It’s Time to Overclock with GIGABYTE’s BIG XTU Challenge

Hi Overclockers from all around the world!

GIGABYTE designed a new overclocking competition for you guys, and the winnings are big…real big!

Get your GIGABYTE Z97 and GIGABYTE X99 platforms ready and fire up XTU for a chance to win one of the $1,000 USD in cash prize, one of the GIGABYTE X99-SOC Champion motherboard giveaway, or even better, a trip to COMPUTEX 2015!!!!

You can find all the rules about the competition on HWBOT’s website here: http://oc-esports.io/#!/round/gbt_z97x99_xtuchallenge

Here is our official press release: http://www.gigabyte.com/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=1349

The comp runs from March  1st until April 29th.

Wish you all good luck!!!

VRWORLD: INTEL PUSHES PAST 10NM TO A POST-SILICON ERA!

Vrworld reported recently that Intel recently gave an update on their 10nm process and the push to 7nm. According to Vrworld, Intel is expecting to move to 7nm architecture by 2018. What this effectively means is that Intel will move to a new material as Intel’s current silicon etching techniques will be sufficient to bring it to 10nm method. All I can think of is bring on the MHz and more cores .

Case Mod: Terminator Velox Project

When a person applies himself, the result shows. This can certainly be said for Larry Anderson with his latest case mod featuring a GIGABYTE Z97X-Gaming G1 Wifi Black Edition which gave him the honors of wining the Best of Show Case Mod Contest at LANFest Sacramento Fall 2014.

With the added special touch from Larry, the finished system is simply spectacular! Impressive work!

You can learn all about the build log here : http://forums.evga.com/Terminator-Velox-Project-m2265355.aspx

Here are a few pictures for your pleasure!

GIGABYTE Z97X Gaming G1 Black selected as “Motherboard of the Year” by PC PowerPlay Magazine

GIGABYTE Z97X Gaming G1 Black has been selected as the “Motherboard of the Year” by PC PowerPlay Magazine in Australia. PC PowerPlay Magazine is the biggest gaming magazine in Australia and clearly rates our top spec Z97 Gaming board as the best of the best. Make sure you get one on your next upgrade! The magazine doesn’t have a definite pick on the CPU side so we’ll take the liberty of suggesting for a good match. We’d recommend the Intel 4690K or 4790K for high end or as a pure gamer even the Intel Pentium G3258 Anniversary Edition is a killer performer in 3D!

GIGABYTE Brix BXBT-2807 Compact PC Unboxing and Linux Installation

I came across a pretty hands on review of the Brix 2807 compact PC and thought it would be a an interesting one for you to check out. THe reviewer goes into a lot of detail, pulls the Brix PC apart to talk about what’s inside and installs Linux and does some video tests. Very informative!

Steponz from USA strikes again, takes out all major single GPU scores!

We recently wrote about Steponz, an overclocker from USA, passing 10K points in single card 3DMARK Fire Strike Extreme. He did not rest there and decided to attack all major single card 3D scores and took everything out in an emphatic fashion. The rig was powered with the GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion running a 5960X at 5.8GHz and a single GTX980 running 2260MHz, incredible stuff!

Congrats Joe!

Steponz first overclocker to reach 10,000+ points with 1x GPU in Fire Strike Extreme!

Last week has been very interesting at HWBOT, particularly from some of the amazing overclocks Steponz from USA put up. One that impressed me the most was the magic 10K barrier being broken in 3DMARK Fire Strike Extreme with a single graphics card.

The hardware used was GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion with 5960X clocked at 5.8GHz and 1x GTX980 graphics card running at 2250MHz core.

Congratulations and keep up the good work!

How to insulate a motherboard for subzero cooling, guide inside!

Zeropluszero from Australia put up a guide on how to insulate a motherboard for subzero overclocking. Subzero overclocking refers to using copper pots or containers attached to CPU or memory or graphics cards and pouring liquid nitrogen or dry ice inside the container to cool the CPU/memory/GPU. Once you cool down the copper container, moisture in the air condensates and creates ice or water puddles depending on how humid your place of benching is. This means that the hardware requires some protection to ensure it does not short circuit and die.

Here are a couple of shots from the guide but for the real McCoy, jump over to HWBOT forum!

OCAU overclocking competition with a twist, how low can you score in 3DMARK!

OCAU forum runs some interesting overclocking competitions from time to time and this one is no different. GIGABYTE sponsored the X99 SOC Champion for top spot which was fought over in a friendly OC showdown which ended up a 3 way tie for first place. This has not occurred in the past so moderators found a crafty little competition for the 3 contestants.

To make things more interesting the comp is now run as a crazy underclocking competition for the 3way tie places to be decided and competitors now have to score the lowest possible score in 3DMARK03 to win. This is after running a comp with a highly competitive month long comp which required purchasing a low end GPU and applying crazy modifications.

Current leader in the 3way tie showdown is Chilli-Man with a hilariously low score of 89 points in 3DMARK03 (btw world record held by TeamAU on GIGABYTE Z97 platform is over 300,000 points!).

You have to check out this OCAU competition at: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=1151880

Here are some interesting rig pics and crafty modifications LOL!

GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion breaks XTU world record and highest DDR4 memory frequency

HWBOT lit up today with some more scores from GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion coupled with DDR4 and 5960X CPU. First score was the highest DDR4 memory frequency done by hicookie. New DDR4 frequency top score was set with Corsair DDR4 memory and it stands at DDR4-4326 (2163.3MHz).

HWBOT score link: http://hwbot.org/submission/2745882_hicookie_memory_clock_ddr4_sdram_2163.3_mhz

It comes with a video validation showing oscilloscope measurements confirming the frequency.

The latest XTU world record was also broken by dinos22 on GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion motherboard. New world record XTU score is at 3039 points running 5920MHz CPU frequency on Intel 5960X CPU powered by a 1500W Corsair PSU.

HWBOT score link: http://hwbot.org/submission/2746285_dinos22_xtu_core_i7_5960x_3039_marks

Top 10 Best-Selling Games of 2014

As spotted on Forbes.com today, the NPD Group came out with the top 10 video games of 2014. Arguably, someone’s best game is entirely a subjective matter, looking at the sales number of each games is not a clear indicator that the game is awesome. But at least it gives us a good look at how well the main players such as Activision, Rockstar, Ubisoft and the likes are doing… So here is the USA’s Best Selling line-up for 2014.

1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
2. Madden NFL 15 (Not available for PC… boooooo!)
3. Destiny (Not available for PC… damn damn?)
4. Minecraft
5. Super Smash Bros (for 3DS and Wii U…)
6. NBA 2K15
7. Watch Dogs
8. FIFA 15
9. Call of Duty Ghosts

How about you, are you a COD fan? What were you favorite games for 2014? Which one do you think will make the list for 2015?

Hamas denounces Charlie Hebdo's new edition

(dpa) - Hamas, the Islamist movement in control of the Gaza Strip, has denounced the cartoon of a weeping prophet Mohammed in the first edition of Charlie Hebdo after the deadly attack by Muslim extremists at the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine.

The Palestinian group‘s official newspaper, Felesteen, Thursday said that insulting the prophet is not warrented by freedom of expression.

It published a cartoon showing a hand making a stop sign opposite another hand with a paintbrush resembling the devil. The first hand appears with the slogan "Anything but the Prophet," and the one with the brush reads "Freedom of speech."

Charlie Hebdo‘s first issue after the attack on Wednesday featured a crying cartoon of the prophet holding a "Je suis Charlie" sign under the headline: "All is forgiven."

Senior Hamas leader Izzat Risheq said the decision to publish that cartoon "poured oil on the fire."

Report: Abbas 'Willing' to Give Israel a Break on ICC

A Lebanese newspaper reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi that the Palestine would not file a case against Israel in the International Criminal Court if negotiations resumed “in the coming weeks.”
According to the report in the Al-Ahabar newspaper, Abbas made the comments to Sisi during their meeting in Cairo Wednesday.

Several weeks ago, State of Palestine formally requested
membership in the ICC. Last week, Palestine recognized the ICC's jurisdiction to investigate Israeli war crimes committed during last summer's Gaza war. The ICC can prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since July 1, 2002.

Israel police kill Palestinians in W. Bank and Negev

Israeli police have killed an Arab Israeli man during clashes with stone-throwing Bedouin protesters in the southern Negev region, sparking anger with the Arab communities in the area, an Arab Israeli lawmaker said.

"We, the Palestinians in Negev, have lost another man. This is another sign that the Israeli police are dealing recklessly when it comes to our lives," MP Taleb el-Sana told The Anadolu Agency.

According to al-Sana, Sami al-Jaar, 20, was killed late Wednesday during clashes between Arab protesters and Israeli police in the Negev city of Rahat.

"They could have captured him rather of killing him. Now, the whole Negev is boiling with anger," he added.

In a statement, the Israeli police said that two policemen were injured in clashes with stone-throwing individuals in Rahat, asserting that its personnel were in the city to pursue criminals.

Israel refers to Palestinians who remained in their homes and cities after the creation of Israel in 1948 as "Arab Israelis."

There are around 1.6 million Arabs in Israel, accounting for around 20 percent of the country's population, according to official Israeli figures.

Claiming that most land in the Negev Desert is "state property," the self-proclaimed Jewish state has repeatedly demolished Bedouin homes in the area.

Palestinian Deficit Heading to $2Bn, Says PA Insider

The cost of reconstructing Gaza is taking its toll on the Palestinian Authority's budget.

The Palestinian Authority (P.A.) is likely to face a US$2 billion deficit in 2015, a Palestinian official warned Wednesday.

Although financial contributions from the United States and the European Union have been sinking for two years, according to an anonymous official who spoke to Turkey's Anadolu Agency, Gazan reconstruction costs are also largely to blame for the P.A.'s financial shortfall.

An estimated US$7.8 billion is needed for Gaza to recover from Israel's assault in 2014.

Over 2000 Gazans were killed during the fighting, which left hundreds of homes and businesses in ruins, and public infrastructure decimated.

Palestine's economy minister Mohammad Mustafa has stated donor countries need to boost aid to the P.A.

“Starting from next year, the Palestinian budget will need additional external support worth US$1.3 billion to fulfill its obligations to the citizens,” he stated in October, according to the Middle East Monitor.

In 2012, a funding shortfall left the P.A. unable to pay public worker salaries. Palestinian officials blamed the shortfall on a handful of donors failing to fulfill financial pledges.

On Wednesday, Iraq pledged a new US$28.7 million to the P.A., according to Palestine's official WAFA news agency.

“Iraq has taken this step despite the dire circumstances it has been undergoing, especially those related to the approval of the new Iraqi budget,” WAFA quoted Iraq's Arab League representative Diya Dabbas.

Qatar has also handed the P.A. US$25 million in aid this week.

Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian at Gush Etzion

Israeli forces opened fire at two Palestinians near the Gush Etzion Junction between Bethlehem and Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday evening, killing one.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Ma'an that two Palestinians "were involved in a criminal incident" in the area, and one was shot by Israeli soldiers after he attempted to flee the area.

The man was "injured seriously and died in the evening," he told Ma'an, adding that the other was arrested.

Israeli news website Israel National News, which is known for its right-wing leanings, said that incident occurred as the 30-year-old victim was "attempting to steal a car in the parking lot of the Rami Levy supermarket branch" in the area.

The supermarket, while located inside the Jewish-only settlement, is located immediately beside the junction and is thus open to Palestinians as well.

The Israeli news site said that military police had launched an investigation into the incident.

CES 2015 Coverage

Not all of us have the opportunity to go to the Consumer Electronic Show held every year in Las Vegas. But luckily for us, the internet is overloaded with coverage  giving us an insider look at what was presented during the show and teases us whit the future technology that is about to hit our (online) store shelves.

That is not different for GIGABYTE. The Neopolitan ballroom of the Caesars Palace where GIGABYTE was located received a lot of focus from the media. The show is not over and YouTube is now filled with coverage. Here are a few:

New Egg on GIGABYTE press event

New Egg on GIGABYTE at CES

LinusTechTips

Paul's Hardware (GIGABYTE  coverage starts at 3:38)

PC Perspective on the X99-SOC Champion

Pc Perspective on the BRIX

And a bonus cool video from The Verge

Steam Daily Deal: 3DMARK 80% OFF

Congrats, you built yourself a gaming computer. As this provides you with hours of great high quality gaming fun, you jealous friend decided to do the same. Then follow that inevitable “My computer is better than yours”. Arguments flow, your CPU has more core, his system has more and faster memory, you have two graphics card in SLI, his system is overclocked…  stop it. There is only one way to settle this argument. If you want to measure all of that power that’s enclosed in this awesome mighty gaming rig of yours, 3D Mark is one of the best benchmark out there to give a go at it. And yes, as it is mentioned in the title of the post, it is at 80% off!!! But hurry up, at the moment of writing, only 40 hours were left to this deal…

http://store.steampowered.com/app/223850/

http://www.futuremark.com/support/downloads

“We designed 3DMark for gamers, overclockers and system builders who want to get the most out of their hardware. 3DMark is a complete PC benchmarking tool kit for those who are serious about performance. And it's no longer just for Windows. With the new 3DMark, you can compare your scores with Android, iOS and Windows RT devices too.

• The latest version of the world's most popular benchmark.
• Includes eight stunning tests for DirectX 11, DirectX 10 and DirectX 9 hardware.
• Test everything from tablets to desktop gaming PCs.
• Compare scores with other Windows, Android and iOS devices.
• Compete for the fastest PC on Steam with Steam leaderboards.
• Easy to use, no technical know-how needed.”

Wish you all some happy benching time!

GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion Debuts at CES 2015 with One More WR Under its Belt

Today, Jan. 5th 2015, GIGABYTE held it’s pre-CES Press Event in the Caesar’s Palace Neopolitan ballroom. One of the main focus of that event was the launch of a new overclocking board, the GIGABYTE X99-SOC Champion.
 

 http://www.gigabyte.us/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=1342
One of the main feature of the X99 SOC Champion is the SMT mounted DIMMs for improved signal quality and their location which is closer to the CPU socket. The DIMM’s shorter trace path enables the DDR4 memory to communicate faster with the CPU, enabling the overclockers to reach higher DDR4 memory frequencies. Additionally, the motherboard includes a CPU Mode Switch; this switch allows the overclockers to switch between CPU default socket mode and OC socket mode.
The Press Event was crown by a live overclocking demonstration held by GIGABYTE famous overclockers Dinos22, Sofos1990 and HiCookie. The skilled trio managed to impress the crowd with a 1 World Record, 3 Global First and 3 Hardware First on the X99-SOC Champion! Nice going guys! Here are the submissions:

 

3004 Marks on XTU with Intel Core i7 5960X

http://hwbot.org/submission/2722703

2317 Marks on XTU with Intel Core i7 5820K

http://hwbot.org/submission/2722904

84470 Marks on 3D Mark Vintage with x1 GPU

http://hwbot.org/submission/2722892

Ian from Anandtech already had a look at the X99-SOC Champion. Although he couldn’t test the board on its true intent, LN2 overclocking, Ian gave the Champion a good thorough testing. You can read the results and his opinion here:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8804/gigabyte-x99-soc-champion-motherboard-review-low-cost-x99-overclocking

Here are a few pictures of the event: