Test – Gigabyte Z170X Gaming G1 : |Specs | CPU | Hashrate | Review | Config

Hi all!

The latest generation processor from Intel say “Skylake” having been released for some time now a lot of motherboards are on the market, after the very good Z170X Gaming 7 from Gigabyte (tested here) which offers a lot of features I will go to harness to its big sister, the Z170X Gaming G1 which is the flagship of the range, always with these gentlemen from Gigabyte!
On the program of course all the latest technologies of the moment, DDR4 (64 GB maximum), 2 x Killer E2400 network chipset, Wifi 802.11 AC, Bluetooth 4.1, Creative Sound Core 3D sound chipset, USB 3.1, 4-Way SLI, 2 x M .2 Socket 3 and so on and the best, you will understand Gigabyte has not made in the lace!
This orgy of features and equipment comes with a price that clearly stings, at around € 600 per copy you have to have deep pockets and the configuration that goes with it to justify such an investment, let’s take a closer look!

The Gaming G1 version of the Z170 from Gigabyte is undoubtedly shielded with features and other equipment, we are in the presence of a good big beast raised to the grain! There was apparently no room on an ATX format PCB to fit all this so these gentlemen from Gigabyte opted for E-ATX (2 cm more in width, to arrive at 24.4 cm).
Of course, who says Z170 chipset says compatibility with latest generation Intel processors, from Celeron to Core i7, including Pentium and core i3 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 big Z170 Gaming G1 with 4 PCIe 16x, 2 operating in 16x and 2 in 8x, unlike less high-end meter cards the brand has added a PLX bridge capable of doubling the available PCIe lines, in effect on a “Skylake” processor there are 16 lines available which would give an SLI with ports operating in 8x / 8x or 8x / 4x / 4X but not here! Indeed it will be possible to make SLI / Crossfire in 16x / 16x or 16x / 8x / 8x or even 8x / 8x / 8x / 8x, enough to have a large bandwidth available for larger configurations!
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 3 amplifiers, 1 x Texas Burr Brown® OPA2134 instrument and 2 x JRC NJM2114, Hi-FI grade components! A third-party sound card is completely unnecessary here.
The network part is entrusted to not one but two chipsets! 2 Killer E2400 chipsets supposed to be particularly designed to play, even if in practice it does not change anything, if you thought that it will improve your “ping” in game, forget it right away!
With regard to storage here too things are disproportionate with no less than 10 Sata 3.0 ports, 4 of them are controlled by an ASMedia® ASM1061 chip and the 6 others by the Intel chipset, the latter managing at the same time 3 Sata Express ports and also 2 M.2 Socket 3 ports, enough to install a hell of a bunch of peripherals :). On the other hand, you should know that installing an M.2 device (such as Sata, Pcie 2x or 4x) may result in the deactivation of certain Sata ports, as can be seen in the following graphic:

In practice, this means that if an M.2 SSD is installed and other SSDs connected to the Sata ports do not work, they will simply have to be connected to another port. Nothing serious though because there is only a tiny part of the users who will be wronged!
Offered at a price of around 600 € it is clear that it will interest only very few users, and those who are interested will have to have great needs to be able to use the beast even at half of all it has to offer, otherwise it will be a waste!

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. In addition to all this a sticker is present to show the presence of a 5.25 ″ bay equipped with a USB Type-C and USB 3.1 Type-A port.

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, the Killer E2400 network chipset duo and the Killer Wifi chipset as well.
A table is also present showing the main characteristics (socket, chipset, connectors, dimensions, etc.).

In the box we find another box with a window that overlooks the motherboard protected by a transparent plastic cover, we can admire the beast 5 seconds before having it in our hands!

Underneath the box that contains the motherboard is the bundle, and the least we can say is that it looks huge, let’s see that right now!

The bundle consists of:

• 1 x Gigabyte Z170X Gaming G1 motherboard
• 2 x Driver / Software CD
• 1 x Manuel
• 1 x quick installation guide
• 6 x Sata cables
• 1 x I / O plate
• 1 x SLI 2-Way connector
• 1 x SLI 3-Way connector
• 1 x SLI 4-Way connector
• 1 x Crossfire 2-Way connector
• 1 x 5.25 ″ bay equipped with USB 3.1 Type-C and Type A connectors
• 1 x M.2 adapter -> mini SAS
• 1 x G connector
• 1 x bag of dust covers for the rear connectors
• 1 x Sata-Express cable
• 1 x autocollant G1 Gaming

Suffice to say that we have what is needed at the bundle level, especially with regard to the multi-GPU with multi-GPU bridges in all directions (2-Way, 3-Way, 4-Way and Crossfire 2 -Way), a 5.25 ″ bay equipped with USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C ports, 6 braided Sata cables, the WiFi antenna that goes well, 1 Sata Express cable and even an M.2 to Mini SAS adapter (at case!). It is clear that Gigabyte provides what it takes with its bigger beast Z170, and that’s a lot of fun !.