GIGABYTE Unveils the Z170X-Gaming 6 Motherboard

[btarunr]

GIGABYTE refreshed its premium socket LGA1151 motherboard lineup with the new Z170X-Gaming 6. Pitted in the company's coveted G1.Gaming series, this board is targeted at premium gaming PC builds with fairly high CPU and memory overclocks. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors; and conditions it for the CPU with a 11-phase CPU VRM. Large heatsinks deck the VRM area, which extend into an I/O area cover. Expansion slots include three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, of which two are wired to the CPU (x16/NC or x8/x8), with the third slot being electrical gen 3.0 x4 and wired to the PCH. Four PCIe gen 3.0 x1 slots make for the rest of the expansion area.

Storage connectivity includes a pair of 32 Gb/s M.2 slots, three 16 Gb/s SATA-Express, which are made up of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.1 ports (one each of type-C and type-A), eight USB 3.0 ports, and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports. Networking is care of two gigabit Ethernet connections, of which is driven by an Intel controller, and the other Killer E2201. The 8-channel AMP-UP onboard audio solution features a 115 dBA CODEC, user-replaceable OPAMP, electrolytic capacitors, ground-layer isolation, and gold-plated analog jacks. Display outputs include HDMI and DisplayPort. GIGABYTE didn't unveil pricing.



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[AsRock]

and a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports.

Sup did they not count how many USB ports it has, and why bring up 1.1 as by how they say it it actually has 1.1 ports lmao.

 

[chlamchowder]

I always feel like I'm missing something with regards to why >$150 motherboards get so much attention.

Going from $100 to $130 gets you SLI support and a ton of extra VRM phases - that I can understand (possible future proofing via second card, and maybe extra 100 MHz of overclock if you have a power-hungry i7).

But I never got why people want to go beyond that. Tripe or quad CF/SLI is a rather ridiculous scenario. Almost everything else can be added in with expansion cards for less (multiple NICs, better sound, wireless, etc.).

IMO, the extra money would be better spent getting more memory, a bigger SSD, a better graphics card, a better processor, or anything else that actually makes the system more capable.

 

[RejZoR]

Especially for 6700K that can't be overclocked anywhere. And 6600K has no HT so it has a lot less grunt and I think you could OC it easily even on cheaper boards just the same.

 

[Assimilator]

Product page: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5632#ov

This one is actually pretty decent. 8 USB ports on the rear IO (+1 USB Type-C), no VGA or DVI, and dual Ethernet so you can disable the POS Killer NIC and pretend it doesn't exist. Nice clean CPU socket area too.

 

[Parn]

Product page: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5632#ov

This one is actually pretty decent. 8 USB ports on the rear IO (+1 USB Type-C), no VGA or DVI, and dual Ethernet so you can disable the POS Killer NIC and pretend it doesn't exist. Nice clean CPU socket area too.

This is basically a Gaming5 with an IO port cover. I doubt the plastic cover is worth the price difference between the two models.

 

[chlamchowder]

Product page: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5632#ov

This one is actually pretty decent. 8 USB ports on the rear IO (+1 USB Type-C), no VGA or DVI, and dual Ethernet so you can disable the POS Killer NIC and pretend it doesn't exist. Nice clean CPU socket area too.

Still, there are boards below $130 that offer 8 USB (incl. USB C).
But how many USB 3 devices do you have? I have exactly one (a card reader). The only other things I can think of are external SSDs and fast flash drives.

Also, if you really want an Intel NIC, there are boards below $130 with that too (Asrock Z170 Extreme3). Or, you can get a $100 board, drop in a $35 Intel NIC over PCIe, and still be below $150. You can also re-use that card in future builds/upgrades.

Thinking about it, getting a cheaper board and adding in whatever it's missing via a couple of add in cards might be a better investment, because you can re-use those cards if you upgrade and swap out the board.

 

[peche]

nice board, i just wonder if gigabyte someday will make the same sketch o color pattern for G1 Gaming video cards, for matching them to a board!


Regards

 

[GeoKas]

Intel DUAL Gbe LAN
BUT
*Teaming is not supported

 

[GreiverBlade]

Intel DUAL Gbe LAN
BUT
*Teaming is not supported

1 is intel the other is a branded Killer E2200 (qualcomm Atheros AR8161) so nope no teaming.

i have the Gaming 5 of that line and all i see in change, is the shroud on the I/O panel ... i wonder ...

nonetheless the Gaming 5 is a great board paired with a 6600K (lack of grunt due to no HT? well that made me laugh ... at last it will brighten my day )

indeed the Gaming 5 and Gaming 6 have no other difference than the shroud
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/comparison/list.aspx?ck=2&pids=5498,5632

well the Gaming 5 cost 199chf where i am, the Gaming 7 is 239chf, i wonder where they will put it in term of price range, imho they should just add the shroud on the existing Gaming 5, offer a free shroud for existing owner and call it a day

 

[Mathieu Lachance]

I have just installed my new build with this Board, And I OCed my 6600K to 4.7 Ghz Stable so far using a h80iv2 from Corsair with custom fan (Fractal Venturi). It's a pretty Amazing Board, Highly recommand it.