Z87I Firmware
MSI surrounds its menu settings with a status bar and several large icons, though the setting fonts are still large enough to read even after shrinking from the native 1024x768 to 600x450 scale.
The Z87I didn’t reach the stable 4.6 GHz at 1.25 V we were expecting from our processor, but it got close at 4.55 GHz using a 45x multiplier and 101 MHz BCLK. Our XMP-3000 memory was also properly configured within memory multiplier limits at 22x 1.33x 102.3 MHz.
Our 1.25 volt CPU core target was reached at the Z87I’s 1.240 V setting, and the memory’s 1.65 V rating was similarly reached at the board’s 1.635 V setting.
Primary, secondary, and tertiary memory timings are all configurable over a wide range, with our XMP-3000 defaults shown in grey text.
The Z87I also features DRAM training configuration.
MSI’s DigitALL Power menu still contains CPU Vdroop offset, though this has primarily become an integrated function of the CPU’s input-to-core voltage controller. Default settings gave us excellent voltage stability.
ASRock's cheaper features also made it a competitor with the cheaper boards for the value award. Since it competed well for both awards, it had to get a different award.
More room between the PCI-E and CPU LGA is nice on the Asus as are all the features.
I am still running an older H55n usb3 24/7 and it has been quite stable and cool and low on power consumption. Shame that this new gigabyte board has higher power and temperature levels.
Overall it's good to see the roundup. Would have liked to see post times. With SSD storage, motherboard post times are now becoming the longer wait in a system boot up.
Also interested in thoughts on reasons for Z87 mobos for a standard non-overclocking build. For a non-overclocked gaming ITX PC, say with an I3 or low-end I5, are there any compelling reasons to pay the Z87 premium over, say an H81, which can run $100 cheaper?