Introduction and Technical Specifications
GIGABYTE sought to design an extreme overclocking friendly motherboard with the X99-SOC Champion, combining aesthetics and design prowess for superior performance…
Introduction
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
The X99-SOC Champion is GIGABYTE's Intel X99-based answer for the extreme overclocking crowd, over-engineered to take the abuse that extreme overclockers punish their boards with. The board supports all Intel LGA2011-3 based processors paired with DDR4 memory in up to a quad channel configuration. As a member of their Overclocking series of boards, the X99-SOC Champion board enjoys the series-specific orange and black aesthetics. With an MSRP of $299.99, the board remains an approachable product for most enthusiasts.
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
GIGABYTE designed the X99-SOC Champion with overclockers in mind, starting with its 8+4-phase digital power system. Its power circuity was built using International Rectifier Gen 4 digital PWM controllers and Gen 3 PowIRstage controllers, Cooper Bussmann Server Level chokes, and long life Durable Black Solid capacitors. Overclocker-friendly features include a CPU Mode switch, enabling enhanced voltage settings for the processor, the OC Trigger switch specifically for LN2-based overclocking, and a plethora of on board voltage measurement points.
Continue reading our review of the GIGABYTE X99-SOC Champion motherboard!
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
GIGABYTE integrated the following features into the X99-SOC Champion motherboard : eight SATA 3 ports; one SATA-Express port; one M.2 PCIe x4 capable port; an Intel i218V Gigabit NIC; four PCI-Express x16 slot; three PCI-Express x1 slots; 2-digit diagnostic LED display; on-board power, reset, and CMOS clear buttons; CPU Mode, OC Trigger, Dual-BIOS, and active BIOS switches; integrated voltage measurement points; and USB 2.0 and 3.0 port support.
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
Technical Specifications (taken from the GIGABYTE website)
CPU | Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors in the LGA2011-3 package L3 cache varies with CPU (Please refer "CPU Support List" for more information.) |
Chipset | Intel® X99 Express Chipset |
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) * Note : For DDR4 XMP 3400MHz, please update BIOS to the latest version. ** Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information. |
Audio | Realtek® ALC1150 codec High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out |
LAN | Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) |
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.) |
Multi-Graphics Technology | Support for 4-Way/3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire™/NVIDIA® SLI™ technology * The 4-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ configuration is not supported when an i7-5820K CPU is installed. To set up a 3-Way SLI configuration, refer to "1-6 Setting up AMD CrossFire™/NVIDIA® SLI™ Configuration." |
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.) |
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 |
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 |
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) |
I/O Controller | iTE I/O Controller Chip |
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 * Whether the fan speed control function is supported will depend on the cooler you install. |
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 |
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.
Support for Smart Switch Support for Xpress Install |
Bundle Software | Norton® Internet Security (OEM version) Intel® Smart Response Technology cFosSpeed |
Operating System | Support for Windows 8.1/8/7 |
Form Factor | E-ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 26.4cm |
Can anyone explain why modern
Can anyone explain why modern motherboards STILL come with PS/2 ports? Does some common non-KB/Mouse hardware peripheral that i’m completely unaware of use them? I can’t imagine someone forking out cash for a new X99 system and thinking “alright, done. Now to plug in this old PS/2 mouse and keyboard”
Exactly you fucking jackass.
Exactly you fucking jackass.
Yes PS/2 keyboards are very
Yes PS/2 keyboards are very much in use by builders/overclockers/tweakers. The support is better, the pitfall fewer. Some gamers think they get better performance with PS/2, but I dunno. I just know it is much less of a pain to deal with an overclocked and unstable system with a PS/2 keyboard. USB needs to init correctly, PS/2 usually hasn’t that problem.
Of course an extreme overclockers board has at least a keyboard PS/2 port. It would sell a lot less if it lacked it.
I’ve overclocked my last
I’ve overclocked my last three personal 24/7 systems and cant say i’ve ever run into an issue with my usb kb/mouse setup, but i’m not an extreme overclocker either. I admit, i don’t follow that scene closely. So perhaps it’s just an issue i’ve never run into. I have a stack of old PS/2 keyboards and mice that i haven’t touched in years. The idea of using one, to me, is on the same level as adding in an old 3.5″ floppy drive. I’ll have to read up on the pros/cons of PS/2 peripherals since i haven’t looked at one in so long.
Yes, you should read up on
Yes, you should read up on this. PS/2 has some important advantages over USB that should not be ignored or glossed over.
PS/2 has a much lower CPU overhead, especially when running mouse polling above 100Hz. If you want low latency input with low CPU overhead and you also want high polling rates then you must use PS/2. USB simply cannot do all three of those things at the same time.
For me, the inclusion of two PS/2 ports on a motherboard is a must have, even now in 2015. Motherboards with only one, or no PS/2 ports don’t even make it on to my short list.
Somehow I got a double post.
Somehow I got a double post.
It has less input latency and
It has less input latency and overhead, supports key rollover better, and is supported by many UEFIs and BIOSes better than USB. I enjoy it because it will give you a much faster boot than anything else if you have your keyboard plugged into that and disable USB init in the UEFI.
In the pricing section you
In the pricing section you talk about the gaming G1 instead of the SOC?????
Thanks for the heads up, it
Thanks for the heads up, it has been corrected…
it is good to have at least
it is good to have at least one PS/2 keyboard & mouse if overclocking/IT “desktop” computer repair. USB keyboard & mouse require drivers but PS/2 one doesnt. overclocking require more time testing & not in windows OS boot with drivers. meaning sometimes usb keyboard & mouse are plug in & dont work because drivers hasnt been loaded yet & try PS/2 one instead. PnP stand for Plug and Play today but early it was Plug & Pray it work.
i work at a small computer store & build over 40+ new computers in 2014 from simple “Low End”, “high End” & even something close to the “Dream System” (tinyurl.com/m4zpl8k). using USB keyboard & mouse is fine. but get desktop repair with DDR1 or DDR2 with windows xp even IDE hard drives with AGP/PCI cards. so good to have spare parts around.
this is the same thing with serious & parallel ports. i dont use it personally since 1990s but get about a few requests for it from businesses for old LEGACY machines.
Right, i understand having
Right, i understand having them around if you’re in the business of repairing and maintaining old systems. That’s the exact reason i have a few around. But an X99 board isn’t an old system with AGP ports and Windows XP.
Anyway, there’s a good reply up above about it that i responded to as well.
I dont know about anyone
I dont know about anyone else. but I have a Z97 UD5H with same bios. and I find it incredibly annoying, and very contradictory
So Gigabyte copies Asus’ OC
So Gigabyte copies Asus’ OC Socket plus violates patents in order to enable the higher clock speeds on both the CPU and memory side and nothing is mentioned about it? This is not Gigabyte engineering prowess, it is their ability to once again copy whatever Asus does on their boards.
Also, Gigabyte no longer advertises their copied socket as being Intel Certified like on their other X99 boards. Does this mean if I use this board and the cpu dies that Intel will not provide a warranty? Will Gigabyte warranty the CPU?