So what is now years ago Adam and I were at a press event for Gigabyte at CES. At that event I spent some time playing against a pro gamer and we also had the chance to see them introduce their new games series of motherboards. At the end of that speech they slipped in a quick sneak peak of a new line of overclocking motherboards with an orange theme that they called OC Orange. Now I think everyone knows just how much I love orange and OC orange to me is LanOC orange, a color that we have used on the website from nearly the start. At that time Adam wrote that he imagined that I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I got my hands on one of the boards. Well it has been a long few years, but today is finally the day. Gigabyte sent over their new X99-SOC Champion flagship overclocking board and today I’m going to dig into it and see what it is all about. Oddly enough now that I can sleep, I want nothing more than to stay up and see what sets the board apart from the competition.
Product Name: Gigabyte X99-SOC Champion
Review Sample Provided by: Gigabyte
Written by: Wes
Pictures by: Wes
Amazon Link: HERE
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Specifications |
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CPU |
Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors in the LGA2011-3 package L3 cache varies with CPU |
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Chipset |
Intel® X99 Express Chipset |
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Memory |
4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory * Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed. 4 channel memory architecture Support for DDR4 3400(O.C.)* / 3333(O.C.) / 3200(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2133 MHz memory modules Support for non-ECC memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules Support for RDIMM 1Rx8 memory modules (operates in non-ECC mode) |
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Audio |
Realtek® ALC1150 codec High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out |
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LAN |
Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) |
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Expansion Slots |
2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIE_1，PCIE_2) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIE_1 slot; if you are installing two PCI Express graphics cards, it is recommended that you install them in the PCIE_1 and PCIE_2 slots. 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIE_3，PCIE_4) * The PCIE_4 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIE_1 slot. When the PCIE_4 slot is populated, the PCIE_1 slot will operate at up to x8 mode. * When an i7-5820K CPU is installed, the PCIE_2 slot operates at up to x8 mode and the PCIE_3 operates at up to x4 mode. (All PCI Express x16 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) 3 x PCI Express x1 slots (All PCI Express x1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) |
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Multi-Graphics Technology |
Support for 4-Way/3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire™/NVIDIA® SLI™ technology |
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Storage Interface |
Chipset: 1 x M.2 PCIe connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 PCIe x4x2/x1 SSD support) * Support for M.2 PCIe SSDs only. 1 x SATA Express connector 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0~5) Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 * Only AHCI mode is supported when an M.2 PCIe SSD or a SATA Express device is installed. (M2_20G and SATA Express connectors can only be used one at a time. The SATA Express connector becomes unavailable when an M.2 SSD is installed, but the SATA3 4/5 connectors are still functional.) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (sSATA3 0~3), supporting IDE and AHCI modes only (An operating system installed on the SATA3 0~5 ports cannot be used on the sSATA 0~3 ports.) |
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USB |
Chipset: 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports available through the internal USB header 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers) Chipset + Renesas® uPD720210 USB 3.0 Hub: 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel |
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Internal I/O Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x OC PEG Power Connector 1 x SATA Express connector 10 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector 1 x CPU fan header 1 x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT) 3 x system fan headers 1 x Thunderbolt™ add-in card connector 1 x OC Panel connector (for future expansion) 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x S/PDIF Out header 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x serial port header 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x power button 1 x reset button 1 x Clear CMOS button 1 x CPU mode switch 1 x OC Trigger switch 1 x DualBIOS switch 1 x BIOS switch Voltage Measurement Points |
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Back Panel Connectors |
1 x PS/2 keyboard port 1 x PS/2 mouse port 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports 1 x RJ-45 port 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In) |
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I/O Controller |
iTE I/O Controller Chip |
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H/W Monitoring |
System voltage detection CPU/System/Chipset temperature detection CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed detection CPU/System/Chipset overheating warning CPU/CPU OPT/System fan fail warning CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed control |
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BIOS |
2 x 128 Mbit flash Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS Support for DualBIOS™ PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0 |
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Unique Features |
Support for APP Center * Available applications in APP Center may differ by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also differ depending on motherboard specifications. @BIOS Ambient LED EasyTune EZ Setup Fast Boot Cloud Station ON/OFF Charge Smart TimeLock Smart Recovery 2 System Information Viewer USB Blocker V-Tuner Support for Q-Flash Support for Smart Switch Support for Xpress Install |
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Bundle Software |
Norton® Internet Security (OEM version) Intel® Smart Response Technology cFosSpeed |
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Operating System |
Support for Windows 8.1/8/7 |
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Form Factor |
E-ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 26.4cm |
