Gigabyte launches its new x99 series of motherboards

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announces the availability of its new set of motherboards based on the Intel® X99 chipset, with support for the new Core ™ i7 Extreme Edition processors (LGA socket 2011-v3) from Intel and for the new DDR4 memory. Divided into three main categories (G1 ™ for gaming, SOC for overclocking and GIGABYTE Ultra Durable ™), there is a GIGABYTE X99 series motherboard for any dream machine we can think of riding.

"Given the incredible potential of this Intel platform, at GIGABYTE we wanted to make sure that each of our X99 series motherboards provided that qualitative leap for our most enthusiastic customers, " said Henry Kao, Vice President, Board Business Unit GIGABYTE base. "Aside from being the first motherboards to support the new Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition CPUs and new DDR4 memories, GIGABYTE X99 motherboards offer a comprehensive set of unique features that truly unleash the full potential of this platform."

Features of GIGABYTE X9 series motherboards

Designed to meet the needs of the high-end desktop segment, the new GIGABYTE X99 motherboards provide the ultimate platform for users who demand durable quality, unrivaled performance, and a groundbreaking look to complement any system they mount. The available GIGABYTE X99 range of motherboards are the perfect backbone for your next PC, with a fully digital, IR design of the power to power all 8 cores of the Intel® Core ™ i7-5960X. Regardless of whether you choose a G1 ™ Gaming, SOC-Force, or Ultra Durable ™ motherboard, GIGABYTE offers gamers, overclockers, and professionals a number of features designed specifically for them, including the latest in connectivity, with M.2 and SATA Express, as well as the possibility to expand with Thunderbolt ™. So that enthusiasts aren't afraid to ride their ultimate dream machine, the GIGABYTE X99 series motherboards help make the dream come true.

Genuine All Digital design for power

GIGABYTE X99 motherboards use an International Rectifier® all-digital CPU power design that includes both a fourth-generation digital PWM controller and industry-leading third-generation PowIRstage ™ controllers. These 100% digital controllers offer incredible precision when it comes to supplying power to the most sensitive or power-demanding components on the motherboard, allowing enthusiastic users to get the absolute best performance from their Intel® Core processors. ™ i7 Extreme new generation.

IR Digital PWN and IR PowIRstage® chips

This new generation of digital IR® power controllers and PowIRstage® chips include Isense technology, which provides greater precision in current measurement. This helps to evenly distribute the thermal load across the PowerIRstage® chips, thus preventing overheating of each individual PowIRstage®, resulting in a longer service life and increased reliability.

Server-level chokes by Cooper Bussmann

GIGABYTE X99 series motherboards include special choke coils designed by Cooper Bussmann that provide:

• Reliability at server levels Capacity for high currents The new design reduces the heat created by power losses and provides efficient power to the CPU VRM area.

Durable Black ™ Long Life Solid Capacitors and POSCAPs

The highest quality GIGABYTE X99 series motherboards have solid state capacitors, which are enabled to operate at the highest efficiency for long periods of time even in extreme performance configurations. This provides peace of mind for end users who want to push their system to the limit while still demanding absolute stability and reliability.

The GIGABYTE X99-SOC Force includes high-quality POSCAPs for supplying power to the CPU. POSCAPs (Polymerized Organic Semiconductor Capacitor) are high-end capacitors available only recently that offer better current ripple and dissipation properties. Additionally, POSCAPs are capable of maintaining a low impedance characteristic regardless of operating frequency, making them suitable like no other for systems using high frequency switched mode power supplies.

3-Way / 4-Way Graphics with Premium PCIe x16 lanes with bandwidth up to 320Gb / s

GIGABYTE X99 motherboards include a unique PCI Express design that utilizes 100% of the 40 lanes that the CPU provides when in a 4-Way or 3-Way graphics configuration. Standard designs limit the 4 main PCIe lanes to x8 bandwidth (64Gb / s), but thanks to the integrated external clock generator, combined with direct connection of one of the x16 lanes to the CPU (switchless design), GIGABYTE X99 motherboards can unleash the entire available bandwidth and provide the best possible graphic bandwidth to the user.

Dual M.2 technology with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0

Fast data transfers and advanced Wi-Fi connectivity

GIGABYTE X99 motherboards with Dual M.2 technology provide users with PCI-Express connectivity for SSD devices and integrated 11AC WIFI + Bluetooth 4.0. Capable of providing data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gb / s, M.2 offers significantly better storage performance than current mSATA and even that of SATA Revision 3 (6Gb / s) storage devices. GIGABYTE's stacked design optimizes space usage on the PCB, allowing you to efficiently house more components without compromising more space.

Turbo M.2 technology

GIGABYTES X99 SOC motherboards include an M.2 Turbo socket to provide connectivity to SSD devices in a more compact way. Thanks to the unique design of the X99 chipset, 4 PCIe lanes (Gen.2) can be reserved for the M.2 socket, freeing up to 20 Gb / s of bandwidth. Turbo M.2 offers significantly higher storage performance than current mSATA and even SATA Revision 3 (6Gb / s) storage devices.

New generation SATA Express connector

GIGABYTE X99 series motherboards feature a SATA Express connector that provides far superior performance than current SATA technologies. SATA Express offers data transfer rates of up to 10Gb / s, considerably higher than those of SATA Revision 3 (6Gb / s), which will not become a bottleneck when used with the NAND flash technologies of the latest SSDs. SATA Express combines the benefits of PCI-Express and SATA to provide much higher bandwidth, and enables SATA Express hard drives to achieve speeds similar to those of PCI-Express drives.

6x (30μ) gold plating

On the GIGABYTE X99 motherboards, the CPU socket, 4 of the PCIe slots and 8 DIMM slots are 30 micron thick gold plated, which means that enthusiastic users will be able to enjoy better connectivity and reliability. and absolute longevity of the various connectors over time, without having to worry about corroded pins or poor contacts.

More security when screwing

No more worrying about accidentally damaging the motherboard by mounting it on the chassis. GIGABYTE X99 motherboards all include wider copper ground margins and component-free areas around the holes for the PCB mounting screws. This unique design reduces the chances of damaging any nearby components during the PC assembly process. Having wider ground copper margins has the added benefit of reducing EMI disturbances and thus enjoying less noise interference throughout the system.

2x Copper PCB design (2oz / 56.7g copper PCB)

GIGABYTE's unique 2X Copper PCB design provides a sufficient number of power tracks between components to take on higher than normal power demands and, critically, to extract heat from the area that supplies it directly to the CPU. This is essential in order to ensure that the motherboard is capable of correctly handling the increased energy demand that overclocking entails.

Creative® Sound Core3D ™ Quad-Core Audio Processor and Creative SBX Pro Studio Audio Suite

Combining the world's first Quad-Core audio processor, Creative Sound Core3D, with the advanced Creative SBX PROSTUDIO software suite, GIGABYTE X99 Gaming motherboards lead the way in terms of audio quality. The SBX Pro Studio ™ suite of audio playback technologies offers a new level of sound immersion. The ability to hear specific sounds within a game or highly realistic surround sound are just two examples of how SBX Pro Studio overall improves the experience of listening to movies, music or video games.

Realtek ALC 1150 HD Audio with 115dB SNR and Integrated Rear Audio Amplifier

The ALC1150 is a high-definition multi-channel audio codec with an SNR of up to 115dB that provides an exceptional listening experience, ensuring that users get the highest audio quality from their PCs. The ALC1150 provides ten DAC channels for playback. 7.1 audio along with a separate two-channel stereo output (multiple streams) through the front panel stereo outputs. The two built-in ADC stereo converters can support an array of microphones with Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), Beam Forming (BF) and Noise Suppression (NS) technologies. The ALC1150 incorporates proprietary Realtek conversion technologies that achieve 115dB signal-to-noise differential (SNR) front-end reproduction (DAC) and 104dB SNR (ADC) recording.

Completely new design with heatsink LEDs

GIGABYTE X99 Series boards incorporate a new heatsink design that offers fully efficient cooling for key areas of the motherboard, including the PWM and Chipset (PCH) area. GIGABYTE X99 series boards are capable of cooling the crucial area of ​​the PWM, so that even the most aggressive and extreme settings are kept within optimal thermal parameters.

Environmental LEDs

The GIGABYTE X99 motherboards include LED lighting for the audio separation zone of the PCB and the rear panel, making the equipment look interesting and personalized. These lights are now programmable so they can be made to keep up with the music or blink in a relaxed way to create a great atmosphere that enhances the environment of music, a game or a movie.

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Q-Flash Plus

GIGABYTE Q-Flash Plus allows users to update to the latest BIOS using a USB keychain without the need for CPU or memory to be installed.

Do you have the latest CPU supported by your GIGABYTE motherboard but don't have the latest BIOS installed yet? This is no longer an issue with the new Q-Flash Plus functionality. Simply by downloading the latest BIOS and renaming it to a USB keychain and plugging it into the corresponding port, you can flash the BIOS automatically without pressing any button or even having the CPU or memory. Thanks to using the ITE EC 8951E driver, the BIOS of GIGABYTE X99 motherboards can be updated even if the system is unable to boot. An LED next to the EC controller will warn that the process has finished and the system can now be started normally.

Killer Networking

Several of GIGABYTE's X99 series motherboards include Qualcomm Atheros' Killer ™ E2200, an adaptive, high-performance Gigabit Ethernet controller that offers better performance for online games and content compared to normal systems. Killer ™ E2200 comes with Advanced Stream Detect technology, which identifies and prioritizes network traffic to ensure that critical applications, requiring high-speed connectivity, are given a higher priority than those requiring it.

Intel® GbE LAN with cFos Internet Accelerator Software

Other GIGABYTE X99 series motherboards include cFos Speed, a network traffic management application that helps improve network latency, keeping ping times low and providing better response in crowded LAN environments. cFos Speed ​​works similarly to an OS driver, monitoring packets of network traffic at the application level, allowing you to optimize network performance for specific applications.

Thunderbolt ™ Ready

GIGABYTE X99 offers the expandability necessary to make a system final, with an integrated pin connector that enables the addition of a GIGABYTE Thunderbolt ™ card. The Thunderbolt ™ controller can provide a bandwidth of up to 20 Gb / s, compared to a maximum of 10 Gb / s from previous generation designs. This enables incredible data transfer speeds when used in conjunction with high-performance storage devices, as well as support for chaining up to 12 devices and for using triple digital displays.

* Neither Thunderbolt ™ card nor cables are included.

** To view the list of supported Thunderbolt ™ cards, please visit the GIGABYTE website.

Intel® Core ™ i7 Extreme Edition CPUs (Code name: Haswell-E)

The new Intel® Core ™ i7 Processors in LGA 2011-v3 sockets have become Intel's first 8-core CPUs for desktop PCs, and are the first to support DDR4 memory. These next-generation 22nm CPUs provide the highest performance and power efficiency, as well as the highest discrete graphics performance in the industry, incorporating 40 PCIe Gen.3 lanes, which GIGABYTE X99 motherboards are able to fully benefit from for providing a total bandwidth of 320 Gb / s for the most demanding gamers or for intensive graphics creation tasks such as video editing. On top of all that, the Intel® Core ™ i7 Extreme Edition CPUs feature multitasking with 8 cores (16 threads), higher operating frequencies, and larger caches.

Furthermore, GIGABYTE X99 users can get even higher performance from their Extreme Edition CPUs as they are fully unlocked for overclocking. Thanks to the enhanced overclocking options available on all GIGABYTE X99 series motherboards, users will be able to take advantage of the full performance potential of Intel's Extreme Edition CPUs.

* The number of CPUs and the PCIe bandwidth varies depending on the CPU model.

4 channel DDR4

With DDR4 the new generation of DRAM is here. At factory frequencies starting at 2133 MHz, DDR4 memories, compared to the previous DDR3 generation, enjoy up to 20% lower power consumption and twice the density. DDR4 can help GIGABYTE X99 users load their programs faster, improve the response speed of their system, and handle data-intensive tasks in no time. GIGABYTE X99 motherboards provide 4-channel DDR4 memory support throughout the series, ensuring exceptionally fast memory access.

GIGABYTE X99 Series Motherboard Models *

GA-X99-Gaming G1 WIFI	GA-X99-Gaming 7 WIFI	GA-X99-Gaming 5	GA-X99-SOC Force
GA-X99-UD7 WIFI	GA-X99-UD5 WIFI	GA-X99-UD4	GA-X99-UD3