Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 ATX Motherboard Review

By Steven Kean

Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 Review

Gigabyte-Z170X-UD5-Overview

Intel recently began releasing their latest CPU, which includes a change in the socket to 1151, while there isn’t a huge performance boost over the previous generation of Intel processors, the new Skylake processor does bring some new features. Gigabyte recently sent us one of their new motherboards based on the Z170 chipset; the Z170X-UD5. This is just one of Gigabyte’s twelve motherboards featuring the socket 1151; and their highest end motherboard in their Ultra Durable line. The Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 motherboard is available today for $189.99 with free shipping.

Gigabyte uses the best solid capacitors on the market, which are rated to perform at maximum efficiency in any performance mode, rated for over 10,000 hours of use, of course depending on the system configuration. In addition, Gigabyte uses capacitors that have been customized in Jet Black, making them unique to Gigabyte motherboards. Another exclusive feature of Gigabyte motherboards is their 2x Copper PCB design; by doubling the amount of copper used in the PCB heat can be transferred more easily, improving the lifespan of the motherboard when overclocking.

Gigabyte-Z170X-UD5-Special-Feature

Gigabyte has done a number of improvements on the Z170X-UD5. One of which is for the PCI-E x16 slots, they have covered them in a single piece of aluminum to make them stronger for the extremely heavy high end video cards. Gigabyte claims the one-piece metal shield make the PCI-E socket up to 3.2x stronger than normal PCI-E sockets. Along with the metal shield, they have also secured the shielding to the motherboard with some additional anchor points making it even stronger. While we are discussing the PCI-E slots, you should be aware that there are three x16 slots, with one at x16, the second at x8, and the third at x4. The PCIE x4 slot shares it’s bandwidth with one of the M.2 slots. With these PCI-E slots, you can run up to a 2-way SLI or 3-way CrossFire GPU configuration. In addition, there are four PCI-E x1 slots.

One aspect of a motherboard we need to know is what type of memory it’ll support. The Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 supports up to 4x 16GB DDR4 modules, for a total of 64GB of memory. Utilizing the dual channel memory, it’ll run at 2133MHz prior to enabling overclocking, at which time it’ll run all the way up to 3466MHz. Like most motherboards, it’ll support the Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP).

That’s not everything that the Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 has to offer, it features the Realtek ALC1150 High Definition audio codec, dual Intel Gigabit LAN with cFosSpeed (network shaping), dual BIOS, ambient gold LED, SATA Express, dual M.2, USB 3.1 Type-C, dual SuperSpeed USB 3.0 internal headers and more. Let’s take a look at the Z170X-UD5’s specifications before we take a look at the retail package.

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 Motherboard Features

  • Intel USB 3.1 with USB Type-C – the world’s next Universal connector
  • Dual PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 Connectors with up to 32Gb/s Data Transfer (PCIe & SATA SSD support)
  • Built-in Advanced Performance Tuning IC
  • PCI-E Steel Armor
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 Specifications
CPU
  • Support for Intel Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Pentium and Celeron processors in the LGA1151 package
  • L3 cache varies with CPU
Chipset
  • Intel Z170 Express Chipset
Memory
  • 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory
  • Dual channel memory architecture
  • Support for DDR4 3200 (O.C.) / 2133 MHz memory modules
  • Support for ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
  • Support for non-ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8/1Rx16 memory modules
  • Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
Onboard Graphics Integrated Graphics Processor-Intel HD Graphics support:

  • 1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200@60 Hz
    * The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter.
  • 1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160@24 Hz or 3840×2160@60 Hz
    * Support for DisplayPort 1.2 version.
  • 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160@24 Hz
    * Support for HDMI 1.4 version.

Support for up to 3 displays at the same time
Maximum shared memory of 512 MB
Audio
  • Realtek ALC1150 codec
  • High Definition Audio
  • 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
  • Support for S/PDIF Out
LAN
  • 2 x Intel GbE LAN chips (10/100/1000 Mbit)
  • Support for Teaming
Expansion Slots
  • 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
  • 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8)
  • 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
  • 4 x PCI Express x1 slots
Multi-Graphics Technology
  • Support for 3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire and 2-Way NVIDIA SLI Technology
Storage Interface Chipset:

  • 2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
  • 3 x SATA Express connectors
  • 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0~5)
  • Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10

ASMedia ASM1061 chip:

  • 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 6~7), supporting AHCI mode only
USB
  • 1 x USB Type-C port on the back panel, with USB 3.1 support
  • 1 x USB 3.1 port on the back panel
  • 7 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (3 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)
  • 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)
Internal I/O Connectors
  • 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
  • 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
  • 2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
  • 3 x SATA Express connectors
  • 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
  • 1 x CPU fan header
  • 1 x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT)
  • 3 x system fan headers
  • 1 x front panel header
  • 1 x front panel audio header
  • 1 x S/PDIF Out header
  • 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 headers
  • 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
  • 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header
  • 1 x Thunderbolt add-in card connector
  • 1 x serial port header
  • 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
  • 1 x power button
  • 1 x reset button
  • 1 x Clear CMOS button
  • 1 x ECO button
  • 1 x OC button
  • Voltage measurement points
Back Panel Connectors
  • 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
  • 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
  • 1 x DVI-D port
  • 1 x DisplayPort
  • 1 x HDMI port
  • 3 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
  • 1 x USB Type-C port, with USB 3.1 support
  • 1 x USB 3.1 port
  • 2 x RJ-45 ports
  • 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
  • 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
I/O Controller
  • iTE I/O Controller Chip
H/W Monitoring
  • System voltage detection
  • CPU/System/Chipset temperature detection
  • CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed detection
  • CPU/System/Chipset overheating warning
  • CPU/CPU OPT/System fan fail warning
  • CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed control
BIOS
  • 2 x 128 Mbit flash
  • Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS
  • Support for DualBIOS
  • PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
Unique Features
  • Support for APP Center – Available applications in APP Center may vary by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also vary depending on motherboard specifications.
    3D OSD
    @BIOS
    Ambient LED
    AutoGreen
    Cloud Station
    EasyTune
    Easy RAID
    Fast Boot
    Smart TimeLock
    Smart Keyboard
    Smart Backup
    System Information Viewer
    USB Blocker
  • Support for Q-Flash
  • Support for Smart Switch
  • Support for Xpress Install
Bundled Software
  • Norton Internet Security (OEM version)
  • Intel Smart Response Technology
  • cFosSpeed
Operating System Support
  • Support for Windows 10/8.1/7
Form Factor
  • ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm
Warranty
  • 3 Years

Now that we have seen the technical aspect of the Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 offers, let’s take a look at the retail packaging before taking a closer look at the motherboard and get to installing it.