Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro Preview

Introduction

When AMD released the first generation of Ryzen processors and the attendant chipset we spoke a lot here at OC3D about how pleased we were to find AMD back with a product range that was a genuine return to form. Instead of attempting to keep updating the ageing AM3 platform they made wholesale changes with the introduction of the AM4 socket and a much more modern chipset with all the features that you could demand.

We clearly weren’t the only people impressed by this massive upgrade to the AMD range as the Ryzen CPUs and Zen architecture sold in droves. Such was the rampant popularity of it that we quickly saw the release of the updated Ryzen processors, the 2nd generation, along with the X470 motherboards that introduced yet more features that hadn’t quite been squeezed onto the X370 release schedule.

The hardware world never stands still for long though, and since the launch of the Ryzen 2nd Generation there have been a few new technologies given the green light to hit the market, and with the release of the 3rd Generation of Ryzen processors comes a new chipset, the X570, which is so up-to date that it comes with a lot of elements yet to find their way onto Intel platforms.

As you would expect all the major manufacturers are gearing up with their X570 product launches, and whilst we can’t go into too much detail before the full launch in early July, we knew that we just had to bring you a glimpse at what you could expect.

Technical Specifications

The second motherboard in our preview batch comes courtesy of Gigabyte and is their X570 Aorus Pro. Whereas the Master, like the Extreme, had all of the latest technologies on board for the ultimate enthusiast, the Pro doesn’t diminish the important features whilst not making you pay a high price for elements you cannot take advantage of, such as the 2.5 GbE LAN or 802.11ax WiFi. It’s very much the mainstream offering. There is no compromise on the power delivery with a 12+2 phase IR solution. Just like the Master the Pro is equipped with the latest generation of Gigabyte heat sinks that combine a high thermal throughput heat pad and high fin density cooler. We’ll look at that in more detail on a subsequent page. There are also two M.2 slots, 3 PCI Express 4.0 slots and the latest USB 3.2 Gen2 for all your compatible devices.

  

Needing to keep everything cool is a key element when providing a smooth and consistent user experience. Anyone who has ever owned hardware which often got thermally limited or down clocked when the going got tough will appreciate the ability to both monitor your temperatures and also plug in enough cooling to keep even the most demanding setup sated with cool air. The Pro has 7 internal temperature sensors, 7 hybrid fan connectors letting you place your pump or high Amp fans wherever best suits your layout, along with two external temperature sensors letting you keep a close eye on other areas of your system.

  

Let’s see it in the flesh.