Conclusion

Allgemein		+	-
The first impression the Z97X-SOC Force from Gigabyte leaves, makes us want more. We like the individual design of this board, which actually follows the original X58A-OC, the Z77X-UD7 as well as the very famous Z87X OC. The Z97X-SOC Force is a motherboard that really targets extreme overclockers, but nevertheless Gigabyte succeeded in crafting a product that is equally attractive to the guys handling LN2 as well as watercooling/aircooling setups. Both worlds will be able to squeeze the maximum out of their systems using this board. Other than that there is the price point. For about 175 Euro you get a board that comes with an armada of features.		- Design - 4 x PCI-Express 3.0 Slots - onboard standard USB ports
Layout		+	-
Basically the Gigabyte Z97X-SOC Force's Layout has been very well thought. Once more practical are the angled SATA connectors as well as the power- and reset-buttons. There is also a debug display which is very useful in case you should have issues with a component in your system or the board itself. Right next to the SATA ports you find two standard USB ports which are very practical during overclocking. Should you own a case where the front USB ports are connected with a standard USB cable instead of an onboard USB 3.0 connector, then you don't have to route this cable to the I/O panel anymore. Even the placement of the PCI-Express x16 is well chosen. There is a total of four of these slots. Between two slots there is always one empty slot. We think this is a good number of PCI Express x16 slots for an overclocking/gaming motherboard altough most gamers will never use four graphics cards in their build. But still it leaves you with plenty of options if you want to plug in other expansion cards. Overclockers will also like the voltage readouts as well as the OC Brace.		- Angled SATA connectors- Power/Reset-Button onboard - Debug display - Space around the CPU socket - Voltage readouts- OC Buttons

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

Author: m.buechel@ocaholic.ch Luca Rocchi l.rocchi@ocaholic.ch