GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC (Intel LGA 1150)

[cadaveca]

Cooked up from the crazy LN2-cooled insides of a pro overclocker's mind, the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC speeds onto my test bench, aiming to finish first in global overclocking rankings while keeping its price so low that anyone can line up at the starting gates. Can the Gigabyte Z87X-OC take the pole position?

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[Assimilator]

Never mind the overclocking features, this board is laid out beautifully:

* No VGA and DVI on the IO/panel to waste space, instead we get tons of USB ports. 2 of which are USB 2.0 for connecting your keyboard and mouse in case the USB 3.0 ports give trouble in the BIOS.
* 2 internal USB 3.0 headers.
* CPU area as clear as possible so coolers of any shape or form are a breeze to install.

I have to mention though... including a COM header over, say, an additional SATA3 controller is an odd choice.

 

[dj-electric]

I'm hard of agreement on the last page. That's some legit stuff there. Thanks mapleman

 

[springs113]

Great review Dave, I thought about this board but didn't like the color scheme now I am waiting on the oc formula and the msi mpower(hurry up Dave lol). I need help configuring my overclock but I wont really do anything as of yet. Still waiting on my h220 cooler and I'm swapping out my m4 to 830, but even before that I have to set up the wife's SB system and my lil bros PII system.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Good Review as always Dave. A little disappointed in the boards performance though. Now for your Hero review.

 

[pjl321]

Thanks for the review, much difference between the max overclocks of the boards you have tested so far?

 

[cadaveca]

Thanks for the review, much difference between the max overclocks of the boards you have tested so far?

nope, not yet. BCLK and memory clock does vary, and I have mentioned that in the OC section, but in the end, with tweaking, similar clocks are definitely possible. How you get there is what differs...sometimes it is easy, sometimes a bit more difficult.

Of course, I'm not pushing much over 3100 MHz on memory so far, too.


BIOSes will improve in the coming weeks. I have already seen great progression from Gigabyte, MSI, and ASUS.

Good Review as always Dave. A little disappointed in the boards performance though. Now for your Hero review.

Better performance is definitely possible with manual tweaking, so I am sure that some BIOS improvements are coming. I heard that BIOSes for high BCLK and high memory are inbound with this board as well, but they need "quality assurance" testing before release.

 

[Sabishii Hito]

I have this board's bigger brother, the OC-Force, and I've managed 2933+ on some of my memory.

 

[cadaveca]

I have this board's bigger brother, the OC-Force, and I've managed 2933+ on some of my memory.

When I say high memory speeds, I mean 4000 MHz or greater. That's where most "pro benchers" will end up, and this board is primarily targeted at them and those that like to chase their scores.

The OC Force is the big brother, for sure, completes the package with Quad-SLI support AND all the OC features. Not sure on other differences, I don't have the OC-Force and probably won't have the time to get around to it.

 

[Sabishii Hito]

4000+, that's some LN2 bunnyextraction

 

[cadaveca]

4000+, that's some LN2 bunnyextraction

Which is what this board was made for.

 

[dumo]

Awesome review

Baseline max is 3770Mhz +/- with decent imc cpu, board and mfr on air/h20

 

[FreeMason]

Problems with Corsair PSU and Board

I am seeing a lot of people, including myself have issues with this board and the Corsair AX860i for one with the compatability.

The Board will not power up with the PSU connected. The only way to power up the board is by depressing the OC Ignition switch which is designed to keep power to the board. You would only want to do this on shutdown to keep fans etc running.

Corsair are not much help with this and neither is Gigabyte.

We have tried FC3, FC4 and the New Beta BIOS FC5 but without any results.

Please check PSU is compatible before buying a system.

 

[cadaveca]

I am seeing a lot of people, including myself have issues with this board and the Corsair AX860i for one with the compatability.

The Board will not power up with the PSU connected. The only way to power up the board is by depressing the OC Ignition switch which is designed to keep power to the board. You would only want to do this on shutdown to keep fans etc running.

Corsair are not much help with this and neither is Gigabyte.

We have tried FC3, FC4 and the New Beta BIOS FC5 but without any results.

Please check PSU is compatible before buying a system.

I use a Seasonic 860W Platinum verison of that PSU with no problems. You mean the digital 860W PSU? or the analog one?

 

[XtremeCuztoms]

Nice review...

And no problems with a Seasonic X650 or HCP-1200

 

[FreeMason]

Digital

I use a Seasonic 860W Platinum verison of that PSU with no problems. You mean the digital 860W PSU? or the analog one?

Yeah its the digital one..

http://www.corsair.com/us/power-sup...lus-platinum-certified-fully-modular-psu.html

 

[cadaveca]

Dinos22's OC Touch Video Guide:

nearly 20 minutes long. Lots of info here...

 

[embiess]

Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC Power Connectors

Hi All,

I have installed this board with a Corsair HX850-V2 power supply.

The question is that there is a 4 pin power sock and 8 pin power socket. Do I have to use both as the PS does not have a 4 pin connector. It does have two 8 pin ones though.

Cheers

Mike

Great review Dave, I thought about this board but didn't like the color scheme now I am waiting on the oc formula and the msi mpower(hurry up Dave lol). I need help configuring my overclock but I wont really do anything as of yet. Still waiting on my h220 cooler and I'm swapping out my m4 to 830, but even before that I have to set up the wife's SB system and my lil bros PII system.

 

[cadaveca]

Hi All,

I have installed this board with a Corsair HX850-V2 power supply.

The question is that there is a 4 pin power sock and 8 pin power socket. Do I have to use both as the PS does not have a 4 pin connector. It does have two 8 pin ones though.

Cheers

Mike

Connecting both power connectors is not required. It merely spreads out the load through the board so the board doesn't heat up as much. One of your 8-pin probably splits into a 4+4 thing.

 

[embiess]

Thanks, I read that deep in the review. All of the earths /power are at different ends on the 8 pin plug so will be happy to go without and see how I go. Only running one GTX680 and prob not winding it up too much.

Cheers

Connecting both power connectors is not required. It merely spreads out the load through the board so the board doesn't heat up as much. One of your 8-pin probably splits into a 4+4 thing.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Great review Dave, it seems all the manufacturers are upping their game for 1150.

 

[IceX]

If you have to pick just one board ASUS GRYPHON and GA-Z87X-OC which is your choice ? For gaming and long-term use with average overclock.. Or at this price's do we have an alternative board to pick ?

Very nice interview thank you so much..

Greetings from Istanbul.

 

[foxyface]

Great review! A first-time PC builder here by the way. I thought about building 2 PCs: 1 for gaming and the other for general internet use and watching videos. I really don't wanna spend too much on electricity bills by using an overclocked, GTX 770-powered, watercooled system just by checking facebook, when a stock system with just an iGPU is enough. I searched for single-PC options and came across this Gigabyte GA Z87X-OC, and particularly got intrigued by its OC-PCIe switch feature. If my understanding is correct, I can disable my graphics card and save around one-third of my power consumption by just a press of the aforementioned switch. It's probably like Nvidia's Optimus featured in laptops, except this time you do it manually.

Question is, what is the proper procedure? Is there a correct sequence/proper time to switch? Can I simply disable the video card by pressing the OC-PCIe switch in the middle of a windows program? Or should it be during boot up? Also should I remove the video cable from the video card I/O then connect it on the motherboard I/O every time I press the switch?

Sorry guys I'm definitely a newbie here. Not really too concerned about overclocks in the near future. I'm really more into finding ways to save on electricity as I only get to play during weekends and let my mom and sis use the machine majority of the weekdays. Thanks in advance.

 

[Fourstaff]

Great review! A first-time PC builder here by the way. I thought about building 2 PCs: 1 for gaming and the other for general internet use and watching videos. I really don't wanna spend too much on electricity bills by using an overclocked, GTX 770-powered, watercooled system just by checking facebook, when a stock system with just an iGPU is enough. I searched for single-PC options and came across this Gigabyte GA Z87X-OC, and particularly got intrigued by its OC-PCIe switch feature. If my understanding is correct, I can disable my graphics card and save around one-third of my power consumption by just a press of the aforementioned switch. It's probably like Nvidia's Optimus featured in laptops, except this time you do it manually.

Question is, what is the proper procedure? Is there a correct sequence/proper time to switch? Can I simply disable the video card by pressing the OC-PCIe switch in the middle of a windows program? Or should it be during boot up? Also should I remove the video cable from the video card I/O then connect it on the motherboard I/O every time I press the switch?

Sorry guys I'm definitely a newbie here. Not really too concerned about overclocks in the near future. I'm really more into finding ways to save on electricity as I only get to play during weekends and let my mom and sis use the machine majority of the weekdays. Thanks in advance.

770 consumes 20w or something silly low like that during video playback. Don't worry too much about it adding to your power bill.

 

[foxyface]

770 consumes 20w or something silly low like that during video playback. Don't worry too much about it adding to your power bill.

Thanks for the super-quick reply Mr. Fourstaff! Do these video cards work either idle or fully loaded, and nothing in between? Or could there perhaps be programs which partially need the video cards to work? Will probably opt for a different Gigabyte model to save some cash if I find that the graphics-hungry programs other than games are not that significant..