Although we had our hands on two GIGABYTE Super Overclock Series motherboards back in April, we haven't atually reviewed one since the original X58A-OC model that helped launch this hardcore motherboard series all the way back in 2011. Despite the relabel from OC to Super OverClock (SOC) to put the motherboard division in line with the company's graphics card naming scheme, the fundamental ideas behind this series really hasn't changed. With their unique black and orange colour schemes, plethora of overclocking-focused features, top-quality components, and thoughtfully considered specifications lists, these purpose-built motherboards have always caught our eye.

Today, we have the privilege of reviewing the recently released GIGABYTE X99-SOC Champion. Now in many ways this new Champion model is a slightly stripped down version of the X99-SOC Force designed to hit a more affordable price point. Although this new model is missing a few of the Force's overclocking-oriented features, the most notable difference is obviously the fact that the Champion is the only full-size X99 motherboard on the market with only four memory slots. While this design feature alone might be a non-starter for some users, serious overclockers shouldn't count it out just yet since one of the results of this design is shorter pathways between the memory and the processor, and thus - at least hypothetically - better stability and overclocking potential.