Published: September 30, 2024 | Source: Gigabyte | Author: Tom Logan

Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master Review

Conclusion

The Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master is the latest in a, now, long line of Gigabyte Aorus motherboards which tick a lot of boxes. We’re not going to sit here and pretend this is the type of motherboard that will be for everyone. That’s not really what Gigabyte are aiming for. If we had to use an analogy, this is a vintage wine in a Beaujolais Nouveau world. Both are excellent and will happily go with your meal. The vintage one, however, is more refined, with added depth, and a little classier.

All of which is our way of saying that we understand the X870E Aorus Master is performatively similar to the other new AMD motherboards we’ve reviewed today. It is, however, chiefly in the fine details that it makes its presence and desirability known.

Wherever you look there is high bandwidth and high quality. Like all of the X870E chipsets you get plenty of PCIe Gen5 M.2 slots – three in this case – letting you have the fastest storage around. The 5 doesn’t stop there as the LAN on the Aorus Master is a 5 GbE number rather than just 2.5G. Lastly the Smart Power Stage is made up of 16+2+2 110A Digital VRM. A beefy amount in any book.

Ease of Use

Our favourite elements have to be the EZ-Latch, EZ-Plug designs though. If you’ve ever had to install a M.2 drive with the screw and standoff arrangement you know how fiddly it can be. When you test as much as we do and change drives as often as we have to, it’s a nightmare. Gigabyte have solved that with a simple latch system that can be operated by one finger, and then put it everywhere. The M.2 heatsinks and the M.2 slots themselves are simple affairs to remove and reaffix.

Lastly, the Gigabyte Sensor Panel might not be in the mainstream yet, but if you have invested in one, or think your case could benefit from an extra screen, then the support for it built into the X870E Aorus Master will be just the thing. It would go well with the four (count them) ARGB headers for the Gigabyte RGB Fusion ecosystem.

With high end features matched by the high end price, the Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master is the perfect motherboard for those who want a system without compromise and wins our OC3D Enthusiast Award.