FOR THE HARDCORE GAMER
Gigabyte GA-Z97X- Gaming G1 WIFI-BK High- end motherboards and PC gaming go hand in hand, but the Gigabyte GA-Z97X- Gaming G1 WIFI- BK has pushed the envelope a little further. This special Black Edition motherboard undergoes an additional 168-hours of grueling testing, and comes with its own signed certificate like a badge of honor, signifying the ultimate in performance and stability.
Based on Gigabyte’s G1 Gaming series, the board itself has a red on black color scheme. The heatsinks in the vicinity of the CPU socket are very similar to the ones of the MSI board. The VRM ones have an integrated liquid- cooling system; while the heatsink, closest to the first PCIe Gen 3.0 x16 slot, provides cooling to the PLX switching chip. The Gigabyte board’s heatsinks in the vicinity of the CPU socket and the Z97 PCH heatsink are all connected by a heatpipe for heat dissipation. For reliability and stability, the board boasts of an all- digital 8-phase power delivery system that includes 10K black capacitors.
Graphics-wise, a PLX switching chip allows the board to support up to 4-way graphics cards in SLI or CrossFireX configurations. It does so by sharing the PCIe lanes from the Intel Core processor across the four PCIe 3.0 x16 slots.
Its G1 Audio system is driven by an EMI-shielded Creative Sound Core3D codec with an upgradeable OP-Amps for customization as well as green Nichicon audio capacitors. The board has a total of five, gold-plated audio jacks and an S/ PDIF Out connector for audio output. In order to preserve the integrity of the audio signals, the board’s PCB is layered such that there is separation of the audio components from the other traces.
As a gaming board, it’s no surprise that there’s built-in Killer E2201 Gigabit LAN similar to previous G1 board. In addition to offering LAN connectivity, the board has a bundled PCIe x1 Wi- Fi/ Bluetooth expansion card that supports up to Wi- Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth v4.0 standards. It also offers support for Intel WiDi technology where video and audio content can be streamed wirelessly to supported display devices. Collectively, these features fall under the G1 Networking system.
In keeping up with the Joneses, the Gaming G1 board has a SATA Express connector, but there isn’t any M.2 interface. The Gigabyte GA-Z97X- Gaming G1 WIFI- BK is a solid platform for gamers to build a reliable system for multi- GPU configurations. At the same time, the inclusion of a liquid- cooling block allows them to indulge in extreme overclocking on the side. The board also comes with an enviable collection of bundled accessories that truly makes it a top dog in the Gigabyte’s Gaming G1 series.