Gigabyte Z170X-Ultra Gaming ATX Motherboard Review

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Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ledhead11
    This MOBO seems to go with the same ideas used in the gen for the x79 I still use. They're not the best, or prettiest but they focus on a very specific set of needs a builder may want while saving some money for other things. I think the price gap between them and competitors will widen even more by the holidays.
    Reply
  • shrapnel_indie
    All three NVMe interfaces steel SATA ports

    While steel is spelled correctly, it's the wrong word... the word you're looking for is "steal" as in theft, not "steel" as in a metal that can be used in a case.
    Reply
  • Hupiscratch
    A suggestion for motherboards review is a Z170 mATX roundup. There are some nice boards with all a gamer or power user could need. The Asus Maximus VIII GENE and the Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 seems to be good ones to test. SLI/Crossfire could be a concern on this boards.
    Reply
  • sillynilly
    To Shrapnel - I suppose you never made a mistake? LOL word Nazi!!
    Reply
  • Crashman
    18826092 said:
    To Shrapnel - I suppose you never made a mistake? LOL word Nazi!!
    I think he was being helpful, but I can't get inside that box to change it and don't feel like calling on my boss just yet.

    Reply
  • shrapnel_indie
    18826122 said:
    18826092 said:
    To Shrapnel - I suppose you never made a mistake? LOL word Nazi!!
    I think he was being helpful, but I can't get inside that box to change it and don't feel like calling on my boss just yet.

    Yeah, I was just trying to be helpful, not a word/spelling Nazi.I have made tons of mistakes, Sometimes its trying to convince people there is a reason a lowly Pentium has dropped from the best of CPU list for entry-level gaming. They refuse to look past IPS performance and ignore the fact dual core/threaded CPUs choke way more often than not in newer games, despite being faster. (Even when I quote from here, they choose to disregard, as if TH was lying.) I'll be the first to say I'm not perfect, and in many areas,I'm far from it.
    Reply
  • Sam Hain
    I know it's not a massive increase in FPS/GPU utilization, but come on Gigabyte, no x16/x16? Calling something "Ultra Gaming" with 3 (x16/x0/x4*, x8/x8/x4*) lanes. In other words, no PLX chip like G1's of the past.

    I know this would interfere with the M.2 storage option cutting into the lanes, but personally between GPU performance and storage performance options... GPU comes first, especially considering the expense of M.2; RAID'd SSD can be a less expensive option/equally subjectively speedy as I've got bad eyes, LOL.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    18831478 said:
    I know it's not a massive increase in FPS/GPU utilization, but come on Gigabyte, no x16/x16? Calling something "Ultra Gaming" with 3 (x16/x0/x4*, x8/x8/x4*) lanes. In other words, no PLX chip like G1's of the past.

    I know this would interfere with the M.2 storage option cutting into the lanes, but personally between GPU performance and storage performance options... GPU comes first, especially considering the expense of M.2; RAID'd SSD can be a less expensive option/equally subjectively speedy as I've got bad eyes, LOL.
    The 48-lane PLX wouldn't affect M.2 storage because it's 16 to 32 and this board leaves all 16 open to the first slot (or divisible between two slots). The review mentions that the "Gaming" name isn't really appropriate for a board that's basically targeting storage and video production markets, but at least G1 isn't in the model name.
    Reply
  • Lutfij
    As always, crashman, this was a well laid out article/review. Much appreciated for making my Monday morning interesting, I mean it! :)
    Reply
  • Sam Hain
    18833494 said:
    18831478 said:
    I know it's not a massive increase in FPS/GPU utilization, but come on Gigabyte, no x16/x16? Calling something "Ultra Gaming" with 3 (x16/x0/x4*, x8/x8/x4*) lanes. In other words, no PLX chip like G1's of the past.

    I know this would interfere with the M.2 storage option cutting into the lanes, but personally between GPU performance and storage performance options... GPU comes first, especially considering the expense of M.2; RAID'd SSD can be a less expensive option/equally subjectively speedy as I've got bad eyes, LOL.
    The 48-lane PLX wouldn't affect M.2 storage because it's 16 to 32 and this board leaves all 16 open to the first slot (or divisible between two slots). The review mentions that the "Gaming" name isn't really appropriate for a board that's basically targeting storage and video production markets, but at least G1 isn't in the model name.

    Thanks fer the clarification!
    Reply