Gigabyte GA-Z270M D3H Motherboard Review

Verdict and Conclusion

For a low-end/budget motherboard, the Gigabyte GA-Z270M D3H performed surprisingly well. I was quite impressed with the XMP profile option in the BIOS. It actually works this time. Now my Crucial Ballistix DDR4-3000 ram can run at full DDR4-3000 (1500MHz) speeds, as intended.

What I like about this motherboard is the M.2 connector allowing you to add NVMe storage or Intel Octane memory. Most mATX motherboards I’ve seen don’t include it … you’ll only find them on high-end gaming motherboards. In addition, the Gigabyte GA-Z270M D3H is truely connected. It’s got connectors for PS/2 keyboard or mouse, a total of 6 x USB ports, USB-C port, Gigabit LAN and an array of connectors for HD audio. For video outputs, you’re fully covered too… you’ve got VGA, DVI and HDMI.

Now I know this a lower-end/budget Z270 motherboard, but I just have to mention a few things about the Gigabyte GA-Z270M D3H. Not sure why Gigabyte included PCI slots on a Z270 motherboard. I know it sounds great … allowing users to use old legacy PCI cards. But hey, come on … it’s 2017 and I’m not sure if there are any Windows 10 drivers for these old legacy PCI cards anyway. 

Oddly, Gigabyte also included headers for COM port, Parallel port and TPM … Errr, ok. Go figure!

And one last thing, there’s no DualBIOS or diagnostic LEDs, and no guard/protector for the PCIE or memory slots. This can be forgiven as it’s not a really gaming motherboard. The motherboard does offers multi-GPU support, but only for AMD Radeon Crossfire. Nvidia SLI is not supported.

Gigabyte’s Smart Fan 5 feature is pretty good use if you have standard cooling fans, as it allows the system to adjust the fan speed depending on your CPU temperature. Unfortunately, it is no good if you have a watercooling loop with the pump powered by the fan header. If you set it to AUTO, it does power the pump at all! You have to set it manual – period.

Don’t get me all wrong … at the end of the day, the Gigabyte GA-Z270M D3H is after all, a pretty decent motherboard. It does offer good performance, with the good overclocking abilities, and comes packed with tons of features. Now where on earth can you find all that on a micro-ATX motherboard?

You can buy the Gigabyte GA-Z270M D3H for around USD $120 from Amazon. At this price it’s one of the most affordable Z270 motherboard on the market. Buy now at Amazon – https://goo.gl/RQQUvu

Final words

If you’re after a budget Z270 motherboard that offers tons of features with decent performance, then take a look at the Gigabyte GA-Z270M D3H. I think this is one of only a few Z270 motherboards on the market, that actually comes with PCI slots and headers for legacy ports!