With the launch of Intel’s latest chipset and the i7-6700 CPU it’s no surprise that they brought along with them a long list of new motherboards from every manufacture. At the launch I took a look at one of MSIs boards. After the launch though we jumped into GPU mode and covered the latest budget cards. Past that I slipped in a vacation and then of course our 17th LAN event. With all of that past us I can finally revisit Z170 and take a look at the Gigabyte GA-Z170X Gaming 7. I’m excited to see what Gigabyte has packed into the board as far as features go and to find out how it compares to the MSI. So today I’m going to dig through the Gaming 7s features then put it to the test, let’s get to it!
Product Name: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming-7
Review Sample Provided by: Gigabyte
Written by: Wes
Pictures by: Wes
Amazon Link: HERE
Specifications | |
CPU |
Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors/Intel® Core™ i5 processors/ Intel® Core™ i3 processors/Intel® Pentium® processors/ Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1151 package L3 cache varies with CPU |
Chipset | Intel® Z170 Express Chipset |
Memory |
4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory * Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed. Dual channel memory architecture Support for DDR4 3666(O.C) /3600(O.C.) /3466(O.C.) /3400(O.C.) /3333(O.C.) /3300(O.C.) /3200(O.C.) /3000(O.C.) /2800(O.C.) /2666(O.C.) /2400(O.C.) /2133 MHz memory modules Support for ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode) Support for non-ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8/1Rx16 memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules |
Onboard Graphics |
Integrated Graphics Processor-Intel® HD Graphics support: 1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096x2160@24 Hz or 3840x2160@60 Hz * Support for DisplayPort 1.2 version. Integrated Graphics Processor+MegaChips MCDP2800 chip: 1 x HDMI port * HDMI feature is currently limited. Visit GIGABYTE website for future updates. Maximum shared memory of 512 MB |
Audio |
Creative® Sound Core 3D chip Support for Sound Blaster Recon3Di TI Burr Brown® OPA2134 operational amplifier High Definition Audio 2/5.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out |
LAN |
1 x Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)(LAN1) 1 x Qualcomm® Atheros Killer E2400 chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) (LAN2) * Teaming is not supported. |
Expansion Slots |
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) * The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with the M2H_32G connector. The PCIEX4 slot will become unavailable when an SSD is installed in the M2H_32G connector. 3 x PCI Express x1 slots (All of the PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) |
Multi-Graphics Technology | Support for 3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire™ and 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology |
Storage Interface |
Chipset: 2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors 3 x SATA Express connectors 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0~5) Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 * Refer to "1-10 Internal Connectors," for the supported configurations with the M.2, SATA Express, and SATA connectors. ASMedia® ASM1061 chip: 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 6~7), supporting AHCI mode only |
USB |
Chipset: 5 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (available through the internal USB headers) Chipset+Renesas® USB 3.0 Hub: 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (available through the internal USB headers) Chipset+Intel® USB 3.1 Controller: 1 x USB Type-C™ port on the back panel, with USB 3.1 support 1 x USB 3.1 port on the back panel |
Internal I/O Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors 3 x SATA Express connectors 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x I/O shield audio LED power connector 1 x CPU fan header 1 x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT) 3 x system fan headers 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 headers 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header 1 x serial port header 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x power button 1 x reset button 1 x Clear CMOS button 1 x ECO button 1 x OC button 1 x audio gain control switch Voltage Measurement Points 1 x BIOS switch |
Back Panel Connectors |
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port 1 x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI port 1 x USB Type-C™ port, with USB 3.1 support 1 x USB 3.1 port 5 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports 2 x RJ-45 ports 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In/Mic In, Line Out, Headphone) |
I/O Controller | iTE® I/O Controller Chip |
H/W Monitoring |
System voltage detection CPU/System/Chipset temperature detection CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed detection CPU/System/Chipset overheating warning CPU/CPU OPT/System fan fail warning CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed control |
BIOS |
2 x 128 Mbit flash Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS Support for DualBIOS™ PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0 |
Unique Features |
Support for APP Center * Available applications in APP Center may vary by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also vary depending on motherboard specifications. 3D OSD @BIOS Ambient LED AutoGreen Cloud Station EasyTune Easy RAID Fast Boot Smart TimeLock Smart Keyboard Smart Backup System Information Viewer USB Blocker Support for Q-Flash Support for Smart Switch Support for Xpress Install |
Bundle Software |
Norton® Internet Security (OEM version) Intel® Smart Response Technology |
Operating System | Support for Windows 10/8.1/7 |
Form Factor | ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm |