GIGABYTE GA-F2A85X-UP4 Review

Delving in to the realm of the APU and the FM2 socket, we take a look at the GIGABYTE GA-F2A85X-UP4. Offering sleek black looks and versatility.

Product on Review: GIGABYTE GA-F2A85X-UP4
Manufacturer and Sponsor: GIGABYTE
Street Price: £91.96 – £101.99inc VAT

As technology matures, the demand of customers gradually become more and more refined and the products sold come to reflect that. Known for their reliability and stability, GIGABYTE launch their latest top end FM2 motherboard appealing to those who want a no compromise solution using AMDs latest ‘Trinity’ based APUs. Taking advantage of the new A85X chipset and the features it offers, the GA-F2A85X-UP4 looks set to be a favourite part of many APU build recipes.

The GA-F2A85X-UP4 is part of GIGABYTEs Ultra Durable 5 range which means you can trust that it has high quality parts such as high current capable components in the CPU power zone, 2x copper PCB, high current ferrite chokes which allow for a cooler and more efficient system that can deliver the stability that overclockers and enthusiasts are looking for.

Overview by GIGABYTE

GIGABYTE FM2 motherboards are the latest range of next-generation desktop motherboards based on the AMD A85X chipset, supporting a new generation socket FM2 of 32nm AMD A-series APUs with DirectX11 graphics integrated. Not only delivering AMD’s industry-leading performance and advanced graphics capabilities, GIGABYTE motherboards are equipped with a comprehensive range of unique features that offer mainstream PC users the most compelling platform on the market today.

Technical Specifications

APU

FM2 Socket:

AMD A series processors
AMD Athlon™ series processors

Chipset

AMD A85X

Memory

4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory
Dual channel memory architecture
Support for DDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules
Support for AMD Memory Profile (AMP)/ Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

Onboard Graphics

APU:
* To use the onboard graphics ports, you must install an AMD APU with integrated graphics.

1 x D-Sub port
1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560×1600
* Support for 2560×1600 resolution requires both a monitor and cable that support Dual Link DVI.
* The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter.
1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200
1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560×1600

Audio

Realtek ALC892 codecŠ
High Definition AudioŠ
2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
Support for S/PDIF Out

LAN

Realtek GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)

Expansion Slots

1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
* For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. Š
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8)
* The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode.
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
* The PCIEX1_3 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX4 slot. When the PCIEX1_3 slot is populated, the PCIEX4 slot will operate at up to x1 mode.
3 x PCI Express x1 slots
(All PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) Š
1 x PCI slot

Multi-Graphics Technology

Support for AMD CrossFire™ technology
Support for AMD Dual Graphics technology
* Only A series APUs support AMD Dual Graphics.

Storage Interface

Chipset:

7 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0~6) supporting up to 7 SATA 6Gb/s devices
1 x eSATA 6Gb/s connector on the back panel supporting up to 1 SATA 6Gb/s device
* Actual transfer rate is dependent on the device being connected.
Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, and JBOD

USB

Chipset:

Up to 4 USB 3.0/2.0 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header)
Up to 10 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 8 ports available through the internal USB headers)

ŠŠEtron EJ168 chip:

Up to 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel

Internal I/O Connectors

1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
7 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
1 x APU fan header
4 x system fan headers
1 x front panel header
1 x front panel audio header
1 x S/PDIF Out header
1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header
4 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
1 x serial port header
1 x Clear CMOS jumper
1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header
1 x power button
1 x reset button
1 x Clear CMOS button

Back Panel Connectors

1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
1 x D-Sub port
1 x DVI-D port
1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
1 x HDMI port
1 x DisplayPort
4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 x eSATA 6Gb/s connector
1 x RJ-45 port
6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)

I/O Controller

iTE I/O Controller Chip

H/W Monitoring

System voltage detection
APU/System temperature detection
APU/System fan speed detection
APU overheating warning
APU/System fan fail warning
APU/System fan speed control
* Whether the APU/system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the APU/system cooler you install.

BIOS

2 x 64 Mbit flash
Use of licensed AMI EFI BIOS
Support for DualBIOS™
PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.6, ACPI 2.0a

Unique Features

Support for @BIOS
Support for Q-Flash
Support for Xpress Install
Support for EasyTuneŠŠ
Support for Smart Recovery 2
Support for Auto Green
Support for ON/OFF Charge
Support for 3TB+ Unlock
Support for Q-Share

Bundle Software

Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
LucidLogix Virtu MVP
* Make sure the monitor cable has been connected to the integrated graphics port on the back panel.

Operating System

Support for Microsoft® Windows 8/7/Vista/XP

Form Factor

ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm

Packaging & First Look

The off white box art is pretty typical of current GIGABYTE products, we see the Ultra Durable 5 logo and some awards that this product has received.There is a statement from GIGABYTE saying that this product is aimed at overclockers and watercooled systems. At the bottom we can of course see the model name and more information including the 2x copper PCB and the glass fabric PCB and humidity protection. Not to forget the standard AMD icons which give information about APU and technology support.

On the underside of the box we can see more detailed information about Ultra Durable 5 and how it creates a cooler and more efficient system. We can also see that this board has support for Lucid Virtu MVP and has GIGABYTEs 3D BIOS.

Accessories included has 4x SATA cables, padded rear I/O backplate, quickstart guide and manual and a GIGABYTE casebadge.

Using neutral tones, the GA-F2A85X-UP4 has a pleasing aesthetic which could be used with any colour or themed build without being too imposing. Some may go as far to say that the giant red power button would kinda break the flow, but shouldn’t be a deal breaker for most. Initial impressions are good, we can see right angled SATA ports, USB 3.0 header on the right hand side for easy accessibility, and the primary x16 PCIe slot is 2nd from top to prevent any CPU heatsink clashes.

Closer Look

In the socket zone we can see a 6 + 2 power phase design, under the MOSFET heatsink there is a 4 pin PWM fan header for the CPU, in the top left area of the board as expected there is the 8 pin EPS socket which is adjacent to another system 4 pin PWM fan header (which has been conveniently hidden by the heatsink).

Here we find the USB 3.0 header followed by the 24 pin ATX power socket and another 4 pin PWM fan header. We have 4x memory DIMMs supporting up to 4x16GB modules giving a maximum memory capacity of 64GB.

Like with the ASUS board, GIGABYTE has used these little buttons which I am growing quite fond of. They are small and inconspicuous and functional, appearing in the form of reset and clear CMOS. On the other hand we also have a huge red power on button which lights up like some kind of self destruct button, of course never a bad thing, but I am starting to feel like I need to highlight the questionable choices made in motherboard design in regards to activity lights. Most manufacturers are guilty of placing.. for example, A green LED on a primarily Blue aesthetic. Maybe I am picking holes at nothing but surely one can not be the only person whom stares in to a custom PC build that is say, black and white themed, and not get distracted by the blue red and green activity lights placed at almost random over the motherboard, it causes a traumatising lack of understanding.

In the bottom right corner of the motherboard we see the 6x right angled SATA 3 6Gb/s, dual BIOS, Debug LED, an additional SATA 6 port, front panel headers and the 4th 4 pin PWM fan header. Slap bang in the middle we see a huge heatsink cooling the chipset with the GIGABYTE logo.

Along the bottom edge from left to right we have various I/O headers including, front panel HD audio, SPDIF, COM, TPM, 4x 2 USB 2.0 headers, for GIGABYTE ON/OFF Charge use the headers highlighted in red. We can also see the expansion slot arrangement from top to bottom, PCIe x1, x16, x1, x1, x8, legacy PCI, PCIe x4.

Finally in the bottom left we have the LAN (Realtek GbE) and audio (Realtek ALC892) controllers.

The rear I/O affords a universal keyboard/ mouse PS2 socket, 2x USB 3.0, D-Sub, Dual link DVI, Optical S/PDIF, HDMI, Display port, 2x USB 2.0, eSATA, Gigabit Lan, 2x USB 3.0 and 6x audio jacks.

BIOS

GIGABYTEs 3D BIOS are becoming more familiar and refined allowing users to take advantage of the easy to use GUI that UEFI BIOS can offer.

Test Setup

A85X Setup
APU – A8-5600K
Motherboard – GIGABYTE F2A85X-UP4
ASUS F2A85M-PRO
RAM – Xtreem LV PC3 19200 DDR3 LV 2400
HDD – Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM SATAIII
Power Supply – NZXT Hale82 650W
Cooler – CoolerMaster Hyper 212+

APU Settings

GIGABYTE F2A85X-UP4
AMD A8-5600K @ 3.6/3.9GHz (100MHz x 36/39, 1333MHz 9-9-9-24)
@ OC 4.43GHz (108MHz x 41, 2303MHz 11-11-11-28) HD 750D @ 912MHz

ASUS F2A85-M PRO
AMD A8-5600K @ 3.6/3.9GHz (100MHz x 36/39, 1333MHz 9-9-9-24)
@ OC 4.5GHz (100MHz x 45, 2400MHz (11-11-11-28) HD 7560D @ 950MHz

Overclocking

Overclocking the GA-F2A85X-UP4 was an interesting experience and seemed a bit tetchy at times too. I failed to get 4.5GHz stable and indeed failed to get the GPU core stable at 950MHz, but with a small bump in the base clock (from 100-108) I managed to get the final speed of 4.43GHz CPU and 912MHz GPU. There would be a performance disadvantage on two fronts at these settings, not just the CPU/APU speeds but also, due to the baseclock bump, I had to set down the speed of the memory from what would have been something like 2500MHz+ to 2300MHz. Overall this is a respectable overclock and will give significant performance gains over stock settings.

During my overclocking experiments, I couldn’t help but notice the erratic baseclock at all settings including stock. The baseclock was jumping around between 98-103MHz At first I assumed it was due to the turbo which i found to be incorrect after I had turned turbo off. After updating the BIOS to the latest beta, it appeared the problem hasn’t yet been solved, it would be hard to gauge if this affects performance or stability but didn’t seem to pose any issues during testing.

Final Overclock settings

Power Consumption

It’s interesting to note the power consumption across all motherboards because energy results can fluctuate between manufacturers due to the features and specifications that are integrated. First of all, for the idle tests the system is cold booted into Windows and no additional applications are executed – the watts are noted on the external energy monitor we use. Then the system is loaded with LinX 0.6.4 and MSI Kombustor simultainiously – watts are again monitored throughout the period of testing and the highest rated watts are then noted down. Below are the results of this energy test.

Synthetic Benchmarks: AIDA64

Memory Tests

Memory bandwidth benchmarks (Memory Read, Memory Write, Memory Copy) measure the maximum achiveable memory data transfer bandwidth. The code behind these benchmark methods are written in Assembly and they are extremely optimized for every popular AMD and Intel processor core variants by utilizing the appropriate x86, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2 or SSE4.1 instruction set extension.

The Memory Latency benchmark measures the typical delay when the CPU reads data from system memory. Memory latency time means the penalty measured from the issuing of the read command until the data arrives to the integer registers of the CPU.

CPU Queen Benchmark

This simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic “Queens problem” on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard. At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. For example — with HyperThreading disabled — the Intel Northwood core processors get higher scores than the Intel Prescott core based ones due to the 20-step vs 31-step long pipeline. CPU Queen test uses integer MMX, SSE2 and SSSE3 optimizations.

CPU Photoworxx Benchmark

This benchmark stresses the integer arithmetic and multiplication execution units of the CPU and also the memory subsystem. Due to the fact that this test performs high memory read/write traffic, it cannot effectively scale in situations where more than 2 processing threads used. For example, on a 8-way Pentium III Xeon system the 8 processing threads will be “fighting” over the memory, creating a serious bottleneck that would lead to as low scores as a 2-way or 4-way similar processor based system could achieve. CPU PhotoWorxx test uses only the basic x86 instructions, and it is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

CPU AES Benchmark

This benchmark measures CPU performance using AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) data encryption. In cryptography AES is a symmetric-key encryption standard. AES is used in several compression tools today, like 7z, RAR, WinZip, and also in disk encryption solutions like BitLocker, FileVault (Mac OS X), TrueCrypt.CPU AES test uses only the basic x86 instructions, and it’s hardware accelerated on VIA PadLock Security Engine capable VIA C3, VIA C7, VIA Nano and VIA QuadCore processors; and on Intel AES-NI instruction set extension capable processors. The test is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

FPU Mandel Benchmark

This benchmark measures the double precision (also known as 64-bit) floating-point performance through the computation of several frames of the popular “Mandelbrot” fractal. The code behind this benchmark method is written in Assembly, and it is extremely optimized for every popular AMD, Intel and VIA processor core variants by utilizing the appropriate x87, SSE2, AVX or FMA4 instruction set extension. FPU Mandel test is HyperThreading, multi-processor (SMP) and multi-core (CMP) aware.

Floating point performance has dropped compared to Llano, though may not be too much of an issue as the GPU portion is starting to take on more floating point operations.

Synthetic Benchmarks: x264 HD

Simply put, this test measures how fast your machine can encode a short, DVD quality MPEG-2 video clip into a high-quality x264 video clip. What’s x264, you ask? It’s more or less the next-generation Xvid/DivX codec. I think it’s ideal for a benchmark because the application (x264.exe) reports fairly accurate compression results (in frames per second) for each pass of the video encoding process, and it uses multi-core processors very efficiently.

Using the latest edition of the x264 HD benchmark, the PC encodes a high quality x264 1080p movie clip and we can see that in the first pass, the A8-5600K performs marginally better than the A8-3870K, a role reversal when compared to the older edition of this benchmark.

Synthetic Benchmarks: Cinebench 11.5

CPU Rendering

CINEBENCH can measure systems with up to 64 processor threads. This test scene contains approximately 2,000 objects which in turn contain more than 300,000 polygons in total, and uses sharp and blurred reflections, area lights, shadows, procedural shaders, antialiasing, and much more. The result is displayed in points (pts). The higher the number, the faster your processor.

Open GL Graphics Rendering

This procedure uses a complex 3D scene depicting a car chase (by renderbaron) which measures the performance of your graphics card in OpenGL mode. The performance depends on various factors, such as the GPU processor on your hardware, but also on the drivers used. The graphics card has to display a huge amount of geometry (nearly 1 million polygons) and textures, as well as a variety of effects, such as environments, bump maps, transparency, lighting and more to evaluate the performance across different disciplines and give a good average overview of the capabilities of your graphics hardware.

In these results we can see that the GIGABYTE board out paces the higher clocked APU on the ASUS motherboard in the CPU rendering but the lower GPU clock speed and memory bandwidth suffers in the GPU rendering test.

Synthetic Benchmarks: SiSoftware SANDRA 2012

SANDRA isn’t always a benchmark that is included in hardware reviews but I believe it shouldn’t be ignored. SANDRA provides a vigorous package that tests your system in a rather large array of benchmarks. There are many aspects of benchmark that can be executed. We will be considering – CPU, memory and GPGPU tests.

Synthetic Benchmarks: SiSoftware SANDRA 2012 cont…

Again, worth noting that the ASUS results seem off in this GPGPU Processing test, regardless, the GIGABYTE motherboard gains 20% extra performance from the overclock.

Synthetic Benchmarks: 3DMark Vantage & 3DMark 11

3DMark Vantage

3DMark Vantage is the industry standard performance benchmark for DirectX 10 gaming PCs. It includes two graphics tests, two CPU tests and six feature tests. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark Vantage is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 10 under game-like loads.

3DMark 11

Designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

The GA-F2A85X-UP4 scores higher than the ASUS board consistently in 3DMark 11.

Synthetic Benchmarks: PCMark 7 & UNIGINE Heaven 2.5

UNIGINE Heaven 3.0

Unigine’s benchmark is to showcase the benefits of DX 11 and the use of tessellation as opposed to normal rendering techniques. The demo has impressive visuals that give an insight into what we can expect from gaming in the future.

PCMark 7

PCMark 7 is a tool provided by FutureMark that tests the PCs ability in general office and everyday use. It produces a number that reflects the all-round performance of the PC and is useful to compare between differing setups. For more information, visit the FutureMark website.

Game Benchmarks: AVP, Deus Ex:HR, Shogun 2

Alien Vs. Predator

Spawned from the popular Alien and Predator franchises, Rebellion have collaborated to bring the legendary war to us through the medium of a first-person shooter. The game forces you to hunt, prey and most importantly survive in the swamp colony of Freya’s prospect as a Predator, Alien or Marine. The stunning visuals add to the sense of dread and terror that we have become so accustomed to seeing with the series.

The stand-alone Alien VS Predator benchmark tool was used for testing here. All the settings were set to very high and Tessellation was applied. The average FPS was recorded at the end.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

You play Adam Jensen, an ex-SWAT specialist who’s been handpicked to oversee the defensive needs of one of America’s most experimental biotechnology firms. Your job is to safeguard company secrets, but when a black ops team breaks in and kills the very scientists you were hired to protect, everything you thought you knew about your job changes.

Shogun 2

In the darkest age of Japan, endless war leaves a country divided. It is the middle of the 16th Century in Feudal Japan. The country, once ruled by a unified government, is now split into many warring clans. Ten legendary warlords strive for supremacy as conspiracies and conflicts wither the empire. Only one will rise above all to win the heart of a nation as the new shogun…The others will die by his sword.

Game Benchmarks: TESV, DiRT Showdown, Sleeping Dogs

TESV: Skyrim

The Empire of Tamriel is on the edge. The High King of Skyrim has been murdered. Alliances form as claims to the throne are made. In the midst of this conflict, a far more dangerous, ancient evil is awakened. Dragons, long lost to the passages of the Elder Scrolls, have returned to Tamriel. The future of Skyrim, even the Empire itself, hangs in the balance as they wait for the prophesized Dragonborn to come; a hero born with the power of The Voice, and the only one who can stand amongst the dragons.

DiRT Showdown

DiRT Showdown is the new arcade racing game from the team that brought you the award-winning DiRT series, uncaged in 2012. Pick up and play controls combine with electrifying events, frenzied crowds and stunning graphics to deliver high octane, dive in and drive thrills from event one. DiRT Showdown comes with phenomenal graphical performance, bone-jarring damage, and social online and split-screen multiplayer as standard. Welcome to DiRT Showdown – a new world of driving delirium.

Sleeping Dogs

Welcome to Hong Kong, a vibrant neon city teeming with life, whose exotic locations and busy streets hide one of the most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations in the world: the Triads. You play the role of Wei Shen, an undercover cop trying to take down the Triads from the inside out. You’ll have to prove yourself worthy as you fight your way up the organization, taking part in brutal criminal activities without blowing your cover. Torn between your loyalty to the badge and a criminal code of honor, you will risk everything as the lines between truth, loyalty and justice become permanently blurred.

Conclusion

There are a few questions raised by this motherboard, mostly minor, but has made me realise a few things. Firstly, the A85X chipset adds few features over the A75 chipset, I can’t help but feel that, as a platform, it is trying to be more than it actually is. The A85X chipset is not for enthusiasts, nor would any sane person want to spend a lot of money specifically to watercool a setup like this. Talking value, it is no secret that motherboard prices have shot up and it is now certainly starting to show for I feel like I should be talking about a motherboard that should have a retail tag of around £60-70 and not something that would be competing with the top end 790-890FX motherboard range of yesteryear. I believe that the A85X chipset should try pushing more towards an ‘Ultra Media’ type system using fully featured mATX motherboards with better focus on audio/video to give, not the better, but the BEST multi-media experience one can buy on the current market.

Despite the high quality ‘Ultra Durable 5’ seal of approval, this motherboard seems to be let down a little by stability (which is vital for the overclockers and enthusiasts looking to get the most out of a platform). The unstable baseclock is likely to be a BIOS issue and it’s affects could be reflected by the fact I was unable to get the A8-5600K stable at the already proven speed of 4.5GHz.

Rant over and considering todays market, The GA-F2A85X-UP4 comes in competitively against other high end A85X motherboards and has a lot to offer in features and versatility. GIGABYTE have managed to pretty much nail the perfect motherboard layout and aesthetic that is sure to please the vast majority of customers. Performance was competitive and trades blows with the higher clocked competitor. Overall, I can not say that this is the ‘best’ motherboard I have encountered, the VRM heatsink is wobbly, held in place by plastic push-pins, which leads me to say that this motherboard feels like a sheep in wolves fur, but, I like lamb… and for all the little misdemeanors, it doesn’t overshadow the fact that this is a GOOD motherboard. Never before have I felt so torn between awards which led me to do more research to help me decide. I came to the conclusion that most of the issues are likely to be solved via BIOS and driver updates. Also a sheep in wolves fur would be wearing the fur because either it was bored of being the same as the other sheep or simply because it is a nutcase.

That said, the GA-F2A85X-UP4 offers great performance and allows for full utilisation of the latest APU features, wrapped up in an attractive, high quality, well thought out package that gives great value in the competitive market. For those reasons, and my strange craving for lamb, I have awarded this a Vortez Gold.

Pros.
+ Good Layout and Aesthetic
+ Lucid Virtu MVP
+ Quality components inc IR3550 PowIRstage ICs
+ Competitive price for high end A85X board

Cons.
– Unstable Baseclock