Question 1

Is this the same board as the Rev. 1.0 Gaming 7 just without the Optane memory module?

Accepted Answer

From what I could tell they were the same.  The "-OP" indicates it includes the optane module with it.

Question 2

I know the Optane can be taken out, but is there anything in BIOS that needs to be changed/reconfigured (pre-build, no OS yet), or is physically removing all that needs to be done?  I intend to replace with Samsung 970 Pro M.2 NVME.

Accepted Answer

Out of the box the Optane isn't configured any special way, so you should be able to remove it and replace it at will.
Actually I will say this - if i recall, the default out-of-box config in BIOS is to boot off the optane. For me, I was porting over an OS already installed on an SSD, so I had to update some settings to stop booting off the Optane, but that was a quick and simple fix.

Question 3

If i got the 8086k prcoessor would I need a previous one to update the bios to F2 for it to work or is there any workarounds?

Accepted Answer

I have this board and the 8086k processor.  Everything worked fine with my build.  I did a BIOS update after some initial tests.  It worked fine through it all.

Question 4

Does anyone know if this motherboard supports 9th gen i9 9900k ?

Accepted Answer

Hello

The bios would have to be updated to support 9th gen processors

Question 5

GPU for this board?

Accepted Answer

Onboard video supported, if you want to use a discrete graphics card, you're going to have to take off the audio amp up plastic cover by removing two screws.  It was preventing cards from fully seating in slot 1. Otherwise, another great board from Gigabyte

Question 6

Do you think the problem you had with the Optane was because the m.2 slots share and disable the SATA connectors, and you mistakenly used those when connecting your SATA drive? (which by the way is a feature that every MB out there has with m.2 that I found). Don't get me wrong I'm not blaming but am looking at buying this and it seems like a good deal, but if you had issues with the Optane I'll just save a few bucks and just buy the board. Thank you.

Accepted Answer

Who had issues with the Optane? This question just appears as a question for all previous buyers of this board. I haven't tested the Optane yet, but it registers in the Bios and as a drive when I went to install Windows 10 Pro, which I installed on my Samsung 970 Pro m.2 drive. It took under 10 minutes to install, it's nuts! For those of us that remember the days when reinstalling Windows XP could take three hours, this is just crazy fast.

Question 7

What is the minimum PSU requirement for this mobo? Anyone know?

Accepted Answer

i am not sure of the minimum but i will suggest do not go under 500,  i am using a 650 and have no issues at all.  Hope this helps

Question 8

Are there any specific ways to install an nvme drive? Does the optane come in the board already? Is there anything that needs to be reset/cleared?

Accepted Answer

Here are my research notes for the process. Some features may not be present in BIOS.

Enable: 
UEFI Boot
M.2 Port Remapping
Intel Rapid Storage Technology

Disbale:
Compatibility Support Module (CSM)

The drive comes installed on the motherboard.

A word of warning if you plan to use Samsung NVME M.2 drives with the Magician software: The software will NOT recognize the Samsung drive unless the Optane memory/Intel RST software is uninstalled. This was a hindrance to setting up over-provisioning for my Samsung boot drive, so I uninstalled the Optane drive. My new computer build is so quiet that the magnetic hard drive is much noisier than everything else combined. In addition, the drive Optane was accelerating is new WD black and has a permanent tick. Point being, your mileage may vary.

Question 9

It says it has a connector for a Thunderbolt add-in card connector. Is this for thunderbolt 3? And is there a card that comes with it or is there a thunderbolt 3 card that works? I have a client who wants Thunderbolt 3 but I can barely find any hardware with it anymore. Also the illo of the board doesn't show the Thunderbolt 3 connector.  Anyone know?

Accepted Answer

Yes this has a thunderbolt connector on the board, and works flawlessly.
You will want to use this addon card manufactured by Gigabyte.  I use it for my Universal Audio Apollo 8 interface.

google search GC-ALPINE-RIDGE-rev-20

Question 10

Can i remove this OP Memory stick and put my samsung 970 evo m2  ?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can remove it.

Questions & Answers