Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 (LGA 1150) Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

Gigabyte’s Z97X Gaming 5 motherboard retails for $144.99 at Amazon and Newegg in the USA, and £109.99 at Overclockers here in the UK. Gigabyte provide a 4 year warranty with this product in the UK and Ireland, in other regions a 3 year warranty is provided.

Summary

Performance across the Intel Z97 motherboard stack is hugely similar, something that should have become crystal clear from our Z97 reviews here at eTeknix. In the CPU & GPU department there is no significant difference at all, while in the memory department there is a little difference on the synthetic side but this doesn’t translate into the real world. Furthermore, even audio and networking performance are converging to similarity across all motherboard vendors. In the past audio and networking had been a point of differentiation but now all vendors are choosing similar NICs and audio codecs, even identical capacitors for the audio [and VRM on a side-note), meaning it is becoming harder for the end-user to answer the question: which motherboard should I buy? With all that said it thus comes down to two key things when deciding which motherboard to buy: value for money and features.

Gigabyte’s Z97X-Gaming 5 is a clear winner in the value for money department and is among the cheapest Z97 “Gaming” motherboards out. Even more impressive when you consider the black PCB, advanced audio & networking and total Z97 storage package of M.2 and SATA Express. The software didn’t inspire me hugely, which is one of those extra features that counts for more than it used to, but what Gigabyte offer is still better than the likes of ASRock, Biostar and ECS. Though I still hope Gigabyte take some of my constructive criticisms about their software onboard (excuse the pun) because it can be so much better. Gigabyte make up for the fairly uninspiring software with their brilliant dualBIOS, which is one of my preferred BIOS offerings for Z97.

In terms of extra or innovative features I find the Z97X-Gaming 5 is lacking: there’s nothing that sets this significantly apart from what ASRock and MSI offer if you factor pricing and aesthetics out of the equation. However, pricing and aesthetics matter. There’s no disagreeing with the fact that the Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 is a great value for money motherboard. For the more value conscious user this is a great choice for any Z97 build. For someone looking for something with more innovation, more extras…more “stuff”, then you’re simply going to have to spend more money. I’m sorry, that’s just the way it is.

Pros

• Excellent value for money
• Killer NIC
• High spec audio
• Has all the new storage standards
• 4 year warranty for UK buyers
• Excellent DualBIOS functionality
• Black PCB
• High quality VRM

Cons

• Lack of innovative features
• Fragmented software
• Tired red & black gaming branding

“Out of this world the Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5 is not, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t be bringing this into your world. With competitive pricing and a great hardware spec the Gaming 5 is a rock-solid choice for a budget-conscious Gaming PC.”

Thank you to Gigabyte for providing this review sample.