Gigabyte x99 soc champion review

Gigabyte leader in the manufacture of motherboards, graphics cards and peripherals has sent us for analysis to the board with more than 30 world records. It is the Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion that has become the performance leader among all X99 motherboards. Among her achievements she has surpassed the 5 Ghz barrier in processors, memories at 3400 Mhz and results that remove the hiccups… Do you want to know more about her? Here we go!

We appreciate the trust placed by the Gigabyte Spain team in the transfer of this exclusive nationwide:

Technical characteristics

GIGABYTE X99 SOC CHAMPION FEATURES
CPU	Support for Intel® Core ™ i7 processors in the LGA2011-3 socket. L3 cache varies by CPU.
Chipset	Intel® X99 Express Chipset
Memory	Supports DDR4 3400 (OC) * / 3333 (OC) / 3200 (OC) / 3000 (OC) / 2800 (OC) / 2666 (OC) / 2400 (OC) / 2133 MHz RAM up to 32 GB. XMP Profile Architecture for 4 memory channels Support for non-ECC memory modules
Multi-GPU Compatible	2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIE_1, PCIE_2) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIE_1 slot; if you are installing two PCI Express graphics cards, it is recommended that you install them in the PCIE_1 and PCIE_2 slots. 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIE_3, PCIE_4) * The PCIE_4 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIE_1 slot. When the PCIE_4 slot is populated, the PCIE_1 slot will operate at up to x8 mode. * When an i7-5820K CPU is installed, the PCIE_2 slot operates at up to x8 mode and the PCIE_3 operates at up to x4 mode. (All PCI Express x16 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) 3 x PCI Express x1 slots (The PCI Express slot conforms to the PCI Express 2.0 standard.) Multi Graphics Technology Supports 4-Way / 3-Way / 2-Way AMD CrossFire ™ / NVIDIA® SLI ™ technologies
Storage	Supports SSD per M.2 PCIe slot 1 x M.2 PCIe connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 PCIe x4x2 / x1 SSD support) 1 x SATA Express connector 6 x SATA to 6Gb / s connectors (SATA3 0 ~ 5) (If the operating system is installed on SATA3 0 ~ 5, the sSATA3 0 ~ 3 connectors cannot be used.)
USB and ports.	2 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports available through the internal USB header 8 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports (4 ports on the rear panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB connectors) Renesas® uPD720210 Chipset + USB 3.0 Hub: 4 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 rear connectors
Net	Intel GbE LAN chips (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Audio	High definition audio 2/4 / 5.1 / 7.1-channel Support for S / PDIF out Realtek® ALC1150 Codec
Rear connectors	4 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports 1 x S / PDIF Out Optical Connector 4 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 port 1 x PS / 2 Keyboard port 1 x PS / 2 mouse port 1 x RJ-45 port 5 x audio jack connector (output to center / subwoofer speaker, output to rear speaker, line input, line output, microphone input)
BIOS	DualBIOS ™ Support 2 x 128 Mbit flash License for the use of UEFI BIOS by AMI PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
Format	E-ATX format with measures 30.5cm x 25.9cm
Price	€ 400 approx.

Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion

We find a "Premium" presentation with robust packaging that ensures that our motherboard will arrive in perfect condition at our home. On the cover we see that it is a special motherboard for overclocking and includes the image of a Formula One car. In the rear area we have all the features and benefits of acquiring this motherboard.

Once we open the box we see that we have two compartments, in the first we find the motherboard and in the second all the accessories. The bundle is made up of:

Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion motherboard, Instruction manual, Quick guide, CD with drivers and applications, Back plate, SLI bridges, SATA cables.

It has a slightly wider format than the marked standard, it is an Extended ATX motherboard with dimensions of 30.5cm x 25.9cm, so we must be very careful when acquiring our new tower for assembly. Its design is quite aggressive with the combination of orange colors and matte black PCB. Regarding refrigeration, it has two large refrigeration zones: the supply phase and the southern bridge. After our tests we have seen that they are very efficient, although if we want to perform extreme overclock it is recommended to use a fan or liquid cooling.

The Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion with 8 power phases controlled by high-end controller IR3580 with PWM rectifier and PowIRstage IR3556 50A Mosfets, Cooper Bussmann R15-1007R3 76 / 70A inductor and Nippon Chemicon 10K DuraBlack solid- state capacitors. What difference do we have between this and the rest of motherboards? Gigabyte has run on batteries using its own custom processor socket with 2, 083 pins. The reason for these extra pins is that it helps to improve the processor and the DDR4 RAM memory to overcome extreme conditions with greater energy efficiency (which allows it to be "more chic"). As with all Gigabyte motherboards, it features an extra gold coating on the socket pins to improve connectivity and corrosion resistance.

Unlike other ATX models, it only includes 4 DDR4 RAM sockets that allow us to install up to 32GB with frequencies of up to 3400 Mhz through XMP profile. Normally it allows us to install up to 64 GB of RAM, but I have to remind you that this motherboard is designed to beat records at high frequencies and for this reason we have this “limitation”. The layout of the PCI Express ports is very good, allowing us 2/3/4 way with Nvidia SLI or AMD Crossfire graphics cards. We detail how we can connect the cards and their speeds with a 40 LAN processor:

1 Graphics card: x16.2 Graphics cards: x16 - x16.3 Graphics cards: x16 - x16 - x8.4 Graphics cards: x16 - x8 - x8 - x8.

Although we are on a motherboard to compete, not all of its useful life is going to be fighting for world records within the reach of very few. Therefore it is equipped with an excellent AMP-UP sound card with Realtek ALC1150 chip with a 115dB headphone amplifier that is ideal for playing high quality music, movies and series.

Regarding storage, it is equipped with 10 shared SATA ports with SATA Express at 6Gb / s. It also includes the fashionable connection to the M.2 with a maximum theoretical speed of 20Gb / s (Turbo M.2. Per Gigabyte).

In the upper right area of the motherboard we have a Debug Led, a switch to activate the normal or OC mode of the processor, OC DualBIOS, OC Trigger and a voltage meter to make an actual reading of all the most important values when we overclock. To finish we indicate the rear connections:

PS / 2.4 x USB 2.0.4 x USB 3.0.1 x Intel 10/100/1000 LAN. 7.1 Digital Audio.

WE RECOMMEND YOU Z390 AORUS MASTER G2, New Limited Edition Motherboard

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i7 5820k
Base plate:	Gigabyte X99 SOC CHAMPION
Memory:	16GB DDR4 @ 3000 MHZ
Heatsink	Noctua NH-D15
HDD	Samsung 840 EVO.
Graphic card	Nvidia GTX 780.
Power supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2

To check the stability of the processor and motherboard, we have overclocked up to 4300mhz with Prime 95 Custom and air cooling. The graphics that we have used is an Nvidia GTX780, without further distractions let us see the results obtained in our tests with a 1920 × 1080 monitor:

BIOS & Easy Tune

The BIOS is very refined and has nothing to do with the first versions that Gigabyte released for this platform. After performing our overclock tests we have the expected result, excellent performance. I have seen fit to tell you a bit about its new renewed software " Easy Tune" that allows us to overclock with several clicks from Windows: fast administration, advanced control of the processor, memory and the power phases. Everything changes for the better…

Final words and conclusion

The Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion is an eATX format motherboard (wider than the standard format) designed for the overclocking experts. It has Ultra Durable technology and 8 high-end power phases. It can be defined as a balanced motherboard, full of quality and above all to get the most out of our processor. This is because it incorporates a socket modified by Gigabyte that allows higher power points and scratch the best voltage.

In our tests we have reached 4500 mhz with a voltage of 1.34v very easily and with a double radiator liquid cooling kit. The increase in games is barely noticeable in the FPS but we did notice an improvement in the gameplay thanks to the increase in the minimum in games like Battlefield 4 or Crysis 3.

As always I would like to highlight the excellent sound card and the possibility of using headphones of up to 115 dB. Although it does not have a Killer network card if we find one of the best on the market the Intel 10/100/1000 that will give us excellent rates. I would also like to highlight both its BIOS and Easy Tune which has improved its design and robustness. He smashed for Gigabyte!

In short, if you are an overclocker or looking for a board to get the most out of your high-end processor. The Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion is one of the best options on the market… although you must prepare the portfolio since it is currently in a Spanish store with a price higher than € 400.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ AESTHETICS.	- OC TOUCH… WAS PERFECT FOR THIS BASE BOARD.
+ OVERCLOCK CAPACITY.	- PRICE.
+ PERFORMANCE TO ALL COMPONENTS.
+ M.2.
+ SOUND CARD.
+ BIOS.