We noticed WestCoastMods put up a really unusual looking PC mod on their facebook page. I really like the theme on this one based around a bike frame. GIGABYTE matte black PCB motherboard fits in pretty good into the overall colour scheme as well.
Nicely done fellas! Looks legit
So just out out curiosity, I went and had look at exactly how many overclockers are winning awards, specifically Gold Cup awards at HWBOT using our motherboards. Let’s just say the results were pretty damn impressive. In 2012, which of course isn’t quite over yet, exactly 962 1st place ranking hardware submissions – i.e. Gold Cup awards - on HWBOT.org were made by from people using GIGABYTE motherboards. That’s not a total submissions number, nope. That’s just Gold Cup submissions! Unbelievable!
Here’s the permalink so you can check it out for yourself: http://url.hwbot.org/VBtJJK
Gold Cups are awarded at HWBOT when a submission beats an existing highest score on a particular piece of hardware and a particular benchmark. Gold Cups are also league-agnostic, so Pros, enthusiasts and amateurs compete side by side.
As we move into 2013, we are seriously considering having monthly prize draws for these Gold Cup submissions that use GIGABYTE motherboards. I reckon it’d be a great way to give recognition to the hundreds of overclockers who might not be contenders for the heavyweight world records, but nonetheless, deserve recognition for their efforts. If you have any opinions on this, feel free to chime in below with comments.
Image source – Tony McCoy…. real Gold Cup legend in his own right. Not sure he can overclock hardware too well though.
That’s right folks. GIGABYTE is launching a brand new month-long overclocking competition at HWBOT, and this time we’ve invited Cooler Master to chip in with prizes too, making sure it’s a real temptation for overclockers everywhere during this festive period. The winner of each of the three stages will win a GIGABYTE Z77X-UD4H motherboard plus a Cooler Master Seidon 120M liquid cooling kit.
As well as three benchmark stages (outlined below) we’ve also added a bit of festive cheer in the form of a bonus prize for the most wintery and festive submission photo. So crack out the LN2 and let the snow and ice collect on your pot! We’ll post the ten best photos on our Facebook ten days before the competition concludes, the one with most ‘Likes’ gets a GIGABYTE Z77-HD4 motherboard, plus a Cooler Master Sirus S-5.1 gaming headset.
‘Winter OC Whiteout’ Stages:
Stage 1: 3DMark11 "No 2011"- Any Non-Socket 2011 Intel CPU; Single GPU only
Stage 2: 3DMark Vantage “Dual core” - Dual or Single core Intel CPUs only; Single GPU
Stage 3: Heaven DX11 “Full Out” – Any Intel CPU; Single GPU only
Competition Rules
Entrants must use the official competition background (available on the HWBOT competition page). Verification screenshots are required and must include; benchmark score plus CPU-Z CPU/Memory/Mainboard tab. Entrants must include a picture of the rig used. All submission photos will be considered for the bonus prize. Usual HWBOT submission and verification rules apply.
For full contest rules, scoring and more details, please visit the contest page hosted at HWBOT
James from the Australian Xtreme Overclocking team called TeamAU (www.teamau.net) is feeling the Xmas spirit and gave away one of the tools he made for TeamAU boys to control power state for ATI graphics cards. Basically the tool disables power throttling and forces the graphics cards not to fall asleep. It also lowers frequency and voltage on GPUs to save power.
This tool is handy to both gamers and overclockers as it helps with some stuttering issues in games and instability in AMD/ATI Crossfire (Xfire) that some experience while it also helps overclockers disable power state which can affect score efficiency. Downside is that you will have a warmer PC and use more power if you are a gamer so make sure you have adequate case cooling. Overclockers don’t normally have to be too concerned about this as they test on open platforms generally. You can try and see if it helps and revert back to original state by enabling ULPS with the same tool however. Worth a try!
This tool basically does what some of us had to do manually and it’s hard work I’ll tell ya as I've found out during my 7970 Xfire testing with hundreds of registry entries that need to be changed manually.
Here is what the tool looks like and you can find more information about how it works on James’ blog http://blog.metasplo.it/2012/12/amd-ulps-ultra-low-power-state-disable.html.
Give it up for James and TeamAU!
Power user Sin0822 has been busy once again, this time he’s written an in depth guide to getting the absolute most out of our flagship Z77X-UP7 motherboard in terms of both CPU and memory. As well as details about how to push an Intel 3770K on air and LN2, plus sound advice on pushing high-end memory kits from Corsair and G.SKILL, Sin also shot a short video that focuses on our UEFI BIOS which you can catch below. He’s even providing a link to download his OC profiles…awesome job.
If you own or are thinking of owning a GIGABYTE Z77X-UP7, then I highly suggest you go take a look at Sin’s guide over on Overclock.net
More info and specs on the GIGABYTE Z77X-UP7 can be found here.
