GIGABYTE Z170X Gaming 6 LGA 1151 Motherboard Review @ [H]

[FrgMstr]

GIGABYTE Z170X Gaming 6 LGA 1151 Motherboard Review - GIGABYTE is back with its $165 Z170X Gaming 6 motherboard today. It’s a full featured motherboard that won’t break the bank and has a lot to offer. While many enthusiasts need what is considered high end, there are a lot of enthusiasts just looking for something that will get the job done with a few extra bells and whistles.

 

[Modred189]

Can we talk for a second about the placement of the 8-pin CPU power plug?
http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1459622144CjkHUnrsLH_1_10_l.jpg
Not only is it buried up at the very top-left most corner of the mobo, but it's nearly hidden among the doofy plastic covers for the i/o ports. I mean, it's a nice looking motherboard, and has some mixed results in use given Dan's thoughts, but was that really the best place for that plug? I have pretty long, thin fingers and even on more open boards I have a tough time getting that SOB in and out. I can't imagine it on this board.

 

[Nenu]

Regarding FCLK on page 6, you state that Asus boards default to 1GHz.
My Asus Maximus VIII Hero board with latest bios defaults to 800MHz FCLK not 1GHz.
When set to 1GHz its been rock stable so no biggie.

fyi

 

[Dan_D]

Can we talk for a second about the placement of the 8-pin CPU power plug?
http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1459622144CjkHUnrsLH_1_10_l.jpg
Not only is it buried up at the very top-left most corner of the mobo, but it's nearly hidden among the doofy plastic covers for the i/o ports. I mean, it's a nice looking motherboard, and has some mixed results in use given Dan's thoughts, but was that really the best place for that plug? I have pretty long, thin fingers and even on more open boards I have a tough time getting that SOB in and out. I can't imagine it on this board.

I didn't have a problem with the placement of the plug on this motherboard. If I thought it would have been problematic I'd have said something. Having said that, I can see how it might be in some cases. I typically don't buy cramped cases. If I buy a case that's smaller, I generally accept that some things will be a pain to deal with as a result of that trade off.

Regarding FCLK on page 6, you state that Asus boards default to 1GHz.
My Asus Maximus VIII Hero board with latest bios defaults to 800MHz FCLK not 1GHz.
When set to 1GHz its been rock stable so no biggie.

fyi

I was unaware of this.

 

[FrgMstr]

Can we talk for a second about the placement of the 8-pin CPU power plug?
http://www.hardocp.com/images/articles/1459622144CjkHUnrsLH_1_10_l.jpg
Not only is it buried up at the very top-left most corner of the mobo, but it's nearly hidden among the doofy plastic covers for the i/o ports. I mean, it's a nice looking motherboard, and has some mixed results in use given Dan's thoughts, but was that really the best place for that plug? I have pretty long, thin fingers and even on more open boards I have a tough time getting that SOB in and out. I can't imagine it on this board.

No issues really, just about the same as every other motherboard I have seen for the last 4 years. Pretty standard placement. They are all a PITA.

 

[FrgMstr]

Regarding FCLK on page 6, you state that Asus boards default to 1GHz.
My Asus Maximus VIII Hero board with latest bios defaults to 800MHz FCLK not 1GHz.
When set to 1GHz its been rock stable so no biggie.

fyi

OK.

 

[Modred189]

I didn't have a problem with the placement of the plug on this motherboard. If I thought it would have been problematic I'd have said something. Having said that, I can see how it might be in some cases. I typically don't buy cramped cases. If I buy a case that's smaller, I generally accept that some things will be a pain to deal with as a result of that trade off.

IN my two ATX rigs, I have a Fractal Design case (one of the older ones, the R6?) and a Silverstone that looks like this. The FD case came with sound dampening foam inside the top fan grills, and the Silverstone is just tight all around.

Ironically, it was 0 issue in my Corsair Obsidian 250D for my mITX HTPC build.

 

[lazz]

Still glad I went with the Gaming7.

Thanks for including that DPC latency test! MIght not matter to some, but it's a big reassurance to see that number before purchase. I wish I could've seen the same on the Gaming7 reviews, and I hope you'll include this in all mobo reviews going forward.

 

[killianss]

This is good to see, I ordered a 6500 and the Gaming3 yesterday, they seem like decent featured boards at fair prices. I hope the initial setup goes smoothly

 

[Ocellaris]

This is good to see, I ordered a 6500 and the Gaming3 yesterday, they seem like decent featured boards at fair prices. I hope the initial setup goes smoothly

I've been down this road, make sure you update the BIOS before trying to use XMP memory.

The last few boards I've had place the CPU 8 pin in that spot. I think it works fine there, the power cable gets routed behind the motherboard tray and plugs in almost completely hidden.

 

[killianss]

I've been down this road, make sure you update the BIOS before trying to use XMP memory.

The last few boards I've had place the CPU 8 pin in that spot. I think it works fine there, the power cable gets routed behind the motherboard tray and plugs in almost completely hidden.

Thanks, I am hoping to use Qflash to upgrade to the latest version right from the get go.

 

[Dan_D]

Still glad I went with the Gaming7.

Thanks for including that DPC latency test! MIght not matter to some, but it's a big reassurance to see that number before purchase. I wish I could've seen the same on the Gaming7 reviews, and I hope you'll include this in all mobo reviews going forward.

We've been doing this for probably a year or more.

 

[Per]

Thanks for the review, for me it feels like a good choice to have gone with the Asus M8H, as it's bios is starting to mature. 4.8GHz is rock solid for me, but it gets too warm so I have to settle for 4.7GHz. But to OC my 2666MHz RAM to 3GHz works like a charm. In my case it feels like everything works and what I possibly need is better cooling or doing a delid, thats why I choose Asus as I wanted a somewhat predictable OC. I use Gigabyte in my HTPC though and it's boot time amazes me, like 2 sec from bios screen to Windows login, anyway competition is great

 

[CrazyElf]

If they can get the BIOS issues fixed, it would be a solid motherboard.

What is distressing about this finding is that the Z170X SOC Force, the Z170X Gaming G, and the entire Z170X lineup of Gigabyte boards seem to have this problem. Judging by reader comments in the Z107X SOC Force thread, worse, the Z170 line-up, this is not the only chipset with issues.

Come on Gigabyte - pull it together and you'll have a solid board.

 

[Ocellaris]

If they can get the BIOS issues fixed, it would be a solid motherboard.

What is distressing about this finding is that the Z170X SOC Force, the Z170X Gaming G, and the entire Z170X lineup of Gigabyte boards seem to have this problem. Judging by reader comments in the Z107X SOC Force thread, worse, the Z170 line-up, this is not the only chipset with issues.

Come on Gigabyte - pull it together and you'll have a solid board.

What is "this problem"?

 

[FelixK]

Now I know that your reviews are worthless. First the MSI Z170I and now the "abysmal" results with a Gigabyte X Gaming. In addition to your strange Asus-"special sauce" claim in the Z170I review, which is not confirmed by any benchmarks or any person elsewhere on the net.

 

[Nenu]

Now I know that your reviews are worthless. First the MSI Z170I and now the "abysmal" results with a Gigabyte X Gaming. In addition to your strange Asus-"special sauce" claim in the Z170I review, which is not confirmed by any benchmarks or any person elsewhere on the net.

Naa mate.
When a problem is found it is corrected.
Thats why they are of worth.

Strange you are here if its of no value to you.