Biostar TZ77XE4 Motherboard Review

Overclockers.com · 04-30-12, 09:27 AM

The TZ77XE4, it's new, it's shiny, it has bright orange heatsinks and lightning bolts on the box! Sounds like a good start to me.

The most obvious feature of this motherboard is the new Intel Z77 chipset and all it brings with it. Primarily that means full support for the Ivy Bridge Intel CPUs. Other highlights include full PCIe 3.0 support (though this does require an Ivy Bridge CPU), Lucid Virtu MVP and a pretty serious looking CPU power section.

... Return to article to continue reading.

dejo · 04-30-12, 09:50 AM

nice writeup. what was your 2600k capable of on other boards? I found going to cl9 gave me my regular oc or maybe even a bit more when on the asrock extreme6, with cl7 I was stuck 300mhz short of what was known capable

Bobnova · 04-30-12, 09:53 AM

Other boards and that core voltage varies from 4.5GHz to 4848MHz.
Other boards with Lots of Volts it'll do 5100-5200 with all four cores and eight threads, or a bit over 5400 with two cores two threads.
Interestingly this board stomped all others in Maxxmem, despite a significantly lower CPU clock speed.
Stomped too, not just beat.

dejo · 04-30-12, 09:59 AM

try those rams at cl9 and see if you gain any at max voltage. I sure did on the ext6

Brolloks · 04-30-12, 10:01 AM

Are you going to add the IB results once you get your chips?

'Cuda340 · 04-30-12, 10:28 AM

Nice review.

Looking forward to your take on the board with Ivy......

Don Karnage · 04-30-12, 10:34 AM

Bought this board on release and the NIC died a week later then the board died on me and refused to power. Gave Biostar a shot and it was a nice board while it worked

Bobnova · 04-30-12, 12:07 PM

I figure I'll at least post IB results in this thread, yeah.
I don't know whether the article will get updated.

PolRoger · 04-30-12, 01:30 PM

I'm running this board but I seem to be missing (or can't find) the LLC level setting you refered to in BIOS?? I only seem to have "enabled" and "disabled"?

Bobnova · 04-30-12, 02:49 PM

Fairly certain it was on the OCing page.
I'll be dragging the board out again when my IB chips show up, I'll update then.
I may drag it out beforehand if I have a chance, I have a pretty gnarly review schedule right now though.

PolRoger · 04-30-12, 03:06 PM

Well the only thing that I can find related to "CPU VCore LoadLine control" is labeled in the O.N.E menu as: CPU Vcore Loadline

My BIOS has just two options... "Disabled" or "Enabled" with enabled being the default setting. It would be great to have some of those LLC choices... with 25%, 50%, 75% etc.

My BIOS version is: Z77CF214.BST with a 2/14/2012 build date.

Don Karnage · 04-30-12, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PolRoger

Well the only thing that I can find related to "CPU VCore LoadLine control" is labeled in the O.N.E menu as: CPU Vcore Loadline

My BIOS has just two options... "Disabled" or "Enabled" with enabled being the default setting. It would be great to have some of those LLC choices... with 25%, 50%, 75% etc.

My BIOS version is: Z77CF214.BST with a 2/14/2012 build date.

214 is the release bios and horrible. Upgrade to 419

PolRoger · 04-30-12, 03:33 PM

I've updated my BIOS and the new LLC options are there now!

Bobnova · 04-30-12, 03:49 PM

This isn't the first Z77 motherboard with bios issues like that. The ASRock Z77 Pro I got for review came with a newer BIOS than is currently available. Kind of odd considering that the board was launched three weeks ago.
Glad you got it worked out!

Robert17 · 05-02-12, 06:22 PM

Thanks for the review, well done. I'm looking forward to your IB update as well, was comparing this board with some other Z77s earlier.

PolRoger · 05-02-12, 06:29 PM

One thing I've noticed about the BIOS for this board that I think Biostar should address is that there is no adjustment or even a display for PLL voltage??

Bobnova · 05-02-12, 06:30 PM

That's something the extreme folks have run into, most of them have done hard mods for it.
Rumor has it that with a hardmod and LN2 and an IB the board flies.

Don Karnage · 05-02-12, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PolRoger

One thing I've noticed about the BIOS for this board that I think Biostar should address is that there is no adjustment or even a display for PLL voltage??

One of the things i hated about the bios. Its locked at 1.8v

Bobnova · 05-17-12, 05:31 PM

Got a 3770k and stuffed it in there. Thing is quite happily folding proteins as we speak at 4.5GHz. MOSFET heatsinks are cool to the touch, they're effective heatsinks after all. No issues at all.
The POST LED shows the core temp even in Linux, something not true of some other Z77 boards.

Bobnova · 05-26-12, 08:44 PM

Further followup:
With a 3770k there are no multiplier issues like there were with the 2600k. It's running at 4835MHz right now for testing. That's only two cores, four core mode it runs happily at 4700 and 1.4vcore.
The lack of PLL may be an issue for higher air OCing, so I've heard at least.
I'll likely be taking a soldering iron to it for benching use as I know it'll be an issue on LN2.

04-30-12, 09:27 AM	Thread Starter #1
Overclockers.com Join Date: Nov 1998	Biostar TZ77XE4 Motherboard Review The TZ77XE4, it's new, it's shiny, it has bright orange heatsinks and lightning bolts on the box! Sounds like a good start to me. The most obvious feature of this motherboard is the new Intel Z77 chipset and all it brings with it. Primarily that means full support for the Ivy Bridge Intel CPUs. Other highlights include full PCIe 3.0 support (though this does require an Ivy Bridge CPU), Lucid Virtu MVP and a pretty serious looking CPU power section. ... Return to article to continue reading.
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 09:50 AM	#2
dejo Senior Moment Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Tyler, Texas	nice writeup. what was your 2600k capable of on other boards? I found going to cl9 gave me my regular oc or maybe even a bit more when on the asrock extreme6, with cl7 I was stuck 300mhz short of what was known capable __________________ if it screams, crank it. if it cries, kill it Asrock z77 ex6 2600k @4.8ghz Samsung 2x4gb rams OCZ Vertex4 256gb ssd EVGA GTX480 Sparkle 1250 gold PSU Arc Midi case
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 09:53 AM	#3
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	Other boards and that core voltage varies from 4.5GHz to 4848MHz. Other boards with Lots of Volts it'll do 5100-5200 with all four cores and eight threads, or a bit over 5400 with two cores two threads. Interestingly this board stomped all others in Maxxmem, despite a significantly lower CPU clock speed. Stomped too, not just beat. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 09:59 AM	#4
dejo Senior Moment Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Tyler, Texas	try those rams at cl9 and see if you gain any at max voltage. I sure did on the ext6 __________________ if it screams, crank it. if it cries, kill it Asrock z77 ex6 2600k @4.8ghz Samsung 2x4gb rams OCZ Vertex4 256gb ssd EVGA GTX480 Sparkle 1250 gold PSU Arc Midi case
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 10:01 AM	#5
Brolloks Benching Senior on Siesta Premium Member #8 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Land of Long Horns	Are you going to add the IB results once you get your chips? __________________ Should I get a Quad- or Dual-Core? - How about joining us in the Benching Lounge for some secrets - Want to bench sub-zero...take a look. Heatware 280-0-0 HWBOT Profile
	QUOTE Thanks

Biostar TZ77XE4 Motherboard Review

Internet Services

Website Development

Tech Hardware

04-30-12, 10:28 AM	#6
'Cuda340 Very Welcoming Senior Premium Member #11 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada	Nice review. Looking forward to your take on the board with Ivy...... __________________ Folding for Overclockers.com Team 32 as -----> Join the Overclockers.com Folding Team Today!!
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 10:34 AM	#7
Don Karnage Member Join Date: Apr 2012	Bought this board on release and the NIC died a week later then the board died on me and refused to power. Gave Biostar a shot and it was a nice board while it worked __________________ Core I5 3570K @ 4.5Ghz 1.26v Asus Z77 Maximus V G.Skill 8GB DDR3 2800 10-11-11-31 1.60v MCW82 WaterCooled Vanilla EVGA GTX 670 Intel 320 120GB SSD Corsair AX1200 Venom X
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 12:07 PM	#8
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	I figure I'll at least post IB results in this thread, yeah. I don't know whether the article will get updated. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 01:30 PM	#9
PolRoger Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta	I'm running this board but I seem to be missing (or can't find) the LLC level setting you refered to in BIOS?? I only seem to have "enabled" and "disabled"? __________________ 3770K/3570K on a Dimastech Bench table.
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 02:49 PM	#10
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	Fairly certain it was on the OCing page. I'll be dragging the board out again when my IB chips show up, I'll update then. I may drag it out beforehand if I have a chance, I have a pretty gnarly review schedule right now though. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 03:06 PM	#11
PolRoger Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta	Well the only thing that I can find related to "CPU VCore LoadLine control" is labeled in the O.N.E menu as: CPU Vcore Loadline My BIOS has just two options... "Disabled" or "Enabled" with enabled being the default setting. It would be great to have some of those LLC choices... with 25%, 50%, 75% etc. My BIOS version is: Z77CF214.BST with a 2/14/2012 build date. __________________ 3770K/3570K on a Dimastech Bench table.
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 03:33 PM	#13
PolRoger Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta	I've updated my BIOS and the new LLC options are there now! __________________ 3770K/3570K on a Dimastech Bench table.
	QUOTE Thanks

04-30-12, 03:49 PM	#14
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	This isn't the first Z77 motherboard with bios issues like that. The ASRock Z77 Pro I got for review came with a newer BIOS than is currently available. Kind of odd considering that the board was launched three weeks ago. Glad you got it worked out! __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

05-02-12, 06:22 PM	#15
Robert17 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Republic of Texas	Thanks for the review, well done. I'm looking forward to your IB update as well, was comparing this board with some other Z77s earlier. __________________ Main rig: MSI Z77 MPower\|\|Intel i7-3770K @4.2GHz\|\|Corsair H60 Antec EA 650w\|\|G.Skill Ripjaws X 2133 x8\|\|Crucial M4 128GB Seagate 1Tb F1 7200 32Mb\|\|Galaxy Geforce 660ti NZXT Phantom Black\|\|fans 1x140, 3x120, 3x200\|\|Asus VN247H-P\|\|Win7 Pro 64-bit You can _____ when pink elephants fly
	QUOTE Thanks

05-02-12, 06:29 PM	#16
PolRoger Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Atlanta	One thing I've noticed about the BIOS for this board that I think Biostar should address is that there is no adjustment or even a display for PLL voltage?? __________________ 3770K/3570K on a Dimastech Bench table.
	QUOTE Thanks

05-02-12, 06:30 PM	#17
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	That's something the extreme folks have run into, most of them have done hard mods for it. Rumor has it that with a hardmod and LN2 and an IB the board flies. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

05-17-12, 05:31 PM	#19
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	Got a 3770k and stuffed it in there. Thing is quite happily folding proteins as we speak at 4.5GHz. MOSFET heatsinks are cool to the touch, they're effective heatsinks after all. No issues at all. The POST LED shows the core temp even in Linux, something not true of some other Z77 boards. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

05-26-12, 08:44 PM	#20
Bobnova Air Superiority Senior Member Benching Team Leader Join Date: May 2009 Location: Humboldt	Further followup: With a 3770k there are no multiplier issues like there were with the 2600k. It's running at 4835MHz right now for testing. That's only two cores, four core mode it runs happily at 4700 and 1.4vcore. The lack of PLL may be an issue for higher air OCing, so I've heard at least. I'll likely be taking a soldering iron to it for benching use as I know it'll be an issue on LN2. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." -- Einstein (maybe) How to check your PSU with a multimeter. 17bXw5t51rEBXGavJFMJsC8g7HQgThUGc7 Heatware.
	QUOTE Thanks

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search