Gigabyte z170x gaming 3 review

Gigabyte leader in the manufacture of motherboards, graphics cards and peripherals has filled the market with a wide variety of motherboards of high and mid-range Z170 chipset. This time it has possibly sent us to one of the most interesting motherboards in the quality / price range such as the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 3 compatible with 64GB DDR4 memory and the installation of several graphics cards with SLI & CrossFirex technology.

Want to know more about her? In this analysis we will explain in detail all its benefits.

We thank Gigabyte Spain for trusting the product for its analysis:

Technical characteristics

GIGABYTE Z170X-GAMING 3 FEATURES
CPU	6th Generation Intel® Socket 1151 Core ™ i7 / i5 i3 Core ™ / Core ™ / Pentium® / Celeron® processors Supports Intel® 14nm CPU Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
Chipset	Intel® Z170 Express Chipset
Memory	4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3400 (OC) / 3333 (OC) / 3300 (OC) / 3200 (OC) / 3000 (OC) / 2800 (OC) / 2666 (OC) / 2400 (OC) / 2133 MHz for non-ECC, Un -buffered memory Dual Channel memory architecture Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
Multi-GPU Compatible	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 PCIEX1_3 slot. When the PCIEX1_3 slot is populated, the PCIEX4 slot will operate at up to x1 mode. 3 x PCI Express x1 slots (All of the PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) CrossFire / NVIDIA SLI ™ technology
Storage	2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors 3 x SATA Express connectors 6 x SATA 6Gb / s connectors Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
USB and ports.	Chipset: 7 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports (3 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers) 6 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 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 support1 x USB 3.1 port on the back panel
LAN	1 x Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2201 (10/100/1000 Mbit).
Rear connections	1 x PS / 2 keyboard / mouse port 1 x D-Sub port 1 x DVI-D port 1 x HDMI port 1 x USB Type-C ™ port, with USB 3.1 support 1 x USB 3.1 port 3 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports 2 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports 1 x RJ-45 port 1 x optical S / PDIF Out connector 5 x audio jacks (Center / Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
Audio	Realtek ^® ALC1150 codec TI Burr Brown ^® OPA2134 operational amplifier Support for Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 High Definition Audio 2/4 / 5.1 / 7.1-channel Support for S / PDIF Out
Format	ATX format; 30.5 cm x 23.5 cm
BIOS	2 x 64 Mbit flash Use AMI UEFI BIOS license DualBIOS ™ Support PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
Price	149 euros.

Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3

Gigabyte presents the Z170X-Gaming 3 motherboard in a glossy black base box, where we see its collaboration with World Of Tank (includes key inside) and the G1 Gaming seal of this new series. Inside we have protected the plate with cardboard and an anti-static bag that prevents any discharge of electricity. The bundle is made up of:

Gigabyte Z170X Gaming motherboard 3.Back plate. Instruction manual and quick guide. CD with drivers. SATA cables. SLI bridges. Stickers and poster.

It is a classic ATX motherboard with dimensions of 30.5cm x 23.4 cm, so we will have no problem installing it in any box on the market. As it is a mid-range base plate, we visualize a dissipation area with clip hooks instead of fixed hardware. The heatsinks are black and this time the PCB is brown. It has four DDR4 RAM memory sockets that allow us to install up to 64GB with high frequencies of 3333 Mhz with prior overclocking and compatible with the XMP 1.3 profile.

It has a total of 7 power phases for the processor and another 4 for RAM. The Ultra Durable technology is equipped with 10K Chemi-Con capacitors that offer us the best stability on the market.

In the PCI Express connections it has 3 PCI Express 3.0 ports compatible with Nvidia SLI and CrossFireX technology. In addition to 4 more expansion with PCI Express x4 format.

A very interesting detail is the incorporation of two M.2 connections with a bandwidth of 32Gb / s each, which makes us play with compact and high-capacity storage combinations.

I would have liked found a Sound Core 3D sound chip but we found a Realtek ALC 1150 that has worked so well in the previous generation. It includes AMP-UP Audio technology with support for 7.1 channels, Two integrated stereo ADCs, 115 dB amplifier with signal-to-noise-reproduction-suppression (SNR) (DAC) and quality 104dB SNR in recording (ADC). Also highlight its Killer E2200 network card that greatly reduces latency in your gamers games.

It has 6 SATA connections, where it shares four of the SATAS ports with two SATA Express connections. It covers the needs of 90% of users who assemble their own computer.

Detail of double internal USB 3.0 connection.

Finally, I detail the complete rear connections:

2 x USB 2.0.1 x D-SUB1 x HDMI.1 x USB 3.1 Type A & C.3 x USB 3.01 x Gigabit LAN.Digital audio output. 7.1.

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i7-6700k.
Base plate:	Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3
Memory:	4 × 4 16GB DDR4 @ 3200 MHZ Corsair LPX DDR4
Heatsink	Corsair H100i GTX.
HDD	Samsung 840 EVO 250GB.
Graphic card	Nvidia GTX 780.
Power supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2

To check the stability of the processor and motherboard, we've overclocked up to 4500mhz with Prime 95 Custom and air cooling. The graphics that we have used is an Nvidia GTX780, without further distractions let's see the results obtained in our tests with a 1920 × 1080 monitor.

BIOS

Like the Socket 1150 Gigabyte, it has released a very stable BIOS with a large overclocking capacity. Screen freezing or peripheral locking no longer appear. It still maintains all its benefits: fan control, temperature sensor, excellent overclocking ability and customize any parameter to our liking.

As expected Gigabyte maintains the Q-Flash PLUS technology that it used on its X99 motherboards. This application allows us to update our equipment to the latest BIOS without the need to mount a processor or RAM memory. Gigabyte has used the ITE EC 8951E controller, which sends the signal to an LED next to the EC controller, which will warn us that the process has finished and the system can now be started normally.

Final words and conclusion

The Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3 is an ATX format motherboard, compatible with Intel Skylake processor and incorporating the Z170 chipset. It allows us to install up to 64 GB of DDR4 memory in four sockets at speeds of 3333 mhz.

It has 11 power phases (7 + 4) and a very optimal cooling to perform a moderate overclock (over 4400 mhz) for both the i5-6600k or i7-6700k. In our tests we have been able to go up to 4500 mhz with a fairly good voltage, although not much better than its older brother Gaming G1. In the Intel XTU test we have obtained a result of 1237 points.

Among its most outstanding features we find two M.2 connections at 32 GB / s, Killer E2200 network controller and sound card with AMP-UP technology.

In short, if you are looking for a motherboard with great potential without leaving a kidney, the Z170X Gaming 3 is a very good candidate. I would be undecided whether to choose Gaming 5 or 3 due to the low price difference. Its recommended online store price is 149 euros.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ COMPONENTS.	- USE BETTER HEATSINKS.
+ OVERCLOCK CAPACITY.	- AT LEAST 8 SATA CONNECTIONS.
+ DUAL M.2.
+ SOUND CARD WITH AMPLIFIER.
+ VERY STABLE BIOS.
+ RED KILLER E2200 CARD IDEAL FOR GAMER.