Hardware Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 7 Review

All I can say is if you find the colour scheme appealing then there are lettuce leafs out there with more taste than you.

..It's all a bit 'Essex boy racer' Tiny Tom Logan for my liking.

 

Even Gigabyte seem confused. Is it 'G.1 Gaming' or 'Gaming 7'? Why not make it 'G.1 Gaming 7' and be done with it?

Also, every time I see that G.1 I think of G.I Joe and the crappy, remade movies...

 

When reviewing Z170 boards can you please start specifying if they are HDMI 1.4 or 2.0. Twice during reviews I've had to go off to the manufactures page to find the specs.

 

Even if the specs say HDMI 2.0 it may not work (yet). In the manual for this motherboard is the following statement:

"Integrated Graphics Processor+MegaChips MCDP2800 chip:
- 1 x HDMI port
* HDMI feature is currently limited. Visit GIGABYTE website for future updates."

Anandtech's preview of Z170 motherboards had this to say about HDMI 2.0:
(preview here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9485/...srock-asus-gigabyte-msi-ecs-evga-supermicro/9)

"We can confirm that HDMI 2.0 is via a separate LS-PCon, although it will need a future firmware update before it can be used."

Reading the Anandtech article, it seems that HDMI 2.0 on Z170 boards can be implemented in at least two ways, and that at least one of them requires a firmware update that is not yet available. If you are buying with the expectation of a fully working HDMI 2.0 port, you might be disappointed.

Personally, I'm not at all happy with the current state of HDMI 2.0 support and the lies/half-truths we keep getting from many different manufacturers. It's time reviewers took them to task and nailed down exactly what is/is not supported, including whether 4K@60Hz works and if 4K@60Hz with 4:4:4 RGB or YUV works or not. Also we need confirmation of HDCP 2.2 support. Does it work now? Does it need some "future update" ?

 

Best comment of 2015.

 

That's great thanks, I'm specifically holding off a couple of HTPC builds for integrated HDMI 2. You would have thought with the new Z170 boards it would be standard issue by now. Especially as I've noticed a couple have displayport that does support 4K @60Hz, but list HDMI as 1.4. (4K @ 24Hz)

 

I'm also holding off on my 4K HTPC build. I've been reading a lot of fine print lately and seeing a lot of weasel-words. Not many review sites are picking up on these issues, so I'm very happy to see that BitTech might be one of the few to give us a straight answer.

Thanks Combatus, hope to hear something soon.