With the release of Intel’s Broadwell-E CPU, motherboard manufacturers are starting to release their refreshed X99 motherboards. Gigabyte’s G1 motherboards are geared towards gamers, and the latest addition to their stable is the X99 Phoenix SLI motherboard. This motherboard adds RGB LED lighting, U.2, dual Intel LAN adapters and built-in Intel WiFI. Gigabyte takes the refresh even further with the design and color of the heatsinks and the I/O shield. For so long we, as modders, have focused on the external look of the PC; hardware manufactures have started to release hardware that looks good on the inside as well. With the added features, the Gigabyte X99 Phoenix SLI is poised to make big waves in the enthusiast arena.
Packaging
The X99 Phoenix SLI is packaged in a black box with a brightly colored graphic that represents the RGB LEDs on the board and the name of the product is done in foil lettering. On the back of the box, Gigabyte goes into more detail on the features of the motherboard.
Opening the front flap, reveals the motherboard housed inside.
There are two boxes that need to be removed in order to gain access to the X99 Phoenix SLI motherboard. The first box is just the shell and contains the graphics and information on the motherboard. The second box is lined with a foam insert to keep the motherboard safe from damage. Under the motherboard you’ll find the motherboard accessories.
The accessories for the X99 Phoenix SLI include: user manual, quick installation guide, driver disk for both the motherboard and the wireless network card, (6) SATA cables, I/O Shield, one 2-way and one 3-way SLI connector, one RGB LED 4-pin extension cable, Velcro cable ties, a G connector, a 1-to-3 power connector, the WiFi antenna, door hanger, cable labels, and G1 case badges.
Specifications
CPU
Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors in the LGA2011-3 package
L3 cache varies with CPU
(Please refer “CPU Support List” for more information.)
Chipset
Intel® X99 Express Chipset
Memory
8 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 128 GB of system memory
* Support for up to 256 GB of system memory when using Registered DIMMs.
* Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed.
Support for 11ac wireless standard and up to 867 Mbps data rate
* Actual data rate may vary depending on environment and equipment.
Expansion Slots
2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2)
* For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16_1 slot; if you are installing two PCI Express graphics cards, it is recommended that you install them in the PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 slots.
* When an i7-5820K or i7-6800K CPU is installed, the PCIEX16_2 slot operates at up to x8 mode.
2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1, PCIEX8_2)
* The PCIEX8_1 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16_1 slot and the PCIEX8_2 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16_2 slot. When the PCIEX8_1/PCIEX8_2 slot is populated, the PCIEX16_1/PCIEX16_2 slot operates at up to x8 mode.
* When an i7-5820K or i7-6800K CPU is installed, the PCIEX8_2 slot becomes unavailable.
(All of the PCI Express x16 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)
1 x PCI Express x1 slot
(The PCI Express x1 slot conforms to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
1 x M.2 Socket 1 connector for the wireless communication module (M2_WIFI)
Multi-Graphics Technology
Support for NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ and 3-Way/2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ technologies
Support for AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ and 3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire™ technologies
Storage Interface
Chipset:
1 x SATA Express connector
6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0~5), supporting RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (sSATA3 0~3), supporting IDE and AHCI modes only
(An operating system installed on the SATA3 0~5 ports cannot be used on the sSATA 0~3 ports.)
1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 PCIe x4/x2 SSD support)
1 x U.2 connector
* When an i7-5820K or i7-6800K CPU is installed, the U.2 connector becomes unavailable.
USB
Chipset+Intel® USB 3.1 controller:
1 x USB Type-C™ port on the back panel, with USB 3.1 support
1 x USB 3.1 Type-A port (red) on the back panel
Chipset:
2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel
4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports available through the internal USB headers
Chipset+2 Renesas® USB 3.0 Hubs:
8 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)
Internal I/O Connectors
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
1 x PCIe power connector
1 x CPU fan header
1 x water cooling fan/water cooling pump header (CPU_OPT_PUMP)
2 x system fan headers
1 x system fan/water cooling pump header (SYS_FAN3_PUMP)
1 x RGB LED strip extension cable header
1 x SATA Express connector
10 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector
1 x U.2 connector
1 x front panel header
1 x front panel audio header
1 x S/PDIF Out header
2 x USB 3.0/2.0 headers
2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header
1 x Thunderbolt™ add-in card connector
1 x Clear CMOS jumper
Back Panel Connectors
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R)
1 x USB Type-C™ port, with USB 3.1 support
1 x USB 3.1 Type-A port (red)
6 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
2 x RJ-45 ports
1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
5 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
I/O Controller
iTE® I/O Controller Chip
H/W Monitoring
System voltage detection
CPU/System/Chipset temperature detection
CPU/CPU OPT/System fan (pump) speed detection
CPU/System/Chipset overheating warning
CPU/CPU OPT/System fan (pump) fail warning
CPU/CPU OPT/System fan (pump) speed control
* Whether the fan speed control function is supported will depend on the fan (pump) you install.
BIOS
2 x 128 Mbit flash
Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS
Support for DualBIOS™
Support for Q-Flash Plus
* The USB flash drive used must be a USB 2.0 flash drive.
PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
Unique Features
Support for APP Center
* Available applications in APP Center may vary by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also vary depending on motherboard specifications.
3D OSD
@BIOS
Ambient LED
AutoGreen
BIOS Setup
Color Temperature
Cloud Station
EasyTune
Easy RAID
Fast Boot
ON/OFF Charge
Platform Power Management
Smart TimeLock
Smart Keyboard
Smart Backup
System Information Viewer
USB Blocker
V-Tuner
Support for Q-Flash
Support for Smart Switch
Support for Xpress Install
Bundle Software
Norton® Internet Security (OEM version)
Intel® Smart Response Technology
cFosSpeed
Operating System
Support for Windows 10/8.1 64-bit
Support for Windows 7 64-bit/32-bit
Form Factor
ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm
Remark
Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors’ website or 3rd party website.
Most hardware/software vendors may no longer offer drivers to support Win9X/ME/2000/XP. If drivers are available from the vendors, we will update them on the GIGABYTE website.
Specifications are provided by Gigabyte and may change at any time without notice. For further information, please visit the product page located here