The GIGABYTE X58A-OC is a tremendous motherboard for overclockers. It easily beat our previous favourite, the ASUS Rampage III Extreme which is by no means a slouch as this motherboard was widely regarded as one of the best motherboards for getting the absolute maximum from any CPU. It wasn't just the final overclocking results that impressed the most though, it was the ease at which it got there. The on-board baseclock, 4G, Gear, and CPU multi adjustment buttons were a pleasure to use and made finding the best possible settings both easy and much less time consuming.

The components used on the X58-OC are from the top drawer too with the voltage regulation module being the best we have seen on any motherboard regardless of the chipset. This excellent choice of components was compounded when we tested the voltage accuracy to find that the settings we inputted were very close to the actual voltage applied. I could wax lyrical about the VRM for pages and to be quite honest, we simply did not have enough room in the review to write everything there is to say about it, such is the complexity of the module. Suffice to say, if this motherboard cannot get the maximum from your CPU, none can! It is the best overclocking motherboard based on the X58 chipset bar none.



Job done then? Well not quite. Despite it being broadcast as an overclockers motherboard, GIGABYTE have seen fit to include a few luxuries which in all honesty are not required and I feel it is a half-hearted attempt to lure those who are not at the extreme end of the overclocking scale to invest in this piece of equipment. While there is no doubting this board will get you to the highest overclock, a multimedia platform it is not. Be under no illusions that once the benchmarking has stopped, you may soon find that you would prefer a few extra USB ports, external SATA or additional audio. There are no firewire ports, only a single Gigabit LAN port, even front panel connectivity is sparse. While it cannot be marked down for this, I do think it is prudent to make people aware that this motherboard will just about get you by on a day to day basis (albeit very quickly) but should you require lots of connectivity then the novelty of the X58A-OC may soon wear off and thus you may wish to look elsewhere.

That said, an 'everyday' motherboard wasn't what GIGABYTE intended with the X58A-OC. Go take a look at the G1 range if that's your bag. GIGABYTE set out to build an overclocking board, designed by overclockers, built for overclockers and I am happy to report it is the mission was a complete success. I cannot praise GIGABYTE enough for building such a fantastic piece of kit. My only regret is that it did not arrive on the scene sooner. While X58 is still one of the best platforms to get the highest benchmark scores, time is rapidly running out with X79 just around the corner which in all likelihood will put X58 to the sword. Hopefully though, GIGABYTE will introduce the 'OC' platform on future chipsets earlier in it's lifespan in the future. X79-OC perhaps?

The GIGABYTE X58A-OC is a very addictive piece of hardware that will leave you in a state of euphoria when you beat your previous best SuperPI time, 3DMark or submit that suicidal CPU-Z validation shot. Conversely, it can leave you frustrated, as was with the case with me, because if you do not have adequate cooling, you will not extract the best from this motherboard. You must understand, a motherboard like this is screaming out for anything and everything you can throw at it and truth be told, it is perhaps wasted on those who intend to use it as a 24/7 component unless your days are taken up running benchmark after benchmark. The dragster analogy rings true here because you wouldn't drive a dragster to the corner shop, it belongs on the race strip, revving it's mighty engine, proving its worth until either your CPU blows a gasket or you simply run out of DICE.

For those who are about to overclock, GIGABYTE we salute you.

Thanks to GIGABYTE for providing todays review sample.