GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force Overclocking Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts and Conclusions

There’s a couple of items about the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force that have me, hate to say confused but that may be the most accurate word in my vocabulary to describe my views about this board. Before we get to that though, I’ll admit that I really liked working with this board. On that note, anytime that you’re working with a motherboard that retails for $409.78 it should be nothing but a pleasure! All in all I was certainly not let down with the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force and the performance that it showed.

What does have me slightly perplexed is the way the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force is named. The original OC motherboard from GIGABYTE was the X58A-OC and was an incredibly stripped down motherboard with none of the bells and whistles that one would find on the average motherboard. The design for the X58A-OC board was created with the extreme overclocker Hi-Cookie and had one true purpose, extreme overclocking.

I can certainly understand why GIGABYTE has added the additional features that make the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force a much more mainstream board, there isn’t much of a market for a pure overclocking motherboard. It’s certainly a great idea for those looking for boards like that, but it’s such a small niche market that I doubt it’s at all profitable. While GIGABYTE likes to support the overclocking scene with their OC motherboards, and the gaming scene with the G1 Series of motherboards like the G1.Sniper 5, they are after all a company that wants to make some money.

When I first opened the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force I was a little concerned about the potential fan noise from the fans on the heatsink. Small fans like that tend to be a little on the high pitched side, which can be quite annoying. When I first fired up the Z87X-OC Force I couldn’t hear the fans over the Corsair H100i water cooler fans. I disabled the fans on the Corsair H100i to see how loud the fans on the heatsinks are and ultimately they were barely audible to me. This really alleviated my concerns about the fans being annoyingly high pitched.

When it comes to the performance of he GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force Intel Z87 motherboard, it was right on track with our other Z87 boards. Ultimately though, the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC isn’t designed for use at stock speeds. The GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force is meant for those that like to push their processor to the limits with Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) over and over. That’s where the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force will shine! Features like the OC Touch, OC Ignition, integrated water cooling on the PWM heat sink and of course the high quality components that go into the Z87X-OC Force are going to make this board a force to be reckoned with in the overclocking arena.

GIGABYTE didn’t make this board for the feint of heart, and it carries a price tag that isn’t for the feint of heart either. At $409.78 this is one of the more expensive Intel Z87 LGA1150 motherboards out on the market today. If you’re in the market for an extreme overclocking motherboard it’s not likely that you will find much that is designed better for it though! If something were to happen and the GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force happened to fail, it is backed by a three year warranty.

Legit Bottom Line: The GIGABYTE Z87X-OC Force has the features that could make it a great gaming motherboard in addition to being a great overclocking board! If you’re looking for either, the Z87X-OC Force Intel Z87 motherboard may be the right choice for you!