Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming G1 Motherboard Review

Gigabyte’s G1 Gaming series motherboards have been some of the company’s most popular over the past few years, especially with the X99 and Z97 chipsets. Skylake and the Z170 chipset are here and that means an entire new line of G1 Gaming motherboards from Gigabyte! The board we are taking a look at today has been on radar ever since it was first revealed at Computex earlier this year. The Z170X-Gaming G1 sits as Gigabyte’s top of the line or flagship gaming motherboard. It has everything that a gamer and an enthusiast would want, and Gigabyte has pulled it off in style too! The board has RGB LED clusters in 3 different places on the board and on the rear I/O shield. Gamers will appreciate the 4-way graphics support, Killer DoubleShot X3 Pro gaming networking, and professional-grade audio. This is just the tip of the iceberg too, let’s jump in and see what the Z170X-Gaming G1 is all about!

Special thanks to Gigabyte for providing us with the Z170X-Gaming G1 to review.

Features
– Supports 6th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor
– Dual Channel DDR4, 4 DIMMs
– Intel® USB 3.1 with USB Type-C™ – the world’s next Universal connector
– 4-Way Graphics Support with Exclusive Ultra Durable Metal Shielding over the PCIe Slots
– Dual PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 Connectors with up to 32Gb/s Data Transfer (PCIe & SATA SSD support)
– 3 SATA Express Connectors for up to 16Gb/s Data Transfer
– Creative certified Sound Blaster ZxRi 120+dB SNR
– Killer DoubleShot Pro™ X3 for the best networking experience possible
– LED Trace Path with Multi-Color Choice
– Water Cooling Ready Heatsink Design with G1/4 Threaded Fittings
– APP Center Including EasyTune™ and Cloud Station™ Utilities
– GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOS™ with Q-Flash Plus USB port

For a full list of specifications be sure to check out this page.

Packaging
The Z170X-Gaming G1 comes in Gigabyte’s typical retail packaging for motherboards, although the box is much larger than what we are used to seeing. On the front it does let us know that the board comes with the GC-USB 3.1 bay.

Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming G1 Motherboard

On the back of the box there is a full overview of the motherboard, rear I/O ports, and details on many of the great features of the board.

Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming G1 Motherboard

Getting everything out of the box we have quite the accessory bundle! Included with the board is the GC-USB 3.1 bay, six SATA cables, G-connector, WiFi antenna, rear I/O shield, dust covers for I/O ports, miniSAS connector (M.2 to U.2), CrossFire connector, single SLI connector, triple SLI bridge, quad-SLI bridge, instruction manual, and your drivers and utilities CDs.

Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming G1 Motherboard

The GC-USB 3.1 bay is a 5.25-inch bay device. It features both a USB 3.1 Type-C port and a USB 3.1 Type-A port. I actually uses SATA express for data connectivity, and Gigabyte includes the cable for you.

Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming G1 USB 3.1 Bay

For a full unboxing and overview video of the Z170X-Gaming G1 Motherboard be sure to check out our video below.

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