GIGABYTE GA-Z87-D3HP (rev. 1.0) Pro Reviews

Of course, you have to set the flimsy cheapness, relatively mediocre performance and slightly borked overclocking against the price tag. That's cheap for a Z87 board, but in this case it's also a bit of a false economy. The reason to go with a Z87 board is to ensure access to the best possible performance. If it's not giving you that, then what exactly is the point?

Those folk wishing to upgrade to Intel's latest-and-greatest processor technology will also have to lay down cash on a new motherboard based on the 8-series chipset. Most enthusiasts will look towards Z87 motherboards and choose accordingly. Our in-depth look at the fourth-generation Core processor reveals that Intel, like most of its competitors, is keen to integrate as much as possible on the chip itself, in the name of efficiency, leaving motherboard partners with a difficult headache with respect to product differentiation and performance. Gigabyte's Z87-D3HP strikes a fair balance between a near-£100 price and features. The layout and BIOS are both very solid, performance is just where it ought to be, and it makes for a good fit with a mid-range fourth-generation Core chip. Our only caveat is the lack of Nvidia SLI support, but Gigabyte does have a board with appropriate certification a little higher up in the model range. We feel as if you'd have to spend significantly more to achieve measurable performance benefits, particularly if only running a single video card. We'll certainly know more about where Gigabyte stands in relation to the competition once further boards have been through the labs, yet for the time being we have little hesitation in recommending the D3HP for that new Haswell build you've been secretly eyeing up.

This fairly inexpensive board is a great base for your 4th-gen Intel Core PC