Layout

At a first glance the Gigabyte Z87X-OC leaves a very good impression with its harmonic design. The manufacturer decided to go for a combination of black and orange which suites nicely and in the end you get an aesthetic product. The layout itself is well thought and there is for example plenty of space around the CPU socket to install even todays largest CPU coolers. The fact that there are SATA connectors which have been angled by 90 degrees allow an easy installation of oversized graphics cards. Another very practical thing are the two standard USB ports right next to the SATA connectors. Overclockers will love them but they're also practical if you own a case where the front USB ports have to be connected using a standard USB cable. Usually you have to rout this cable to the backside of the motherboard to connect it with a USB port located at the I/O panel.


The Gigabyte Z87X-OC comes with a digital 8 phase power design. It's most important for the manufacturer to make sure that components of highest quality are being used. Each individual phase is equipped with chokes from International Rectifyer (IR3553 and IR3563B), which are able to withstand loads of up to 60A. Additionally there are special black capacitors which offer 100'000 hours lifespan at 105°C.


Totally you'll find four DIMM-slots on the Z87X-OC. Officially supported are  DDR3 3000 (O.C.) / 2933 (O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 MHz. There is engough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you wont encounter compatibility problems with big coolers even when you choose to install RAM with big heatspreaders. Also supported are Xtreme Memory Profiles (XMP) in version 1.3.


Southbrigde as well as the current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via individual passive heatsinks. The fact that the cooling blocks around the CPU socket aren't too big makes it comfortable to install a big aircooler. We also noticed the very good build quality of the cooling blocks and their weight which is quite immense.

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Layout
Page 2 - Specs and Delivery	Page 5 - Connectors and I/O
Page 3 - Features	Page 6 - Conclusion

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