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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.
Gigabyte have this round sown up, that new bios also looks amazing.
Lovely looking motherboard – I am not moving however, waiting on the next generation.
about time they ditched the blue PCB boards- what a step forward ! love it !
this is the board to get, the price looks spot on and its not losing any features.
Only thing is the 6 SATA ports, id like 8 like the asus board, as I have a lot of hard drives.
THE GIGABYTE BOARDS are killer looking. best boards they have ever products.
4770k is a flop. Intel are clearly focused on the mobile platform now and power reduction rather than moving forward in the high end and giving people a huge step up. anyone with a 3770k wont need to move,unless for some reason they need onboard graphics !
disappointing CPU launch, but great motherboards from the guys. I like how they have ditched the old SATA standard now instead of 3 or 4 useless ports for SSD.
4770k isn’t that bad, but I agree, its not a huge step forward. it may help those peoplee who buy a lower end processor and cant afford a graphics card, but who the F*CK will want a 4770k for onboard graphics performance? its irrelevant really.
Ive seen a lot of reviews today and there seems to be a huge variance on the overclocks, which would suggest the new manufacturing process isn’t quite at the level it should be. ill stay with my 3570k for a while longer as its working well with the 7950 I have.
Noob question:
I see you used the 1.65volt corsairs, but the board specifications are for 1.5.volt. Wouldn’t
that impact the lifespan of the board in the long run?
Does the Z87X-OC natively supports the i7-4770k? Or do i need to update the Bios to a newer version? Actually i have a problem since i have just built my new pc but when i try to turn it on the fens start to work but everything shuts down after 1-2 seconds.. I’d like to know if there is an hardware problem or if it’s just because of the bios.
I have no real experience with Bios and stuff like that ç__ç