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Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH, The First Thunderbolt 3 Certified Motherboard

Gigabyte recently released the first Thunderbolt 3 certified motherboard, the Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH, which is very much similar with the GA-Z170X-UD5 that the company first released. The Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH and Z170X-UD5 may look very much the same, aside from having a very similar set of features as well, but the Z170X-UD5 TH brings Thunderbolt 3 connectivity via the USB Type-C at speeds of up to 40Gbps, which is 2x faster than the previous generation of Thunderbolt. It’s also an Ultra Durable motherboard, so expect Ultra Durable features and many more. Gigabyte opted for a simpler aesthetics with an all-black design paired with Gold highlights on its heatsinks. The surface of the PCB has matte finish giving it that premium and clean look. More details about the Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH from the official news release below.

Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH

The Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH Motherboard – First to Feature Thunderbolt 3

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is proud to be the first to bring Thunderbolt 3 to the desktop PC by launching the GIGABYTE Z170X-UD5 TH motherboard with support for the 6th Generation Intel Core processors.

Powered by Intel’s own Thunderbolt controller the new Thunderbolt 3 protocol, which is available over two USB Type-C connectors on the back I/O of the GIGABYTE Z170X-UD5 TH, brings an unprecedented single-wire bandwidth of up to 40 Gb/s — twice more than the previous generation of Thunderbolt! This incredible increase in bandwidth is also accompanied with support for different protocols such as DisplayPort 1.2 and USB 3.1, which is backwards compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, opening up a world of new possibilities.

Support for DisplayPort 1.2 makes Thunderbolt 3 a must have for any enthusiast. The Z170X-UD5 TH is able to support two displays in 4K resolution at 60 FPS or one display in 5K resolution. In addition, Thunderbolt 3 over USB Type-C has revolutionary industry-first features such as Power Delivery 2.0, and the ability to daisy-chain up to 12 devices thanks to the Z170X-UD5 TH’s dual USB Type-C ports.

Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH Thunderbolt 3 Motherboard-02

The GIGABYTE Z170X-UD5 TH packs in many features which will make your next PC the ultimate machine such as the cFosSpeed internet acceleration software over the Intel GbE LAN which will help deliver better network responsiveness and improve network performance. For optimum graphics, the Z170X-UD5 TH features support for multiple graphics cards in SLI or Crossfire configuration and includes GIGABYTE’s industry leading Ultra Durable PCIe one piece metal shielding, giving you the peace of mind knowing that your investment is protected. Additionally, GIGABYTE’s Z170X-UD5 TH supports the latest NVMe protocol over the M.2 connector which allows high-performance storage devices such as the Intel 750 Series U.2 SSD, with the use of GIGABYTE’s M.2 to U.2 adaptor, to perform at their best on your system.

As the undisputed leader of quality and durability, GIGABYTE has set out to show just how tough its motherboards are with the Ultra Durable line of motherboards. The GIGABYTE Z170X-UD5 TH features long lifespan Durable Black solid capacitors rated for 10K hours and exclusive GIGABYTE DualBIOS technology to protect your PC’s most crucial component. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable motherboards are for systems where failure is simply not an option.

Detailed specifications of the motherboard below.

Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH Thunderbolt 3 Motherboard-01

Price and Availability

Gigabyte hasn’t disclosed the manufacturer’s suggested retail price yet. But based on the pricing of the GA-Z170X-UD5, it may be priced around $200-ish USD.

Gigabyte Z170X-UD5 TH Specifications

CPU
  1. Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors/Intel® Core™ i5 processors/Intel® Core™ i3 processors/Intel® Pentium® processors/Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1151 package
  2. L3 cache varies with CPU

(Please refer “CPU Support List” for more information.)

Chipset
  1. Intel® Z170 Express Chipset
Memory
  1. 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 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.
  2. Dual channel memory architecture
  3. Support for DDR4 3800(O.C)/3733(O.C)/3666(O.C) /3600(O.C.) /3466(O.C.) /3400(O.C.) /3333(O.C.) /3300(O.C.) /3200(O.C.) /3000(O.C.) /2800(O.C.) /2666(O.C.) /2400(O.C.) /2133 MHz memory modules
  4. Support for ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
  5. Support for non-ECC UDIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8/1Rx16 memory modules
  6. Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

(Please refer “Memory Support List” for more information.)

Onboard Graphics Integrated Graphics Processor+Intel® Thunderbolt™ 3 Controller:

  1. 2 x Intel® Thunderbolt™ 3 connectors, supporting DisplayPort and Thunderbolt™ video outputs and a maximum resolution of 4096×2304@60 Hz
    * Because of the limited I/O resources of the PC architecture, the number of Thunderbolt™ devices that can be used is dependent on the number of the PCI Express devices being installed. (Refer to Chapter 1-9, “Back Panel Connectors,” for more information.)
    * Support for DisplayPort 1.2 version.

Integrated Graphics Processor+MegaChips MCDP2800 chip:

    1. 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160@60 Hz
      * Support for HDMI 2.0 version.

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Support for up to 3 displays at the same time
Maximum shared memory of 512 MB

Audio
  1. Realtek® ALC1150 codec
  2. High Definition Audio
  3. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
  4. Support for S/PDIF Out
LAN
  1. Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
    * The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with the M2H_32G connector. The PCIEX4 slot will become unavailable when an SSD is installed in the M2H_32G connector.
    (All of the PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)
Multi-Graphics Technology
  1. Support for 3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire™and 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ Technology
Storage Interface Chipset:

  1. 1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector
  2. 3 x SATA Express connectors
  3. 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
  4. Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
    * Refer to “1-9 Internal Connectors,” for the supported configurations with the M.2, SATA Express, and SATA connectors.
USB Chipset+Intel® Thunderbolt™ 3 Controller:

  1. 2 x USB Type-C™ portson the back panel, with USB 3.1 support

Chipset:

  1. 8 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)
  2. 5 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 1 port available through the internal USB header)

Chipset+GENESYS LOGIC USB 2.0 Hub:

  1. 3 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports available through the internal USB headers
Internal I/O Connectors
  1. 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
  2. 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
  3. 1 x PCIe power connector
  4. 3 x SATA Express connectors
  5. 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
  6. 1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector
  7. 1 x CPU fan header
  8. 1 x water cooling fan header (CPU_OPT)
  9. 4 x system fan headers
  10. 1 x front panel header
  11. 1 x front panel audio header
  12. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
  13. 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 headers
  14. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
  15. 1 x serial port header
  16. 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
  17. 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header
  18. 1 x power button
  19. 1 x reset button
  20. 1 x Clear CMOS button
  21. Voltage Measurement Points
Back Panel Connectors
  1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
  2. 2 x Thunderbolt™3 ports
  3. 4 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
  4. 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
  5. 1 x HDMI port
  6. 1 x RJ-45 port
  7. 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
  8. 5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
I/O Controller
  1. iTE® I/O Controller Chip
H/W Monitoring
  1. System voltage detection
  2. CPU/System/Chipset temperature detection
  3. CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed detection
  4. CPU/System/Chipset overheating warning
  5. CPU/CPU OPT/System fan fail warning
  6. CPU/CPU OPT/System fan speed control
    * Whether the fan speed control function is supported will depend on the cooler you install.
BIOS
  1. 2 x 128 Mbit flash
  2. Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS
  3. Support for DualBIOS™
  4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
Unique Features
  1. Support for APP Center
    * Available applications in APP Center may vary by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also vary depending on motherboard specifications.
    3D OSD
    @BIOS
    Ambient LED
    AutoGreen
    Cloud Station
    EasyTune
    Easy RAID
    Fast Boot
    Smart TimeLock
    Smart Keyboard
    Smart Backup
    System Information Viewer
    USB Blocker
  2. Support for Q-Flash
  3. Support for Smart Switch
  4. Support for Xpress Install
Bundle Software
  1. Norton® Internet Security (OEM version)
  2. Intel® Smart Response Technology
  3. cFosSpeed
Operating System
  1. Support for Windows 10/8.1 64-bit
  2. Support for Windows 7 32-bit/64-bit
    * Please download the “Windows USB Installation Tool” from GIGABYTE’s website and install it before installing Windows 7.
Form Factor
  1. ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm
Remark
  1. Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors’ website or 3rd party website.
  2. 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.
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Author
Peter Paul
Peter is a PC enthusiast and avid gamer with several years of hands-on experience in testing and reviewing PC components, audio equipment, and various tech devices. He offers a genuine, no-nonsense perspective, helping consumers make informed choices in the ever-changing world of technology.

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