Review: gigabyte z87x

Technical characteristics

CPU	Support for Intel® Core ™ i7 processors / Intel® Core ™ i5 processors / Intel® Core ™ i3 processors / Intel®Pentium® processors / Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1150 packageL3 cache varies with CPU (Please refer to “CPU Support List” for more information.)
Chipset	Intel® Z87 Express Chipset
Memory	4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory * Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed.Dual channel memory architectureSupport for DDR3 1600/1333 MHz memory modulesSupport for non-ECC memory modulesSupport for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules (Please refer to “Memory Support List” for more information.)
Onboard Graphics	Integrated Graphics Processor: 2 x HDMI ports, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096 × 2160 * Support for HDMI 1.4a version. 1 x DisplayPort port, supporting a maximum resolution of 3840 × 2160 * Support for DisplayPort 1.2 version.Maximum shared memory of 1 GB
Audio	Realtek® ALC892 codecHigh Definition Audio2 / 4 / 5.1 / 7.1-channelSupport for S / PDIF InSupport for S / PDIF Out
LAN	Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots	1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) * For optimum performance, if only one expansion card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. It will operate at up to x8 mode when the PCIEX16 is populated. 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x4 (PCIEX4_1, PCIEX4_2) * The PCIEX4_1 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots. When it is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode and the PCIEX8 slot will operate at up to x4 mode. * When installing a x8 or above card in the PCIEX4_1 slot, make sure to set PCIE Slot Configuration in BIOS Setup to x4. (Refer to Chapter 2, “BIOS Setup, ” “Peripherals, ” for more information.) (The PCIEX16, PCIEX8, and PCIEX4_1 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) 1 x PCI Express x1 slot (The PCIEX4_2 and PCIEX1_1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) 2 x PCI slots
Multi-Graphics Technology	Support for 4-Way / 3-Way / 2-Way AMD CrossFire ™ / 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI ™ Technology
Storage Interface	Chipset: 6 x SATA 6Gb / s connectors (SATA3 0 ~ 5) supporting up to 6 SATA 6Gb / s devicesSupport for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
USB	Chipset: Up to 2 USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports (available through the internal USB header) Up to 8 USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports onboard, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers) Chipset + 2 Renesas® uPD720210 USB 3.0 Hubs: Up to 8 USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports (6 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header)
Internal I / O Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector1 x OC PEG power connector6 x SATA 6Gb / s connectors1 x CPU fan header1 x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT) 6 x system fan headers1 x front panel header1 x front panel audio header1 x S / PDIF Out header1 x S / PDIF In header2 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 headers2 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 headers2 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports1 x serial port header1 x Clear CMOS jumper1 x power button1 x reset button1 x Clear CMOS button1 x Gear button1 x OC Turbo button1 x OC Tag button1 x CPU BCLK Down button1 x CPU BCLK Up button1 x CPU Ratio Down button1 x CPU Ratio Up button1 x Memory Safe button1 x Settings Lock button1 x Direct to BIOS button1 x OC Trigger switch1 x OC PCIe switch1 x Clear Battery button2 x BIOS switches1 x onboard voltage measurement module
Back Panel Connectors	2 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports1 x OC Ignition button6 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports1 x optical S / PDIF Out connector2 x HDMI ports1 x DisplayPort1 x PS / 2 keyboard / mouse port1 x RJ-45 port6 x audio jacks (Center / Subwoofer Speaker Out / Rear Speaker Out / Side Speaker Out / Line In / Line Out / Microphone)
I / O Controller	iTE I / O Controller Chip
H / W Monitoring	System voltage detectionCPU / System / Chipset temperature detectionCPU / CPU OPT / System fan speed detectionCPU / System overheating warningCPU / CPU OPT / System fan fail warningCPU / CPU OPT / System fan speed control * Whether the fan speed control function is supported will depend on the cooler you install.
BIOS	2 x 128 Mbit flashUse of licensed AMI EFI BIOSSupport for DualBIOS ™ PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.6, ACPI 2.0a
Unique Features	Support for Q-FlashSupport for Xpress InstallSupport for APP Center * Available applications in APP Center may differ by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also differ depending on motherboard specifications. @BIOS EasyTune EZ Setup ON / OFF Charge2 USB Blocker
Bundle Software	Norton Internet Security (OEM version) Intel® Rapid Start TechnologyIntel® Smart Connect TechnologyIntel® Smart Response TechnologycFosSpeed
Operating System	Support for Windows 8/7
Form Factor	ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm

Gigabyte Z87X-OC in front of the camera

The Gigabyte Z87-OC comes in a spacious and quite elegant box. The model and a picture of the motherboard are screen printed. All the elements included inside are perfectly packed and the motherboard is protected by an anti-static bag.

The motherboard includes a large number of accessories, in which we find:

Gigabyte Z87X-OC Motherboard.

Rear Flap. Four Cables Sata 3 6GB / s. Flexible SLI Bridge. AMD Bridge for CrossfireX Flexible. Cables for voltage testing. Instruction manual and quick guide. CD with software and drivers for installation.

It also includes a small platform that allows us to install various graphics, we see it very useful for users who do not have a benchtable or a box with limitations and tests want to perform outdoors.

Gigabyte maintains the eye-catching orange and black color line and is instantly recognizable in the “OC” series. As the saying goes "For tastes the colors", and it is that I particularly like it quite for its pleasant tone and its easy conjunction with other components.

Like all Z87 boards, it is compatible with the new 4th generation Intel processors: Haswell. If we go into more details, we realize that the four holes that allow us to install a heatsink have the same distance as those of socket 1155. This means that you can reuse your heatsink or liquid cooling with this new platform.

It has a digital eight-phase power design that allows us to take full advantage of the cpu. It uses two 8 + 4-pin EPS12 pins for power supply. The board comes very well equipped with Ultra Durable 5 plus technology with high performance solid capacitors and the board is very thick thanks to its double copper layer.

The board allows us to connect a maximum of four graphics cards (OJO with CrossFireX) or two graphics cards with NVIDIA (SLI). That's how it works:

1 x Express x16 3.0 PCI (Working x16)

1 x Express x16 3.0 PCI (Working x8) 2 Express 3.0 x16 x PCI (Working x4) 1 x 2.0 x 1 PCI Express slot 2 x PCI slots

About the cooling we realize that the MOSFETS are covered by a large heatsink that only covers the left part. This allows us to easily install large heatsinks with two and three fans or have a lot of space to better maneuver in the assemblies.

We have four slots to insert up to 32gb of DDR3 ram and overclockable up to 2400mhz.

Next to the memories we have an overclocking panel. That allows us to start and reset the equipment, delete the bios and monitor the most important voltages.

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Gigabyte has also added switches to enable / disable graphics cards. This allows us to leave them connected and that the team does not recognize it. Avoiding the minimum risk of disconnection when we want to bench without it.

When removing the heatsinks we realize that it uses thermapads instead of thermal paste. For these purposes it is great, since it does not receive a dose neither high nor small and its installation / uninstallation is very fast.

Internal USB 3.0 connection.

Regarding storage, it has six SATA 6 connections. In this case, SATA 2 disappears and all SATA 3 are native from the same chipset. We were delighted to see two USB 2.0 connections next to these ports, because we who use a test bench are great for connecting our pendrive, we also have the Clear CMOS button to clear the bios.

To finish we have the rear connections with many USB 3.0 connectors. It is made up as follows:

Six USB 3.0 / 2.0 connections and two USB 2.0 / 1.1

Gigabyte OC button. One coaxial S / PDIF connector. Two HDMI connectors. One digital output. One LAN port. Audio connectors, 6 x1 x PS / 2 keyboard / mouse port.

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i7 4770k
Base plate:	Gigabyte Z87X-OC
Memory:	G.Skills Trident X 2400mhz.
Heatsink	Liquid refrigeration.
HDD	Samsumg 840 250GB
Graphic card	Asus GTX780 Direct CU II
Power supply	Antec HCP 850

To check the stability of the processor and the motherboard, we have made an extreme OC of up to 4700 mhz with Prime 95 Custom by air cooling. Although we will soon elaborate the results obtained when mounting a high-end liquid refrigeration. The graphics used is a GTX 780.

We go to the results:

TESTS
3dMark Vantage:	P48030
3dMark11	P14750 PTS
Crysis 3	39.5 FPS
CineBench 11.5	10.31 fps.
Games: Resident Evil 6 Lost planet tomb Raider Meter	13601 PTS. 150.5 FPS. 55 FPS 45 FPS

Final words and conclusions

From the first moment the Gigabyte Z87X-OC captivated us. We knew that its design and features are unique and ideal for overclockers looking for good scores in leagues such as hwbot or reaching world records.

The Gigabyte Z87-OC is an ATX motherboard measuring 30.5cm x 24.4cm. Its design is very elegant, it is robust and it uses striking colors such as orange. Among its most significant characteristics we find the incorporation of Ultra Durable 5 Plus technology that improves even more than previous versions: double copper layer on the PCB, better supply phases, greater stability in extreme situations and outstanding temperatures in the mosfets.

In our tests we have used a high-end processor such as the Intel i7 4770k and an Nvidia GTX 780 graphics card. The results have been magnificent both in terms of performance and overclocking. Reached up to 4700 mhz with liquid cooling.

Gigabyte has not only renewed aesthetics and components, it has also done so with its software. Easy Tune 5 is much superior to the previous one and to start taking advantage of it we recommend you download the latest version from the web. With it we can control fan, voltage, monitor temperatures and create profiles. Even so, the program has thrown us some hang from time to time, we understand that it may be a specific failure or that it will be fixed with future updates.

Its price ranges from € 180-190, which seeing other motherboards with similar performance and much more expensive seems to us an excellent price. Great Gigabyte job!

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ AESTHETICS	- GIGABYTE MUST DEBUG HIS EASY TUNE 5 SOFTWARE.
+ SPECIAL DESIGN FOR OVERCLOCKER.
+ USB 3.0 CONNECTIONS.
+ CONNECTION OF UP TO 4 GRAPHICS CARDS.
+ ULTRA DURABLE 5 PLUS.
+ CONTROL OF VARIOUS FANS AND AN EXCELLENT PRICE.