I find motherboards to be extremely fascinating. Not only are they the heart of any computer system but they are the one component that also dictates what you can and cannot do with a particular system. For instance video card support is controlled by how many expansion slots your motherboard has. Memory support is physically controlled by the memory slot and drive connections by the available plugs. While every motherboard gives you a certain amount of expandability only a select few allow you control over those expansions and that is where things get interesting.

In this review I will be looking at the Gigabyte Z170X SOC Force motherboard. This is one of the latest Skylake enabled motherboard from Gigabyte designed for overclockers, gamers and hardware enthusiasts alike. The Z170X SOC Force is different from previous versions of the SOC in that it features an onboard PLX chip for proper 4-Way SLI and overbuilt everything for proper enthusiast level quality.

I was a bit surprised to see the Z170X SOC Force move back to its enthusiast level roots and mimic what Gigabyte did with the Z87X OC Force back in the Haswell days where they integrated everything into a single motherboard. It of course raised overall cost but gave enthusiasts and system builders everything they needed on a single platform. The Z170X SOC Force is taking that and pushing style and design one step further.