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Gigabyte Z170X Designare Benchmarks

The test system used for the benchmarks to follow is below.

Being the first full Z170 test we’ve done to date, we get to compare against motherboards we’ve had here on our test bench, which haven’t been of that variety. Regardless, we have quite a few tests to show how the motherboard functions in comparison to others, things that can be used as a point of comparison across quite a few boundaries. For motherboards we’ve decided to not test gaming due to how irrelevant it really is to testing. Games will always be within a few percentage points of each other. What of the sub-systems and the controllers used to transfer data? Those are the important things, and it is those that we’ve decided to concentrate on. First we’ll take a look at memory bandwidth, move on through DPC latency then on to the storage interfaces. Let’s get started, shall we?

Passmark Memory Bandwidth

Gigabyte Z170X Designare

In terms of raw memory bandwidth, tested here with uncompressed data, it’s just as fast as any DDR4 memory controller. In fact, the older timings on my 2666MHz memory compared to the 2400MHz memory seems to show only a slight increase in bandwidth, as we expect. It’s on par and quite fast. With faster memory and tighter timings, you’ll get an increase in performance. It looks good here. But what of latency?

Passmark Memory Latency

Gigabyte Z170X Designare

Latency of memory has two components to it, the memory itself as well as the memory controller. It’s affected by both of those components, which is why we test it here. The board itself can sometimes be a limiter as well if it’s not made very well. With good components and traces that are properly laid, it’ll be of the least concern. Here we see that slightly faster memory and higher quality memory modules combined with a motherboard that’s made well equals a very low latency. Then board does well, very well. This translates to the real-world in better perceived response times for those programs in memory. Things will feel smoother, and it does have a real effect that you’ll notice.

DPC Latency

Gigabyte Z170X Designare

The DPC latency checker measures how much time it takes to process Deferred Procedure Calls from the time that the driver invokes the call. Less latency means potentially better audio. Higher latency can sometimes be the reason for pops and hisses in streamed audio on your PC. Here we see that it’s well under control, and as a result there’s very little hissing coming through the analog outputs. It’s blissful even. Gigabyte has always been one to add a decent, if not great, audio component to their boards. One reason I’ve always personally used them in my systems.

LAN Speed

Gigabyte Z170X Designare