The Intel LGA1150 Haswell Owners Thread & Survey (H.O.T.S)

[MacClipper]

Specs
ASRock > Z87E-ITX

First the summary...

Likes
Latest Realtek sound ALC1150
Latest 802.11ac WLAN, Bluetooth 4.0 onboard
Intel GLAN
DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI-I (yes, analog too)
Lots of SATA3 ports - 6 x onboard SATA3 ports, 1 e-SATA3, mSATA with full length card support

And... the very impressive overclocking capability!
At the same BIOS settings, it achieves 97.8% (4.4 vs 4.5 GHz) of the overclocks reached by the full ATX models using xvid4PSP as the real world full load stress test. For a tiny mITX model using fewer power phases and less capable cooling (due to backplate compatibility), tokong!


Test setup

Ambient local air, non-aircon

★ Asrock Z87E-ITX | i5-4670K | 8GB KVR1866 | Deepcool Gammaxx 400 HSF | HD4600 iGPU | TT Smart 630W ★


...


Conclusion
A Mighy Mouse Mobo it is, indeed!

I have the Z87 version of this mobo and it's been nothing but great for me - amazingly fast boot-up and clean overclocking without any issues whatsoever.

I got this mainly for the mSATA slot at the bottom of the board; it was one of very few boards with this feature.

I'd seriously consider this mobo if I'm getting a Z97 ITX board but I think it's pretty clear that the Asus Impact is a higher-spec board targeting a more expensive price segment - can't really compare the two directly. Maybe the EVGA Stinger is a better comparison if/when the Z97 does come out.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/h...ompact-yet-complete-4704647.html#post86337979


Great stuff indeed!

 

[MacClipper]

Looks like someone else obviously likes and rates the Asrock OC Formula Series very highly too...


Overclockers Forums

I was testing couple of Gigabyte and ASUS boards but ASRock OCF has better BIOS and all optimized for OC. I mean for regular user with regular memory etc not cherry picked kits on which are based profiles ( like in ROG or GB BIOSes ).

In most cases you have to set higher CPU and memory clock while board will set optimal values for vrm frequency, PLL and some other voltages and secondary memory timings by itself.
...

I could also run some memory kits above 2133 clock on ASRock Z87M OCF that couldn't work like that on Gigabyte Z87X-OC. One of them - Samsung ECC based on HYK0 IC was working up to 2800 CL10 in benchmarks while on GB it wasn't even booting above 2133. I assume memory overclocking is not important for most users but there is simply no better board series in this price prepared for overclocking.

FYI

 

[MacClipper]

Z87 OC Formula - 4790K@4.9GHz
**[Official]]** ASRock z87 OC Formula + (M) Thread

4.9GHz G.Skill 2000C6 Pi at 1333MHz 8-12-8-28-1T Super Pi 32M, Devil's Canyon plays just fine with this board!

 

[MacClipper]

Bookmark
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/h...-gene-intel-z97-matx-motherboard-4732079.html

 

[MacClipper]

Searched almost the whole of SLS and found only this amount of stock...

For those looking for a cheaper toy which officially works on their Intel 8 series mobos, here it is!

Only allowed to grab one so now left last 2 pieces...

 

[shadow84]

Lol, i like that you blurred out your own serial number and not the rest... haha

 

[MacClipper]

Buy liao = no longer available

So what's the point posting hor...

 

[MacClipper]

Pentium G3258 & Devil Canyon Compatibility - Impt!
Things do get a little complicated these days... thanks Intel!

For those on older LGA1150 mobos esp. witih the C1 steppings (simply means older production/fw date), watch out for the Intel ME firmware version before installing the new processors.

Even if your BIOS is up to date, the new chips may not even POST if the ME firmware is out of date. To do a successful POST, the BIOS AND ME fw must recognise the processor 1st.

Google for the Intel ME Info tool & firmware update for more details, consider yourself forewarned.

HTH

 

[MacClipper]

Intel ME firmware
*Checking the version on your mobo, an example below, this is probably more important than the BIOS update for the Pentium G3258/DC chips!


Version 1345 - outdated, G3258/DC incompatible (no POST, black screen)

Version 1487 - current, G3258/DC compatible (proper support)

For the Asus range, running the Windows Updater tool is supposed to update the Intel ME fw at the same time but do check the fw version after flashing.

If it is somehow still not updated (like in my case, flashed 2004 & 2005 in Windows ie. twice!) then you will have to flash update the ME fw manually yourself else the new processors will not POST.


FYI

*PS: You can also use the Intel supplied ME Info tool to check, btw you don't need the latest ME fw just one which recognises the new chips

 

[MacClipper]

M6E 4770K strange vcore behavior

FYI

 

[MacClipper]

Interesting development!

UEFI can be updated without the need of using the update utility from within Windows

Updating the UEFI for Haswell Refresh/DC processors using USB BIOS Flashback:

Using the following procedure the UEFI can be updated without the need of using the update utility from within Windows using a first generation Haswell processor.

Download the latest UEFI version available for your motherboard. Rename it appropriately so it can be used with USB BIOS Flashback. This can be done manually after checking for the proper name in the motherboard's manual or using the BIOS Renamer utility which can be downloaded when you download the needed UEFI version. I downloaded Z87-DELUXE-ASUS-2004.CAP for the Z87 Deluxe and after unzipping it renamed it Z87D.CAP. Copy the renamed UEFI file to an empty FAT32 formatted USB stick.

The motherboard should be powered down with no CPU installed. Connect the USB stick to the proper USB port for use with USB BIOS Flashback. Connect power to the power supply and press the USB BIOS Flashback button until the indicator starts blinking. The indicator will continue to blink until the UEFI flash is complete. This will take approximately 1 - 1 1/2 minutes. When the update is done shut down the system and remove power. Install the CPU and anything else that is needed for a successful boot. Connect power to the system and press the start button. The system will boot up and during POST a message will be displayed stating the BIOS is updating. When this update is finished the system will shut down. At this point all needed updates are complete and the system should be usable with the Haswell Refresh/DC processor.

...


USB BIOS Flashback - UEFI, EC and ME versions updated

 

[rickysio]

M6E 4770K strange vcore behavior

FYI

Not all FinFETs are the same mah hahahaha.

 

[MacClipper]

Z97 Different vs Z87?
Haswell overclocking reportedly different on Z97...
HARDOCP - Overclocking & Conclusion

In manual mode things were quite different. On a Z87 motherboard using this CPU I need about 1.285v max to get a 4.7GHz overclock out of the system. I typically need to adjust power phase settings or load-line calibration to near maximum but not always. With the Z97 Deluxe I found out very quickly that 1.285v was not going to work. Instead I needed to use 1.365v or higher to achieve any kind of stability past 4.5GHz. Here is the interesting part, the system actually ran the CPU cooler than it would on a Z87 motherboard. On a Z87 motherboard that type of voltage setting would have me hitting the wall for thermal throttling quickly. I’d be looking at 90c+ temperatures with those settings. On Z97 I had sub-80c temperatures.


What’s even more interesting about this is that 4.5GHz using the auto-tuning feature achieved that result at 1.28v which is what would normally get me to 4.7GHz on most systems. On this one 4.7GHz eluded me. I know this CPU can do it but either BIOS maturity or voltage design is holding me back. If it’s the latter it’s because I suspect this is designed more for Haswell’s successor in mind than current Haswell CPUs. For now the best I could achieve is 4.6GHz/DDR3 1866MHz at 1.38v.

FYI

 

[MacClipper]

Pentium G3258 On Budget Z87 Mobo
The Asrock Killer is probably one of the most budget conscious (read as cheapest) Z87 models locally... there's no real need for high end models just to o'c the 55W dual core PenK 24/7.

 

[MacClipper]

Coke Is It... cos Coke Delids!

[Official] Delidded Club / Guide - Page 2573

Can I join the club? I used a coke can to delid my 3770k, it actually works really well...

.. ...

 

[MacClipper]

Seems quite an innovative idea, anyone tried? Good excuse for another can of Tiger too...

 

[MacClipper]

Errata prompts Intel to disable TSX in Haswell, early Broadwell CPUs - The Tech Report

... a bug—or "errata," as Intel prefers to call them—in Haswell's TSX implementation that can cause critical software failures.

...

This erratum was evidently discovered quite recently, too late for a fix to be included in the first revision of Intel's upcoming Broadwell Y-series chips.

Ho ho ho... yet another one!

 

[MacClipper]

AnandTech | Intel Disables TSX Instructions: Erratum Found in Haswell, Haswell-E/EP, Broadwell-Y

One of the main features Intel was promoting at the launch of Haswell was TSX – Transactional Synchronization eXtensions.

...

Normally a microcode update would suggest a workaround, but it would seem that this a fundamental silicon issue that cannot be designed around, or intercepted at an OS or firmware/BIOS level.

 

[MacClipper]

Had to manually force update the 1487 Intel ME firmware on an old C1 Z87 Extreme4 (old fw 1345) in DOS despite apparently "successfully" updated the UEFI/ME with a Pentium G3220 - it's the 2nd mobo needing such a move after the Z87-A.

FYI