Stefan Mileschin

Gigabyte rolled out the Z97-HD3P, its entry-level socket LGA1150 motherboard based on Intel Z97 Express chipset, and built in the ATX form-factor, with a width of just 19 cm. The board goes easy on overclocking-grade features, but doesn't leave out connectivity that makes the Z97 a successor to the Z87. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, and conditions it for the CPU, with a simple 4-phase VRM. The CPU socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and a single PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Other expansion slots include one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), and two each of PCIe 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI.

Storage connectivity on the Z97-HD3P includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, one SATA-Express port (drawing out two 6 Gb/s ports), and an M.2 10 Gb/s slot. Display outputs include one each of D-Sub, DVI, and HDMI. The audio solution is basic, 8-channel Realtek ALC887 driven, but features audio-grade electrolytic capacitors, and PCB ground-layer isolation, to reduce electrical noise. Modern connectivity includes six USB 3.0 ports (four on the rear panel, two by header). Legacy ones include COM and LPT by header, and PS/2 mouse/keyboard combo port. Expect a $100-ish price.

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