is not supported, which again
makes you wonder why they
have a dual LAN configuration at
all, given its limited use cases.
Nonetheless it doesn’t hurt to
have this ability.
We then have the audio
part as well which shows a
similar configuration using
two ALC 1220 Codecs. One for
your headphones and one for
your speakers. On top of this
is layered the Sound Blaster
X-Fi MB5 software. This
configuration works fairly well
and the benefits of using the
X-Fi MB software are obvious. A
cost effective solution probably
(software wise) but perhaps
undone by the redundancy
of having a second Codec.
I’m of the opinion that better
component use elsewhere
would benefit the audio in a
more meaningful way.
As mentioned in a previous
GIGABYTE board review,
GIGABYTE has changed their
policy on fan support and
control so you can more readily
control each fan and the headers
can accommodate both PWM
24 The OverClocker Issue 41 | 2017
and DC fans. There’s also a lot
more fan headers as well, which
is always welcome.
Since we are TheOverclocker,
we will leave the rest of the
product features for more
generic reviews and focus on
performance. It’s impossible
to make this a motherboard
review without it being a Ryzen
1700X review to some degree.
That said, what is being shown
by the performance figures is
the scaling of the board and
how the ability to run 3600,
3400 and 3200 reliably affects
performance.
Before we head into the
performance analysis though
it’s important that we point
out some issues we may have
with the board in its present
state. Once again, if I had to
pick any one motherboard to
live with for the AM4 socket it
would definitely by the K7, but
that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.
The reason I’d choose this
motherboard is simply because
of how fast it is out the box, with
little to no tuning needed.
The point that I was making
though is that within the F4d
BIOS, there are things that
still need ironing out, which
GIGABYTE is hopefully aware
off and will sort out in future
updates. Number one, which
isn’t unique to the Gaming K7
is how Load line calibration is
handled. This is a legacy issue
that for some reason is proving
difficult or impossible to sort
out. It’s how these various levels
of LLC are presented. AUTO,
Normal, Medium and Standard
are synonymous. That is, there
settings all mean the same
thing in the English language as
observed within the context of
motherboards. The same goes
for Turbo, High performance
and extreme performance.
Moreover, there’s the issue of
settings with no explanation of
what the setting does or how it
affects the system.
The M.I.T also has some
issues which are largely legacy
and usability ones. Not being
able to see current values
for your settings can prove
problematic as well. So these
are some of the things that take