Introduction

The Z270X-Gaming 8 features a Bitspower designed chipset block, offering superior performance and support for Intel’s Kaby Lake processor line…

Introduction

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

With the release of Intel Z270 chipset, GIGABYTE unveiled its AORUS line of products. The AORUS branding differentiates the enthusiast and gamer friendly products from other GIGABYTe product lines, similar to how ASUS uses the ROG branding to differentiate their high performance product line. The Z270X-Gaming 8 is one of two "enhanced" boards in the AORUS product line, factory-customized with a Bitspower designed VRM hybrid water block. The board features the black and white branding common to the AORUS product line with the rear panel cover and chipset featuring the brand logos. The board is designed around the Intel Z270 chipset with in-built support for the latest Intel LGA1151 Kaby Lake processor line (as well as support for Skylake processors) and Dual Channel DDR4 memory running at a 2400MHz speed. The Z270X-Gaming 8 can be found in retail with an MRSP of $399.99.

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

GIGABYTE integrated the following features into the Z270X-Gaming 8 motherboard: four SATA III 6Gbps ports; two SATA-Express 10Gbps ports; two U.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 32Gbps ports; two M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 32Gbps capable ports with Intel Optane support built-in; two RJ-45 GigE ports – an Intel I219-V Gigabit NIC and a Rivet Networks Killer E2500 NIC; a Rivet Networks Killer 802.11ac 2×2 Wireless adapter; four PCI-Express x16 slots; two PCI-Express x1 slots; Creative® Sound Core 3D 8-Channel audio subsystem; integrated DisplayPort and HDMI video ports; Intel Thunderbolt 40Gbps support; G-Chill hybrid VRM water block (designed by Bitspower); and USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 Type-A and Type-C port support.

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

GIGABYTE partnered with Bitspower in designing the integrated cooling solution for the Z270X-Gaming 8 motherboard. The integrated VRM hybrid block, dubbed G-Chill by GIGABYTE, can operate with or without coolant. The block itself consists of a nickel-plated copper base plate, an acrylic top plate, a metal overplate, and a plastic cover to give it a unified appearance with the rest of the board components. The inlet and outlet ports are sealed with port covers by default, and are G1/4" threaded for use with any after-market water fittings currently available.

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

GIGABYTE integrated six zones of RGB LEDs into the surface of the Z270X-Gaming 8, including integrated into the rear panel guard, around the CPU socket, around the memory slots, into the audio chipset guard, around the primary and secondary PCIe x16 slots, and into the chipset cooler. The LEDs can be configured in up to eight pre-configured operation modes or configured for independent operation using the Advanced mode. GIGABYTE supports LED configuration via the UEFI or the RGB Fusion windows applet.

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Dubbed as Smart Fan 5, GIGABYTE included a variety of fan headers and temperature sensors on the Z270X-Gaming 8 motherboard. They integrated temperature sensors into the CPU socket, VRMs, and chipset. Additionally, there are monitored fan headers spread throughout the board's surface, all supporting high current devices (fans or water pumps) of up to 2A per header (24W).

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

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