Introduction
Today we explore Gigabyte’s Intel Z87-based motherboard lineup…
Today, Gigabyte unveiled their Intel Z87-based board lineup to select members of the press at a live event from their headquarters in City of Industry, CA. Their Z87 boards are broken down into four series – the Extreme OC series, the Gaming Series, the Thunderbolt series, and the Standard series.
Intel Z87 motherboard lineup
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
New Features
Gigabyte includes both a new interface for their UEFI BIOS and a new power paradigm, dubbed Ultra Durable 5 Plus, into each of their Intel Z87 boards.
UEFI BIOS Enhancement
UEFI BIOS explanation
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
They also fully redesigned their UEFI BIOS interface to make it more customizable, easier to use, and to allow real-time feedback for settings changes.
UEFI BIOS Home Page
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
The UEFI BIOS Home Page is fully customizable by the end user. The user can place any setting or monitoring option from within the BIOS sub-pages on to the Home Page for easy access.
UEFI BIOS Overclocking Settings
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
Additionally, the user has the option to configure bus speeds and voltages in the BIOS with those settings enacted real-time. This makes for much easier board configuration without the need to reboot in between settings changes.
Ultra Durable 5 Plus
In addition to the UEFI enhancements, Gigabyte upgraded the power components for the Intel Z87 line from the previous generation boards, integrating better MOSFET and capacitor technology for cleaner power delivery.
All Digital Engine DirectFET MOSFETs
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
For the Intel Z87 board's power delivery system, Gigabyte chose to use International Rectifier (IR) DirectFET digital MOSFETs across all power zones on the board. Board power zones include the CPU, the CPU integrated graphics, the system memory, and the CPU integrated power circuitry.
Nippon Chemi-Con Black Solid Capacitors
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
In addition to the IR DirectFET MOSFETS, Gigabyte includes Black Solid Capacitors for the Intel Z87 board power needs. These capacitors, manufactured by Nippon Chemi-Con, are rated for 10,000 hour continuous operation without failure at a temperature of up to 105 degrees Celsius.
To my eye, the pcper image
To my eye, the pcper image overlay goes beyond its intended purpose and makes it very hard to see the boards in all their glory.
Hm, you think so? We can
Hm, you think so? We can make it more transparent next time around.
Thanks!
I have an IPS display (Dell
I have an IPS display (Dell U2711) and I have no problem viewing the boards once I zoom in. The logos seem plenty transparent to me.
A touch more
A touch more transparent….
Not too work friendly…..
Yes if you zoom in and use full screen…its fine
if you having a crafty look in work and you just cannot
zoom in (for obvious reasons) its a little in the way……
Nice to see the photo’s
Clearly you want to protect your hard work.
Not a big issue, just though I would make a coment…
Weaksause, Where’s the msata
Weaksause, Where’s the msata love at?
And I love the new design.
And I love the new design.
The logo should be in the
The logo should be in the corner
Nope, no it shouldn’t, it’s
Nope, no it shouldn’t, it’s too easy for other less reputable (They know who they are, yes I am looking at you, you less reputable site. lol) sites to crop out of the photo then and claim them as their own. Personally I think the watermark looks fine where it’s at.
10K hour special caps? My 5
10K hour special caps? My 5 year old Abit board has solid caps rated at 50K hours, I currently have 47K hours on it without a single issue.
Maybe they meant 100K hours, that’s more logical.
If you run your computer 24/7 you can rack up just shy of 9K hours alone.