Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX Motherboard
Overview
Description
The GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX Motherboard from Gigabyte accepts PC components so you can create your own desktop computer for gaming, work, or everyday home use. Some of the hardware needed for building your own system is included on the motherboard. For instance, G1 Audio features a combination of technologies, which provide crisp sounds for music and realistic sound effects for gaming. To provide lag-free gameplay or streaming videos over a network, a Killer E2201 LAN chip offers better performance when compared to standard Ethernet controllers. If you want to build a gaming desktop, this motherboard can accept up to three graphics cards that can be configured for either 3-Way CrossFire or 2-Way SLI to deliver faster frame rates without compromising on resolution.
This Gigabyte Gaming 3 motherboard features an LGA1150 socket that accepts a 4th or 5th generation Intel processor. You may add up to 32GB of RAM in the 4 memory slots. This motherboard offers six SATA III 6 Gb/s connectors for connecting optical and storage drives. Optimise system loading times by connecting an SSD to either the SATA Express or M.2 connectors. Native 4K support is available via HDMI when using an Intel CPU chip with an integrated Intel graphics processor. For connecting to other peripherals, eight USB and two PS/2 ports are available. Included with the Z97X motherboard are a driver disk, SATA cables, 2-Way SLI bridge connector, and I/O shield.
Key Features
G1 Audio
Gigabyte AMP-UP Audio Technology
- The exclusive Gigabyte AMP-UP audio technology provides realistic sound effects while gaming and crisp sounds when you listen to your favourite music and movies.
Realtek ALC1150 HD Audio
- The ALC1150 is a multi-channel High Definition Audio Codec that delivers up to 115dB SNR, offering HD quality audio from your computer. It provides ten DAC channels that simultaneously support 7.1-channel sound playback, plus 2 channels of independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the front panel stereo outputs. Two integrated stereo ADCs can record at 104dB SNR and can support a microphone array with Acoustic Echo Cancellation, Beam Forming, and Noise Suppression technologies.
Built-in Rear Audio Amplifier
- Specially designed for gamers, this motherboard utilises a high-capacity amplifier which is able to drive 600Ω loads, offering gamers a fuller range of dynamic sound with crisper details and less distortion when using high quality professional headphones.
Additional Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3
- The Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 software suite includes SBX Pro Studio and Creative Alchemy, which are designed to provide a fuller audio experience. SBX Pro Studio suite offers audio realism by enhancing the sounds so you can clearly hear explosions, surround sound effects and more. Creative Alchemy restores EAX effects and 3D surround audio for older DirectSound 3D games running on Windows 7 and above.
Dedicated Audio Hardware Zone
- Separation on the PCB layer protects the board's sensitive analogue audio components.
- Each analogue and digital component is grounded to help protect against electromagnetic interference.
- LED trace path lighting illuminates to show the separation of the PCB layers.
Separate PCB Layers
- By placing the right and left audio channels on separate PCB layers, Gigabyte Gaming 3 motherboards are able to eliminate channel crosstalk and help maintain the best audio quality.
G1 Networking
Killer E2200 Network
- Gigabyte Gaming 3 motherboards feature the Killer E2200 from Qualcomm Atheros, an adaptive gigabit Ethernet controller that offers smoother online gaming and online media performance compared to standard solutions.
G1 Performance
Multi-GPU Support
- Supports either 3-Way CrossFire or 2-Way SLI action, which delivers faster graphics performance for gaming enthusiasts who demand the highest frame rates without compromising on resolution.
SATA Express Connector
- Features an onboard SATA Express connector which provides data transfer rates of up to 10 Gb/s, which is considerably higher than SATA Revision 3 that only transfers at 6 Gb/s. This prevents bottlenecking when using faster NAND flash technologies in SSDs. SATA Express combines the benefits of PCI-Express and SATA to provide much higher bandwidth, allowing SATA Express based drives to perform at similar speeds as PCI-Express based drives.
M.2 Onboard Connector
- Equipped with an onboard M.2 slot that provides PCI-Express connectivity for SSD devices. Delivering up to 10 Gb/s data transfer speeds, M.2 offers users considerably faster storage performance than current mSATA and even SATA Revision 3 storage devices.
Gigabyte App Centre Including EasyTune and Cloud Station Utilities
- Access Gigabyte apps via the APP Centre, which can help you get the most of your Gigabyte motherboard. Using a simple, unified user interface, Gigabyte APP Centre allows you to launch all Gigabyte apps installed on your system.
- Gigabyte's EasyTune app is a simple and easy-to-use interface that allows users to fine-tune their system settings or adjust system and memory clocks and voltages in a Windows environment. With Smart Quick Boost, one click is all it takes to automatically overclock your system, giving an added performance boost when you need it the most.
- Gigabyte Cloud Station is composed of several unique apps, which allows your smart phone/tablet device to communicate, share resources, and control desktop PCs via wireless connection.
4K HD HDMI Support
- This motherboard provides native 4K support with an integrated Intel HD Graphics via an HDMI port. This High-Definition Multimedia Interface provides up to 5 Gb/s of bandwidth for transmitting video and 8-channels of audio all through a single cable. Capable of transmitting uncompressed digital video and audio, HDMI ensures rendering of digital content up to 1080p without the quality losses associated with analogue interfaces and their digital-to-analogue conversion. In addition, HDMI is compatible with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, allowing the playback of Blu-ray/HD DVD and other protected media content.
Gigabyte OPT Fan Support
- An additional CPU fan pin header can be used to connect a water pump and can be configured for continuous full speed operation.
All Solid Caps and Low RDS MOSFETs
- All solid capacitors and low RDS MOSFETS used on this motherboard are rated to work at higher temperatures to ensure a longer lifespan.
5x 15μ Gold-Plated CPU Socket Design
- To provide reliability and longevity, the CPU socket has been gold-plated to help prevent corroded pins and bad contacts when used longer than an average workday.
Game Controller
- Gigabyte Game Controller allows you to define your own hotkeys and change the mouse sensitivity, helping you make the most out of your keyboard and mouse in games.
- Create macro commands and define your own hotkeys to quickly perform the function your want.
- The Sniper key switches the mouse sensitivity into sniper mode for precision aiming.
Bundled Software
- Norton Internet Security (OEM version) - Provides protection for your system against malware, viruses, and more. Intel Rapid Start Technology - Resume in 6 seconds from deep sleep state. Intel Smart Connect Technology - Periodically wakes up the system from standby mode to cheque and apply updates. Intel Smart Response Technology - Automatically stores your most frequently used applications and data into the faster SSD.
Specifications
Form Factor |
ATX |
CPU Support |
Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Pentium / Celeron processors |
Chipset |
Intel Z97 |
Socket Type |
LGA1150 |
Main Memory |
RAM Slots: 4 Type: 1333 / 1600 MHz DIMM DDR3 O.C. Support: 1800 / 1866 / 2000 / 2133 / 2200 / 2400 / 2500 / 2600 / 2666 / 2800 / 2933 / 3000 / 3100 / 3200 MHz DDR3 Max Size: 32 GB Dual channel memory architecture Supports non-ECC memory Supports Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) |
Graphics Processor (GPU) |
Resolutions up to 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz via HDMI 1.4a Resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz via DVI-D Resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz via VGA Support for up to 3 displays at the same time Maximum shared memory of 512 MB |
I/O Control |
iTE I/O Controller Chip |
BIOS |
2 x 64 Mbit flash Use of licenced AMI UEFI BIOS Support for DualBIOS PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0 |
Monitoring and Management Support |
System voltage detection CPU/Chipset/System temperature detection CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed detection CPU/System overheating warning CPU/CPU OPT/System fan fail warning CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed control |
Slots |
1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16, running at x16 (PCIEX16) For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to instal it in the PCIEX16 slot. 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16, running at x8 (PCIEX8) Shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode. 1 x PCI Express x16, running at x4 (PCIEX4) Shares bandwidth with the PCIEX8 and PCIEX16 slots. When the PCIEX4 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode and the PCIEX8 will operate at up to x4 mode. 3 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 1 x PCI |
Storage Interface |
Intel Chipset M.2 PCIe connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe SSD support) SATA Express connector SATA III connectors (0 to 5) M.2, SATA Express, and SATA III 4/5 connectors can only be used one at a time Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 |
Audio |
Realtek ALC1150 codec Support for Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out |
LAN |
Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2201 LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) |
Internal I/O Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x M.2 PCIe connector 1 x SATA Express connector 6 x SATA 6 Gb/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 1 x USB 3.0/2.0 header 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x Serial port header 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header |
Back Panel I/O Ports |
1 x PS/2 mouse port 1 x PS/2 Keyboard port 1 x D-Sub port 1 x DVI-D port 1 x HDMI port 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1 x RJ-45 port 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out connector 5 x Audio jacks (Centre/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In) |
Supports |
APP Centre Q-Flash Smart Switch Xpress Instal |
Operating System Support |
Windows 8.1 / 8 / 7 |
Dimensions |
12.0 x 8.9" / 30.5 x 22.5 cm |
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Details
- Product: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX Motherboard
- Manufacturer: Gigabyte
- Model: GA-Z97X-GAMING 3
- SKU: GA-Z97X-GAMING 3
- RM Product #: 25695