Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro Review

Conclusion

Please note this review was written prior to the AGESA F6b BIOS update. Our graphs have been updated to reflect the new results, but the text remains the same as the fast single threaded stock performance affects so few of our results and none of our overall opinion.

Please note this review was written prior to the AGESA update. Our graphs have been updated to reflect the new results, but the text remains the same as the fast single threaded stock performance affects so few of our results and none of our overall opinion.

It’s fair to say that the Zen architecture has been a roaring success for AMD. The combination of processors which genuinely challenge Intel for top of the pile, coupled to a suite of motherboards with a lot of modern features have flown off the shelves and restored balance to the universe. The first generation of Ryzen CPUs and the X370 platform was something of a proof of concept. It had a lot of good qualities but there was the feeling that AMD were slightly hedging their bets with it, particularly in light of some of their expensive past failures. The second Generation of Ryzen CPUs and the X470 chipset really refined the concept to the point that it was a serious choice for anyone wanting to run a powerful system on something of a reasonable budget.

The launch of the Zen 2 architecture and 3rd Generation Ryzen CPUs has taken that ethos a step further and, in some cases such as the test setup we use to test the X570 motherboards, moved ahead of the Intel offerings at the same price. The X570 not only comes with a raft of exciting features from heavy USB 3.2 Gen2 inclusion through the mighty bandwidth of the PCI Express 4.0 technology alongside memory speeds which finally match up to the performance of their processors. The partner vendors have also used this revised hardware to produce a range of motherboards which no longer look like the motherboard designs of old rendered in monochrome, but instead match blow for blow the smooth looks of the Intel equivalents. With almost every case on earth now sporting a side window at least the aesthetics are as vital as the performance. The one area it has been the cause of some consternation is that all this leading edge technology comes at a steep price in terms of parts which is then passed on to the consumer with the motherboard pricing being generally far above that which AMD users might be used to.

Gigabyte themselves have many models which have an eye-opening price point, but the model we’ve reviewed today, the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro, is much more in keeping with the pricing we’ve come to expect from the AMD platform, rocking up at £259.99. This means that if you use our test CPU, the outstanding Ryzen 9 3900X you can grab a 12 core 4.3 GHz CPU and the latest PCI Express 4.0 platform for a total outlay of £760. To put that into context the 12 core 4.4 GHz Intel equivalent – the Core i9-9920X – is £1250 for the CPU alone. That’s why even in the reviews of motherboards like the X570 Aorus Xtreme we’ve mentioned that the total motherboard+CPU price is about the same as the Intel even if the X570 motherboards might seem more expensive than their predecessors.

The X570 Aorus Pro though is very much an affordable option and to hit this low price point a few sacrifices have had to be made when comparing it to other Aorus models we’ve looked at. The Pro lacks the Intel WiFi 6 802.11ax, as well as a 2.5G RJ45 Network, and the aesthetics are still good, just not quite on a par with a model like the Aorus Master. The performance though is right up there amongst the bulk of the X570 motherboards. All of them seem very consistent with the gaps between the best and the worst being slender, and the Aorus Pro is often in the middle of the pack, although there are some results such as Blender, Realbench or Sony Vegas 16 Pro where the excellent memory performance we’ve seen from the Gigabyte Aorus range can bring its weight to bear and put the Aorus Pro right near the top of the charts.

If you’ve had your appetite whetted by the X570 chipset but felt the pricing was a little rich for your wallet then the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro should be right up your alley and the combination of performance and usability win it our OC3D Gamers Choice Award.

  

Discuss the Gigabyte X570 Aorus Pro on the OC3D Forums.