Overclocking on the UD3 was pretty easy and you have multiple outlets to get the job done (in the BIOS via 3D or regular, software from within Windows, etc.) One of the first options I tried was the 3D Processor Base Clock (Gear Ratio) as I heard this was an extremely easy method to get the job done. Try as I might, however, I couldn't get a stable OC using this method even after adjusting voltages for more power.

I eventually gave up and resorted to tried and true methods that ultimately resulted in a 4.4GHz stable overclock on the 3930K CPU. I tried feeding the CPU more voltage but it wasn't helping matters. Since this is the first X79 board I have tested, I have no other proverbial measuring stick to gauge this against but either way, it's a respectable overclock from an already fast processor.




I normally don't bother posting benchmarks with a motherboard review as I feel that boards are sold based on things like overclocking potential, features, price and bundle, not if it can get a couple of points higher in a given benchmark. But seeing as this is our maiden X79 voyage, I felt it appropriate to get a nice baseline of where this platform stands, performance-wise.

Below are results from a number of different benchmarks I conducted on this system. For the "stock" setting, I turned off all power saving features in Windows and the BIOS. As a stock run, I let the BIOS select the memory settings (1333MHz) as well. For the 4.4GHz runs, I dialed in the memory at 2400MHz using an XMP profile.














(lower is better)






(lower is better)


(lower is better)




As you no doubt likely noticed, I didn't run very many GPU-intensive benchmarks. I'm planning a separate review of the Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Ti graphics card in the near future, so be sure to check back for results on that.

Let's move ahead and wrap things up with some final thoughts and a conclusion.