SuperMicro C7Z170-SQ (LGA 1151) Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing 

I was expecting a bit of work to try to find retail pricing for this motherboard, but it seems the only outlet that has this motherboard is Amazon.com. There it can be purchased for $209.99. To me, that is a bit on the steep side considering you can get more established motherboards for a similar price with more features.

Overview

I really don’t know what to say about this motherboard. When I’m using it, I feel like I’m in control of a server rather than a home computer thanks to the extremely over complicated and almost unusable BIOS. The extreme level of detail that SuperMicro gives you control over is unreal, but the BIOS could be cleaned up and possibly even simplified for consumer use. However, this motherboard is perfect for the overclocker with a no fuss approach and truly customisable overclocking settings to pinpoint the perfect level of performance.

While this motherboard doesn’t look amazing with huge heat sinks and lashings of colour, it is a step in the right direction. Of years gone by, SuperMicro was stuck to producing OEM looking motherboards which were suited perfectly to mass-produced systems rather than a home unit. Times have changed for the better as we now have a darker looking option that would suit a much wider range of cases and existing colour schemes. Not only that, with this becoming a direct competitor with looks (because we all know that’s how we buy a motherboard), we could start to see a price war and lower prices for the consumer to enjoy.

Along with the looks, the performance has been given an overhaul with the C7Z170-SQ taking the top spot in multiple benchmarks and the lead only being extended with an overclock. If I was to be completely honest, I was expecting the results to be in line with how Cinebench went; I can only say I was stunned when I started the other tests.

Here’s the killer, that price is something that is going to put A LOT of customers off. Okay, you are getting server quality, but let’s be realistic, most consumers don’t care about ultra high-quality components like server customers require. The product lifecycle is increasing in length of time, but not enough to warrant the cost of this motherboard just for server quality parts. This motherboard would be well suited to a home PC that gets turned on and off multiple times a day and will be kept much longer than the usual upgrade cycle of say 4-5 years.

Pros

• Chart-topping performance in most tests
• Server quality components
• Subtle styling

Cons

• Extremely low worldwide availability
• High price considering features
• BIOS could do with streamlining

Neutral 

• More unique styling might be beneficial on the next model/ revision to set itself out from the crowd

“A great mainstream entry from the server giant, perfect for anyone who likes to fine-tune their overclocks and have peace of mind from high-quality components.“

Thank you SuperMicro for providing us with this sample.