 20% is unrealistic given our Haswell-based CPU's heat problems.

Also adjustable above are base clock and clock strap (for high BCLK frequencies), integrated GPU and CPU ratios, and DRAM ratios.


The “Advanced CPU Core Settings” menu offers Turbo Boost, integrated power savings, and power limit controls.

The “Memory” tab has redundant XMP and manual multiplier controls, where we are forced to reduce our DDR3-3000 from its correct 29.33x ratio to 28x in order to reach the board’s maximum stable frequency. Changing “Memory Timing” mode to “Manual” enables combined timing manipulation, while “Advanced Manual” configuration has per-channel timings.

Primary, secondary, and tertiary memory timings are adjustable over a wide range to provide the ultimate stability for custom DRAM overclocking.

The “Voltage” tab is nothing more than a launching point for various submenus that could have easily been combined into a single menu.


Our CPU reached 1.25 V at the motherboard’s 1.235 V settting, and our DRAM reached 1.65 V at its 1.625 V setting.
MSI has no trouble with crowded components, spreading its Z87 XPower to an XL-ATX size that could have potentially supported up to nine expansion slots. It omits the top two slot connectors, though, to make more room around the CPU socket. With the same slot layout as competing samples from ASRock and Gigabyte, we have to ask: what does all that space provide?
The I/O panel has eight USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, yet it’s no larger than standard, and at least one competitor matches that array of connectivity with an ATX-sized board. CPU-based graphics connectors include two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort connector, but without the additional Thunderbolt controller offered by two competitors. Gigabit Ethernet also gets kicked down to a single port and controller, and there is a noticeable gap above the CLR_CMOS button.

That gap gets filled with the same 802.11n single-band Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module seen in our Z87 MPower review, which is less valuable than the dual-band 802.11ac card installed on ASRock’s sample. On the other hand, it resolves the slot issue faced by Gigabyte in three- and four-way SLI configurations. Also important is that it doesn’t require the use of a 5.25” bay for its antennas.

MSI includes overclocking control buttons for CPU ratio and BCLK, along with a power discharge button for CLR_CMOS, an auto-OC button, a power button, and a collection of voltage detection pins at the front edge. But those additions cause the board to be wider from front to back, not from top to bottom, and are matched by Gigabyte’s ATX-sized sample.
A look at the top shows what this motherboard's layout includes. Part of the PCB is consumed by an mSATA slot, but that’s not where the Z87 XPower was stretched. Heat sinks fill most of the area that MSI expanded, but the 32-phase voltage regulator covered by two of those sinks is the hidden prize. Fed by two eight-pin EPS12V connectors, that voltage regulator should be able to put out enough current for serious overclocking attempts. It's only a shame that Intel's Haswell-based processors don't appear very scalable on air or water cooling. While we might question the usefulness of such a large voltage regulator, the extra space it consumes also enables owners of 10-slot cases to fill them up with an appropriately-sized motherboard without any extra space at the bottom.
Can we assume that any manufacturer specialized enough to offer nine- and 10-slot enclosures would also be wise enough to make their front-panel audio cables long enough to reach the bottom-rear corner of a motherboard? MSI doesn’t leave this chance, moving its front-panel audio connector just to be safe. The remaining layout is good as well, including ten forward-facing SATA 6Gb/s connectors that are fed by a combination of the chipset’s controller and two PCIe x1 dual-port controllers.

Vacant slot positions at the top of the board should be filled with something, so MSI includes a two-port USB 3.0 breakout plate for one of the Z87 XPower’s two front-panel headers. Buyers also get two wireless antennas, six SATA cables, and three flexible SLI bridges that can be used for four-way SLI by connecting the first card to the second, the third card to the fourth, and the fourth back to the second. Because they’re flexible, three-way SLI is also supported by connecting cards one to two, cards two to three, and cards three to one (cross-ways).
Though MSI relies primarily on on-board buttons (Direct OC control) and its co-branded Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) for on-the-fly overclocking, it still has a more basic utility that’s able to address MSI-specific functions. It even gets a CPU Core Voltage knob this time, though that control was already available in XTU.


OC Genie can be set by either firmware or software, and the software version responds to the on-board button. We were happy to find a super-efficient 4.0 GHz fixed overclock at a lower-than-stock 1.10 V fixed voltage, though we actually had to change memory to get there. OC Genie automatically set our memory’s XMP-3000 profile, but the board couldn’t push this RAM past DDR3-2965.

The Killer E2205 GbE controller also gets a new management interface, with a handy pie chart for traffic analysis. Packet prioritization is a top feature here, as expected from a firm famed for its low response times.
MSI still relies on its tried-and-true firmware GUI with oversized clock and buttons to offset smaller-font settings, but at least that font can be read after shrinking screenshots to fit this Web page. Its OC menu starts off with CPU base clock and quickly progresses to CPU and DRAM ratios.

Voltage settings are further down the menu. We were able to run our Core i7-4770K at 4.60 GHz without thermal throttling by using the board’s 1.230 V setting to reach an actual 1.25 V.


DRAM similarly reached 1.65 V at the board’s 1.63 V setting, though it could only push our DDR3-3000 kit to a 2965 MT/s data rate at full stability. DDR3-3000 mode wasn’t even bootable, though the Z87 XPower did recognize the CPU’s maximum multiplier and choose the appropriate 102.3 MHz base clock to reach its full rating.

Primary, secondary, and tertiary memory timings are all adjustable, as is on-die termination.
MSI’s DRAM Training menu lets you change the way the memory controller interacts with memory modules. MSI hasn’t written a tutorial, but there is a possibility that a few tweaks here might have gotten our modules over the hump to their rated 3000 MT/s data rate.

The DigitALL Power submenu provides many voltage offset and droop compensation controls, none of which needed to be altered for our air-cooled tests. Extreme overclockers will probably find this menu most useful.

Other related menus include a visual map of detected component locations, several pages of SPD and XMP timing detection reports, a page to store up to eight overclocking configurations as user profiles, and even a manually-adjustable fan ramp map.
| Test System Configuration | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4770K (Haswell): 3.5-3.9 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, LGA 1150 |
| CPU Cooler | Thermalright MUX-120 w/Zalman ZM-STG1 Paste |
| RAM | G.Skill F3-17600CL9D-8GBXLD (8 GB) at DDR3-1600 C9 Defaults G.Skill F3-3000C12D-8GTXDG (8 GB) at XMP-3000 C12 Timings |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon HD 7970 3 GB: 925 MHz GPU, GDDR5-5500 |
| Hard Drive | Samsung 840 Series MZ-7PD256, 256 GB SSD |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | Corsair AX860i: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Platinum |
| Software | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 8 Professional RTM x64 |
| Graphics | AMD Catalyst 13.4 |
| Chipset | Intel INF 9.4.0.1017 |
Thermalright’s classic MUX-120 remains competitive with our recent review of high-end heat sinks, even when using its original clip-on mounting system. It’s that easy-to-mount mechanism that wins me over in motherboard round-ups, and the good performance points to a good design.

Alternatively, we can point to problems with the Core i7's heat spreader as a reason why larger coolers couldn’t give us significantly better thermal performance in that review.

G.Skill’s F3-17600CL9D-8GBXLD is the only memory kit in our lab that defaults to our DDR3-1600 CAS 9 test standard. Faster RAM always uses slower defaults, and slower RAM requires XMP to get there. The problem is that some boards automatically enable other overclocking features when XMP is enabled. Consistency rules these tests.

We replaced the slower memory with G.Skill’s DDR3-3000 kit for our overclocking stability tests.

Corsair sent its 80 PLUS Plantinum-rated AX860i for our benchmark needs, citing enhanced support of Haswell's C7 state.
| Benchmark Settings | |
|---|---|
| Adobe Creative Suite | |
| Adobe After Effects CS6 | Version 11.0.0.378 x64: Create Video which includes Three Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly |
| Adobe Photoshop CS6 | Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Adobe Premeire Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes | Version 11.0.4.4 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
| LAME MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.99: Video from Canon Eos 7D (1920x1080, 25 FPS) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
| TotalCode Studio 2.5 | Version: 2.5.0.10677: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
| Productivity | |
| ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.95: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
| Adobe Acrobat 11 | Version 11.0.0.379: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 | Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2013 | Version 15.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
| Blender | Version: 2.67b, Cycles Engine, Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, 1920x1080, 8x Anti-Aliasing, Render THG.blend frame 1 |
| Visual Studio 2010 | Version 10.0, Compile Google Chrome, Scripted |
| File Compression | |
| WinZip | Version 17.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
| WinRAR | Version 4.2: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.28: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark 11 | Version: 1.0.1.0, Benchmark Only |
| PCMark 8 | Version: 1.0.0 x64, Full Test |
| SiSoftware Sandra | Version Version 2013.01.19.11, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Cryptography, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
Intel has integrated so much hardware into its CPU and PCH that we’re now left with essentially the same performance between all boards, unless something is configured incorrectly. Some manufacturers even sneak in an overclock just to win our performance benchmarks (though we're pretty quick to catch those attempts). Essentially, we’re only looking for broken stuff and/or cheating.


Minor differences between consecutive runs account for the miniscule variance between Z87-based motherboards in this round-up. So far, so good!
Sandra’s CPU benchmarks also show all four motherboards essentially on-par, though its memory test shows the Z87X-UD7 TH slightly behind. With so few other optimizations to choose from, memory optimization has become the “secret sauce” of motherboard makers concerning LGA 1150 performance and memory overclocking.



That slight difference at least gives us something to look for in our real-world benchmark set, which begins on this comparison’s next page.
MSI’s Z87 XPower comes up a second behind the pack in both iTunes and LAME, even after we double-check for rounding errors in iTunes. The actual performance difference is miniscule, and these are the only two applications in our benchmark suite where this occurs.


We were looking for applications where the Z87X-UD7 TH’s slightly slower memory performance might hamper real-world performance, and might have found one in HandBrake. The difference is still too tiny for most users to perceive in real-world use, however.


The Z87X-UD7 TH gains a second in After Effects, but then loses it in the test of OpenCL-based Photoshop filters. All four boards perform almost identically on average.




Still looking for any real-world indicators of the Z87X-UD7 TH’s slightly lower memory bandwidth result, we find Gigabyte's board slightly behind in both 3ds Max and Visual Studio 2010. The same motherboard’s good performance in Blender, along with a competitor’s stumble in ABBY FineReader, still lead us towards essentially comparable overall performance.




No difference in file compression performance indicates that none of these motherboards has a configuration issue or is secretly overclocked. Boring charts make for an easier feature-based analysis.



Packed with add-on SATA controllers, USB hubs, and a heafty PEX 8747 PCIe bridge, we expected all of these boards to consume more power than those reviewed in our mini-ITX round-up. From a competitive standpoint, the Z87X-UD7 TH’s high idle energy use is a little disconcerting.

MSI’s huge voltage regulator runs coolly under the low load of a non-overclocked CPU. Lower CPU temperatures may also be the result of smoother current that can come from all those extra phases.

A couple pages into the benchmarks, I anticipated that Gigabyte’s lower synthetic memory score would have little to no effect on its overall performance. Indeed, it’s dead center of a very tight pack. However, poor idle power consumption triggers a loss in this efficiency comparison.

| BIOS Frequency and Voltage settings (for overclocking) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASRock Z87 Extreme9/ac | Asus Z87-WS | Gigabyte Z87X-UD7 TH | MSI Z87 XPower | |
| Base Clock | 90-300 MHz (0.1 MHz) | 80-300 MHz (0.1 MHz) | 80-267 MHz (0.01 MHz) | 90-300 MHz (0.06 MHz) |
| CPU Multiplier | 8.0-120x (1x) | 8.0-80x (1x) | 8-80x (1x) | 8-80x (1x) |
| DRAM Data Rates | 800-4000 (200/266.6 MHz) | 800-3200 (200/266.6 MHz) | 800-2933 (200/266.6 MHz) | 800-3200 (200/266.6 MHz) |
| CPU Vcore | 0.80-2.00 V (1 mV) | 0.001-1.92 V (1 mV) | 0.50-1.80 V (1 mV) | 0.80-2.10V (1 mV) |
| VCCIN | 1.20-2.30 V (10 mV) | 0.80-2.70 V (10 mV) | 1.00-2.91V (10 mV) | 1.20-2.30 V (1 mV) |
| PCH Voltage | 0.98-1.32 V (5 mV) | 0.70-1.80 V (6.25 mV) | 0.65-1.30 V (5 mV) | 0.70-1.80 V (10 mV) |
| DRAM Voltage | 1.17-1.80 V (5 mV) | 1.2-1.92 V (5 mV) | 1.15-2.10 V (5 mV) | 1.20-2.40 V (10 mV) |
| CAS Latency | 4-15 Cycles | 1-31 Cycles | 5-15 Cycles | 4-15 Cycles |
| tRCD | 3-20 Cycles | 1-31 Cycles | 4-31 Cycles | 4-31 Cycles |
| tRP | 4-15 Cycles | 1-31 Cycles | 4-31 Cycles | 4-31 Cycles |
| tRAS | 9-63 Cycles | 1-63 Cycles | 5-63 Cycles | 9-63 Cycles |
Some manufacturers happen upon their overclocking victories by tampering with set voltage levels, sneaking in 20 to 30 millivolts more than you specify. But we usually catch that, either by voltmeter or by CPU temperature (often both). We weren’t surprised that three of the boards hit exactly the same overclock, and only one of these allowed us to bump up base clock by a measly 1 MHz at 46x.

Speaking of base clock, the most significant setting for users with multiplier-locked processors is at the 100 MHz strap. That’s because both ratio adjustment and base clock strap are locked out of those same CPUs. Certain manufacturers have ways to boost base clock overclocking capability, included reductions in System Agent/Cache and integrated GPU ratios. We left those settings to the manufacture to choose, and Asus surprised us with a 114 MHz BCLK.

ASRock and Gigabyte experienced the same phenomena seen by EVGA in our mini-ITX motherboard round-up, where increased base clock caused the PCIe graphics card to malfunction. I’m starting to wonder if it’s a problem with Intel’s latest base firmware, which companies can modify to suit their board’s configuration differences.

We used our voltmeter to set 1.650 to 1.655 volts to the memory
What can be said of price-to-performance that hasn’t already been stated? It certainly doesn’t account for added features, and the board that has the fewest features also has the lowest price. I might like that Asus’ Z87-WS isn’t packed with stuff I don’t need, personally, but you might need those things.

What does ARock’s Z87 Extreme9/ac give you for an extra $45? How about Thunderbolt, complete with the added four-lane PCIe switch needed to make the on-board devices and slots work after four of the PCH's lanes are devoted to the technology. The 802.11ac module is worth nearly as much as the price difference, though Asus would probably point out workstation-oriented features like the mid-range 88SE9230 add-on SATA 6Gb/s controller, the lack of sharing between those ports and eSATA, and the USB BIOS Flashback feature that I finally saw required and implemented in a real-world scenario.
Rather than try choosing between two compelling platforms, both receive our Approved recognition. It's up to you to decide which feature set best fits your needs.


Gigabyte’s Z87X-UD7 TH sets the top of this comparison scale for price at $430, but also has the most features. Typically, coming to the table with the most features without any noteworthy flaws, price aside, qualifies a product for our most prestigious Elite award. As it turns out, though, this platform is competing in a comparison of motherboards with three- and four-way SLI support. When you utilize its full feature set, dropping in a trio or quartet of graphics cards, its last PCI Express x1 slot is covered, preventing the use of Gigabyte's bundled 802.11ac/Bluetooth combo card. Great overclocking, a pair of quiet fans for voltage regulation and chipset components, a liquid cooling channel on the voltage regulator, and even the lauded Thunderbolt 2 controller can't distract me from that flaw. It's not minor, either. The high-end Wi-Fi card that three-way SLI builds lose is worth at least $50.
The Z87 XPower is runner-up for Tom's Hardware Elite. At $400, it’s the most elaborate board in this round-up that supports all of its features and three- or four-way SLI simultaneously. Its 300 Mb/s 802.11n Wi-Fi solution is decidedly low-cost, but at least it doesn’t get in the way. It also has a more premium Killer E2205 GbE controller, though most of its competitors have two gigabit-capable interfaces. And it’s hard for us to prove the value of a 32-phase voltage regulator on a CPU that really needs to be de-lidded and cooled with liquid nitrogen before the super-beefy power circuitry really becomes a factor.
Cool stuff abounds in MSI's Z87 XPower, yet the lack of two Ethernet controllers is at best offset by the higher-priced single gigabit chip, and its integrated overclocking features are perhaps offset by the use of a lower-cost wireless solution. That means its larger voltage regulator bears the entire burden of its $70 price premium over the Z87 Extreme9/ac, without consideration for the cheaper board’s Thunderbolt capability. Given the board’s focus, we think it'd fare best in a competition of overclocking platforms designed with extreme cooling in mind.
































