I did not know about "NON-BUMP" policy here. Thanks for the heads up and I wont do it again.
I did try installing the video card into the 1st slot and 2nd slots, and the test results were exactly the same for both slots. In Bios, I would see 16x for the PCI when the video card was in either 1st or 2nd slot. So, that was OK.
I did a CLEAN install of the video driver 3 different times, and each time the test results were the same. So, that was OK.
I ran several different Stress-Tests (video and CPU), and each time the tests did not report and issues (the 1st and 2nd slots passed similarly). So, that was OK.
I did try a friends same video card in my computer, and the tests reported the same. So, the video card was OK.
Once upon a time, years ago, in the EVGA motherboard forum:
Users would post up their bios & windows settings to get help,
Users would be able to view other users bios & windows settings to help others,
It would be easy to find out what each Bios parameter/option specifically controlled.
I don't see user's system settings (Bios & Windows) or explanations of Bios parameters posted like it was in the past. Is there a "NON-BIOS-POST" policy? I'm not finding posted Z87 Bios settings as I did experience in the X58 motherboard forum back in 2009.
I have had a few eager and knowledgeable users tying to help me, and I do greatly appreciate all the replies. Thank you.
Anyway.... after a full week of tweaking the Bios, Windows 7 64, and NVIDA settings... I did find a combination that worked for my Z87 setup.
Example, 3DMark Sky Diver, Z87 Classified:Results before---15,052.
Results after-----21,442.
28.9% Improvement
Example, 3DMark Fire Strike, Z87 Classifed:Results before---6,579.
Results after-----7,278.
9.6% Improvement.
The CPU results are all the same in both Sky Diver & Fire Strike tests. The Video card results are vastly different in both tests. The setting for the CPU/Memory/Video card are all at STOCK settings for each component in the BIOS and in Windows 7.
So... now the new Z87 Classified setup is faster than my X58 HYDRO Classified setup. The results are NOT as high as I had expected over the X58 HYDRO motherboard. Currently, I'm wondering that I should of purchased a $40.00 SATA III card for the X58 (for new SSD), because there is less than 10% improvement (stock Z87 vs stock X58 HYDRO) for the $598.00 I just spent for a new Z87 system. I will start to overclock my new setup and I hope to improve the speed results to higher reports.
Thanks to everyone that posted up to help me find a result to my issue.
Too bad I lost a week of time trying to resolve this simple setup issue.
Again, I do greatly appreciate all the replies. Thank you! =)
post edited by superpro - 2014/08/03 09:05:56