It has been exactly two years since GIGABYTE transitioned their gamer-oriented motherboards from the G1-Killer Series moniker to the G1 Gaming Series. This change was not merely a rebranding, since they also got rid of the lime green accents and gun-related flourishes and replaced them with a more conventional black and red colour scheme. Thanks to a special focus on aesthetics, audio, and networking, the end result has been motherboards that have consistently been well-received by consumers and reviewers alike.

When it comes to current Gaming G1 Series motherboard, GIGABYTE's LGA1151 lineup ranges from the tiny Z170N-Gaming 5 to the flagship Z170X-Gaming G1, which retails for over $480 USD / $600 CAD. The GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming 3 that we are reviewing today retails for about $150 USD / $180 CAD, which makes it the most affordable ATX-sized Z170 model in this product line. This motherboard is positioned directly below the Z170X-Gaming 5 that we reviewed earlier. That higher-end model carries a roughly $15 USD / $40 CAD price premium and features certain extras like a DisplayPort output, a second gigabit LAN port, a nicer matte black PCB, onboard energy-saving and overclocking buttons, and debug LED display.

The Z170X-Gaming 3 features a 7-phase CPU power design, three steel-reinforced PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots with support for 2-way SLI or 3-way CrossFireX, three PCI-E 3.0 x1 slots, six SATA 6Gb/s ports or three SATA Express ports, and an impressive pair of full-speed M.2 connectors that support transfer rates of up to 32Gb/s. There are two high-speed USB 3.1 Type-A and Type-C ports courtesy on an Intel Alpine Ridge controller, up to seven USB 3.0 ports, and up to six USB 2.0 ports. There's also a gaming-oriented Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2201 gigabit LAN controller and its powerful Killer Network Manager utility. Those who plan on making use of Skylake's integrated graphics will be glad to see a solid assortment of DVI-D, HDMI 1.4, and VGA video outputs.