Test – Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 : |Specs | CPU | Hashrate | Review | Config

Hi all!

It had been some time since I had tested a motherboard, but given the very recent release of Intel “Skylake” processors, I had to offer you a little something! Here is what is done today with a motherboard from Gigabyte and intended especially for “gamers”, I named the Z170X Gaming 7! New platform obliges Gigabyte of course incorporated all the latest technologies, USB 3.1, 2 M.2 connectors, DDR4 of course as well as network chips and “gaming” sound chipset, in short the total!
Offered at a price of around 249 € it is placed at the top of the basket, without going to the excess of cards over 400 or 500 €, let’s see if the asking price is justified!

As we can see the Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 is a good big motherboard well filled, in the standard ATX format, socket 1151 of course capable of accommodating the 6th generation Intel processors from Celeron to Core i7 via Pentium, Core i3 and Core i5.
By changing the socket, Intel also took the opportunity to switch its entire world to DDR4 (even if they remain backward compatible with DDR3, if the motherboard accepts it) which already equipped the high-end in socket X99 instead. of aging DDR3. The base frequency of DDR4 is 2133 MHz, but Gigabyte announces that it will be possible to install modules up to 3866 MHz, which will then be considered as overclocking (like DDR3 at more than 1600 MHz for the latest processors on socket 1150). The memory operation remains in “Dual Channel” as on the previous consumer socket, 4 slots available for a total of maximum 64 GB.
In terms of PCIe ports Gigabyte equips its small Z170 Gaming 7 with 3 PCIe 16x, the first operating at 16x, the second at 8x and the third at 4X, all SLI (2 cards) and Crossfire (2 or 3 cards) compatible, as much to say that if a Crossfire of 3 cards is installed it risks being constrained by the card installed on the 4x so I advise to limit yourself to 2 cards.
The card is not left out in terms of integrated components with a sound part isolated from the rest of the motherboard driven by a high-end Creative Sound Core 3D chipset, high-end dedicated capacitors as well as a Texas Instrument Burr amplifier Brown® OPA2134 which should eliminate the need for a high-end third-party sound card.
The network part is entrusted to not one but two chipsets! A first (LAN1) entrusted to an Intel GBe LAN (Gigabit) and a second to the new Killer 2400, I won’t hide it from you and as in the tests of other motherboards equipped with this chipset (finally the old model) the marketing is more present than the results, I can only advise to use the Intel chip 😉
Regarding storage, there is still what is needed, 6 Sata 6Gb / s ports (3 Sata Express) managed by the Intel Z170 chipset, 2 Sata 6Gb / s ports by the ASMedia® ASM1061 controller and 2 M.2 ports Socket 3 which will be perfect for stalling a small family SSD (like the Plextor M6e 128GB tested here).
Offered at around 250 € the Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 is very well stocked, it will be necessary to have specific needs to rationally justify the purchase of this card, for the average user and as part of a gamer configuration the majority of this who is present will be useless.

The front of the box is racy like all the products in the G1 Gaming range at Gigabyte, we find the model, the brand, the various Intel Z170 logo, Intel Core Inside as well as a mention of DDR4 compatibility and presence of USB Type-C and 3.1 ports. As usual, the mention “Ultra Durable” is present and shows that the card is equipped with high-end capacitors.

The rear face is well populated, in fact in addition to the mention of the model and the brand there is a listing of the strengths of the beast. To begin with the Intel USB 3.1 controller capable of climbing at speeds of 32 Gb / s (or 4 Gb / s) thanks to its PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, while the “others” go up to only 10 Gb / s (or 1.25 Gb / s), which is not really a brake because who needs (and has the hardware) to exceed the 1.25 Gb / s transfer rate?
In addition to this the small reversible Typ-C USB port is present, the Creative Core 3D audio chipset which can easily replace a third party sound card (except purists) and the duo of Killer E2400 and Intel Gbe network chipsets.
A table is also present showing the main characteristics (socket, chipset, connectors, dimensions, etc.).

When opening you can glimpse the beast in its antistatic bag, packed in its own box, under which is the bundle.

The bundle consists of:

• 1 x Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 motherboard
• 1 x Driver CD
• 1 x Manuel
• 1 x quick installation guide
• 4 x Sata cables
• 1 x I / O plate
• 1 x SLI 2-Way connector
• 1 x G connector
• 1 x bag of dust covers for the rear connectors
• 1 x autocollant G1 Gaming

As we can see the bundle is rather complete, in addition to the eternal manuals / quick installation guide / driver CD there are 4 Sata cables (silver), 1 SLI pond, 1 AIO plate (equipped with an LED) but also dust covers for the rear connectors and a G connector. But what is the G connector? It is in fact a small connector which will help you to connect the various LEDs and buttons on the front panel, we plug everything above and once done we plug the G connector on the motherboard, much more practical than doing that directly on the latter.
Note that on the version a World of Warships leaflet is present with a code allowing to have in-game bonuses (for new customers only) namely 1 Diana Russian Premium Cruiser Tier II, 1 port slot, 7 days of premium subscription as well as 500 “signal flags”, some may still be interested, it does not eat bread!