Supermicro C7Z170-OCE (Intel Z170) Motherboard Review

Introduction

Since the Intel Z87 chipset launch, Supermicro has tried to penetrate the enthusiast motherboard market. They have done their best to design and sell motherboards to gamers and overclockers under the "OCE" brand name. Recently they decided to rename their gaming series under the SuperO name and introduce more than just a single Z170 motherboard to market. In fact, Supermicro has focused on making a name for themselves. Recently, they were the first company to introduce non-K overclocking on the H170 and Z170 chipset.

Supermicro has been building well-regarded server motherboards for a while, so it didn't surprise many when they announced non-K overclocking on the 100 series chipset. Most people regard Supermicro's design abilities as top notch, and the SuperO line tries to bring their server expertise to the enthusiast market. However, it is not easy to penetrate the enthusiast market segment. Enthusiast boards not only need to work well, but also, they must be able to run above specifications (overclocking), they need to come with bells and whistles, and they need to have some bling. When I received the C7Z170-OCE, I was honestly a bit taken aback by all the changes Supermicro has made, so let's see how the C7Z170-OCE stacks up.

Specifications

The Supermicro C7Z170-OCE has a healthy amount of features including 2x 1Gbit Intel NICs, a 32Gb/s M.2 slot, 3-way SLI and CrossFireX support with a PEX8747 chip, 6x SATA6Gb/s, and USB 3.1 type-C.

Pricing

The C7Z170-OCE will be available with an MSRP of $299.99.