Testing the system board. Configuring BIOS settings. Diagnostics of all PC devices Visual inspection of the power supply

With the release of 7th generation processors and system logic for these CPUs, Intel has tightened its attitude towards lovers of “free MHz”, i.e. overclockers by blocking the ability to overclock processors with and without the “K” index for all chipsets except the top-end Intel Z270 Express. Therefore, if you want to collect yourself powerful computer with an overclocked processor, you need to choose a motherboard with an older chipset.

We have already met big amount interesting motherboards from GIGABYTE, each of which is unique in its own way and has interesting features. The GA-Z270X-Gaming 5, GA-Z270X-Gaming 7 and GA-Z270X-Gaming K3 we reviewed are located in the upper and middle price range, starting from 9000 rub. and higher. But what should those who do not want to spend a large amount on a motherboard, but at the same time want to get the most out of it, do?
In this case, you need to pay attention to budget boards, for example GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3, which can be found in Russian retail at a price of 7,500 rubles. (according to Yandex.Market, the cost may vary depending on the region and date).
At first glance, it may seem that the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 is too simple a board and you can forget about overclocking, but this is not so, and after reading this review to the end, you will be convinced of this.

Specifications.

Manufacturer	GIGABYTE
Model	GA-Z270-HD3
System logic	Intel Z270 Express
Socket	LGA1151
Supported processors	Intel 7-/6 – Core generation i7 / Core i5 / Core i3 / Pentium / Celeron
Supported memory	4 x DDR4, max 64 GB; DDR4 3866 (O.C.) / 3800 (O.C.) / 3733 (O.C.) / 3666 (O.C.) / 3600 (O.C.) / 3466 (O.C.) / 3400 (O.C.) / 3333 (O.C.) / 3300 (O.C.) / 3200 (O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2133 MHz.
Expansion slots	– 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x16 mode); – 2 x PCIe 3.0 x1; – 1 x PCI.
Disk subsystem	6 x SATA 6.0 Gbit/s, or 1 x SATA Express + 4 x SATA 6 Gbit/s; 1 x M.2 (Key M).
LAN	1 x Intel GbE (10/100/1000 Mbit).
Sound subsystem	7.1-channel HD audio codec Realtek ALC887.

Packaging and equipment.

The GA-Z270-HD3 motherboard comes in a small, by modern standards, cardboard box with an interesting design. In front we are greeted by a large UD5 (Ultra Durable 5) logo, which is a kind of quality mark. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable motherboards utilize high-quality components to ensure stable performance of the processor, RAM modules and system as a whole throughout the life of the product.
On the opposite side we see specifications GA-Z270-HD3 and description of its capabilities. Despite the affordable price, the motherboard has received many useful technologies in its arsenal. For example, Smart Fan 5 allows the user to monitor the operating temperature of the motherboard in real time, thanks to 6 temperature sensors, and adjust the operation of the fans.
Inside the box, the board is placed in a cardboard tray and packed in an antistatic bag.

In the package we found:
- user guide;
– disk with software;
– 2 x SATA cables;
– plug for the interface panel;
– G-Connector.

Appearance.

The GA-Z270-HD3 motherboard is based on brown textolite. The board belongs to the ATX form factor, but in reality its dimensions are slightly smaller - 305 x 225 mm. You can't expect any design delights from the GA-Z270-HD3; after all, it's a board entry level, but even despite this, it looks quite modern.

The layout of the motherboard is quite standard, the RAM slots and the top PCIe 3.0 x16 slot are located at a sufficient distance from each other, so that to replace RAM modules you do not have to remove the video card from the system unit.
Opposite side printed circuit board It looks standard, the only thing that can be noted here is the plastic clips for attaching the radiators, which in practice turned out to be very reliable.

There are four slots for RAM. GA-Z270-HD3 supports modules with frequencies up to 3866 MHz and a total capacity of up to 64 GB (4 x 16 GB).
The full list of supported frequencies is as follows: DDR4 3866(O.C.) / 3800(O.C.) / 3733(O.C.) / 3666(O.C.) / 3600(O.C.) / 3466(O.C.) / 3400(O.C.) / 3333(O.C.) / 3300 (O.C.) / 3200(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2133 MHz.
Next to the DIMM slots, there are two connectors for additional USB3.0 ports; in total, you can connect up to 4 ports.

The printed circuit board has six slots for installing expansion cards:
– 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x16 mode);
– 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x4 and x4 mode);
– 2 x PCIe 3.0 x1;
– 1 x PCI.

For hard drives and four SSD drives are provided SATA port 6 Gbit/s and one SATA Express. The latter, if you do not have devices compatible with this interface, can be used as a pair of regular SATA ports.

Faster SSD drives can be installed in the M.2 port, which supports the following standard sizes: 2242 / 2260 / 2280 / 22110. The drive can operate in both PCIe 3.0 x4 mode and SATA mode.

At the bottom of the PCB there is a large set of connectors for connecting peripheral interfaces: F_AUDIO, COM, LPT, TPM, 2 x USB2.0, F_Panel.

The interface panel contains the following connectors:
– 1 x DVI-D;
– 1 x D-Sub;
– 1 x HDMI;
– 1 x PS/2;
– 1 x LAN RJ45;
– 4 x USB 3.1;
– 2 x USB 2.0;
– 6 x audio ports.

The audio subsystem of the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 is based on the Realtek ALC887 8-channel HD audio codec, and the part of the PCB on which it is located is isolated from the rest of the board layout. Also, high-quality Japanese audio capacitors are used in the sound path.

The motherboard cooling system consists of two aluminum radiators, one cools the chipset, and the second removes heat from the CPU power module. Despite the compact size of the radiators, they do their job well; the temperature of the hottest one was only 35 degrees!

The CPU power supply module has seven phases, organized according to a 4+3 phase scheme. Four phases are allocated for powering the processor cores; they are cooled by the radiator, and another three phases are allocated for powering the integrated graphics core. The elementary base of the power system is made up of high-quality components, solid-state capacitors and chokes with a ferrite core.

The VRM module is controlled by an Intersil 95866 controller.

The GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 motherboard, despite its external simplicity, has an informative graphical shell that boasts an impressive and intuitive user interface. The BIOS capabilities in terms of overclocking and system settings are in no way inferior to more expensive devices. In EasyMode on home page We are greeted by ten blocks, with information about:
- processor temperature;
- system components;
- motherboard temperature and Vcore voltage;
- rotation speed of connected fans;
- connected SSD and HDD drives.

IN ADVANCED mode, which has advanced functionality, we get to the M.I.T. page. It contains many parameters necessary for overclocking and simply setting up the system. All parameters necessary for overclocking the processor and RAM are concentrated here: CPU multiplier, BCLK frequency, memory frequency, power system settings, timing settings and the ability to increase voltages. In addition, there is a separate submenu for setting up the processor power system.

Advanced Frequency Setting is responsible for setting: processor multiplier, BCLK bus frequency, RAM frequency, north bridge, frequencies of the built-in graphics core.

The Advanced Memory Setting contains settings related to RAM, activation function XMP profile, timing and subtiming settings.

Advanced Voltage Setting allows you to configure the main operating voltages that you will need for overclocking: Vcore, Vmem, etc. Here you can configure the operation of the processor and RAM power supply system.

The System tab contains time and date settings, as well as a language selection function; by the way, the BIOS is translated into Russian, so if your English is not good, you can still easily navigate the BIOS.

The BIOS tab contains information about the computer's boot mode.

In Peripherals you can disable or enable the controllers you need, for example, a LAN controller.

The Chipset configures the operation of the audio codec and integrated graphics.

The Power tab will allow you to configure the PC to turn on when you press a mouse button or keyboard key.

The Save & Exite tab is clear what it is needed for.

Overview of proprietary software.

Together with motherboard comes with a disc with everything branded software GIGABYTE, you can also download it from the company's official website. Let's start with the simplest CPU-Z program, the design of which was changed to suit the manufacturer's corporate style.

Next on the list is the APP Center program - this is a basic program, one might even say the basis, which you can supplement with the functions you need. All installed programs from GIGABYTE will automatically get here and save you from dozens of shortcuts on your desktop.

There are several tabs here, for example Advanced CPU OC contains settings responsible for overclocking the processor. Moreover, here you can control not only frequencies, but also voltages, which greatly simplifies and speeds up the process of overclocking and searching for stable frequencies. As you can see, GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 was no exception and received exactly the same customization capabilities as more expensive boards.

Advanced DDR OC contains memory settings, including timings.

CPU power management is presented in the Advanced Power tab.

In HotKey, you can configure hotkeys that will save profiles with the settings you choose.

The next program in line was Ambient LED, in which you can customize the operation LED backlight. In the case of the board we are considering, only two modes are available for change (static glow and pulsating).

System Information Viewer is a program that allows you to configure the operation of the computer’s cooling system, or rather the fans connected to the motherboard. The first tab provides information about the system.

Next, on the Smart Fan 5 Auto tab, the program offers you to select one of the pre-prepared profiles: Quiet, Standard, Performance, Full Speed. The modes are set in ascending order, the quietest is Quiet, and the most productive is Full Speed. In our opinion, Standard has the most optimal noise/performance ratio, although this will depend on the type of fans installed in your PC.

By going to Smart Fan 5 Advanced, you can configure the operation of each connected fan by manually setting the rotation speed depending on the temperature of the components.

In the Record tab, you can activate monitoring of basic system parameters and save the data to a separate file.

3D OSD is a program completely designed for monitoring computer parameters. In addition to the fact that it can monitor the state of the computer, it can also display needed by the user information on the monitor screen, on top of all windows.

Testing.

Test bench:
- Intel processor Core i5-7600K
- WITH: Corsair H110i GTX
- RAM KFA2 Hall Of Fame DDR4-3600 2 x 8 GB
- Corsair AX1200i power supply
- Radeon R9 280X video card.

Testing was carried out in two stages: first, test applications were run at nominal frequencies, and then the same applications were run at higher frequencies in overclocking mode.

Nominal system settings.

Settings in overclocking mode.
On the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 motherboard, we were able to overclock the processor to 5000 MHz, while it remained completely stable in all benchmarks. To do this, we had to increase the core voltage to 1.315 V.
For ease of perception, all test results in benchmarks are presented as graphs.

Less is better

More is better

Less is better

During testing, using a thermometer, we measured the operating temperatures to which the radiators of the cooling system heat up. The radiator of the power supply system warmed up to a temperature of 34°C when idle.

Radiator Intel chipset The Z270 Express warmed up to 35°C.
Below in the graphs we show all the temperature values we measured during testing.

Conclusion.
GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 will be an excellent basis for home computer. The motherboard will easily provide stable operation of modern Core processors i5 or Core i7 even in overclocked state. A computer built on the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 will be able to solve a wide range of tasks, from work or surfing the Internet to modern games.
To be honest, when we first saw this board, we did not expect anything outstanding from it, not to mention overclocking the processor to 5 GHz. However, after a detailed acquaintance, these thoughts immediately disappeared.
Yes, the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 looks much simpler than more expensive solutions, but this does not degrade its performance in any respect. This was clearly demonstrated in the testing section.
Don’t forget about expansion capabilities, the GA-Z270-HD3 has everything in order, in addition to additional USB ports, 2nd and 3rd generations, you can connect devices with a COM and TPM interface to it, which may be relevant for office tasks.
Perhaps the design of the device may seem too simple to some users, however, if you do not use a computer at home in the form of an open stand, this will not be a problem. And lovers of cool design should pay attention to a more expensive price segment, for example the AORUS line.
Therefore, based on the results of maternal testing GIGABYTE boards GA-Z270-HD3, we can say the following. GA-Z270-HD3 will become good choice for building a PC with a limited budget and a desire to further overclock the processor in order, if necessary, to increase the performance of the computer.

Processor, RAM, and Motherboard Test - CPU:OCCT

Here, first, set the values: For convenience, I numbered them.

1. Test type: Infinite - The test will run without time until you stop it. Auto - The test will take place according to the time set in point 2. Duration.

3. Periods of inactivity– Time before the start of the test, and after the end. The report of which you will see in the program window after running the test.

4. Test version– The capacity of your system. My program itself determined the bit depth when it was first launched.

5.Test mode– Here we select one of three sets from the drop-down menu: Large, Medium, and Small.

Big set – Processor, RAM, and Motherboard (chipset) are tested for errors.
Average set – The CPU and RAM are tested for errors.
Small set– Only the Processor is tested for errors.

6. Number of threads– Set the number of threads that your processor supports. My program itself determined the number of processor threads.

Let's move on to the second tab CPU:LINPACK

CPU Test – CPU:LINPACK

Regarding points 1. 2. 3. I think everything is clear. See above in the first test

Point 4. Leave unchanged.

5. Check the box if you have a 64-bit processor and system.

6. AVX – Linpack compatible. This parameter is determined for each processor separately.

I will not fully describe the microarchitecture of processors here; this is a separate topic, and I think not every user will be interested in delving into it.

7. Use all logical cores – Check the box so that our processor uses its full potential, including logical cores (if any).

Everything is clear here, let's move on to the next tab.

Video card test – GPU:3D

As for points, everything is unchanged 1. 2. 3. I think everything is clear. See above in the first test

4. Install the version of DirectX that your Windows supports.

DirectX 9- shader model 2.0 Windows XP and more old windows
DirectX 11- shader model 5.0 Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8

5. Select your video card.

6. Set the resolution of your monitor.

7. Check the box. If you, like me, have 2 video cards installed, combined in SLI mode.

8. If the checkbox is checked, the heating of the video card will be lower and error detection will be more effective.

9. We do not check the box if we want to use all the memory of the video card.

10. For video cards from Nvidia, value 3 is better. For video cards from ATI, value 7 is better.

11. Set the number of frames per second. Value 0 is disabled. You can set the value to “0” to check how much FPS your video card can produce.

Everything is set up here too, go to the last tab - POWER SUPPLY

PSU (Power Supply) Test

The settings are almost the same as on the tab GPU:3D

Here the principle of the test is this: The entire system works at the fullest possible power, trying to strain our power supply to the maximum.

P.S. When making settings, at the bottom of the main program window there is a field where hints appear when you hover over a customizable item