Hello Gizcomputers, after a somewhat hectic January testing some motherboards and other devices, we continue our review of what are, according to the Gizcomputer team, some of the most interesting motherboards on the current scene. In this case we take a look at the Gigabyte GA-B150-HD3P, a motherboard that recovers the ATX format to bring us a very complete set of features at a very reasonable price. Let’s see what it offers us.
Design and construction of the Gigabyte GA-B150-HD3P.
The Gigabyte GA-B150M-HD3P is a motherboard that boasts the usual technology ULTRADURABLE, which includes various features in its manufacture such as a socket with high quality gold plated pins (15 micron gold), a high-quality and efficient anti-humidity, chokes and mosfets PCB, a separate audio circuit that isolates it from electromagnetic interference, and includes audiophile grade capacitors or various ESD (electrostatic discharge) protection systems on the rear connection panel .
It is a board quite similar to the Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H that we already talked about a few weeks ago, but with some small improvements such as one more phase in the power supply (6 in total) and a heatsink that now takes care of Refrigerate all the mosfets of the VRM, extending the useful life of the same.
Although the ventilation system is complete, with 3 4-pin connectors for the chassis, we still do not see in the manufacturer’s mid / low range a specific connector for water pumps, something that we hope they will include in their next generation of boards.
Processor and RAM support for the Gigabyte B150-HD3P.
There is no news in the compatibility of processors and RAM, and as in all the boards of the 100 series, we can install any processor Skylake under socket 1151 and RAM modules 2133 MHz DDR4 dual channel.
The Gigabyte B150-HD3P makes use of the B150 chipset, which belongs to Intel’s business range, with functions such as “Intel Small Business Advantage” and with a support for SATA, PCIe and USB ports that sits halfway between the H110 and the H170. We recover this couple of captures where you can do a quick review of the different chipsets of this manufacturer.
Chipsets for consumers.
Business-focused chipsets.
Gigabyte B150M Technical Specifications-HD3P.
Here is a summary table with all the technical details and extras of this motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-B150-HD3P
Compatible processors and format
Compatible Processors
Support for Intel i7, i5, i3, Pentium, Celeron processors with LGA1151 socket.
Format
ATX: 30.5cm x 21.4cm
Chipset
Model
Intel B150 Express Chipset
Storage interface
1 x SATA Express connector
* The SATA Express connector is not compatible with regular SATA devices.
6 x SATA 6Gb / s connector
1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector (Socket 3, M key, types 2242/2260/2280. Supports SATA and PCIe x4 / x2 / x1 3rd Gen)
Consult the manual for possible combinations of M.2, SATA Express, SATA, and PCI slots.
USB ports
Chipset:
6 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 port (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB connectors)
5 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports (3 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB connectors)
Intel USB 3.1 Chipset + Driver:
1 x USB Type-C port on the back panel, with support for USB 3.1
1 x USB 3.1 Type-A port (red) on the back panel
RAM memory support
Memory type / maximum frequency (official)
4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64GB of system memory
Dual channel memory architecture
Support for DDR4 2133 MHz memory modules
Support for 1Rx8 / 2Rx8 ECC UDIMM memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)
Support for non-ECC UDIMM 1Rx8 / 2Rx8 memory modules
Connectivity
Internal
1 x SATA Express connector
1 x parallel port connector
1 x Triple M.2 socket connector
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
3 x system fan connector
1 x CPU fan connector
1 x front panel connector
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
1 x audio connector on the front panel
2 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 connectors
1 x serial port connector
1 x Clear CMOS jumper
1 x S / PDIF Out connector
6 x SATA 6Gb / s connector
1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) connector
1 x Thunderbolt expansion card
1 x USB 3.0 / 2.0
External
6 x Audio Jacks (Center / Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Side Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
2 x USB 2.0 / 1.1 port
3 x USB 3.0 / 2.0 ports
1 x USB Type-C ™ port, with USB 3.1 support
1 x HDMI
1 x PS / 2 keyboard / mouse port
1 x D-Sub port
1 x DVI-D port
1 x RJ-45 port
1 x USB 3.1 Type-A network port)
Audio
Audio
Realtek codec ALC892
High Definition Audio
2/4 / 5.1 / 7.1 channels
Support S / PDIF output
LAN
LAN
Intel GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Sockets
1 x PCI Express x16 to x16 slot (PCIEX16) * If you are only installing a PCI Express graphics card, for performance
optimal, make sure it is seated in the PCIEX16 slot.
* The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with the SATA Express slot and the M.2 connector. When the SATA Express slot or M.2 connector is full, the PCIEX4 slot will work in x1 mode.
1 x PCI Express x16, to x4 (PCIEX4)
1 x PCI Express x1 slot
(All PCI Express slots conform to the PCI Express 3.0 standard)
3 x PCI slot
Integrated Graph
Integrated Graphics Processor – Intel® HD Graphics Support:
1 x D-Sub port, with a maximum resolution of 1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz
1 DVI-D port, supports a maximum resolution of 1920 × 1200 @ 60Hz
* The DVI-D port does not support D-Sub connection by adapter.
1 x HDMI port, with a maximum resolution of 4096 × 2160 @ 24 Hz
* Supports version 1.4a for HDMI.
Maximum shared memory: 1024 MB
Supports up to 3 displays at the same time
Others
Hardware monitoring
* Support for the fan speed control function will depend on the cooling system installed.
CPU / System fan speed detection
Speed control for CPU / System fan
CPU / System fan failure warning
CPU / System Overheating Warning
CPU / System temperature detection
System voltage detection
Special features
Support for Q-Flash
Supports Xpress Install
Support for APP Center
* The applications available in the APP Center may vary depending on the motherboard model. In turn, the functions supported in each application may vary depending on the specifications of the board.
Supports Smart Switch
@ BIOS ™
Auto Green
Cloud Station support
EasyTune
USB Blocker
Smart TimeLock
Fast boot
System information viewer
3D OSD
Smart keyboard
Smart Backup
BIOS
Supports DualBIOS ™
License to use UEFI BIOS from AMI
PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
2 x 128 Mbit flash
Supported operating systems
Windows 10 (64-bit)
Windows 8.1 (64-bit)
Windows 7 (64-bit / 32-bit) See this link.
Some notes on connectivity, audio and expansion.
Although we have already been able to see all the details of the Gigabyte GA-B150-HD3P, we would like to highlight some connectivity elements, where the support for practically any current standard stands out, and where we have a little used port SATA Express, a more interesting port M.2 with support for PCIe x4 Gen 3, USB 3.1 Gen 2 types a and c, Gigabit LAN connector with traffic prioritization and 3 video outputs, where we miss a DisplayPort port that supports 4K @ 60FPS (we stay at 24fps).
We have support for a very complete and fast storage system.
Conclusions, availability and price of the GA-B150-HD3P.
Some very cool software extras
As you can see, the Gigabyte GA-B150-HD3P is a very complete mid-range proposal in which we will only be limited when it comes to overclocking, but which otherwise offers us a good construction, a good design, a decent cooling and a support of very complete connectivity.
If we add to all this a price that can be found around 100 euros, we have a motherboard to take into account and more than suitable for multipurpose equipment. If by any chance you are looking for an even cheaper plate, you can always take a look at the Gigabyte GA-H110M-S2H from the same manufacturer.
8.3 Total score
Design and constructive quality
9
Feeding
8
Connectivity
9
Expandability
8.5
Ventilation (3- or 4-pin connectors)
8
Chipset performance
7.5
PROS
Good construction and circuitry.
Support for M.2 drive under PCIe NVMe Gen 3 x4.
Support for SATA Express.
Audio with separate anti-interference PCB and Japanese capacitors.
Quality / price ratio.
Suitable for Skylake.
More SATA ports than H110 boards.
Crossfire possibility (x16, x4 3.0).
2 PCI ports always4 available (except triple slot graphics)
CONS
With support for SLI it would have been perfect.
A DisplayPort output would have been more interesting than a VGA one.