Review: gigabyte z68ap

Gigabyte, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware devices, has sent us to review the Gigabyte Z68AP-D3, an excellent board for mid-range computers. Although it incorporates high-end features: USB 3.0, compatible with CrossFireX multigpu system, Touch BIOS and compatibility with Sandy and Ivy Bridge.

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GA-Z68AP-D3 FEATURES
Compatible processors	Support for Intel ® Core ™ i7 / Intel ® Core ™ i5 / Intel ® Core ™ i3 Processors / Intel ® Pentium ® / Intel ® Celeron ® on LGA1155 22nm Ivy Brdige included
Chipset and memory supported	Intel ® Z68 Express Chipset Supported Memory: 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMMs supporting up to 32GB of system memory * Due to Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4GB of physical memory is installed, the displayed memory size will be less than 4 GB Dual Channel memory architecture Support for DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules Support for non-ECC memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
Audio and LAN	2/4 / 5.1 / 7.1-channel * To configure 7.1 channel audio, you have to use a front HD audio module and activate the multi-channel audio function through the audio driver.Support for S / PDIFCodec Realtek output ALC889 High Definition Audio Net: 1 x RTL8111E chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Sockets	1 x PCI Express x16, a x4 (PCIEX4) * The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX1_2 and PCIEX1_3 slots. When the PCIEX1_2 slot or the PCIEX1_3 slot is populated, the PCIEX4 slot will operate at up to x1 mode. 1 x PCI Express x16 to x16 slot (PCIEX16) * If you are installing only one PCI Express graphics card, for optimal performance, make sure that it is placed in the PCIEX slot16.3 x PCI Express x1 slot (All PCI Express slots conform to the PCI Express 2.0 standard.) 2 x PCI Support for AMD CrossFireX ™ Technology * PCIEx16 slot operates in up to x4 mode when AMD CrossFireX ™ is enabled.
Storage interface	Chipset: 2 x SATA 6Gb / s connectors (SATA3_0, SATA3_1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb / s devices Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 * When the RAID set is made up of SATA 6Gb / s and SATA 3Gb channels / s, the system performance of the RAID set will depend on the devices that are connected. 4 x SATA 3Gb / s (~ SATA2_2 SATA2_5) that supports up to 4 SATA 3Gb / s devices * The SATA2_5 connector will become unavailable when the mSATA connector is installed with a solid-state drive.
USB	Chipset: Up to 10 USB 2.0 / 1.1 ports (4 on the back panel, 6 on the internal USB connectors) Etron EJ168 chip: Up to 2 USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports on the rear panel.
BIOS	2 x 32 Mbit FlashUse of licensed AWARD BIOSPnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0bSupports DualBIOS ™
Format	ATX, 305mm x 215mm

The Z68 chipset is the combination of the P67 B3 and H67 chipsets. From the healthy P67 B3 it brings the possibilities of further overclocking to the K processors and integration with MultiGPU SLI and Crossfire. From the H67 chipset the compatibility of the improved Intel HD3000 graphics chipset.

This new Z68 chip offers us the new Intel Smart Response Technology and LucidLogix Virtu. This system helps us to offer a higher speed when using our SSD.

Gigabyte presents the plate in a white box. It refers to its ultra durable 2 technology and its mSATA system to connect a high speed SSD.

The back we have the most important benefits.

The box includes:

• Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 board Instruction manual and CD. SATA cables. Gigabyte sticker. Rear hood.

Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 overview.

Its PCB is Gigabyte's corporate one during all those years. Back view.

The board has a direct on-board mSATA connection. This allows us to install any high speed SSD. Taking advantage of all bandwidth and speed without restrictions.

The distribution of the ports is quite correct. It allows us to install a 1x PCI sound card on top. Or a PCI in the last two. In the 16x PCI we can install any NVIDIA or ATI graphics, but if we want to do MULTIGPU configuration, it is only compatible with ATI CrossFireX.

We have two USB connections and the control panel.

We can install up to 32 GB of ram at 2133 mhz (with OC).

The board includes a powerful heatsink to cool your phases. Enough for a normal OC of 4200/4400 mhz.

It includes 6 SATA ports, two of them being SATA 6GB / s.

Gigabyte “Z68AP” boards all include digital video connection: HDMI. Ideal for any computer with the latest flat screen or for television.

Its BIOS is still the classic one, as we can see in the following images:

Gigabyte has developed a utility called "BIOS TOUCH". With it we can apply and monitor the on-site BIOS from windows.

As we can see the program is the best that we can find.

Smart Quick Boost allows us a slight OC to the processor:

And the option to update the BIOS from Windows:

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel 2600k 3.4GHZ
Base plate:	Gigabyte Z68AP-D3
Memory:	Kingston Hyperx PNP 2x4GB
Heatsink	Corsair H60
HDD	Kingston Hyperx 120gb
Graphic card	Asus Geforce GTX580 Direct CU II
Power supply	Thermaltake TouchPower 1350W

To check the stability of the processor and motherboard. We have made a 4600mhz OC with Prime 95 Custom and a GTX580 at 780mhz. The performance has been quite satisfactory in 3d Mark Vantage. We have also performed the following tests:

• 3dMark Vantage: 24888 PTS TOTAL. 3dMark11: P5550 PTS. Heaven Unigine 2.1.:41.0 FPS and 1022 PTS. CineBench: 61.42 AND CPU: 7.85

The Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 is a mid-range motherboard, but with plenty of high-end features: USB 3.0, 16x PCI Ports, ultra-durable capacitors, z68 chipset, and m-sata connection for solid state drives (SSD).

In our test bench we have installed a 2600k processor at 4600 mhz and 1.39v (usually stable from 1.34-1.36v) and a GTX580 graphics card at 785mhz. The results have been very good: P5550 Points with 3dMARK11 and 1022 pts with Unigine Vantage. Playing we have tested the Metro 2033 and Crysis 2 games. Thanks to the overclocked the minimums have been maintained at 40 fps and we have played in a stable way.

Its cooling is quite efficient, but we would have liked the phase part to be better cooled. But considering that it is a mid-range board and with a breakthrough price of € 90, is that sink a detail?

We also have to highlight its BIOS TOUCH. It is an application that adjusts the values ​​of the board (voltage, multiplier) from Windows in hot. Facilitating the inconvenience of resetting and entering the BIOS (Dual BIOS) to make any changes.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ SATA 6.0 AND USB 3.0.	- NO NVIDIA SLI SUPPORT.
+ MODERATE OVERCLOCK SUPPORT
+ M-SATA INTEGRATED IN PLATE.
+ BIOS TOUCH.
+ COMPATIBLE WITH IVY BRIDGE.
+ EXCELLENT PRICE.

The Professional Review team awards you a well deserved silver medal and quality / price: