GIGABYTE is the manufacturer with perhaps the richest selection currently available. Counting only the motherboards based on the Intel Z170 chipset, the company is currently offering 31 different models. We already had reviews of the top gaming model of the series, the $500 Z170X-Gaming G1, as well as their one of their first attempts to integrate Thunderbolt 3 with the Z170X-UD5 TH.

In this review we are having a look at the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming and the GA-Z170X-Designare, two boards that are similar (but not quite the same) with the Z170X-UD5 TH, featuring Thunderbolt 3 plus U.2 support. The GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming currently retails for $156, while the more feature-packed GA-Z170X-Designare brings the price up to $220. We will examine their features, the differences and the performance in the following pages of this review. 

Other AnandTech Reviews for Intel’s 6th Generation CPUs and 100-Series Motherboards

Skylake-K Review: Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K - CPU Review
Comparison between the i7-6700K and i7-2600K in Bench - CPU Comparison
Overclocking Performance Mini-Test to 4.8 GHz - Overclocking
Skylake Architecture Analysis - Microarchitecture
Z170 Chipset Analysis and 55+ Motherboards - Motherboard Overview
Discrete Graphics: An Update for Z170 Motherboards - PCIe Firmware Update

100-Series and C232/C236 Motherboard Reviews:

($500) The GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming G1 Review
($500) The ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme Review
($370) The GIGABYTE Server MW31-SP0 Review (C236)
($310) The GIGABYTE Z170X-Extreme ECC Review (C236)
($250) The ASUS Maximus VIII Impact Review
($240) The ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ Review
($230) The MSI Z170 Gaming M7 Review
($220) The GIGABYTE Z170X-Designare (this review)
($208) The GIGABYTE Z170-UD5 TH Review
($165) The ASUS Z170-A Review
($156) The GIGABYTE Z170X-Ultra Gaming (this review)
($143) The ASRock E3V5 Gaming Review (C232)
($130) The MSI Z170A SLI PLUS Review
($125) The Supermicro C7H170-M Review

To read specifically about the Z170 chip/platform and the specifications therein, our deep dive into what it is can be found at this link.

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming Overview ($156)

The GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming is Gigabyte's attempt to offer a gaming motherboard with U.2 support with a very reasonable price tag. Its current selling price of $156 is cheaper than expected for a quality gaming motherboard, lower even than Gigabyte's popular GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 model ($180) that has no U.2 support. It is important to note that despite recent innovations in the motherboard space, such as slot protection, the lower cost over the Gaming 7 does bring some compromises in extra controller support.

The GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming has one U.2 connector, one M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, two SATA Express connectors and a total of six SATA 6Gb/s connectors. The one Intel I219-V network controller is paired with the Realtek ALC892 audio codec, which is surprising to see on a gaming motherboard (normally we see the ALC1150, or at a pinch, the ALC898). We expected the downgrade from the expensive Creative Core3D audio chip, and on the networking the decision for Intel is interesting given GIGABYTE's close relationship with Rivet Network's Killer team, so we had expected to see a single Killer E2400/E2500 network controller. A TPM header is present, as well as a header for an add-in Thunderbolt card, but there is no COM header on the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming (compared to the more expensive Gaming 7).

The sharing of bandwidth between the two PCIe x16 slots is typical, meaning that the top one will operate in x16 mode if a card is not installed in the second, or in in x8 mode if cards are installed in both of them. Despite the Z170 chipset having 20 PCIe lanes to use, there is some sharing going on here. The PCIe x4 slot shares its bandwidth with the SATA 0/1 connectors, so the SATA connectors will be disabled if a PCIe x4 device is installed there. Similarly, the U.2 slot shares its bandwidth with the SATA 2/3 connectors and the M.2 slot with the SATA 4/5 connectors. If you want to install a PCIe x4 device, a U.2 drive and a M.2 drive at the same time, the SATA connectors will all be inoperable. A PCIe x2 or slower device will not disable the SATA 0/1 connectors.

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Designare Overview ($220)

Unlike its cheaper sibling, the GA-Z170X-Designare does not have a very specific target group. It seems as if GIGABYTE is trying to promote the board towards designers and engineers, or generally users that require the use of a professional graphics adapter. These cards hardly require a specialized motherboard though, and the GA-Z170X-Designare comes with many features that would be of general rather than targeted use. As such, the motherboard feels as an attempt to satiate engineers and professionals who entertain building a hybrid between a workstation and a gaming PC, or gamers who need something more feature-packed than the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming and can afford to pay the more premium price for it ($220 at the time of this review).

Much like the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming, the primary selling point of the GA-Z170X-Designare is that it can support U.2 drives. It only has one U.2 physical connector but, with the use of proper adapters, it can support up to three U.2 drives at once. It has two SATA Express connectors and a total of six SATA 6Gb/s connectors. Gigabyte installed dual LAN on this model, with two Intel network controllers present (I219-V + I211-AT). The network interfaces are supported by the cFosSpeed software. The audio codec is the Realtek ALC1150, which may not be equivalent to solutions coming from Creative, but it certainly is a very good product and a notable improvement over the ALC892/ALC898. Once again, TPM and Thunderbolt card headers are present, as well as an extra header for optional RGB LED strips. It is interesting to note that there is no COM header, and that can be a serious omission on a motherboard that is aimed towards professionals, especially engineers, however we rarely see it on non-IPC motherboards at this price. Last but not least, the GA-Z170X-Designare features GIGABYTE's Turbo B-Clock IC, a chip that allows for, in theory, better BCLK overclocking.

Exactly like its sibling, the GA-Z170X-Designare shares bandwidth between the two PCIe x16 slots, meaning that the top will operate in x16 mode if a card is not installed in the second slot, or in x8 mode if cards are installed in both of them. Also like with the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming, the GA-Z170X-Designare implements the same chipset (Intel Z170), which has 20 PCIe lanes. These 20 lanes are not enough to cover every feature of the motherboard, meaning that sharing was once again inevitable.  The PCIe x4 slot shares its bandwidth with the SATA 0/1 connectors, so the SATA connectors will be disabled if a PCIe x4 device is installed there. Similarly, the U.2 slot shares its bandwidth with the SATA 2/3 connectors and the M.2 slot with the SATA 4/5 connectors. If you want to install a PCIe x4 device, a U.2 drive and an M.2 drive at the same time, the SATA connectors will all be inoperable. A PCIe x2 or slower device will not disable the SATA 0/1 connectors.

Motherboard Comparison
	GIGABYTE Z170X-Designare	ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ASUS Maximus VIII ExtremeASUS Maximus VIII ImpactASUS Z170-AGIGABYTE MW31-SP0 (C236)GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming G1GIGABYTE Z170X-UD5 THMSI Z170A Gaming M7MSI Z170A SLI PLUSSupermicro C7H170-MASRock E3V5 Gaming (C232)GIGABYTE X170-Extreme ECCGIGABYTE Z170X-DesignareGIGABYTE Z170X-Ultra Gaming
Socket	LGA1151	LGA1151
MSRP at Review	$220	$143
DRAM	4 x DDR4	4 x DDR4
PCIe Layout	x8/x8	x16
BIOS Version Tested	F20	1.11
MCT Enabled Automatically?	Yes	No
USB 3.1 (10 Gbps)	Intel Alpine Ridge	None
M.2 Slots	1 x PCIe 3.0 x4	None
U.2 Ports	1 x PCIe 3.0 x4	No
Network Controller	1 x Intel I219-V 1 x Intel I211-AT	1 x Intel I219-V
Audio Controller	Realtek ALC1150	Realtek ALC1150
HDMI 2.0	No	No

GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming Board Features

The core selling features of the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming are its Thunderbolt 3 support and U.2 port. Thunderbolt 3 supports up to 40 Gbps data rates (over an active cable), USB 3.1 (up to 10 Gbps) and Mini DisplayPort 1.2. The U.2 support is, for the time being, mainly limited to Intel's 750 series SSD drives and a few Samsung Enterprise (PM953) drives, however we want to see more consumer focused drives coming to the market in the near future.

GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming
Warranty Period	3 Years
Product Page	Link
Price	$150
Size	ATX
CPU Interface	LGA1151
Chipset	Intel Z170
Memory Slots (DDR4)	Four DDR4 Supporting 64GB Dual Channel Up to 4133 MHz
Memory Slots (DDR3L)	None
Video Outputs	HDMI 1.4 DisplayPort 1.2
Network Connectivity	Intel I219-V
Onboard Audio	Realtek ALC892
PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU)	2 x PCIe 3.0 (x16, x8/x8)
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH)	1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1
Onboard SATA	Six, RAID 0/1/5/10
Onboard SATA Express	Two, RAID
Onboard M.2	1x PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA, RAID 0/1, NVMe
Onboard U.2	1x PCIe 3.0 x4
USB 3.1	1 x Type-A 1 x Type-C Intel DSL6540 (Alpine Ridge) Controller
USB 3.0	4 x Rear Panel 2 via headers
USB 2.0	2 x Rear Panel 4 via headers
Power Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8-pin CPU
Fan Headers	1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x Pump (4-pin) 3 x CHA/SYS (4-pin)
IO Panel	1 x Combination PS/2 2 x USB 2.0 4 x USB 3.0 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C 1 x Network RJ-45 HDMI 1.4 Mini DisplayPort 1.2 Mini DisplayPort In Audio Jacks Optical Sound Cable Insert
Other Features	Thunderbolt Header TPM Header Front Audio Header

In The Box

We get the following:

• Driver Disk
• Manual
• Rear IO Shield
• Four clear SATA cables
• Easy Front Panel Connector
• Flexi-SLI cable
• Two long cable straps
• Cable labels
• Case badge
• Door notice

 

The bundle of the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming is good considering the price range of the motherboard. GIGABYTE includes cable labels and two large cable straps that can be especially useful into systems with a large number of devices installed. There are four SATA cables included, even though the motherboard supports more devices, but four should be enough for the majority of this model's target group. We did not find any USB 3.1 front panel attachments, Thunderbolt 3 or Type-C cables included, but that is not unexpected with a keyboard around this price range. As with the target market, the door notice is there as a fun extra, as is the case badge.

Visual Inspection

Much of the company's designing efforts were focused on aesthetics. It is an all-black board, with entirely black, plain heatsinks. It has red LEDs installed, subtly illuminating the system area. GIGABYTE is also implementing "shielding" on the PCIe and DIMM slots, in the form of a metal brace. The metal brace assists in rigidity, preventing wrapping and damage due to excessive force, weight, or the combination of the two. It can be highly practical for users who transport their system or change cards/DIMMs often.

The GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming is built on a six-layer PCB. There is no mention of the thicker copper layers that some of the Gigabyte Ultra Durable series motherboards had but there are a few other improvements and features aimed to improve the long term reliability of the motherboard. The metallic braces on the DIMM and PCIe slots is such a feature and it does seem to be working well. The PCIe slots have two locking brackets and the shield is soldered onto the board, significantly increasing the strength of the slots and reducing the chances of a heavy card tearing the slot off the board while transporting the system. There are only Fujitsu solid-state capacitors on the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming.

The general layout of the motherboard is versatile and functional. Gigabyte expanded the space between the two primary PCIe 16x slots, allowing better cooling when up to two cards are installed. Despite the expanded space between the slots, the designer placed the M.2 slot between the CPU socket and the first PCIe slot which, depending on the cooling system installed, might allow for easier access to it when the system has been fully assembled. The M.2 slot supports up to 110 mm (22110 type) M.2 drives. There are four fan headers, plus an extra header for a pump. The CPU fan header and the pump header can be seen together to the left of the DIMM slots. This combination should be highly functional for advanced users that combine liquid cooling solutions with air cooling. The three system fan headers are found to the right of the DIMM slots, the top left corner and to the bottom right of the motherboard. We can also notice a "demo LED" header next to the TPM connector, but Gigabyte does not mention anything about it into the board's manual or in their website.

A look at the rear panel of the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming reveals a PS/2 port, two USB 2.0/1.1 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, a LAN cable connector, five 3.5 mm audio jacks and one optical audio cable insert, an HDMI 1.4 connector, one Mini DisplayPort 1.2 and one Mini DisplayPort In, one USB 3.1 Type-C and one USB 3.1 Type-A connector. Most new motherboard tend to have HDMI 2.0 connectors nowadays, but the use of an HDMI 1.4 on a motherboard aimed towards gamers is not a significant omission, as no gamer would ever dream about running games at a 4K resolution using the onboard graphics. It does become an issue if the user wants to connect a secondary device, such as a 4K TV, on the onboard graphics card.

Removing the heatsinks, we found that the chipset heatsink is barely making contact with the chipset core. The chipset however does not have high cooling requirements; with the exception of serious overclockers, who are certain to at least properly add quality thermal paste there, this should not be an issue for typical users.

Having a closer look at the CPU power delivery circuit, we can see an Intersil 95856 controller driving a combination of Vishay SIRA18 and SIRA12 MOSFETs. It might appear as if the motherboard has a 7-phase CPU rail but remember that modern CPUs require more than one voltage. Specifically, the 1151 CPU requires four different input voltages (Core, I/O, Graphics and System). This motherboard has only a 2-phase Core rail and a 2-phase Graphics rail, which do get the job done but are not exactly ideal for overclocking. A two-phase circuit using Vishay SIRA12 MOSFETs powers the RAM modules. Near the I/O panel we can see the Intel's DSL6540 (formerly known as Alpine Ridge) Thunderbolt 3 controller, the Intel I219V network controller, the TPS65982 USB Type-C power delivery controller and the NXP PTN3360DBS HDMI/DVI level shifter. The Realtek ALC892 is beneath a small metallic heatsink/shield that reads "high definition audio". An iTE IT8628E provides onboard monitoring and thermal controls. Numerous Asmedia ASM1480 multiplexer chips can be found thorough the board for managing the PCIe lanes.

 

GA-Z170X-Designare Board Features

Much like with the cheaper gaming-focused GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming, the core selling features of the GA-Z170X-Designare are its Thunderbolt 3 support and U.2 port. With the exception that the GA-Z170X-Designare actually lacks any 3.1 Type-A ports on the rear panel, there is no particular difference between the two boards as far as these two features as concerned. The main differences between the two boards are aesthetic improvements, dual LAN support and higher rated ICs.

GA-Z170X-Designare
Warranty Period	3 Years
Product Page	Link
Price	$220
Size	ATX
CPU Interface	LGA1151
Chipset	Intel Z170
Memory Slots (DDR4)	Four DDR4 Supporting 64GB Dual Channel Up to 4133 MHz
Memory Slots (DDR3L)	None
Video Outputs	HDMI 1.4 DisplayPort 1.2
Network Connectivity	Intel I211-AT + I219-V
Onboard Audio	Realtek ALC1150
PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU)	2 x PCIe 3.0 (x16, x8/x8)
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH)	1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1
Onboard SATA	Six, RAID 0/1/5/10
Onboard SATA Express	Two, RAID
Onboard M.2	1x PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA, RAID 0/1, NVMe
Onboard U.2	1x PCIe 3.0 x4
USB 3.1	2 x Type-C Intel DSL6540 (Alpine Ridge) Controller
USB 3.0	4 x Rear Panel 2 via headers
USB 2.0	2 x Rear Panel 4 via headers
Power Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8-pin CPU
Fan Headers	1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x Pump (4-pin) 3 x CHA/SYS (4-pin)
IO Panel	1 x Combination PS/2 2 x USB 2.0 4 x USB 3.0 2 x USB 3.1 Type-C 2 x Network RJ-45 HDMI 1.4 DisplayPort 1.2 Mini DisplayPort In Audio Jacks Optical Sound Cable Insert
Other Features	Thunderbolt Header Power/Reset Buttons TPM Header Two-Digit Debug Display OC Button Front Audio Header Turbo B-Clock IC

In The Box

We get the following:

• Driver Disk
• Manual
• Rear IO Shield
• Four clear SATA cables
• Easy Front Panel Connector
• Flexi-SLI cable
• Two long cable straps
• Cable labels
• Case badge
• Optional LED strip cable

The bundle of the GA-Z170X-Designare is virtually identical with that of the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming, with the sole exception being that the door notice is missing and an LED strip cable is now present. There are four SATA cables included, which should be adequate for most users. Yet, considering the price range of the motherboard, one might have hoped for a key bundle item, such as an active Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 cable when considering that the motherboards lacks a USB 3.1 Type-A port.

Visual Inspection

GIGABYTE's design team made a real effort trying to make the GA-Z170X-Designare aesthetically appealing, much as if the primary target group of the motherboard are advanced modders and not professionals. The motherboard has RGB LEDs installed, lighting the yellowish stripes that can be seen across its sides and, in extend, subtly illuminating the system area around it. These LEDs are controllable via software, with a header for the connection of extra (optional) LED strips. The black heatsinks now have white/blue geometrical designs on them and, alongside with the silver PCIe/DIMM slot shielding, they are breaking the plainness of the all-black theme. The metal braces that form the shields of the PCIe and DIMM slots also have a functional purpose and that is enhancing the mechanical strength of the motherboard, preventing wrapping and damage due to excessive force, weight, or the combination of the two. It can be highly practical for users who transport their system or change cards/DIMMs often. An extra metallic shield covers the area of the motherboard where the audio codec is at, reducing interference.

While it initially seems very similar with the cheaper GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming, the GA-Z170X-Designare does have quite a few differences. It is still built on a six-layer PCB, and again there is no mention regarding thicker 2 oz copper layers like those implemented on some of their Ultra Durable series motherboards, even though the Ultra Durable branding does appear on the I/O shield of this board. Long-term reliability measures are provided through the use of anti-sulfur resistors, quality solid-state capacitors by Fujitsu, ESD LAN and USB protection and metallic braces increasing the mechanical strength of the DIMM/PCIe slots. GIGABYTE actively advertises the GA-Z170X-Designare as being a compatible solution for professional graphics cards, like the NVIDIA QUADRO series, but there really is not any special feature on the motherboard that would in any way improve compatibility or functionality with these cards over any Z170-based compatible motherboard, other than additional QVL testing. 

The layout of the GA-Z170X-Designare is well thought out. The designer moved nearly all of the onboard headers to the bottom of the motherboard, where they will be easily accessible from and will not interfere with any installed devices. The space between the two primary PCIe 16x has been expanded, allowing for better cooling when two cards have been installed. There is one PCIe 4x M.2 slot between the top PCIe slot and the CPU socket, offering support to one M.2 device up to 110 mm long (22110 type). Between the CPU socket and the DIMM slots, we can see two fan headers, one for the CPU fan and one for the liquid cooling pump. This combination is especially useful for users that will install liquid cooling systems with an extra fan that provides airflow around the socket area. The three system fan headers are found to the right of the DIMM slots, the center left side of the motherboard and to the bottom right of the motherboard.

At the rear panel of the GA-Z170X-Designare we have a PS/2 port, two USB 2.0/1.1 ports, two Thunderbolt 3/Type-C ports, one Mini DisplayPort In, a DisplayPort 1.2 out, a HDMI 1.4 port, four USB 3.0 ports, two LAN cable connectors, five gold-plated 3.5 mm audio jacks and one optical audio cable insert. There are two major oversights that we can identify here, with the first one being the use of a HDMI 1.4 connector. While that was not a major issue with its gaming-oriented sibling, supporting decent refresh rates on 4K resolution monitors and TVs can become an issue with a professional system in mind, plus the price range of the GA-Z170X-Designare does not really justify such an omission.  The second is the omission of a COM port or header on a motherboard that is being targeted towards designers and engineers. Myriads of laboratory devices and instrumentation still require a COM port and a few do not really play well with USB adapters either.

When we removed the heatsinks of the motherboard, we once again found out that the chipset heatsink makes poor contact with the chipset core. It does not have high cooling requirements and the current application should be more than adequate for most users, but serious overclockers will certainly be wanting to do something about it.

The CPU power delivery circuit on the GA-Z170X-Designare primarily consists of a Intersil 95856 primary controller driving a combination of Vishay SIRA18 and SIRA12 MOSFETs, but there are several secondary 5AZ (Intersil 6625A) drivers supporting it. The combination of controllers is driving a 3-phase rail for the Graphics and a 4-phase rail (8-phase virtual) for the Core. Considering the low power requirements of 1151 CPUs, these are capable of providing more power than such a processor could ever require. A two-phase circuit using Vishay SIRA12 MOSFETs powers the RAM modules. Near the I/O panel we can see the Intel's DSL6540 (formerly known as Alpine Ridge) Thunderbolt 3 controller, two Intel network controllers (I219V + I211AT), the TPS65982 USB Type-C power delivery controller and the NXP PTN3360DBS HDMI/DVI level shifter. The Realtek ALC1150 can be seen once the metallic shielding has been removed, in between a few audio-specific capacitors. An ITE IT8628E provides onboard monitoring is supported by an IT8792E, supposedly offering better overclocking and thermal controls. Numerous Asmedia ASM1480 multiplexer chips can be found thorough the board for the PCIe lanes.

At the time of this review, the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Designare and the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming are sharing virtually the same BIOS and Software. There are very few exceptions, such as the RGB LED support for the former (one extra BIOS option and one simple app). As such, we are presenting them together in this page.

BIOS

Oddly enough, GIGABYTE has the advanced mode enabled by default for users that first enter the BIOS of these motherboards. The "easy" mode can be initiated by clicking at the appropriate button, reducing the entirety of the BIOS into a single screen that mostly provides system information and monitoring. The few options that a casual user might need, such as boot sequence and fan speed adjustments, are accessible from this page.

The "classic" or advanced mode reveals the entirety of the motherboard's capabilities and options. The first tab is the M.I.T., by far the most complex section of the BIOS, as it includes all of the frequency, memory and voltage settings of the motherboard.

The frequency submenu allows for the adjustment of the CPU and memory clocks and ratios, including FCLK. Strangely, there is both a manual control of the CPU's clock ratio and a "CPU upgrade" option, both of which are virtually doing the same exact thing. The only difference is that the CPU upgrade option brings out a drop down menu that is listing the end frequency of the CPU, probably for users who are not aware that the CPU clock ratio multiplied by the base clock is the exact same thing. The maximum system memory multiplier is 41.33 (4133 MHz). A peek inside the Advanced CPU Core settings submenu is enough to scare even veteran users, offering dozens of frequency and power settings for each specific part of the CPU, including power limiters and per-core turbo boost settings. By default, both of these boards have the Intel Turbo Boost at 42x for the first core and at 40x for the other cores.

The Advanced Memory Settings submenu initially brings up the most basic settings, which are the clock and its multiplier, the boot mode, automatic enhancement settings and basic voltage adjustments. If the memory timing mode is switched from Auto to Manual, the user will be able to change the four standard timing settings of the memory into the memory sub-timing submenu.  If the "advanced manual" option is selected instead, the user can tweak any of the 42 secondary settings available. That probably is about as customizable as it gets.

The Advanced Voltage Settings option brings up four other submenus, namely the Advanced Power Settings, the CPU Core Voltage Control, the Chipset Voltage Control and the DRAM Voltage Control. Each submenu offers a wide range of adjustments for the respective components and their subcomponents. It is worthwhile to mention that the GA-Z170X-Designare as two extra options for the adjustment of the VCCVTT and the VCCDMI_PEG, which seem to be the VCC termination voltage and the DMI supply voltage. The maximum possible voltage settings can be seen set into our screenshots. The most important of the applied voltages can be checked via the PC Health Status submenu, in which the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Designare provides a few more monitoring options, courtesy of its extra IT8792E chip.

The Smart Fan 5 submenu brings up a graphic interface for the monitoring and adjustment of the fans that are connected to the onboard headers. There are three preset options, "Normal", "Silent" and "Full Speed", as well as manual control that allows the user to adjust the speed of each device according to a specific system temperature.

After the M.I.T. menus and submenus, the rest of the options in the BIOS are relatively basic. The BIOS section includes the boot and security options, as well as a setting for the mouse's speed while in the BIOS. The Peripherals menu and its submenus allows for the monitoring and control of the onboard devices and features. Finally, the Power menu includes settings for the power management of the system, as well as sleep/wake options.

Software

Once again, both of the motherboards share the exact same software package, with the sole exception being an extra application for the control of the RGB LED on the GA-Z170X-Designare. Last year Gigabyte implemented the "App Center" for their Z170 motherboards, which virtually is every application that the motherboard comes with integrated into a single software package. We had our first look at the App Center in our review of the Z170X-Gaming G1 last year, but Gigabyte expanded it and made it more visually appealing since then.

Launching the App Center brings up an interface with "Apps", icons that launch software packages designed for a specific purpose. Skipping the very obvious selections, the most complex of these "Apps" are the 3D OSD, the EasyTune and the Smart Keyboard.

The 3D OSD is an option that projects information about the system onto the screen via a hotkey or while gaming. The list of the possible options to be shown is very long, including even the VBIOS version. If you would like to keep an eye on a certain temperature, watch your FPS or show your driver's version onto a screenshot, the 3D OSD can be rather useful. The text's size, color and position can be adjusted and the application can be set to automatically launch alongside certain games.

The EasyTune is the App that allows for in-OS monitoring, overclocking and tweaking, making it possible to easily adjust system options without having to reboot into the BIOS. The number of options is not as extended as it is in the BIOS, but the included options are more than sufficient for the majority of overclockers. Hotkeys can be set to switch between two profiles, such as, for example, a low-energy and a gaming profile.

The Smart Keyboard allows the reprogramming of the F1-F12 keys to initiate macros, launch applications and enter Sniper mouse mode. The Macro programming is basic and can be greatly improved, but it allows for the insertion of absolute mouse coordinates and clicks as well. If you do not own a programmable keyboard, this piece of software can become pretty useful in certain games and especially MMOs. It is a shame that it cannot be used to program keys outside the F1-F12 range.

The strangest option is the "Color Temperature", or "Blue-Light Killer". This is supposed to reduce the blue spectrum light of the LED display to increase comfort and protect your eyesight. The only issue here is that it (obviously) greatly affects the color profile of the system, making all colors warmer. At its maximum setting, the entirety of the screen is virtually orange. We cannot see who would enjoy using a setting that, even at its lowest possible setting, distorts the system's color output.

Another interesting option is the "Smart TimeLock", an option that allows the system's builder to limit every user's allowed time during the weekdays and weekends. If you want your children to hate you by forcing system shutdowns while they play MMOs, these are the droids settings you are looking for.

Despite the use of a different audio codec, the only difference of the audio software between the GA-Z170X-Designare and the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming is the order of the tabs. Other than that, there is not a single option that is different here. The Realtek HD Audio manager offers a variety of options, allowing for the configuration of the speakers, the insertion of sound effects and room/distance correction options.

The cFosSpeed software begins by inserting a small graphic widget above the system's time, at the right bottom corner of the screen. At first, the software appears very simplistic and poor, as it is based on a web interface and runs off your browser.

 

A closer inspection however reveals that it is a very flexible software with myriads of options and possibilities. Aside from the expected tasks, such as the monitoring and prioritizing of connections, the cFosSpeed has many advanced options, such as traffic "budgets" that limit the online time of each connection and prioritization based on protocols or specific applications. It can also push information via your keyboard's notification LEDs and has an included speed test and ping statistics.

Test Bed and Setup

Test Setup
Processor	Intel Core i7-6700K (ES, Retail Stepping), 91W, $350 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 4.0 GHz (4.2 GHz Turbo)
Motherboards	GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Designare
Cooling	Alphacool Eisbaer 240
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200i Platinum PSU
Memory	Corsair DDR4-2133 C15 2x8 GB 1.2V or
Memory Settings	JEDEC @ 2133
Video Cards	MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB (1150/1202 Boost)
Hard Drive	Crucial MX200 1TB
Case	Open Test Bed
Operating System	Windows 7 64-bit SP1

Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives in essence an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.

For reference, both of the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Designare and the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming on our testing BIOS F20, MCT was enabled by default. Also, the FCLK 10x ratio was present in the BIOS tested at the time of testing.

System Performance

System Performance

Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.

Power Consumption

Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single MSI GTX 770 Lightning GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Corsair AX1200i power supply. This power supply is Platinum rated, and as I am on a 230-240 V supply, leads to ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.

The consumption of the GA-Z170X-Designare and GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming motherboards while the system is idling is relatively low, lower than what we initially anticipated from high end boards with this many LEDs attached. When under load, the demand of both boards reaches the anticipated 130-135 Watt figures, which are an efficiency improvements over Gigabyte's own previous implementations of the Z170 chipset.

Non UEFI POST Time

Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows 7 starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.) 

Both of the GA-Z170X-Designare and the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming do extremely well in our POST time analysis, with the best default POST time that we have seen to this date. However, if any of the fast boot options are enabled or controllers are manually disabled, the POST time of both of these boards slows to a crawl. As a matter of fact, the more controllers are disabled, the longer the POST waiting time is. This is a problem that we have encountered with other Gigabyte boards in the past as well and one that the company ought to fix, or at least remove the fast boot option from the BIOS altogether.

Rightmark Audio Analyzer 6.2.5

Rightmark:AA indicates how well the sound system is built and isolated from electrical interference (either internally or externally). For this test we connect the Line Out to the Line In using a short six inch 3.5mm to 3.5mm high-quality jack, turn the OS speaker volume to 100%, and run the Rightmark default test suite at 192 kHz, 24-bit. The OS is tuned to 192 kHz/24-bit input and output, and the Line-In volume is adjusted until we have the best RMAA value in the mini-pretest. We look specifically at the Dynamic Range of the audio codec used on board, as well as the Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise.

In this test there is a very large gap between the two boards that we are reviewing here today. The performance figures of the GA-Z170X-Designare and its ALC1150 codec are excellent, on the higher end of the scale when compared to other comparable boards, even boards featuring the same codec. On the other hand, the ALC892 codec of the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming is struggling to deliver performance figures that are merely passable for a quality gaming motherboard.

USB Backup

For this benchmark, we transfer a set size of files from the SSD to the USB drive using DiskBench, which monitors the time taken to transfer. The files transferred are a 1.52 GB set of 2867 files across 320 folders – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30 second HD videos. In an update to pre-Z87 testing, we also run MaxCPU to load up one of the threads during the test which improves general performance up to 15% by causing all the internal pathways to run at full speed.

Due to the introduction of USB 3.1, as of June 2015 we are adjusting our test to use a dual mSATA USB 3.1 Type-C device which should be capable of saturating both USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 connections. We still use the same data set as before, but now use the new device. Results are shown as seconds taken to complete the data transfer.

The USB 3.0 performance of the GA-Z170X-Designare and the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming is good when compared to any other Z170-based motherboard that we have reviewed to this date.

Also, like other Alpine Ridge motherboards, these two motherboards break our test for USB 3.1 and we were unable to get a result. Unlike our previous encounters with motherboards featuring the same IC, where our software indicated the copy being finished before it actually has finished, these two motherboards actually unmount the entire device during the time that the test takes place, never completing the file transfer at all. This may be down to our hardware, which was a beta model when USB 3.1 first came to market. More investigation is needed.

DPC Latency

Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.

If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time.  This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.

Properly addressing the DPC latency of motherboards provides an interesting dynamic in the industry, with some vendors implementations frequently scoring well over 200 μs in this test. Today we see that GIGABYTE made quite an improvement with the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming, dropping the DPC latency to 167 μs, a figure not quite as good as some of the competition nowadays offers but a significant improvement nonetheless. The more expensive but complex GA-Z170X-Designare displays a smaller improvement, but an improvement over our past >250 μs figures, with a DPC latency of 213 μs.

CPU Performance, Short Form

For our motherboard reviews, we use our short form testing method. These tests usually focus on if a motherboard is using MultiCore Turbo (the feature used to have maximum turbo on at all times, giving a frequency advantage), or if there are slight gains to be had from tweaking the firmware. We leave the BIOS settings at default and memory at JEDEC (DDR4-2133 C15) for these tests, making it very easy to see which motherboards have MCT enabled by default.

Video Conversion – Handbrake v0.9.9: link

Handbrake is a media conversion tool that was initially designed to help DVD ISOs and Video CDs into more common video formats. For HandBrake, we take two videos (a 2h20 640x266 DVD rip and a 10min double UHD 3840x4320 animation short) and convert them to x264 format in an MP4 container.  Results are given in terms of the frames per second processed, and HandBrake uses as many threads as possible.

Compression – WinRAR 5.0.1: link

Our WinRAR test from 2013 is updated to the latest version of WinRAR at the start of 2014. We compress a set of 2867 files across 320 folders totaling 1.52 GB in size – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30 second 720p videos.

Point Calculations – 3D Movement Algorithm Test: link

3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz and IPC wins in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores. For a brief explanation of the platform agnostic coding behind this benchmark, see my forum post here.

Rendering – POV-Ray 3.7: link

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 2-3 minutes on high end platforms.

Synthetic – 7-Zip 9.2: link

As an open source compression tool, 7-Zip is a popular tool for making sets of files easier to handle and transfer. The software offers up its own benchmark, to which we report the result.

 

Gaming Performance

The issue of FCLK settings might play a big role here. At launch, the default setting for the communication buffer between the CPU and PCIe stack was 800 MHz, even though Intel suggested 1000 MHz, but this was because of firmware limitations from Intel. Since then, there is firmware to enable 1000 MHz, and most motherboard manufacturers have this - but it is unclear if the motherboard will default to 1000 MHz and it might vary from BIOS version to BIOS version. As we test at default settings, our numbers are only ever snapshots in time, but it leads to some interesting differences in discrete GPU performance.

(A side note from Ian: This is Tracy's [E. Fylladitakis] first motherboard review, and we supplied him with a single GPU to get started. This may change in the future. But ultimately the gaming tests have been more of a checkbox for abnormal behaviour, as with the CPU tests, to make sure nothing fishy is going on.)

Total War: Attila

The Total War franchise moves on to Attila, another The Creative Assembly development, and is a stand-alone strategy title set in 395AD where the main story line lets the gamer take control of the leader of the Huns in order to conquer parts of the world. Graphically the game can render hundreds/thousands of units on screen at once, all with their individual actions and can put some of the big cards to task.

For low end graphics, we test at 720p with performance settings, recording the average frame rate. With mid and high range graphics, we test at 1080p with the quality setting. In both circumstances, unlimited video memory is enabled and the in-game scripted benchmark is used.

GRID: Autosport

No graphics tests are complete without some input from Codemasters and the EGO engine, which means for this round of testing we point towards GRID: Autosport, the next iteration in the GRID and racing genre. As with our previous racing testing, each update to the engine aims to add in effects, reflections, detail and realism, with Codemasters making ‘authenticity’ a main focal point for this version.

GRID’s benchmark mode is very flexible, and as a result we created a test race using a shortened version of the Red Bull Ring with twelve cars doing two laps. The car is focus starts last and is quite fast, but usually finishes second or third. For low end graphics we test at 1080p medium settings, whereas mid and high end graphics get the full 1080p maximum. Both the average and minimum frame rates are recorded.

 

Conclusion

Both of the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming and the GA-Z170X-Designare have been designed to introduce U.2 drive support and allow for the installation of up to three U.2 drives (using adapters). Both of the boards are strongly based on storage solutions that are either dead (SATA Express) or currently evolving in the market (U.2). The SATA Express protocol never gained any traction and there currently are not any consumer products available at all, whereas the currently available U.2 drives are less than a dozen enterprise-level products with ludicrous price tags. That being said, some of them are nice and fast, if your wallet is deep enough. Both boards also offer USB 3.1 via Intel's Alpine Ridge controller, and claim so support Power Delivery 2.0 up to 100W (unfortunately we don't have the hardware to test this).

GA-Z170X-Designare

In order to bring U.2 support to the Z170 while keeping the final cost reasonable, GIGABYTE had to make certain sacrifices. PCIe lane sharing aside, the company had to remove certain features that sopme people might take for granted on motherboards this expensive, such as the HDMI 2.0 port. Although the use of an HDMI 2.0 port on a GPU-focused gaming motherboard would probably be redundant, we cannot justify its omission on the GA-Z170X-Designare, a motherboard aimed towards professionals.

 

In our eyes, the GA-Z170X-Designare is a motherboard that has been designed for gamers and enthusiasts, or an improved version of the GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming with better ICs and higher quality power delivery. The integration of the BLCK frequency tuning IC, alongside with the better power delivery, is a feature that will strongly appeal to advanced overclockers. 

Overall, due to perhaps the name, the focus of the GA-Z170X-Designare can come across as vague, as the motherboard is lacking features that professionals are likely to require (such as a COM port), yet heavily promotes features that will be of no practical use to any kind of professional, such as RGB LED lighting.

Nonetheless, performance wise, the Designare does really well on audio and power, along with the best POST time we've ever seen on a Z170 motherboard so far.

GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming

In order to make it a financially competitive product, the Ultra Gaming has trimmed some features. It is interesting that some of those features are 'gaming' features, such as using the Realtek ALC892 audio codec rather than the ALC898/ALC1150. The CPU power delivery circuit works but isn't as robust as we might have liked, and while there is no Killer E2400/E2500 network adapter despite the close relationship with Rivet Network's Killer line, the Intel I219-V and the cFosSpeed software are doing the job very well.

Nonetheless, offering Thunderbolt 3 and U.2 support on a $156 motherboard stands the product in reasonable stead for the market. The Ultra Gaming is consummate of that price, and investing in some features like TB3 while sacrificing other features is a prominent way of analyzing how motherboards with so much potential IO in a small budget will be in the market in the near future. 

Similar to the Designare, the Ultra Gaming performs great in POST time, although the ALC892 does no favors in our audio tests. DPC is something that the manufacturer still needs to get right, however the component cost of the board means we get a very nice set of power results.

Other 100-Series and C232/C236 Motherboard Reviews:

Prices Correct at time of this review

$520: The GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming G1 Review [link]
$500: The ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme Review [link]
$410: The GIGABYTE Server MW31-SP0 (C236) Review [link]
$310: The GIGABYTE X170-Extreme ECC (C236) Review [link]
$225: The ASUS Maximus VIII Impact Review [link]
$220: The GIGABYTE Z170X-Designare (this review)
$220: The ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ Review [link]
$205: The MSI Z170 Gaming M7 Review [link]
$172: The GIGABYTE Z170-UD5 TH Review [link]
$156: The GIGABYTE Z170X-Ultra Gaming (this review)
$155: The ASRock E3V5 Gaming (C232) Review [link]
$145: The ASUS Z170-A Review [link]
$130: The MSI Z170A SLI PLUS Review [link]
$101: The Supermicro C7H170-M Review [link]