Gigabyte announced that support for Intel Thunderbolt 3 has been expanded to three of its gaming motherboards. Gigabyte's GA-Z170X Gaming G1, GT and 7 motherboards have been certified by Intel for the Thunderbolt 3 specification. Thunderbolt 3 uses the USB Type-C connector and is powered by an Intel Thunderbolt 3 controller already installed on the boards. With Intel's certification, Gigabyte is now able to release the firmware patch to enable the hardware.
Thunderbolt 3 over a USB Type-C connector is able to handle data at up to 40 Gb/s, and with that bandwidth, it can be used for multiple high demand options. The DisplayPort 1.2 protocol is supported over USB Type-C, allowing for 4K resolutions at 60 FPS, or you can daisy-chain up to six devices per port. Thunderbolt 3 also enables the ability to deliver up to 36 W of power through the cable to power devices.
Gigabyte's firmware update is available now, but there is a specific file for each model of board. The GA-Z170X Gaming G1 update can be found here, the GA-Z170x Gaming GT update is located here, and the GA-Z170X Gaming 7 firmware patch is here.
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