1. Home
  2. Build Your Own
  3. Motherboard
  4. Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0

Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0

Motherboard

[ Rear Ports ][ Schematic ]

Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0 Picture 41485Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0 Picture 41486Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0 Picture 41487Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0 Picture 41544Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0 Picture 41541
The Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX is an enthusiast-grade motherboard - and the first X99 board we have carried with native Thunderbolt 3 support. Like all X99 boards, it supports Intel's Core i7 and Xeon E5 processors. Eight slots are present for DDR4 memory, and it works with ECC Registered memory modules too (even though that isn't advertised by the manufacturer). Those are available in high capacities, allowing for up to 512GB of memory in total on the board.

A host of connectivity is provided: the aforementioned Thunderbolt 3 port, five USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.1 port, and one legacy PS/2 port. The Thunderbolt port can also work as a USB 3.1 Type C, if needed. For networking there are dual Gb Ethernet ports plus WiFi, and a full set of analog and digital audio connections are present as well. Internally it has 10 SATA connections, one M.2 slot, and two of the new U.2 ports.
William George (Puget Labs)
William George (Puget Labs) Says:
If you need Thunderbolt 3 on a PC, look no further! This is the first board we've carried here at Puget Systems with that type of connection, and it has taken us a lot of testing to find a board where it finally worked well. Thunderbolt is, by its nature, a combination of DisplayPort for graphics with PCI-Express for data - and getting that combination to work well is tricky on systems that are not tightly integrated (like laptops and Macs).

Because of the way that combo works, this motherboard has a DisplayPort *input*. You *must* run a short DisplayPort cable from the primary video card in the system to the motherboard in order for the Thunderbolt 3 connector to supply a video signal.

Also, please note that Thunderbolt 1 & 2 used a different shape connector - one similar to a Mini DisplayPort, rather than the Type C connector that Thunderbolt 3 uses. If you have an older Thunderbolt device it should work, but you will need an adapter cable to connect with the Type C port on this board.

Note: Puget Systems is actively qualifying the X299 platform, but we are committed to only bringing a product to market that is mature and reliable. If you are interested in X299, save a configuration here, with notes in the comment field at the bottom of this page expressing your interest in X299.

Model: Gigabyte GA-X99-DESIGNARE EX V1.0

Specifications:
spacer
Socket  2011-3
CPU Compatibility  Intel Core i7 Processors on LGA 2011-v3 Socket
Form Factor  ATX
Chipset Manufacturer  Intel
Chipset  X99
Front Side Bus  QuickPath Interconnect
Network Connectivity  Dual Gigabit Networking + 802.11 A/B/G/N/AC
Audio Controller  Realtek ALC1150 codec
Cooling System  Heatsink
Color  Black & White
Memory Support
Type  DDR4 ECC Registered
Maximum Speed  2400 MHz
Number of Slots  8
Maximum Size per Slot  64 GB
Maximum Amount Supported  512 GB
External Connections
USB 3.0  5
USB 3.1  1
USB 3.1 Type C  1
PS/2 Keyboard  Yes
Audio Out  Surround Sound (7.1)
Audio In  Line-In/Microphone
S/PDIF  Optical
LAN (RJ45)  2
Wireless Antenna Port  Yes
Thunderbolt  1
Thunderbolt Version  3
Internal Connections
USB 2.0  2 (providing 4 ports)
USB 3.0  2 (providing 4 ports)
SATA III 6.0Gbps  10
SATA Express  1
M.2 Connector  1
M.2 Support  Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 PCIe x4/x2 SSD
U.2 Connector  2
TPM  1
SATA Controllers
SATA III 6.0Gbps Controller 1  6 port - Intel X99
SATA III 6.0Gbps Controller 2  4 port - Intel X99
Expansion Slots
Slot 1  PCI Express 3.0 x16
Slot 3  PCI Express 2.0 x1
Slot 4  PCI Express 3.0 x16
Slot 5  PCI Express 2.0 x4 in a x16 size
Slot 6  PCI Express 3.0 x16
Slot 7  PCI Express 3.0 x8 in a x16 size
Additional Information
SLI Compatible  Yes
Crossfire Compatible  Yes
RAID Support  0,1,5,10 (Only on ports 0-5)
Bluetooth  Yes (4.0)
BIOS Features
UEFI BIOS  Yes
EZ Flash  Yes
OC Profiles  Yes
Dimensions
Height  305 mm (12.0 in)
Width  244 mm (9.6 in)

* The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16_1 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16_1 slot operates at up to x8 mode.
* The U2_32G_2 connector shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16_2 slot. When the U2_32G_2 connector is populated, the PCIEX16_2 slot operates at up to x8 mode.
* The M2_32G connector shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16_3 slot. When the M2_32G connector is populated, the PCIEX16_3 slot operates at up to x8 mode.
* The SATA_EXPRESS connector shares bandwidth with the PCIEX4 slot. When the SATA_EXPRESS connector is populated, the PCIEX4 slot operates at up to x2 mode.
* The USB 3.1 and the Type C ports on are not bootable as of BIOS rev. F4C



Manufacturer specs
Manufacturer
Specifications
setup screens
BIOS
Screenshots
Thermal Pictures
Thermal
Images
pictures
Product
Photography
Configure a custom workstation with the Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0.