Testing methodology
Comparison Motherboard Configurations |
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Asus B150I Pro Gaming Aura |
Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI |
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| MSRP | £90 |
£100 |
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| BIOS | 0301 |
F5a |
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| Chipset Revision | Intel B150 |
Intel Z170 |
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| CPU | Intel Core i3-6100 |
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| Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB (2 x 8GB) |
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| Memory Timings | 16-16-16-39-2T @ 2,133MHz |
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| Discrete Graphics | Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix (361.75) |
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| System Drive | SK hynix Canvas SC300 (512GB) |
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| Chassis | Corsair Graphite 600T |
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| Power Supply | Corsair AX760i |
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| Operating System | Windows 10 (64-bit) |
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CPU and Memory Benchmarks |
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| HEXUS PiFast | Our number-crunching benchmark stresses a single core by calculating Pi to 10m places | ||||||||||
| Cinebench R15 | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses all cores | ||||||||||
| Handbrake 1.0.2 | Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores (64-bit) | ||||||||||
Gaming Benchmarks |
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| 3DMark | DX11, 1,920x1,080, Fire Strike test | ||||||||||
| Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | DX11, 1,920x1,080, ultra quality | ||||||||||
| BioShock Infinite | DX11, 1,920x1,080, ultra quality | ||||||||||
Miscellaneous Benchmarks |
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| Power consumption | Power consumption when idle, running HandBrake and when gaming playing Mordor | ||||||||||
Notes
There's historically had a large number of benchmarks detailing performance between chipsets. Due to the levels of integration in the processor practically all modern motherboards benchmark at the same levels, give or take a per cent or two, so 15 graphs showing near-identical performance isn't what you (or we) want to see.
We're running nine benchmarks - three CPU, three gaming, three storage - to see if the boards perform at the expected levels. This is more of a sanity check than anything else. And we're comparing the diminutive B150I Gaming with a full-size Z170XP-SLI motherboard from the Gigabyte stable. The comparison may sound unfair until you appreciate that both likely cost the same amount, so it's a question of form factor, chipset and lighting.
Additionally, the CPU has been changed from a Core i7-6700K to a sub-£100 Core i3-6100 and the graphics card from a GeForce GTX 980 to an Asus GeForce GTX 960 Strix, to better contextualise the kind of build we expect users to indulge in.
