Sapphire Pure Platinum Z68 Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. Sapphire Pure Platinum Z68 (The Board)3. Sapphire Pure Platinum Z68 (Bios & Overclocking)4. Testing Methodology5. Synthetic: Unigine Heaven Benchmark6. Synthetic: PCMark 77. Synthetic: 3DMark Vantage8. Synthetic: 3DMark 119. Synthetic: SiSoft Sandra 201110. Synthetic: Cinebench R11.5 64 bit11. Synthetic: AS SSD12. Synthetic: ATTO Disk Benchmark13. Synthetic: HD Tach 3.0.4.0.14. Real World: BluRay Playback with PowerDVD 1115. Real World: MKV Playback16. Real World: Flash HD Performance17. Real World: Media Encoding Performance18. Image Quality: HQV Benchmark 2.019. Gaming: Resident Evil 520. Gaming: Alien V Predator21. Gaming: Lost Planet 222. Gaming: Total War Shogun 223. Gaming: Far Cry 224. Gaming: Tom Clancy HAWX 225. Gaming: Home Front26. Gaming: Dirt 327. Closing Thoughts28. View All Pages

Test System:

Processor: Intel Core i7 2600k @ 4.6ghz
Motherboard: Sapphire Pure Platinum Z68 Motherboard
Cooler: Intel XTS-100H
Memory: ADATA 2200mhz @ 1866mhz 9-9-9-32
Graphics cards: Sapphire HD6950 Toxic Edition (Synthetic tests in HD6970 mode).

Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 850W
Optical Drive: Asus BluRay Drive
Chassis: Silverstone Raven 03
Monitors: LaCie 730, Dell U2410 x3
Boot Drive: Intel 40GB SSD
Secondary Drive: Intel 510 SSD 250GB

Software:
Windows 7 Enterprise (64-bit)
FRAPS Professional
SiSoft Sandra
VLC Player
CPUz
GPUz
CPUID Hardware Monitor
Cinebench R11.5 (64-bit)
Cyberlink PowerDVD 11 Ultra
Cyberlink MediaEspresso 6.5
CrystalDiskMark
3DMark Vantage
3DMark 11
PCMark 7

Games:
Resident Evil 5
Dirt 3
Lost Planet 2
Far Cry 2
Alien V Predator
Home Front
Total War: Shogun 2
Tom Clancy H.A.W.X. 2

Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Nikon D3X with R1C1 kit
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter

All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests across five closely matched runs and averages out the results to get an accurate median figure.

The Sapphire driver/software disc is split into four sections and is easy enough to use. Windows 7 64 bit installed compatible LAN drivers during the initial setup phase.

One of my favourite features of having a Sapphire branded motherboard is the support for the excellent TRIXX utility, which offers an array of continually updated temperature and fan/voltage settings on the desktop.

Become a Patron!