Supermicro C7Z270-CG LGA1151 Motherboard Review

Introduction

Supermicro is one of the most prestigious names in the server market and they’ve consistently been relied upon to create rackmounts, networking switches, professional storage solutions and much more. Given the important nature of their clients, it’s essential for Supermicro to uphold the best possible quality control and offer unparalleled reliability. Even though they have a strong foothold in the server market, Supermicro has been steadily releasing motherboards for the consumer platform. Of course, the competition is fierce and behemoths like ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte tend to account for the majority of sales. Nevertheless, Supermicro’s heritage and innovative approach deserve a lot of respect and their motherboards are appealing to enthusiasts who yearn for something different.

One of Supermicro’s Z270 offerings is the C7Z270-CG which features a striking green colour scheme and large, imposing heatsinks. Not only that, the motherboard incorporates two U.2 ports, two M.2 and supports USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C. On another note, the motherboard contains a large onboard speaker, LED post read-out and buttons for diagnostic purposes. Rather surprisingly, the Supermicro C7Z270-CG’s audio solution is based on the older ALC1150 codec which has been superseded for the latest chipset. Despite this oddity, the motherboard is equipped with an excellent specification which provides server reliability for the gaming audience.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

The motherboard comes in a really distinctive box which opts for a slipcover to create an elegant aesthetic. Additionally, the branding remains quite subtle and your focus is drawn to the product’s model name. Personally, I love the brushed grey finish and how it contrasts with the black edges.

On the rear section, the end-user is provided with an overview of the motherboard’s layout. This simplistic approach works rather nicely and it’s refreshing to see a box without an almost endless supply of marketing images.

In terms of accessories, the motherboard is bundled with a flexible SLI bridge, drivers/utilities disk, quick reference guide, I/O shield and four flat-headed long-length SATA cables. As expected, the quick reference guide is quite brief and doesn’t explain the motherboard’s key features, software package or BIOS layout. It’s just a technical layout description which lists the various headers and other connectors. Honestly, I’d like to see Supermicro adopt a different approach which widens the product’s appeal by helping those without a great deal of technical knowledge.