Diagnostics of all pc devices. Testing the motherboard. Configuring BIOS Settings Motherboard Testing

Hello everyone. In today's article, we will focus on a complete diagnosis of all devices in your computer. I will show and tell you how to independently diagnose a computer and all its constituent devices:

• HDD.
• RAM.
• Video card.
• Motherboard.
  
• CPU.
• Power Supply.

We will check all this in this article and for each of the computer devices I will make a video in which I will clearly show how to diagnose a particular device.

In addition, by diagnostics, you can determine whether you should completely change the device or you can repair it, we will also analyze the main sores of devices that can be determined without diagnostics. Well, let's start with the most important question that interests everyone - diagnostics HDD disk/ SSD.

HDD and SSD disk diagnostics.

Disk diagnostics are done in two directions, they check the Smart system of a hard or solid-state disk and check the disk directly for bad or slow sectors in order to check the SMART HDD and SSD, we will use the program. You can download it from our website in the download section.

Well, now let's go directly to the very diagnostics of disks, after downloading the program, launch the file of the required bit rate and look at the main window if you see a blue icon with a signature good or in English good means with your SMART disk everything is in order and further diagnostics can be omitted.

If you see a yellow or red icon with the words cautiously, badly, then there are some problems with your disk. You can find out about the exact problem below in the list of SMART Essential Diagnostic Items. Wherever there are yellow and red icons opposite the inscription, it will indicate that it was in this part that your disk suffered.

If you have already exhausted the disk resource, then it is no longer worth repairing it. If you have found several broken sectors, then the possibility of repair is still there. I will tell you about the repair of broken sectors further. If there are a lot of bad sectors on the disk, more than 10 or a lot of very slow sectors, then it is not worth rebuilding such a disk. After a while, it will still crumble further, it will need to be constantly restored / repaired.

Disk repair software.

By repair, I mean relocation of bad and slow sectors on the disk. This instruction suitable only for HDD drives, that is, only hard drives. For SSDs, this operation will do nothing, but will only worsen the condition of the solid state drive.

The repair will help extend the life of your hard drive a little more. To recover bad sectors, we will use the HDD regenerator program. Download and run this program, wait while the program collects data about your disks after the data is collected you will see a window in which you will need to click on the inscription - Click here to bad sectors on demaget drive surfase directly under Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. Click on the inscription you need to quickly in OS 8 and 10, so the window will quickly disappear, at 7 everything is fine. Then press NO. Then select your disk from the list. Click the start process button. A window will appear in the form command line in which you will need to press 2, Enter, 1, Enter.

After the operations done, the system will start scanning for bad sectors and moving them to unreadable disk partitions. In fact, the bad sectors do not disappear, but in the future they do not interfere with the operation of the system and you can continue to use the disk further. The disk verification and repair process can take a long time, depending on the size of your disk. At the end of the program, press button 5 and Enter. If you have any errors while testing and fixing bad sectors, it means that your disk cannot be recovered. If you have found more than 10 bad - bad sectors, then restoring such a disk does not make sense, there will always be problems with it.

The main signs of disk failure are:

Video on how to diagnose HDD / SSD:

RAM diagnostics

This time we will carry out RAM diagnostics. There are several options in which you can check the RAM, this is when your computer is still turned on and is working somehow, and when you cannot turn on the computer, only BIOS is loaded.
The main signs that the RAM is not working:

• When loading resource-intensive applications, the computer freezes or restarts.
• With prolonged use of the computer, more than 2 hours, Windows starts to slow down, as the time increases, the slowdown increases.
• When installing any programs, you cannot install them, the installation fails.
• Sound and video jamming.

The first thing we'll look at is how to check your RAM if your Windows boots. Everything is very simple, in any of the operating systems starting from Windows Vista you can type the checker in the search Windows memory... Launch the appeared shortcut as administrator and see a message stating that you can restart and start the scan right now, or schedule a scan the next time you turn on the computer. Choose the value you need. After the computer restarts, the RAM test will automatically start for you. It will be held in standard mode, wait until the end of the test and you will find out if everything is in order with your RAM. In addition, after you have already loaded Windows, in the Event Viewer section you can open the Windows logs, select the System item and find the memory diagnostic event on the right in the list. In this event you will see all the information about the diagnostics performed. Based on this information, you can find out if the RAM is working.
The next option for diagnosing RAM in case you cannot boot Windows. To do this, you need to write to disk or bootable USB drive program and run it from BIOS. In the window that appears, a test to check the random access memory (RAM) will be automatically launched. Wait until the end of the test and if there are any problems with your memory, the test window will change from blue to red. This will talk about defects or damage to the RAM. That's all, you have learned how to diagnose RAM.

Video on how to check the RAM:

Diagnostics of the video card

The main signs of a video card defect:

• The computer knocks out the blue screen of death.
• Artifacts appear on the screen - multi-colored points of a strip or rectangles.
• When loading games, the computer freezes or restarts.
• With prolonged use of the computer in the game, performance decreases, the game starts to lag.
• Video jam, video playback failure, flash player problems.
  
• Lack of smoothing in the text and when rewinding documents or web pages.
• Change the color scheme.

All these are signs of any defects in the video card. Testing a video card should be divided into two stages: checking the graphics chip and checking the memory of the video card.

Checking the graphics chip of the video card (GPU)

To check the graphics chip, you can use various programs that load this chip and detect failures under critical load. We will be using the program, and FurMark.
Launch Aida at the bottom of the tray near the clock, click right click and select the system stability test. in the window that appears, check the box next to GPU Stress Test. The test will start at the bottom and you will see a graph of temperature changes, fan speed, and current consumption. To check, 20 minutes of the test is enough, if at this time the lower field with the graph turns red or the computer restarts, then there are problems with your video card.
Launch OCCT. Go to the GPU 3D tab, don't change the settings, and press the button ON. Next, a window with a furry donut will appear, which is a visual test. The test will take 15-20 minutes. I recommend monitoring the temperature and monitoring the power readings, if multi-colored dots, stripes or rectangles appear on the screen, this will indicate that there is a problem with the video card. If the computer shuts down spontaneously, this will also indicate a defect in the video card.
Now we have analyzed the diagnostics of the video card processor, but sometimes there are also problems with the video card memory.

Diagnostics of the video card memory

For this diagnosis, we will use the program. Unpack the program and run it as administrator. In the window that appears, put a tick in front of the inscription signal if there are errors and press the start button. A check of the RAM of the video card will be launched.If any errors with the memory are found, the program will issue a characteristic sound signal, on some computers the signal will be the system signal.
That's all, now you can diagnose the video card yourself. Check GPU and video card memory.

Video for checking the video card:

Diagnostics of the motherboard

The main symptoms of a motherboard malfunction:

• The computer knocks out the blue screen of death, restarts and shuts down.
  
• The computer freezes without rebooting.
  
• Jams cursor, music and video (friezes).
  
• Connected devices disappear - HDD / SSD, drive, USB drives.
  
• Ports, USB and network connectors are not working.
• The computer does not turn on, does not start, does not boot.
• The computer is slow, slows down or freezes frequently.
• The motherboard makes various sounds.

Visual inspection of the motherboard

The first thing to do to diagnose the motherboard is to visually inspect the motherboard. What you need to pay attention to:

• Chips and cracks - in the presence of such damage, the motherboard will not turn on at all or will turn on one time later.
• Swollen capacitors - Due to swollen capacitors, the computer may turn on after 3, 5, 10 attempts or after certain time, can also go out for no reason and slow down.
  
• Oxidation - the computer can turn on once, slow down. It may not turn on at all if the tracks are completely oxidized.
• Warmed up chips, there will be small burning spots or holes on the microchips - because of this, the computer may not turn on or the ports, network cards, sound or USB will not work.
• Scratches on the paths are the same as for chipped cracks.
• Burning around chips and ports - leads to the complete inoperability of the motherboard or its individual parts.

Motherboard software diagnostics

If your computer turns on and boots up Windows, but there are incomprehensible glitches and brakes, it is worth making software diagnostics of the motherboard using the program. Download and install the program, run it, right-click on its icon in the tray near the clock on its icon and select "service" - "system stability test". Check the boxes in front of Stress CPU, Stress FPU, Stress cache, remove the rest of the boxes. Press the "Start" button, the computer will freeze, the test will begin. During the test, monitor the temperature of the processor and motherboard, as well as the power. The test is carried out for at least 20 minutes, max 45 minutes. If during the test the bottom field turns red or the computer goes out, then the motherboard is faulty. Also, the shutdown may be due to the processor, uncheck the boxStress CPU and check again. If you find overheating, then you need to check the cooling system of the motherboard and processor. with fluctuations in power, there may be problems with both motherboard so with the PSU.

If the computer starts but Windows does not boot, you can check the mainland through the boot test... It needs to be written to a disk or USB flash drive. I will show you how to use it in more detail in the video.

Diagnostics of the power supply unit (PSU)

The main symptoms of a power supply malfunction:

• The computer does not turn on at all.
• The computer starts up for 2-3 seconds and stops working.
• The computer turns on from 5-10-25 times.
• Under load, the computer dies, reboots or throws out the blue screen of death.
• The computer slows down a lot under load.
• Devices connected to the computer spontaneously disconnect and reconnect (screws, drives, USB devices).
• Squeak (whistle) when the computer is running.
• Unnatural noise from PSU fan.

Visual inspection of the power supply unit

The first thing to do if the power supply fails is to do a visual inspection. We disconnect the power supply unit from the case and disassemble the power supply unit itself. We check for:

• Burn, flooded elements of the power supply unit - we look to see that all the elements are intact, if we find a burnout or obviously something melted, we carry the power supply unit for repair or change it to a new one.
• Swollen capacitors - replace the swollen capacitors with new ones. Because of them, the computer may not turn on the first time or go out under load.
• Dust - if dust is clogged in the fan and radiators, it must be cleaned, because of this, the power supply unit in the load may turn off due to overheating.
• Blown fuse - when the voltage drops, the fuse often burns, it must be replaced.

We checked everything, but the power supply is behaving badly, we are looking.

Power supply software diagnostics

Software diagnostics of the power supply can be carried out using any test program that gives the maximum load on the power supply. Before doing such a check, it is necessary to determine whether the power supply of the power supply is sufficient for all the elements of your PC. You can check it like this: run the AIDA 64 program link above and go to the site for calculating the required power supply. On the site, transfer the data from Aida to the appropriate fields and click the Calculate button. So we will be sure exactly how much power the power supply is enough for the computer.

We proceed to the diagnostics of the PD itself. Downloading the program. Install and run it. Go to the Power Supply tab. put a daw to use all logical cores (it does not work on all computers) and press the ON button. The test lasts an hour and if at this time the computer turns off, reboots, knocks out a blue screen, there are problems with the power supply unit (Before checking the power supply unit, you must first check the video card and processor to avoid the test being incorrect).

I will not show how to diagnose a power supply unit with a multimeter, because there is a lot of this information on the network, and it is better for professionals to do such diagnostics. I will show you the PSU testing in more detail in the video below:

Hello dear reader! In this article, we will Stress test of the computer for stability by the program OCCT (OverClock Checking Tool) at the time of this writing itself latest version — 4.4.1.

Using the program OCCT we will be able to test the following components of our PC:

Program OCCT when passing the test, it gives the maximum load on the tested components of our PC. And if the testing ended without errors, then your PC and cooling system are in good working order, and they are not going to fail yet!

First, download the program, or install it from the Official Site.

The installation is standard, after starting the downloaded installation file in the first window, click "Next", in the second click "I Accept", in the third "Next" and in the fourth window - the button "Install"

After installation, you will see the following program icon on your desktop OCCT

We launch the program from the shortcut. And something like this window appears in front of us.

Why approximately? Because the program window changes depending on the settings, my program has already been configured, and in the end, after all the settings, you will get the same program window, and then you will change it according to your interests.

So, let's start setting up the program OCCT.

In the main window of the program, click on this button

We get into the settings window

In this window, the most important thing is to set the temperatures, upon reaching which the test will be stopped, this is necessary to prevent the failure of any node from overheating.

ADVICE- If you have a fairly new PC, then the temperature can be set to 90 ° C. The components of the latest releases have rather high operating temperatures.

But if your PC is 5 or more years old, then set the temperature to 80 ° C. Later production parts are very sensitive to overheating.

Most the best option- see the maximum permissible temperatures of your iron on the manufacturer's website.

Components do not pass the test during overclocking! Program OCCT gives such a load that the temperature exceeds 90 ° C and stops the test.
From 90 ° С to 100 ° С and above - this is the critical value at which the parts on your components will begin to be soldered from their saddles if they do not have time to burn out earlier.

But you shouldn't be afraid to burn down the system! "I will repeat" The main thing is to check all fans (Cooler) for operability before passing the test in the system unit and clean the cooling system from dust.

And to carry out computer stability test absolutely necessary! In order to crash the PC (let's say at the time of writing some material that is extremely important to you) did not come as a surprise.

After solving the issue on temperatures, in the last column of the settings, which is called "In real time", put a check mark for the graphs that we want to see when passing the test.

So, with the settings figured out, you can close them. Now let's go back to the main window of the program.

There are four tabs in the main window of the program. CPU: OCCT, CPU: LINPACK, GPU: 3D and POWER SUPPLY.

Processor, RAM, and Motherboard Test - CPU: OCCT

Here, to begin with, we set the values: For convenience, I have numbered them.

1. Test type: Endless - The test will run without time until you stop it yourself. Auto - The test will take place according to the time set in point 2. Duration.

3. Periods of inactivity- Time before the start of the test, and after the end. The report of which you will see in the program window after starting the test.

4. Test version- The bit depth of your system. For me, the program itself determined the bit depth at the first start.

5.Test mode- Here we select one of three sets from the drop-down menu: Large, Medium, and Small.

• Big set - The processor, RAM, and Motherboard (chipset) are tested for errors.
• Medium set - The processor and RAM are tested for errors.
• Small set- Only the Processor is tested for errors.

6. Number of threads- We set the number of threads that your processor supports. For me, the program itself determined the number of processor threads.

Go to the second tab CPU: LINPACK

Processor Test - CPU: LINPACK

On points 1. 2. 3. I think everything is clear. See above in the first test

Clause 4. We leave unchanged.

5. Check the box if you have a 64-bit processor and system.

6. AVX - Compatible Linpack. This parameter is determined for each processor separately.

I will not fully describe the microarchitecture of processors here, this is a separate topic, and I think not every user will be interested in delving into it.

7. Use all logical cores - Check the box so that our processor uses its full potential, including logical cores (if any).

Everything is clear here, go to the next tab.

Video card test - GPU: 3D

On points everything is unchanged 1. 2. 3. I think everything is clear. See above in the first test

4. We put DirectX version that your Windows supports.

DirectX 9- shader model 2.0 Windows XP and more old windows
DirectX 11- shader model 5.0 Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8

5. Choose your video card.

6. We set the resolution of your monitor.

7. Put a check mark. If you, like me, have 2 video cards, combined in SLI mode.

8. If the box is checked, the heating of the video card will be lower, and error detection will be more efficient.

9. Leave the checkbox unchecked if we want to use the entire memory of the video card.

10. For video cards from Nvidia, the value is better. 3. For video cards from ATI, the value is 7.

11. We set the number of frames per second. The value 0 is disabled. You can set the value "0" to check how much FPS your video card can give out.

Here, too, everything is set up, go to last tab- POWER SUPPLY

PSU (Power Supply) Test

The settings are almost the same as on the tab GPU: 3D

Here the principle of the test is as follows: The whole system works at its full capacity, trying to strain our power supply to the maximum.

P.S. in the settings at the bottom of the main program window there is a field where prompts appear, when you hover over a configurable item

Testing motherboard... Configuring BIOS Settings

Topic of the program: Personal computer motherboard.

Purpose of work: study the test program (Aida or CPU-z); explore the basic settings of the basic I / O system.

Lead time: 2 hours

Equipment: training personal computer.

Software: operating system, presentation, test programs.

Theoretical basis

Utility(eng. utility or tool) - auxiliary computer program as part of general software for performing specialized typical tasks related to the operation of equipment and operating system(OS).

The utilities provide access to features (parameters, settings, settings) that are not available without their use, or make the process of changing some parameters easier (automate it).

Utilities can be included in operating systems, bundled with specialized hardware, or distributed separately.

BIOS

BIOS(Basic Input-Output System) is a small program located in read-only memory (ROM) and is responsible for the most basic functions of the interface and settings of the equipment on which it is installed. In other words, we can say that the BIOS is the basis for the operation of a computing system, since it is responsible for the most basic functions of a computer (similar to the human reflex system).

Most widely known among computer users Motherboard BIOS boards, but BIOS is present in almost all computer components: video adapters, network adapters, modems, disk controllers, printers. The motherboard BIOS is responsible for initializing (preparing for work), testing and starting all its components.

The operating system and application programs work with the computer's hardware through the BIOS, which translates user-friendly operating system commands into a language that the computer can understand.

Motherboard BIOS

Physically, BIOS is a set of read-only memory (ROM, Read Only Memory) chips located on the motherboard. Therefore, the microcircuit is sometimes called the ROM BIOS.

If you look under the cover system unit, then on the motherboard you can find a microcircuit with a holographic sticker with an inscription and a logo indicating the BIOS manufacturer. Nearby will certainly be a round battery that powers the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor - volatile memory used to store BIOS settings).

BIOS Setup Utility

Among the programs contained in the BIOS is the BIOS Setup Utility, which allows you to change the data stored in the CMOS memory using the menu system.

To ensure the correct operation of the operating system and application programs with BIOS Setup Utility enters settings for all components of the computer, from RAM to operating frequency processor and ending with the mode of operation of the printer and other peripheral devices... By properly configuring the contents of your computer's BIOS, you can increase its performance by up to 30%.

Comment: careless actions of the user, as a rule, cannot lead to physical damage computer - it can only stop loading. This is easy to fix. Modern BIOSes have quite extensive autoconfiguration tools, so the user's role in setting the "correct" parameters can be minimized. V recent times the parameter setup program now has an item “Load optimized parameters”. Selecting this item allows the user to set the “default parameters” for the existing equipment.

How to enter BIOS Setup Utility

The BIOS Setup Utility is not available to the user while the computer is running. BIOS Setup Utility is usually entered by pressing a key while the computer boots. There are also BIOS versions, the entry into the settings of which is performed using other keys or their combinations.

In this lab, the most common option (key) will be used to enter the BIOS.

Work order

1 part

On personal computer turn on the program for testing the motherboard and fill in the table (for example, the CPU-Z program)

2 part

Based on theoretical material

1. Find out the type and BIOS version/ UEFI.
2. Find out the BIOS creation date /
3. Installed and maximum supported memory size.
4. Determine the parameters of drives connected to the channels of a standard IDE / SATA controller.
5. Determine the current order of polling drives at boot.
6. Change the order of polling drives at boot so that the CDROM is polled first, then HDD... The rest of the carriers are not polled.

Report

The report should contain:

With the release of 7th generation processors and system logic for CPU data, Intel has toughened its attitude towards fans of "free MHz", i.e. for overclockers, by blocking the possibility of overclocking processors with the "K" index and without it, for all chipsets, except for the top-end Intel Z270 Express. Therefore, if you want to collect yourself powerful computer with an overclocked processor, you need to choose a motherboard based on an older chipset.

We have already met big amount interesting motherboards from GIGABYTE, each of which is unique in its own way and has interesting features. The GA-Z270X-Gaming 5, GA-Z270X-Gaming 7 and GA-Z270X-Gaming K3 we have considered are located in the upper and middle price range, starting from 9000 rubles. and higher. But what about those who do not want to spend a large amount on a motherboard, but at the same time want to get the most out of it?
In this case, you need to pay attention to budget boards, for example, GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3, which can be found in Russian retail at a price of 7500 rubles. (according to Yandex.Market, the cost may vary depending on the region and date).
At first glance, it may seem that the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 is too simple board and you can forget about overclocking, but this is not so, and after reading this review to the end, you will be convinced of this.

Specifications.

Packaging and equipment.

GA-Z270-HD3 motherboard comes in a small, by modern standards, cardboard box with an interesting design. In front we are greeted with a large logo UD5 (Ultra Durable 5), which is a kind of quality mark. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable motherboards use high-quality components to ensure that your processor, RAM and overall system perform well throughout the life of your product.
On the opposite side we see specifications GA-Z270-HD3 and description of its capabilities. Despite the affordable price, the motherboard has received many useful technologies in its arsenal. For example, Smart Fan 5 - allows the user to monitor the operating temperature of the motherboard in real time, thanks to 6 temperature sensors, and adjust the operation of the fans.
Inside the box, the board is packed in a cardboard tray and packed in an antistatic bag.

We found in the delivery set:
- user guide;
- CD with software;
- 2 x SATA cables;
- plug for the interface panel;
- G-Connector.

Appearance.

At the heart of the GA-Z270-HD3 motherboard is a brown textolite. The board belongs to the ATX form factor, but in reality its dimensions are slightly smaller - 305 x 225 mm. There is no need to expect any design delights from the GA-Z270-HD3, it's still a board entry level, but, even in spite of this, it looks quite modern.

The layout of the motherboard is quite standard, the RAM slots and the upper PCIe 3.0 x16 slot are located at a sufficient distance from each other, so that you do not have to remove the video card from the system unit to replace the RAM modules.
The opposite side of the PCB looks standard, the only thing that can be noted here is the plastic clips for fastening the radiators, which in practice turned out to be very reliable.

There are four slots for RAM. GA-Z270-HD3 supports modules with frequencies up to 3866 MHz and a total volume of up to 64 GB (4 x 16 GB).
The full list of supported frequencies is as follows: DDR4 3866 (OC) / 3800 (OC) / 3733 (OC) / 3666 (OC) / 3600 (OC) / 3466 (OC) / 3400 (OC) / 3333 (OC) / 3300 (OC) / 3200 (OC) / 3000 (OC) / 2800 (OC) / 2666 (OC) / 2400 (OC) / 2133 MHz.
Two pads for additional USB3.0 ports are soldered next to the DIMM slots; in total, you can connect up to 4 ports.

There are six slots on the printed circuit board for installing expansion cards:
- 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x16 mode);
- 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x4 and x4 modes);
- 2 x PCIe 3.0 x1;
- 1 x PCI.

For hard drives and SSD drives, there are four SATA 6 Gb / s ports and one SATA Express. The latter, if you do not have devices compatible with this interface, can be used as a pair of regular SATA ports.

Faster SSD-drives can be installed in the M.2 port, which supports the following standard sizes: 2242/2260/2280 / 22110. The drive can work in both PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA modes.

At the bottom of the PCB there is a large set of pads for connecting peripheral interfaces: F_AUDIO, COM, LPT, TPM, 2 x USB2.0, F_Panel.

The interface panel contains the following connectors:
- 1 x DVI-D;
- 1 x D-Sub;
- 1 x HDMI;
- 1 x PS / 2;
- 1 x LAN RJ45;
- 4 x USB 3.1;
- 2 x USB 2.0;
- 6 x audio ports.

The sound subsystem of the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 is based on the 8-channel HD audio codec Realtek ALC887, and the part of the PCB on which it is located is isolated from the rest of the PCB layout. High quality Japanese audio capacitors are also used in the sound path.

The motherboard cooling system consists of two aluminum heatsinks, one to cool the chipset and the other to remove heat from the CPU power module. Despite the compact size of the radiators, they do their job well, the temperature of the hottest of them was only 35 degrees!

The CPU power module has seven phases at its disposal, organized in a 4 + 3 phase scheme. Four phases are allocated for powering the processor cores, it is they who are cooled by the radiator, and three more phases are allocated for powering the integrated graphics core. The elementary base of the power system is made up of high quality components, solid capacitors and ferrite core chokes.

The VRM is controlled by an Intersil 95866 controller.

Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3, despite its outward simplicity, has an informative graphical interface that boasts a spectacular and intuitive user interface... The capabilities of BIOS, in terms of overclocking and system settings, are in no way inferior to more expensive devices. In EasyMode on home page we are met by ten blocks, with information about:
- processor temperature;
- system components;
- motherboard temperature and Vcore voltage;
- rotation speed of the connected fans;
- connected SSD and HDD drives.

In ADVANCED mode, which has advanced functionality, we get to the M.I.T. page. It contains many parameters necessary for overclocking and simply setting up the system. All the parameters necessary for overclocking the processor and RAM are concentrated here: CPU multiplier, BCLK frequency, memory frequency, power system settings, timings settings and the ability to increase voltages. In addition, there is a separate submenu for setting the processor power system.

Advanced Frequency Setting is responsible for setting: processor multiplier, BCLK bus frequency, RAM frequency, northbridge frequency, integrated graphics core frequency.

The Advanced Memory Setting contains settings related to RAM, the function of activating the XMP profile, timings and sub-timings settings.

The Advanced Voltage Setting allows you to configure the basic operating voltages that you need for overclocking: Vcore, Vmem, etc. Here you can also configure the operation of the processor power system and RAM.

The System tab contains the time and date settings, as well as the language selection function, by the way, BIOS is translated into Russian, so if you don't care about English, you can still easily navigate in BIOS.

The BIOS tab contains information about the boot mode of the computer.

In Peripherals, you can disable or enable the controllers you need, such as a LAN controller.

Chipset configures the operation of the audio codec and integrated graphics.

The Power tab will allow you to configure the PC to turn on when you press a mouse button or a keyboard key.

The Save & Exite tab is understandable for what it is.

Review of proprietary software.

The motherboard comes with a disc with all the proprietary software GIGABYTE, you can also download it from the official website of the company. Let's start with the simplest program CPU-Z, the design of which has been changed to suit the manufacturer's corporate identity.

Next on the list is the APP Center program - this is the basic program, one might even say the basis, which you can supplement with the functions you need. Everything installed programs from GIGABYTE will automatically go here, and save you from dozens of desktop shortcuts.

There are several tabs, for example Advanced CPU OC contains settings for overclocking the processor. Moreover, here you can control not only frequencies, but also voltages, which greatly simplifies and speeds up the process of overclocking and searching for stable frequencies. As you can see, GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 was no exception and received exactly the same customization options as more expensive motherboards.

Advanced DDR OC contains memory settings including timings.

CPU power management is provided in the Advanced Power tab.

In HotKey, you can configure the operation of hotkeys that will save profiles with your chosen settings.

The next program in the queue was Ambient LED, in which you can customize the work LED backlight... In the case of the board we are considering, only two modes are available for change (static glow and pulsating).

System Information Viewer is a program that allows you to configure the operation of the computer's cooling system, or rather the fans connected to the motherboard. The first tab provides information about the system.

Further, on the Smart Fan 5 Auto tab, the program offers to choose one of the pre-prepared profiles: Quiet, Standard, Performance, Full Speed. The modes are set in ascending order, the quietest is Quiet, and the most productive is Full Speed. Most optimal ratio noise / performance, in our opinion, has Standard, although this will depend on the type of fans installed in your PC.

Going to Smart Fan 5 Advanced, you can configure the operation of each connected fan by manually setting the rotation speed depending on the temperature of the components.

In the Record tab, you can activate monitoring of the main system parameters and save the data to a separate file.

3D OSD is a program completely designed for monitoring computer parameters. In addition to the fact that it can monitor the state of the computer, it can also display the information the user needs on the monitor screen, on top of all windows.

Testing.

Test stand:
- Intel processor Core i5-7600K
- CO: Corsair H110i GTX
- RAM KFA2 Hall Of Fame DDR4-3600 2 x 8 GB
- Corsair AX1200i power supply
- Radeon Graphics R9 280X.

Testing was carried out in two stages: first, test applications were run at nominal frequencies, and then the same applications were run at higher frequencies in overclocking mode.

System nominal settings.

Settings in overclocking mode.
On the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 motherboard, we managed to overclock the processor to 5000 MHz, while maintaining full stability in all benchmarks. To do this, we had to raise the core voltage to 1.315 V.
For ease of perception, all benchmark test results are shown as graphs.

Less is better

Less is better

Less is better

Less is better

Less is better

Bigger is better

Less is better

During testing, using a thermometer, we measured the operating temperatures to which the radiators of the cooling system are heated. The radiator of the power system in idle warmed up to a temperature of 34 ° C.

Radiator Intel chipset The Z270 Express warmed up to 35 ° C.
Below in the graphs, we present all the temperature values ​​we measured during testing.

Conclusion.
GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 will be an excellent base for your home computer. The motherboard will easily ensure the stable operation of modern Core processors i5 or Core i7 even in overclocked state. The computer assembled on the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 will be able to solve a wide range of tasks, from work or surfing the Internet to modern games.
To be honest, when we saw this board for the first time, we did not expect anything outstanding from it, let alone overclocked the processor to 5 GHz. However, after a detailed acquaintance, these thoughts immediately disappeared.
Yes, GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 looks much simpler than more expensive solutions, but this does not impair its performance in any of the parameters. This was clearly demonstrated in the testing section.
Do not forget about the expansion options, the GA-Z270-HD3 has everything in order with this, in addition to additional USB ports, 2nd and 3rd generations, you can connect devices with COM and TPM interfaces to it, which may be relevant for office tasks.
Perhaps to some of the users, the design of the device may seem too simple, however, if you do not use a computer at home in the form of an open stand, this will not be a problem. And lovers of cool design should pay attention to the more expensive price segment such as the AORUS line.
Therefore, based on the results of testing the GIGABYTE GA-Z270-HD3 motherboard, we can say the following. GA-Z270-HD3 will become good choice for building a PC with a limited budget and a desire to overclock the processor in the future in order, if necessary, to increase the performance of the computer.

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