Test: Gigabyte Z87X-OC

  Konklusion

Generelt synes jeg dette bundkort er fantastisk, da Gigabyte har fået introduceret en masse nye funktioner, især til OC delen af dette bundkort hvor stort set alt, hvad man kunne ønske sig som overclocker er indbygget i dette bundkortet.
Jeg vil dog mene, at de mange knapper og kontakter på bundkortet kan være lidt forvirrende, for hvilken knap gør nu hvad? Det står der nemlig ikke på selve bundkortet, og jeg kom flere gange til at ramme knappen til at fjerne batteriet i stedet for genstart-knappen, hvilket resulterede i at mine indstillinger blev tabt.
Men det er nok en indlæringsproces, og nu hvor jeg har brugt det i forbindelse med testen af 4770K CPU'en, er jeg blevet noget mere vandt til at bruge det.

Innovation/Teknologi - 5
Z87 chipset, Gigabyte OC zone og de andre kendte funktioner fra Gigabyte, det kan ikke andet end at hente en 5'er hjem.

Bundle/Tilbehør - 4
Der følger det med man kunne få brug for, og den OC brace er genial til folk som mig. Men jeg synes alligevel der mangler lidt. Smider man penge efter et bundkort som dette, vil lidt merchandise også være på sin plads. Et større klistermærke, plakat eller andet ville være dejligt at få med.

Design/Layout - 4
Generelt kan jeg godt lide layoutet, men der er flere ting der kan irriterer en smule, såsom de mange og tætte kondensatorer omkring CPU soklen. Gigabyte siger selv, at kortet ikke kun er lavet til LN2 ræset, men derfor synes jeg stadig godt det kunne tænkes over, nu hvor der er andre funktion til minusgraderne. Jeg er desuden en smule skuffet over PCIe layoutet, hvor PCIe x1 porten sidder lige under PCIe x16 porten til grafikkort, hvilket gør den faktisk ubrugelig. Og hvorfor Gigabyte stadig vælger at benytte de gamle PCI porte er også lidt en gåde. På et bundkort som dette ville man nok ikke smide et PCI lydkort i, men nærmere et nyere PCIe lydkort, og det ender bare med, at PCI portene og chippen der håndterer dem er spildt.

Software/BIOS - 5
Den BIOS jeg gennemgik, kan godt virke en smule rodet, men efter at blive vandt til den er den ret nemt at bruge. Skulle man ikke ønske det nye design, kan man også altid skifte tilbage til det gamle. Softwaren der medfølger, er også lige i skabet, og hjælper med at holde alt andet software opdateret.

Ydelse - 4
Nu gav jeg 4770K CPU'en 5 i ydelse og dette bundkort lever bestemt op til at være makker til den nye Intel CPU. Der er fart over feltet, så vi rammer en ren 4 for ydelsen.

Pris - 5
Jeg kendte faktisk først prisen et par dage før udgivelsen af bundkortet her, og jeg må sige jeg er imponeret. Jeg havde regnet med en pris i nærheden af 2500,- Kr, men det er lang fra hvad jeg har fået oplyst. I en mail oplyste Gigabyte en pris i nærheden af 1600,- Kr. hvilket må siges at være i den helt rigtige ende, især for et bundkort som dette der fokuserer meget på overclock.
Man får faktisk langt flere funktioner og muligheder end det meget sammenlignede Z77X-UP7 fra Gigabyte, som også er en del dyrere.

UK summary

    Overall, I find this motherboard fantastic, since Gigabyte has managed to introduce a lot of new functions, in particular to the OC part of the board. Almost everything that you can wish for as an overclocker can be found on this board.
I do think, however, that the many pushbuttons and switches on the board can be slightly confusing, for which button is to be used for which purpose? It is not marked on the board itself, and by mistake, I several times managed to hit the button to remove the battery, rather than the restart-button, with the result that all my settings were lost.
But this is probably only a matter of learning, and now, where I have used it when testing the 4770K CPU, I have been much more accustomed to using it.

Innovation/Technology - 5
Z87 chipset, Gigabyte OC Zone and all the other well-known functions from Gigabyte - this merits no less than a score of 5.

Bundle/Accesories - 4
The package includes everything that you will need, and that OC Brace is just brilliant for people like me. But never the less, I find something missing. If you spend your money on a board like this, some merchandise would also be appropriate. A large sticker, a poster or something else would be nice.

Design/layout - 4
Overall, I appreciate the layout, but there are several things which can be a bit irritating, such as the many and closely placed capacitors around the CPU socket. Gigabyte themselves says that the board is not solely designed for the LN2 show. But never the less, I still find that they could have given it a thought, now where there are other functions available for the low temperature range. In addition, I am disappointed over the PCIe layout, where the PCIe x1 port is placed just below the PCIe x16 port to the graphics card. This makes it virtually unusable, and why Gigabyte still chose to use the old PCI ports is also a bit of a mystery. On a board like this, one would probably not use a PCI sound card, but rather a up to date PCIe card, and the outcome is that the PCI ports and the chip to handle them are superfluous.

Software/BIOS - 5
The BIOS that I have descriped can be a bit messy at times, but after getting used to it, it is pretty easy to use. If one does not like the new design, it is always a posibility to switch to the old one. The accompanying software is also fine and there are tools to get all other software updated.

Performance - 4
The 4770K CPU received a rating of 5 for performance, and this motherboard makes a perfect partner to Intel's new CPU. Things go fast here, so the performance rating is a solid 4.

Price - 5
I actually only learned the price a few days before the release of this motherboard, and I have to say, that I am impressed. My expectation was a price tag close to DKK 2,500, but this is far from the information that I have received. In a mail, Gigabyte informed me, that the price will be around DKK 1,600 which I have to say is very attractive, especially for a board like this with a lot of focus on overclocking.
You actually get a lot more functions and posibilities when comparing with the much referenced Z77X-UP7 board from Gigabyte, which in addition is also quite a bit more expensive.

Test: Gigabyte Z87X-OC

Innovation / Teknologi	5
Bundle - Tilbehør	4
Design - Layout	4
Software - BIOS	5
Ydelse	4
Pris	5
Samlet	90%