Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0 Ports
PS/2 Hybrid Port: Connection supporting either a PS/2 mouse or PS/2 keyboard.
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) Port(s): Universal Serial Bus (USB) port for connecting USB 3.2 Gen 1 and older devices (5 Gb/s).
Displayport Input for Thunderbolt: Connect a DisplayPort cable from your video card to passthrough to the Thunderbolt port.
WiFi Antenna Connector: Connection for WiFi antenna (included). Antenna must be connected to get proper reception.
Thunderbolt 3 Port: Thunderbolt 3 high speed data port. Also supports USB 3.1 or DisplayPort video output with adapter.
Gigabit LAN Port (RJ-45): RJ-45 plug for connecting to a wired Local Area Network (LAN) via Ethernet at up to 1000 Mbps.
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB 3.1) Port(s): Universal Serial Bus (USB) port for connecting USB 3.2 Gen 2 and older devices (10 Gb/s).
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) Port(s): Universal Serial Bus (USB) port for connecting USB 3.2 Gen 1 and older devices (5 Gb/s).
Audio Jacks: 3.5mm analog audio jacks for various input and output functions (see manual for more information).
Gigabyte GA-X99-Designare EX Rev 1.0 Schematic
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.
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.
Model: Gigabyte GA-X99-DESIGNARE EX V1.0
Specifications
| 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 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) | 5 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 (USB 3.1) | 1 |
| USB 3.2 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 Ports | 1 |
| Thunderbolt Version | 3 |
Internal Connections | |
| USB 2.0 | 2 (providing 4 ports) |
| USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB 3.0) | 2 |
| 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 (module sold separately) | 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) |
| Dual GPU Slot Spacing | 3-Slot |
BIOS Features | |
| UEFI BIOS | Yes |
| EZ Flash | Yes |
| OC Profiles | Yes |
Dimensions | |
| Height | 305 mm (12.0 in) |
| Width | 244 mm (9.6 in) |
