SuperO C7Z270-CG Gaming
3rd January 2017Type
MotherboardPrice
$179.99 USConclusion
There are two parts of this review, first one is the processor and the second is the motherboard. While the review mainly focused on the motherboard, the processor is something to talk about as they are an essential part of this yearly upgrade cycle that Intel is bringing to consumers.
Intel's Core i7-7700K Is Nothing To Get Excited About
Intel's Kaby Lake series brings us the 7th generation processors to the mainstream market. They feature what Intel calls their most optimized 14nm node, 14nm+. Intel also says that these processors bring performance improvements and support for higher clock speeds. Essentially, Kaby Lake are a better tuned Skylake microarchitecture for the mainstream community.
But Kaby Lake isn't as exciting as it sounds. With Kaby Lake being one of the worst Intel launches when it comes to NDA, the majority of the tech sites have already tested the Core i7-7700K processor. Yes, it is faster compared to the Core i7-6700K, but as a result of achieving faster clocks, it runs hotter and sips more power.
It does what Intel promised, to deliver faster performance and higher clock speeds but it breaks the efficiency rating of Core processors, which although it doesn't matter a whole lot to the mainstream audience, is something that goes against the principles defined by Intel. So yeah, you get that 10% faster performance than the Core i7-6700K and you also get that 7% clock speed bump. In return, you get higher temperatures that are much worse when overclocking (the Core i7-7700K can do 5 GHz with ease provided you have a beast of a cooler) and with that clock bump, you get higher power consumption.
Lastly, there's no IPC increase. Kaby Lake is the same as Skylake with higher clock speeds to simply put it. And the bad thing is that it might be so for the next 2-3 generations. Upcoming Intel Core series such as Coffee Lake (Kaby Lake refresh) and Cannonlake will be bringing no incremental IPC improvements and will add more cores for better performance throughput. So, without more to say, the Intel Core i7-7700K is without a doubt the fastest mainstream chip on the market but it has too many drawbacks in terms of power and temperatures that make Skylake still look the better option for gamers.
Farewell 100-Series, 200-Series Boards Are The Best Option For 6th and 7th Generation Core PC Builders
The SUPERO C7Z270 is a solid motherboard at its given price. The motherboard packs server-build quality which may stir up some interest from the gaming community due to its longevity and stability in operation. The board doesn't carry a nice visual demonstration since it's colored in green. There's also no addition of metal braced PCIe and DIMM slots though that isn't necessarily a must to have on these products.
Supermicro's SUPERO brand has converted a server design into a gaming oriented product. Aside from the looks, the product is nicely designed with a solid BIOS, good support for 6th and 7th generation processors and has a lot of options in terms of storage. The C7Z270 from SUPERO is a solid board that packs a server build geared for gamers under a price that isn't as crazy as other gaming boards.
Contents
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The C7Z270 from SuperO is a solid board that packs a server built geared for gamers under a price that isn't as crazy as other gaming board.
- Server-Grade Build
- Long Lasting Component Design
- Moderate OC Support
- Intel Optane Support
- Intel 6th and 7th Gen Support
- Dual U.2 Ports
- Dual M.2 Ports
- Dual USB 3.1 (Type-A + Type-C)
- Lots of storage capabilities
- Lots of I/O capabilities
- Onboard Audio design
- Under $200 US Price
Pros
- Black and Green Color Scheme may not suit everyone
- No Metal DIMM and PCI-E slots
- Kaby Lake Not a Big Improvement From Skylake
Cons
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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