Gigabyte X99 Gaming 5 (LGA 2011-3) Motherboard Review

Software Overview

The Gigabyte software utilities are helpfully centred around one main piece of software: the Gigabyte APP Center. On Gigabyte X99 motherboards the APP Center hosts the following utilities:

• @BIOS – a BIOS version checker and BIOS updater
• Ambient LED – the software which allows you to control the lighting effects of the various LEDs on the board
• USB Blocker – software that allows you to control what USB devices are allowed to connect
• Cloud Station & Cloud Station Server – Gigabyte’s go-to home cloud software that allows you to easily manage and access your files in a cloud-based way
• EasyTune – the application that allows you to overclock and tweak from within the OS
• EZ Setup – an application for easily configuring Intel utilities like Rapid Start and Smart Connect
• Fast Boot – a splash screen that enables you to enable or disable the Gigabyte Fast Boot function
• Game Controller – software to enable you to easily tweak and tune macros, mouse sensitivity and various peripheral input functions
• System Information Viewer – basically a summary of your system with some fan control options too
• Smart Time Lock –  a time-based PC locking mechanism, good if you’re building a PC for your kids
• Smart Recovery 2 – an automated backup utility
• V-Tuner – a GPU tweaking utility

For most people you won’t need all these software items, in which case you can easily uninstall (or not install in the first place) the unnecessary items.