Biostar Racing Z170 GT7 Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. Biostar Racing Z170 GT7: Packaging and Bundle3. Biostar Racing Z170 GT7: Layout and Examination4. Biostar Racing Z170 GT7: UEFI5. Biostar Racing Z170 GT7: Software6. Testing Methodology7. Tests: CPU-related8. Tests: Memory-related9. Tests: GPU-related10. Tests: Motherboard-related11. Overclocking12. Conclusion13. View All Pages

Overclocking

Biostar's Z170 GT7 managed the OC limit of our CPU sample, 4.7GHz, and with the same vCore we typically use; 1.375.

The vCore readout seemed to suggest Biostar's voltage overshot by an alarming rate of anything between 0.025 to 0.1. For example we saw 1.375 reading out as high as 1.48v, setting a voltage of 1.2 or 1.25 still saw overshoot of similar magnitude, to 1.3 and beyond.

However, we cannot validate this since the board lacks physical voltage readout points. This situation isn't helped by the fact the Load Line Calibration (LLC) isn't adjustable from within the UEFI or operating system.

We also continued to experience issues with power-based throttling that we couldn't get around with any permutation of Power Limit 1, Power Limit 2 or RSR (Reliability Stress Restrictor) settings.

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