Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC Motherboard Review (w/ Intel i7 4770k)

Rating: 9.0.

This weekend Intel launch their range of Haswell processors and companies such as Asus and Gigabyte have a new range of boards for the enthusiast audience to choose from. This review focuses on the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC motherboard when paired up with the Intel Core i7 4770k processor. Just how capable is the new Intel HD graphics solution? Today we aim to find out – by testing with some Direct X 11 titles running at 1080p. Not an easy task for Intel's latest and greatest.

Gigabyte have made quite a stir in the weeks running up to Intel's Haswell launch. Kitguru published an article highlighting high resolution photographs of upcoming motherboards and our readers on the main site and Facebook page seemed very excited about the new designs.

The GA-Z87X-OC is a stunning looking board, built around a black PCB with bright orange memory and graphics card slots. Gigabyte told us before launch that it should be priced in the competitive sub £200 sector.

This board supports the 4th generation Intel Core i7 / i5 and i3 processors. The Z87 Express chipset is based on the latest LGA1150 socket. It utilises the serial point to point links which increase bandwidth and enhance system performance. It natively supports up to six USB 3.0 ports and enables the iGPU function for Intel integrated graphics performance. All of the SATA ports have 6GBps capability, so no hunting around to make sure you have the right connector for that shiny new Solid State Drive.

The GA-Z87X-OC supports Quad Crossfire and 2 way SLi graphics configurations for high performance gaming demands.

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