Computex 2015 - Day 3

Computex 2015 - Gigabyte

Gigabyte had a huge range of Z170 Express motherboards on show in preparation for Skylake's launch. Many of the high-end boards have been redesigned to include white highlights and covers on the heatsink areas. Other features you can expect to see in the high-end, enthusiast grade motherboards like the GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 include dual M.2 32Gbps ports, high-end audio solutions, customisable LEDs and metal reinforced PCI-E slots to help secure them against the weight of high-end graphics cards. SATA Express 16Gbps ports also appear to be something of a standard for Z170 Express boards (not just Gigabyte), which is interesting as the standard is already virtually dead with the launch of SFF-8639 drives like the Intel SSD 750. Thankfully, Gigabyte is one of a number of motherboard manufacturers to offer an M.2 to SFF-8639 adaptor so that such drives can still have access to a full four PCI-E 3.0 lanes.


One of the key features Gigabyte is using to differentiate itself from the crowd when it comes to next generation motherboards is its USB 3.1 solution. Simply put, it is using Intel's USB 3.1 controller rather than ASMedia's, which is used by the rest of the competition. Intel's is said to be a more rounded, robust and faster solution that also offers 3-in-1 connectivity: USB 3.1, DisplayPort and Thunderbolt.