Question 1

Will this allow you to do a RAID 0,1 between the two M.2 drives?

Accepted Answer

Yes.  The M2 drives are managed by the Intel controller which supports RAID along with sata3 ports 0 thru 5.  Ports 6 thru 9 however are controlled by asmedia and do not support RAID. (Two M2 drives in a raid 0 stripe should theoretically achieve the fastest access speeds on the consumer market today, the jury is still out on M.2 Vs. PCI-E, but both are controlled by the Intel z170 chipset so RAID is possible either way)

Question 2

I've installed two sticks of G.SKill TridentZ DDR4-3000  16GB x 2 memory onto my Gigabyte G1 Gaming motherboard.   The system boots and executes without a problem;  however both the BIOS and Windows 10 recognizes only 16GB of memory.   
Does anyone use this memory and have 32GB recognized?

Accepted Answer

Make sure you're putting them in alternating slots... both in the red or both in the black. don't put them side by side

Question 3

TweakTown praised this motherboard.  But also mentioned that the PLX chip could cause Latency in single-GPU setups.

"Since the Z170X-Gaming G1 has a PLX bridge chip, the PEX8747, the chip adds a bit of latency which is apparent when only a single GPU is used. While this is true about most boards with a PEX8747 (there are some notable exceptions), it is still a downside to using that chip."

My question: Is the Latency noticeable?  I would be buying this motherboard to use in a 2-GPU setup, but may one day upgrade to a new card.  (If the single-GPU Latency is apparent, I may just look at another motherboard.)

Thanks in advance.

Accepted Answer

The PLX chip's latency is barely worth mentioning. It will, MAYBE, hit you with a 1% loss in frames-per-second. So let's just say instead of hitting 138FPS, you'll run at 135-137FPS. No big deal there unless you're entering in a world record benchmarking competition. I always loved the PLX chip honestly. It can turn a good motherboard into a great one IMHO.

Question 4

what size case will fit this motherboard?

Accepted Answer

I have a Full-tower (Phanteks Enthoo Luxe) and it fits perfectly in it.

Any case that meets the specifications:
12.01" x 10.39"
It is an E-ATX motherboard (Extended)

Question 5

HI, this is a technical question relating to the M.2 and PCIe lanes.

I am planning on getting 2 x Nvidia GTX 980ti's in SLI and 2 x M.2 PCIe SSDs

If I were to populate both of the M.2 slots in RAID 0, how many PCIe lanes would that take up? How would that affect the SLI (if at all)?

Thanks

Accepted Answer

It will take up 8 PCIe lanes. This won't affect your SLI at all. The graphics slots get all 32 of their PCIe lanes from the CPU, multiplied by the PLX chip. The sata ports and m2 slots share theirs from the PCH. There's a table in the user guide, basically each M2 slot takes lanes from a sata port or two each.

Question 6

Finally got my build working on Windows 10 using RAID 0, using Samsung M@ 950's. Gave up on Windows 7.

Build components:

•Core i7 6700k
•Gigabyte Z170x gaming G1 motherboard
•32GB GSkill DDR4 3000 memory
•2 x Samsung 950 pro's (RAID 0)
•2 x MSI 980ti's Gaming 6G (SLI)
•Windows 10

The system boots in 3-5s after the bios check is complete.
 
I have two issues I am trying to resolve:
 
Issue #1: When I first start up my PC (on a cold start), after I push the power button, the PC comes on 1 second (can hear fans spinning and see the motherboard lights) and then goes off for 1-2 seconds and then the whole system powers up by itself!  Now, when pushing the power button after the system was shutdown from windows it powers up normally i.e. no brief power down then power up by itself.
 
Issue #2: I am getting hard lock ups during gaming and today when Windows was in desktop mode. I am trying to figure out if it's a driver issue or there is a power supply issue?
 
Any suggestions as to what might be going on and how to resolve would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks in advance for your time.

Accepted Answer

similar (Issue #1)
•Core i7 6700k
•Gigabyte Z170x gaming G1 motherboard
•16GB GSkill DDR4 3200 memory
•Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280
•Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card

Latest Bios  F7 made it worse
hope for answer.

Question 7

For anyone who has installed M2 SSD's. Can you please confirm which other SATA 6G ports are available and if the M2's are used with SATA drives, that the M2's still operatate in PCIE 4x?

Accepted Answer

It's all described in the manual.
http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-z170x-gaming-g1_e.pdf

Question 8

I can't decide between the ASUS MAXIMUS VIII EXTREME and this motherboard
What would you recommend?

Accepted Answer

I personally went with the gigabyte and have been very pleased. There are a few little nags for me, but overall it's a good board. Before you build a z170 board do look at some of the windows issues folks have been having with driver conflicts as windows and hardware support aren't there yet for us early adopters.

This board has more connectors for just about everything compared to the maximus, and though I'm waiting to convert to water cooling I like that it's actually got a built in loop on the G1.

Question 9

Hello! I am currently looking at the G1. My question is simple: I discovered this board G1 about a month ago, and it truly impressed me. My current rig is a Gigabyte EP45T-USB3P. I know, I know, this board is almost 8 years old. Hence, I am looking to build an entire new rig with this new Gigabyte board. However, when I was looking at this board, Newegg did not have a 6th Gen Core Processor, and a lot of people who own this particular board were chiming in.

First, how do I tell a 6th Gen Core i7 as opposed to a 5th Gen Core?  What processor were you using, and secondly, when I was looking at this board, I could not find a CPU cooler that was rated as an LGA1151 socket. What are you using on this board, both CPU and CPU cooler-wise? I can't find an LGA1151 cooler. I'd love to know as I am eager to purchase and build, but these boards are totally new, so I am at somewhat of a loss. Sorry to be a no0b, but any answers would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you!!! I look forward to any answers that anyone can provide.

Accepted Answer

The 6th Gen Core have part numbers that begin with i7-6####. They use the "Skylake" process technology.

You can find a cooler with a "LGA115x" compatability and it should work just fine.

Don't get the G1 motherboard if you aren't going to get the 6th gen core. This is a top of the line Z170 platform that was built specifically for the 6th gen core. You will have features on the motherboard that you will not be able to use if you get an older chip.

I purchased the G1 and i7-6700k bundle. I haven't finished building yet but I am incredibly impressed with the amount of features on the G1. Top notch networking, audio, overclocking capabilities, DDR4, two PCIex 16x lanes, or 4 PCIex 8x lanes. Awesome upgradability potential. I started with one GTX 980 TI graphics card, and I can add one or two more in SLI configuration later on when I need to upgrade.

Goood luck

Question 10

I would like to know if the various plastic coverings are easily removable?  Woukld like to apply custom paint.  Talking about the backplate/port area, chipset coverings, and sata port area.  Thanks.

Accepted Answer

Most of them are actually metal and not plastic. I haven't tried to remove them since they have water lines running through a few of them. I would imagine that with the metal supports on several of the sockets it would be kind of a pain though.

Questions & Answers