Intel's Skylake-S PCs will soon be in-hand for analysis, with a launch expected in the first week of August. Gigabyte is among the first motherboard manufacturers to showcase its Z170 motherboards, starting with its high-end G1 Gaming board in red and white.
The GA-Z170X Gaming G1 board hosts the new LGA1151 socket for use with the Skylake platform. From observation, the GA-Z170X hosts three PCI-e slots with, from looking closely, what appears to be an x16 / x8 / x4 configuration. Two shorter PCI-e x1 slots are present for expansion cards. PLX multiplexing chips are located below the first PCI-e slot.
Storage options include two M.2 32Gbps ports, one south of the CPU and the other hidden between PCI-e slots. SATA ports include traditional SATA III and newer (but somewhat slow on the uptake) SATA Express options. Two USB3.0 headers are present on the board.
A seven-segment display is located adjacent to an “ECO” and “OC” button set, offering troubleshooting output on an alphanumeric LED block.
For users who care about Trusted Platform Modules, there is a header present on the board for such use cases. Left of the TPM header is one of Gigabyte's CAP_SW toggles, used for regulating the gain of audio output.
The G1 Z170 board makes big strides to brand Gigabyte with a new set of red-and-white coloring, fitting a massive (almost invasive) I/O panel cover near the VRM heatsinks.
Three additional boards, including the GA-Z170X Gaming 5 and GA-170X Gaming 7, were also on display for more affordable options.
More coverage on Skylake motherboards as updates roll-out.
See photo gallery below.
- Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke.