BIOS Features
GIGABYTE paired their Z77X-UP7 motherboard with the latest version of their UEFI(Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) BIOS, a customized version of the AMI-developed UEFI style BIOS. The UEFI BIOS offers full keyboard and mouse support while using the BIOS pages with enhanced mouse navigation supported by right clicking the mouse – forces page navigation back to previous view if inside a settings pop-up or in a sub-menu page.
GIGABYTE's UEFI BIOS implementation is not the smoothest I've seen, but comes close. There is a minimal amount of lag in clicking around the BIOS. However, the page layout is well organized and they even include a 3D-rendered version of the BIOS if you want a pretty version to navigate through. The 3D BIOS also contains pop-up information messages on all board devices and subsystems. One thing I am very pleased to see is that GIGABYTE finally gave up on the practice of hiding BIOS features from the user – with this BIOS all settings are visible by default, no more having to click CTRL-F1 to unhide advanced BIOS settings.
3D BIOS page, pop up message example
M.I.T page
M.I.T page, M.I.T Current Status page
M.I.T page, Advanced Frequency Settings page
M.I.T page, Advanced Frequency Settings page, Advanced CPU Core Features page
M.I.T page, Advanced Memory Settings page
M.I.T page, Advanced Memory Settings page, Channel-specific Memory Timing Settings page
M.I.T page, Advanced Memory Settings page, Channel-specific Memory Timing Settings page continued
M.I.T page, Advanced Voltage Settings page
M.I.T page, Advanced Voltage Settings page, 3D Power Control page
M.I.T page, Advanced Voltage Settings page, 3D Power Control page continued
M.I.T page, Advanced Voltage Settings page, CPU Core Voltage Control page
M.I.T page, Advanced Voltage Settings page, DRAM Voltage Control page
M.I.T page, Advanced Voltage Settings page, Chipset Voltage Control page
M.I.T page, PC Health Status page
M.I.T page, PC Health Status page continued
M.I.T page, Miscellaneous Settings page
System page
System page, ATA Port Information page
BIOS Features page
Peripherals page
Peripherals page continued
Peripherals page, Intel(R) Smart Connect Technology page
Peripherals page, Marvell ATA Controller Configuration page
Power Management page
Save & Exit page
Save & Exit page, Save Profiles window
Save & Exit page, Load Profiles window
Save & Exit page, Save Profiles window, Select Device window
Q-Flash page
” Note that the card requires
” Note that the card requires a USB 2.0 header connection for enhanced functionality unlocked via its Windows app.”
No.
Contrary to popular beleif, Mini PCI-E cards are dual mode and support PCI AND USB
On combo WiFi/BT Cards such as this Atheros and Intel Centrino, Bluetooth is routed to the USB pins of the mini PCIE (the small end)as Bluetooth is designed for USB drivers/software only.
Inserting a combo card into a slot wired for PCI only will simply just not enable the Bluetooth.
Some Mini to full Carrier cards such as the one included with this board have a USB port to fully enable the Mini PCIE slot.
Some carrier cards such as generics or Intel’s 6205 Desktop card do not pass USB through and as such cannnot use Bluetooth or 3G cards.
Mini PCIE WWAN/3G are also USB only due to the driver/softwre stack.
Getting mSATA to work in a Mini PCIE slot is anothr matter, and some new laptops have a fully universal slot, some motherboards dont. One can see a Marvel IC in the periphery of this boards mSATA.
KngtRider – thank you for the
KngtRider – thank you for the clarification on the functioning of the Atheros card. The review information has been updated for accuracy…
Color scheme makes it look
Color scheme makes it look like an old DFI Lanparty.
Why does every motherboard
Why does every motherboard bundled software have glossy, flashy and badly skinned UI? Can’t anyone make clean, readable and aesthetically pleasing UI? Is it just me?