All manufacturers make great claims about voltage regulator efficiency, but ASRock and Asus bolster those claims at full load in the Z97 Extreme4 and Z97-A. Then again, a slight decrease in core voltage could produce similar results without causing a system crash.

Those reductions in power consumption are also seen in lower CPU temperatures, so lower full-load voltage does appear the most likely reason for saved energy. The question is, does this hurt overclocking?

Anyone really keen on overall performance charts can find one in this article’s image gallery. But the overall performance difference comes down to less than half of one percent. That means power savings translate almost directly into an efficiency improvement.

The Z79 Extreme4 wins the efficiency race, followed by the Z97-A.
- Gaming Raises The Mainstream
- ASRock Z97 Extreme4
- Z97 Extreme4 Software
- Z97 Extreme4 Firmware
- Asus Z97-A
- Z97-A Software
- Z97-A Firmware
- Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5
- Z97X-Gaming 5 Software
- Z97X-Gaming 5 Firmware
- L337 Gaming Z97-Machine
- Z97-Machine Software
- Z97-Machine Firmware
- MSI Z97 Gaming 5
- Z97 Gaming 5 Software
- Z97 Gaming 5 Firmware
- Test Hardware And Benchmark Configurations
- Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Results: SiSoftware Sandra
- Results: 3D Games
- Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: File Compression
- Power, Heat, And Efficiency
- Overclocking
- Picking A Value Leader
What I found lacking is the reviewing of those features like software (audio, fan control etc.), VRM quality, "other stuff".
Now what is this "other stuff" really? Which motherboard has the best "other stuff"? I didn't get it from the review.
Apart from the very simple introduction to the software and hardware, I can't really make what's better between Gigabyte and MSI, the one's I'm interested in. MSI has better UEFI, I understood but how is the software? How many VRM phases and their quality? Is MSI's audio suite better than GB's?
These are what make the products apart in the same price range but finding the value leader with good explanations for why was not possible from this article despite it's title.