Installation
I would like to again thank GIGABYTE for providing the the test bench! If you are reading this review then chances are you have installed atleast one motherboard in your time. With the rest of our hardware installed, the setup is coming together nicely! The best thing about have a black motherboard is the ability to add pretty much any other components and still have an impressive display of aesthetics. With our additional testbed hardware installed, we are ready to fire this bad boy up!
BIOS Overview
The UEFI BIOS has been one of the most drastic changes made to the PC in quite some time. And for the most part, the new format has been a welcomed change, especially with the support for mouse input!
The Z97X-UD3H-BK has a very nice BIOS layout. The layout is very familiar to the Z97X-SLI that we previously reviewed, with some minor changes to the menu layout as well as the aesthetics overall. Overclockers will feel welcome here, as there are a plethora of overclocking and fine-tuning options available.
There are actually three different interfaces, each with their own visual treatment as well as available options. The first is the Startup Guide has the most basic user interface, with access to the most common options used for setting up a system for first time use.
The second BIOS interface is the Standard Mode (classic) which has a more familiar layout to the interfaces of yesteryear. Available here are plenty of the fine tuning and overclocking options a user could hope for in a motherboard of this price range.
The third and final BIOS interface is the High Definition overlay (with the option to display in standard definition) which has the same amount of tweaking options available in a customizable experience. Important system status information is always at the forefront, making diagnostics handy while overclocking and tuning. Options range from automatic system tuning to fine adjustement of BCLK steps, profiles, customizable menus, and a whole lot more!
Now that we have had the chance to examine the UEFI BIOS, let us move on to the software installation portion of this review.
