Gigabyte X99M-Gaming 5 mATX Motherboard Review

We will be outlining the Gigabyte X99M-Gaming 5 motherboard's performance with the Core i7 5820K CPU at its stock frequency (3.6GHz due to forced turbo). Overclocked performance will be outlined later in the review.

By default, the Gigabyte X99M-Gaming 5 motherboard applies multi-core turbo (MCT) and forces the 5820K to a constant 3.6GHz when XMP is enabled. This will be displayed as the ‘stock’ setting.

Gigabyte feeds the 5820K with 1.069V under load and at MCT speeds. That's a sensible voltage level that outputs low temperature values and can be cooled with relative ease.

X99 Motherboard Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K Retail (3.6GHz forced turbo).
• Memory: 16GB (4x4GB) ADATA XPG Z1 2400MHz 16-16-16-39 DDR4 @ 1.20V.
• Graphics Card: Asus R9 280X Matrix Platinum 3GB.
• System Drive: 500GB Samsung 840.
• CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i.
• Case: NZXT Phantom 630.
• Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 1000W.
• Operating System: Windows 7 Professional with SP1 64-bit.

Compared X99 Motherboards:

• Asus X99-A (BIOS v1004).
• Gigabyte X99-UD4 (BIOS F9c).
• MSI X99S MPower (BIOS v22.3).

Software:

• Gigabyte X99M-Gaming 5 BIOS F2 (release and latest).
• Catalyst 14.9 VGA drivers.

Tests:

• 3DMark 1.3.708 – Fire Strike (System)
• SiSoft Sandra 2014 SP2 – Processor arithmetic, memory bandwidth (System)
• Cinebench R15 – All-core CPU benchmark (CPU)
• WinRAR 5.10 – Built-in benchmark (CPU)
• HandBrake 0.9.9 – Convert 4.36GB 720P MKV to MP4 (CPU)
• ATTO – SATA 6Gbps, USB 3.0, M.2 transfer rates (Motherboard)
• RightMark Audio Analyzer – General audio performance test (Motherboard)
• Bioshock Infinite – 1920 x 1080, ultra quality (Gaming)
• Metro: Last Light – 1920 x 1080, high quality (Gaming)
• Tomb Raider – 1920 x 1080, ultimate quality (Gaming)

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