Because Intel’s integrated controllers and closely-regulated firmware removes variability between platforms, any sizable difference in the benchmarks should be attributed to either broken settings (like bad memory timings) or unintended overclocking (cheating). Smaller difference can be caused by acceptable differences in base clock (99.8 to 100.2 MHz, for example) or by chance, since differences up to 1% can occur between consecutive runs on the same hardware.


We started to notice a performance advantage favoring Gigabyte’s Z97X-UD5H in 3DMark 11, but the issue really stood out in 3DMark Professional. A quick run through the firmware settings proved there was no way to disable firmware "enhancement" of Intel's Turbo Boost ratios. In this case, the "enhanced" mode forces the CPU's maximum-specified ratio, regardless of the number of cores utilized in the benchmark.

Gigabyte retains a lead through PCMark, though the amount of gain is questionable since this metric is very dependent on storage performance.
- Maximizing The LGA 1150 Mainstream?
- ASRock Z97 Extreme6
- Z97 Extreme6 Software
- Z97 Extreme6 Firmware
- Asus Z97 Pro(Wi-Fi ac)
- Z97 Pro(Wi-Fi ac) Software
- Z97 Pro(Wi-Fi ac) Firmware
- Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H
- Z97X-UD5H Software
- Z97X-UD5H Firmware
- MSI Z97 MPower
- Z97 MPower Software
- Z97 MPower Firmware
- Supermicro C7Z97-OCE
- C7Z97-OCE Software
- C7Z97-OCE Firmware
- How We Tested Enthusiast-Oriented Z97 Motherboards
- Results: 3DMark and PCMark
- Results: SiSoftware Sandra 2014
- Results: 3D Games
- Results: Audio and Video Encoding
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: File Compression
- Results: Power, Heat and Efficiency
- Results: Overclocking
- Which Z97 Motherboard Is Best?