Gigabyte Gaming K5 Z270 Motherboard Review

Gigabyte Gaming K5

The new Intel Z370 platform may be here already, but there is still plenty of life to be found for the Z270 platform. Of course, most visible stem from the fact that the new 8th generation CPUs only work on Z370. therefore, it makes sense that many users who are still purchasing any processors from the 6th or 7th generation of Intel CPUs will be looking at Z270 series motherboard.

Gigabyte is clearly aware of this, and have just released their Z270X Gaming K5 Motherboard under Aorus brand. Tailored towards the gaming market, this new motherboard comes equipped all the high-end features you would expect. It supports dual channel unbuffered DDR4 memory, Three-way graphics card support, triple NVMe PCIe SSDs, dual ultra fast M.2 storage, Intel Optane, high-definition audio, high-speed LAN, RGB lighting and much more.

Features

• Supports 7^th/ 6^th Generation Intel^® Core™ Processors
• Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
• Fast USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-C™ and Type-A
• 3-Way Graphics Support with Dual Armor and Ultra Durable™ Design
• Triple NVMe PCIe SSDs in RAID 0 Support
• NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 U.2 Connector
• Dual Ultra-Fast M.2 with PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA interface
• Intel^® Optane™ Memory Ready
• Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5 + ALC 1220 120dB SNR HD Audio
• Killer™ E2500 Gaming Network
• USB DAC-UP 2 with Adjustable Voltage
• RGB FUSION LED Light Show design
• Swappable Overlay for Accent LED
• Smart Fan 5 features Multiple Temperature Sensors and Hybrid Fan Headers
• Lightning-Fast Intel^® Thunderbolt™ 3 AIC Support
• GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOS™
• APP Center Including EasyTune™ and Cloud Station™ Utilities

If you like RGB lighting you’ll find 16.8 million RGB colours over to light zones with seven different lighting effects, as well as one RGBW light strip pin header. If you’re big on your audio like me, you’ll be happy to see, and I hear, that it comes with ALC 1220. With a powerful amp for speakers and headphones built-in, you’ll be able to enjoy your favourite media as it was intended.

ALC 1220 120dB SNR HD Audio

“The ALC1220 is a high-performance multi-channel High Definition Audio Codec with up to 120dB SNR for crystal clear audio and features such as Smart Headphone Amp, 114dB SNR recording for precise voice chats and hardware decoding of DSD128, ensuring users get the best possible audio quality from their PC.” – Gigabyte

Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5 Software

“The Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5 provides you with everything you need to stretch your audio experience potential. It’s a comprehensive suite of tools, equipped with cutting-edge technology and premium audio quality, effects and features to support your needs. Featuring SBX Pro Studio™ suite of technologies, it gives you the fullest audio experience – like no other.” – Gigabyte