Intel Z97 Chipset
Overview

Supports 4th and 5th Generation Intel Core processors
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi MB3 gaming audio suite
Audio Noise Guard with LED path lighting
Realtek ALC1150 115dB SNR HD Audio with Built-in rear audio amplifier
Killer E2200 gaming networking platform
Extreme multi graphics support
SATA Express support for 10 Gb/s data transfer
M.2 for SSDs drives with up to 10 Gb/s data transfer
Long lifespan Durable Solid caps
APP Center including EasyTune and Cloud Station utilities
GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOS
G1 Gaming Motherboards


GIGABYTE AMP-UP Audio Technology
GIGABYTE G1 Gaming motherboards are equipped with the GIGABYTE exclusive AMP-UP Audio Technology, which provides the industrys highest level of onboard audio features and technologies. With GIGABYTE AMP-UP Audio, gamers and audiophiles are able to experience crisp, ultra realistic sound effects while gaming, and the richest possible sound experience when listening to their favorite music and movies.
Realtek ALC1150 115dB SNR HD Audio
Realtek ALC1150 115dB SNR HD Audio
The ALC1150 is a high-performance multi-channel High Definition Audio Codec that delivers an exceptional audio listening experience with up to 115dB SNR, ensuring users get the best possible audio quality from their PC.
The ALC1150 provides ten DAC channels that simultaneously support 7.1-channel sound playback, plus 2 channels of independent stereo sound output (multiple streaming) through the front panel stereo outputs. Two stereo ADCs are integrated and can support a microphone array with Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), Beam Forming (BF), and Noise Suppression (NS) technologies. The ALC1150 incorporates Realtek proprietary converter technology to achieve Front differential output 115dB Signal-to-Noise ratio (SNR) playback (DAC) quality and 104dB SNR recording (ADC) quality.
Built-in Rear Audio Amplifier
Built-in Rear Audio Amplifier
Specially designed for gamers, GIGABYTE motherboards utilize a high-capacity amplifier which is able to drive 600O loads, giving gamers a fuller range of dynamic sound with crisper details and less distortion when using high quality professional headphones.
Additional Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3
GIGABYTE G1™ Gaming motherboards also include Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 software suite. Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 software suite is a powerful audio platform offering premium audio quality, effects and features for gamers. It features SBX Pro Studio™ suite of technologies, which is designed to give you the fullest audio experience.

Dedicated Audio Hardware Zone
Separation on the PCB layer protects the board's sensitive analog audio components.
Separate analog and digital ground to protect against Electromagnetic Interference (EMI).
LED trace path lighting illuminates to show the separation of the PCB layers.


Killer™ E2200 Gaming Network
NO LAG, JUST FRAG!
GIGABYTE G1™ Gaming motherboards feature the Killer™ E2200 from Qualcomm Atheros, a high-performance, adaptive gigabit Ethernet controller that offers better online gaming and online media performance compared to standard solutions



Extreme Multi-GPU Support
Extreme Multi-GPU Support
Flexible graphics capabilities supported for either 3-Way CrossFire™ or 2-Way SLI™ action, delivering the ultimate in graphics performance for gaming enthusiasts who demand the highest frame rates without compromising on resolution.
SATA Express Connector
SATA Express Connector
GIGABYTE motherboards feature an onboard SATA Express connector which provides performance far superior to that of current SATA technologies. SATA Express features data transfer rates of up to 10Gb/s, considerably higher than SATA Revision 3 (6Gb/s), which wont bottleneck faster NAND flash technologies in cutting edge SSDs. SATA Express combines the benefits of PCI-Express and SATA to provide much higher bandwidth, allowing SATA Express based drives to perform at similar speeds as PCI-Express based drives.

M.2 Onboard Connector
M.2 Onboard Connector
GIGABYTE G1™ Gaming motherboards come equipped with an onboard M.2 slot, providing users PCI-Express connectivity for SSD devices. Delivering up to 10 Gb/s data transfer speeds, M.2 offers users considerably faster storage performance than current mSATA and even SATA Revision 3 (6Gb/s) storage devices.

GIGABYTE App Center Including EasyTune™ and Cloud Station™ Utilities
GIGABYTE APP Center gives you easy access to wealth of GIGABYTE apps that help you get the most from your GIGABYTE motherboard. Using a simple, unified user interface, GIGABYTE APP Center allows you to launch all GIGABYTE apps installed on your system.

GIGABYTE EasyTune ™ App
GIGABYTE's EasyTune™ is a simple and easy-to-use interface that allows users to fine-tune their system settings or adjust system and memory clocks and voltages in a Windows environment.
With Smart Quick Boost, one click is all it takes to automatically overclock your system, giving an added performance boost when you need it the most.


GIGABYTE Cloud Station™ APP
GIGABYTE Cloud Station™ is composed of several GIGABYTE's unique apps that allow your smart phones/tablet device to communicate, share resources, and control desktop PCs via wireless connection.


All New Heat Sink Design

4K Ultra HD Support
4K Ultra HD Support
4K resolution is the next technological milestone in high-definition content delivery, utilizing approximately 4,000 pixels on the horizontal axis, more than four times today's standard HD pixel density. GIGABYTE motherboards provide native 4K support with integrated Intel HD Graphics via HDMI.
HDMI-The Next Generation Multimedia Interface
HDMI-The Next Generation Multimedia Interface
HDMI is a High-Definition Multimedia Interface which provides up to 5Gb/s video transmitting bandwidth and 8-channel high quality audio all through a single cable. Able to transmit superior, uncompressed digital video and audio, HDMI ensures the crispest rendering of digital content up to 1080p without the quality losses associated with analog interfaces and their digital-to-analog conversion. In addition, HDMI is compatible with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), allowing the playback of Blu-ray/HD DVD and other protected media content.
GIGABYTE OPT Fan Support
GIGABYTE OPT Fan Support
Many of todays 3rd party water cooling systems require CPU fan power support for both the cooling fan and the water pump. GIGABYTE 9 Series motherboards feature OPT fan support, an additional CPU fan pin header that can be used to connect a water pump and configured for continuous full speed operation. The OPT Fan is also useful for high performance coolers employing two fans.

All Solid Caps and Low RDS(on) MOSFETs
All Solid Caps and Low RDS(on) MOSFETs
GIGABYTE uses All Solid Caps (Capacitors) and Low RDS(on) MOSFETs which are rated to work at higher temperatures to provide a longer lifespan.

5x (15) Gold Plated CPU Socket Design
5x (15) Gold Plated CPU Socket Design
GIGABYTE 9 Series motherboards come equipped with a gold plated CPU socket, which means that enthusiasts can enjoy absolute reliability and longevity for the CPU socket overtime, without having any concerns about corroded pins and bad contacts.

Specifications
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 1920x1200@60Hz
1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200@60Hz
* The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter.
1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096x2160@24Hz or 2560x1600@60Hz
* Support for HDMI 1.4a version.
Support for up to 3 displays at the same time
Maximum shared memory of 1 GB
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)
* The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode. (The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
* The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with all PCI Express x1 slots. All PCI Express x1 slots will become unavailable when a PCIe x4 expansion card is installed.
* When installing a x8 or above card in the PCIEX4 slot, make sure to set PCIE Slot Configuration (PCH) in BIOS Setup to x4. (Refer to Chapter 2, "BIOS Setup," "Peripherals," for more information.)
3 x PCI Express x1 slots
(The PCIEX4 and PCI Express x1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
1 x PCI slot
Multi-Graphics Technology
Support for 3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFireand 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
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 M.2 PCIe connector
1 x SATA Express connector
6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
1 x CPU fan header
1 x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT)
3 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
Back Panel Connectors
1 x PS/2 keyboard port
1 x PS/2 mouse port
1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
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
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/System/Chipset 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 64 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 22.5cm
Remark
Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website.
Most hardware/software vendors may no longer offer drivers to support Win9X/ME/2000/XP. If drivers are available from the vendors, we will update them on the GIGABYTE website.