GA-Z170X-UD5 TH Review: World’s first Thunderbolt 3 motherboard

GA-Z170X-UD5 TH detailed review

When you look at the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 TH, there is a clear difference that puts it in a different league altogether and that’s the presence of not one but two Thunderbolt 3 ports. Sharing the same physical port as a USB 3.1 Type C port, the Thunderbolt port supports 4K 60FPS video, 40 Gbps data transfer, 100 W power supply and support for connecting peripherals that use Thunderbolt/USB/DisplayPort/PCIExpress protocols. And there’re two of these multi-tasking wonders on the GA-Z170X-UD5 TH. 

The board looks a lot more premium thanks to a visibly cleaner soldermask. Also, this is a proper ATX motherboard which means it uses 9 screws for mounting and that gives it much needed rigidity. Featuring a new heatsink design that’s only 25mm tall, Gigabyte has opted to go for greater width in lieu of greater height. Another aspect that we prefer is the placement of the Clean CMOS button away from the rear I/O, many a times has there been an unwanted reset thanks to the rear I/O CMOS button. The audio solution remains the same Realtek ALC 1150 seated on an isolated section with isolated power supply. We really have no complaints except for the fact that there is a 4-pin fan header a little too close to the ATX CPU power socket but there is another header right beside the rear audio I/O so we can look the other way. You still have the handy G-connector and an M.2 port with 32 Gbps bandwidth so there’s hardly anything missing on the board. If you’re looking to build a new rig then the Thunderbolt 3 port will definitely help since you’ll be ready for every new peripheral jumping on the USB Type-C bandwagon.

Specifications:

Chipset - Intel Z170
Memory support - 4x3800(OC)MHz upto 64GB
LAN - Intel i219V Gigabit Ethernet
Audio - Realtek ALC1150
SATA - 6x SATA III
Expansion - 6x PCIe x16(x1/x16/x1/x8/x1/x4)
Dimensions (LxWxD) – 305 mm x 244 mm
Warranty - 3 years

Contact details:

Company - GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY (INDIA) PVT. LTD.,
Phone - 022-40633222,
Email - sales@gigabyte.in,
Website - http://www.gigabyte.in