Test System

Initial Setup

Initial setup and testing was uneventful with the Gigabyte X79S-UP5 WiFi. I noticed a slightly more aggressive Turbo profile than I have seen before, pictured in the CPU-Z screenshot above. I had many issues at first when I got the board, as it would not recognize any of my ES CPUs, but once I had popped in a retail chip, the board booted right up without any issues.


As you can see by the pictures above, the slot arrangement for dual-GPU use is pretty good, with two full slots between each card. Of course, you could install three cards if you wish, although I tend to hesitate doing so on boards like this one because they do not feature an additional PCIe power plug. You can still access all the bottom edge pin headers, as well as the REST switch that sits amongst them, with three cards installed. I have found that some boards claiming to support three or four cards don't actually do so unless you completely ignore using the front-panel connector, as some cases have large headers that prevent installation of some VGAs, but that is not an issue with the Gigabyte X79S-UP5 WiFi.

Power Consumption

We measure CPU power consumption since one of our first tasks is to truly verify system stability. I isolate the power coming through the 8-pin ATX connector using an in-line meter that provides voltage and current readings, as well as total wattage passed through it. While this may not prove to isolate the CPU power draw in all instances, it does serve as a good indicator of board efficiency and effective VRM design. I also measure total system power consumption, allowing you can get an idea of how much power the board and installed devices draw.


Idle power consumption for the Gigabyte X79S-UP5 WiFi's VRM was very good, beating out the Intel Z77 Express products. At the same time, full system power consumption was a bit higher, but given the extra PCIe connectivity and such, that comes as no surprise.


Load power consumption was another matter, but the Intel X79 Express platform itself does draw more power than Intel's Z77 Express, so this is really of no concern at this point. We will hopefully get usable information once I add more results in the future.