Gigabyte's Z97-HD3 Z97 Motherboard Is Running Well On Linux

As I wrote about when Intel launched the Z97 chipset earlier this month in preparation for the Haswell Refresh and Broadwell CPUs, the Linux compatibility for the new motherboards powered by the Intel 9-Series chipsets should be in good shape. One of the motherboards I have been testing since then is the Gigabyte Z97-HD3.

My full Linux review of the Gigabyte Z97-HD3 will be published in the next few days, but just wanted to share today that overall it's running great on Linux. As expected, there's no troubles with this Gigabyte motherboard and the new Intel Z97 chipset, as long as you're running a modern Linux distribution like Ubuntu 14.04.

On Gigabyte's web-site they only mention Windows 8.1/8/7 compatibility along with a foot-note about Linux, "Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors' website or 3rd party website." That's rubbish if you're using a modern Linux kernel, but at least it's better than their recommendation to use Microsoft Windows for fixing Linux problems.

Stay tuned for my Gigabyte Z97-HD3 Linux review in the days ahead. If you're looking for an Intel Z97 motherboard to buy right now for Linx use, you can find the GA-Z97-HD3 at Amazon.com. Clicking that link and buying from Amazon.com will also go to support Phoronix via the affiliate link. I've also uploaded a few benchmarks to OpenBenchmarking.org while the full Linux Z97 performance results will come with the forthcoming Gigabyte review.