Most of the Gigabyte Z97 Motherboards that were recently revealed didn’t have an M.2 PCIE port for Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF) SSDs. Then here comes the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK, the only Z97 motherboard from company revealed so far that features an M.2 PCIE port, supporting speeds of up to 10Gb/s. Aside from the M.2 port, it also features Ultra Durable components, Dual BIOS, 2x Copper PCB, SATA Express and more. Check out some of its features and specifications below.
The Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H Black Edition is another Ultra Durable legacy board, just like the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7 TH. This board doesn’t feature a Thunderbolt2 connectivity, but it has a M.2 PCIE port for NGFF SSD. This board also supports the current 4th gen Haswell processor and the upcoming Haswell Refresh, Devil’s Canyon, as well as the 5th Gen Broadwell processors.
The Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK draws its power from an 8pin power connector and a standard 24pin ATX power connector. There is also an additional ATX4P or the SATA power connector for additional power, specially when doing multiple graphics card configurations. There are onboard power buttons, LED code display, CMOS switch and other switches and buttons I could not clearly see. There is also a voltage point check where you can hot wire and monitor the board’s status directly.
The Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H Black Edition has 2x SATA Express ports, 4x SATA 6Gbps ports, USB and TIM headers, lots of fan headers and other connectors. It also has two BIOS chips located just below the Z97 chipset. In terms of PCIE slots, this board has a total of 7 PCI expansion slots that includes: 3x PCIE 3.0 x16 slots, 2x PCIE 3.0 x1 slots, and 2x legacy PCI slots.
I don’t see any Sound Core audio chip as well, but there is an EMI shielding, the LED path, separating the audio components from the rest of the motherboard. Unfortunately, I can’t see the rear I/O panel, but for sure there are VGA port, DVI and/or HDMI, some USB ports and more. The Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H Black Edition is expected to be officially revealed next month, May, together with the other Gigabyte Z97 motherboard lineup. Expect other models will be revealed the following months as well.
Check out the other Z97 motherboards that were recently revealed:
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7 TH Revealed – Features Thunderbolt 2 Connectivity
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-G1 Gaming G1 WiFi Black Edition Z97 Motherboard Revealed
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SOC Force Z97 Motherboard Revealed – Made For Overclockers
Asus ROG Z97 Motherboards – Maximus VII Gene, Maximus VII Hero and Maximus VII Ranger Revealed
Asus Z97-WS, Z97 Deluxe, Z97-Pro, Z97-A and Z97I Plus Mini ITX
Asus TUF Z97 Motherboards Revealed – Includes Sabertooth Z97 Mark I, Sabertooth Z97 Mark 2 and Asus Gryphon Z97
Entire MSI Z97 Gaming Motherboard lineup Revealed
