Introduction
Hi everyone, this time we’ll be reviewing the GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 motherboard. The GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 motherboard is made with the latest Intel Z97 chipset and targeted towards the mainstream to hardcore gamers as well as enthusiasts. It supports the latest Intel Haswell refresh series of CPUs and packs a lot of features.
Here is the link to the motherboard(GIGABYTE official site) : GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 7 motherboard. This is a full sized ATX motherboard and features Killer E2200 LAN and Realtek ALC 1150 115 dB SNR audio for a complete gaming experience. Lets move on to the specs as shown on GIGABYTE website:
| CPU | Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors/Intel® Core™ i5 processors/ Intel® Core™ i3 processors/Intel® Pentium® processors/ Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1150 package L3 cache varies with CPU (Please refer “CPU Support List” for more information.) |
| Chipset | Intel® Z97 Express Chipset |
| Memory | 4 x DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory * Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed. Dual channel memory architecture Support for DDR3 3200(O.C.) / 3100(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) / 2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 MHz memory modules Support for non-ECC memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules (Please refer “Memory Support List” for more information.) |
| Onboard Graphics | Integrated Graphics Processor: 1 x D-Sub port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200@60Hz 1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200@60Hz * The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter. 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160@24Hz or 2560×1600@60Hz * Support for HDMI 1.4a version. Support for up to 3 displays at the same time Maximum shared memory of 512MB |
| 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) |
| Expansion Slots | 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) 3 x PCI Express x1 slots 1 x PCI slot |
| Multi-Graphics Technology | Support for 3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire™and 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology |
| Storage Interface | Chipset: 1 x M.2 PCIe connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe SSD support) 1 x SATA Express connector 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0~5) (M.2, SATA Express, and SATA3 4/5 connectors can only be used one at a time. The SATA3 4/5 connectors will become unavailable when an M.2 SSD is installed.) Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 Marvell® 88SE9172 chip: 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3 6~7) Support for RAID 0 and RAID 1 * Due to system limitation, Intel RAID and Marvell RAID can only use either one. |
| USB | Chipset: 6 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header) 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 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 1 x PCIe power connector 1 x M.2 PCIe connector 1 x SATA Express connector 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x CPU fan header 1 x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT) 4 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 1 x power button 1 x reset button 1 x Clear CMOS button 2 x BIOS switches Voltage measurement points |
| Back Panel Connectors | 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 (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/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 * Whether the fan speed control function is supported will depend on the cooler you install. |
| 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 differ by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also differ depending on motherboard specifications. @BIOS EasyTune EZ Setup Fast Boot Game Controller ON/OFF Charge Smart TimeLock Smart Recovery 2 System Information Viewer USB Blocker Support for Q-Flash Support for Smart Switch Support for Xpress Install |
| Bundle Software | Norton® Internet Security (OEM version) Intel® Rapid Start Technology Intel® Smart Connect Technology Intel® Smart Response Technology |
| Operating System | Support for Windows 8.1/8/7 |
| Form Factor | ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm |
