Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master Review

Up Close – Yet More Detail

The bottom right has plenty of connectivity options for you. Front panel for the lifeline to your case is obvious, but there are also extra fan headers and an onboard reset switch for if you’ve pushed things too far.

  

Moving along we have two USB 2.0 headers, another fan header, and more RGB Fusion infrastructure headers. There is even a noise monitoring header should you want the system to base its fan speeds upon volume of noise rather than volume of air.

  

The IO panel is replete with all the latest technologies. For those of you with a sufficiently capable home networking setup there is a 10Gb Aquantia LAN as well as the 2×2 802.11ax WiFi 6E. All the USB ports are 3.2 too for maximum throughput. The old OC3D adage about the back panel telling you much about the motherboard placing in the tier rankings remains true here.

  

When you’re dealing with 19+1+2 105A SPS then naturally you need a hefty heatsink and the Aorus Master leaves nothing to chance. You could use this as an ad-hoc sledgehammer. It’s a monster.

  

An even closer look, if you wanted one.

  

First person to count all the fins wins our long-lasting admiration.

  

Even viewing it side on doesn’t lessen the visual impact. If you’re the type of person who wants to get a lot of heft for your money then you’ll be pleased with the efforts Gigabyte have gone to here.

  

The lighting on the Aorus Master is certainly subtle. Just a slender strip on the western heatsink seems to be your lot.