TheOverclocker Issue 30 | Page 33

"So impressive is the Z97X-SOC Force at overclocking memory, it shuts the door on all other motherboards there on the market." All results were obtained at 4600MHz on an un-optimized Windows7 64-bit. These are our figures; yours may vary, so only use these as a guideline for a similarly configured system. Motherboard CineBench R15 3DMark11 Z97X-SOC FORCE (PSC) 944 16355 Graphics: 17985 1.24.739 38789 41654 36805 38,7 Z97X-SOC FORCE (F6) 931 16199 Graphics: 17980 1.25.551 32409 41865 34858 39,2 MSI Z97 Mpower Max AC 937 16191 Graphics: 18058 1.25.660 27629 33535 29881 39,8 GIGABYTE Z87X-OC (F9) 933 16179 Graphics: 18027 1.26.175 32410 41839 34893 39,1 he always writes them. That is a must read especially if you’re coming from another vendors motherboard, as it’ll save you some time and allow you to get straight into your overclocking. As much as we admire this motherboard, as with all things it isn’t perfect. There is an issue that is not related to performance or overclocking but just spacing. The first PCI-Express slot, where you would ideally have your graphics card installed is particularly close to the DIMM sockets. That in itself isn’t an issue, but should you wish to mount a RAM cooler (like the CORSAIR Dominator AIRFLOW); it will make contact with the back of the graphics card. Thus, some care should be taken Super Pi 8M Aida64 Read Aida64 Write if your graphic card’s PCB has some components there. It is easily remedied though by inserting a small bit of tape or anything really that would prevent these two from making contact. In closing, this is yet another impressive board from GIGABYTE. Easily the most inspired showing of any motherboard to date for any platform the company has ever produced. The numbers speak for themselves and we are particularly enticed by the selling price and performance it offers. This one is a must have. If any of what we’ve said doesn’t compel you, perhaps the 4560MHz (real!) memory frequency it’s achieved amongst other records will. In short, it’s brilliant!  Aida 64 Copy Aida 64 Latency Summary GIGABYTE was at the cusp of greatness with the Z87X-OC, with the new Z97 line up they have achieved it and can lay claim to the best overclocking Z97 series on the market. Be it in live competition or in your private overclocking room, the Z97X-SOC Force is not going to let you down. It’s a pure overlocker’s board at a ridiculously low price. Would you buy it? Yes, without question! [ TheOverclocker ] Issue 30 | 2014 The OverClocker 33