Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master X Review
Introduction and Technical Specifications
Introduction
Hopefully you have digested our initial coverage of the new Intel 14th Generation Processors and the updated Z790 motherboards. We’ve reviewed the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Pro X, and now it’s the turn of the Aorus Master X to get the OC3D treatment.
If you’ve already read our preview you’ll see how much the Aorus Master X offers. It’s a beast. Sitting only below the Xtreme in the Aorus range, that’s perhaps no surprise. As this socket is now on its third Intel CPU supported this might be the last hurrah of the LGA1700. Going all in will futureproof you for as long as possible. We’ve seen a lot of Gigabyte Aorus motherboards recently and just looking through the Master X, you can see they’ve applied all they’ve learnt to this PCB. The 105A 20 phases SPS power stage is a behemoth. It is kept cool with a Nanocarbon coated heatpipe and fin array. About the biggest heatpipe we’ve seen this side of an old Zalman passive cooler.
The IO section has as much connectivity as you can fit in the physical space. With more and more USB devices appearing you can never have too many connectors. The Aorus Master X makes sure you don’t run out. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s cast our eye upon the specifications and then check it out in the flesh before getting to our testing.
Technical Specifications
Certainly if what you want from your new motherboard is one that has all the best of the newest features in place, the Aorus Master X promises to keep you satisfied. WiFi 7 and a 10GbE LAN keep your networking requirements covered. Full PCI Express 5.0 support in slots and M.2 ensure you’ve maximum bandwidth on the storage and GPU side. Front and rear USB 20Gb/s sit alongside a Thunderbolt connector for the highest speed transfers. Plus the whole thing is built on Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable platform. That’s eight layer PCB with double copper. Lastly fan headers everywhere ensure you can keep even the hottest 14th Gen CPU cool. Or at least as cool as it gets.
