GIGABYTE Intros X870E AORUS Master Motherboard

[btarunr]

GIGABYTE today debuted its AMD 800-series motherboards with the launch of the premium X870E AORUS Master. This will go on to be the company's second most premium product on this chipset, as the company is also planning the X870E AORUS Xtreme. The AORUS Master is still packed to the gills with everything this chipset has to offer, along with high-end onboard devices. The board is built in the ATX form-factor, and draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin EPS power connectors. It offers a 16+2+2 phase digital VRM featuring 110 A power stages. The board is laid out on a premium 8-layer PCB. You get tall extruded aluminium heatsinks for the CPU VRM, and the topmost M.2 NVMe Gen 5 slot.

The AMD Socket AM5 is wired to four DDR5 DIMM slots that support up to 192 GB of dual-channel DDR5, at speeds of over DDR5-8000. It also puts out no less than three M.2 NVMe Gen 5 slots. Two of these are wired to the dedicated x4 interfaces from the AMD "Raphael" or "Granite Ridge" processor, while one of them subtracts 4 lanes from the board's PCI-Express 5.0 x16 PEG slot. The board's fourth M.2 NVMe slot is Gen 4, and wired to the chipset. The only other expansion slots are a couple of PCI-Express 4.0 x16 (electrical Gen 4 x1). Besides the M.2 slots, you get four SATA 6 Gbps ports completing the board's storage connectivity.



USB connectivity on the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS Master includes two 40 Gbps USB4 that include DisplayPort connectivity from the processor, four 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2, four 5 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1, a two 5 Gbps USB 3.2 ports via a header, and a 20 Gbps USB-C front-panel header. Networking interfaces includes a 5 Gbps Ethernet driven by a Realtek RTL8251B, and a Qualcomm QCNCM865 WLAN controller that provides Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3.

The board's onboard audio solution uses a Realtek ALC1220 CODEC with audiophile-grade capacitors. This CODEC, in our opinion, is preferrable to something like the ALC4080, since it uses the HDA bus, compared to the USB 3.0 bus of the newer CODEC, and is more resilient to audio glitches caused by kernel tick mistiming with certain GPUs.

The company didn't reveal pricing.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[HBSound]

Will you offer an ITX version?
To directly compete with the Asus ROG STRIX X870-I GAMING WIFI?

 

[wNotyarD]

Will you offer an ITX version?
To directly compete with the Asus ROG STRIX X870-I GAMING WIFI?

GB didn't make any X670 ITX board, so I wouldn't bet on there being any X870 ITX of theirs as well.
Alas, only Asus did mini-ITX X-series boards for AM5. Asrock, like GB, only got B-series while MSI and Biostar none at all.

 

[HBSound]

GB didn't make any X670 ITX board, so I wouldn't bet on there being any X870 ITX of theirs as well.
Alas, only Asus did mini-ITX X-series boards for AM5. Asrock, like GB, only got B-series while MSI and Biostar none at all.

Thank you!

 

[csendesmark]

Why is so hard putting an actually 8× capable PCIe slot for the second card on a high end mobo?

 

[rv8000]

Why is so hard putting an actually 8× capable PCIe slot for the second card on a high end mobo?

I have a feeling more people would be populating m.2 slots for storage before using the secondary pci-e. With most motherboards having built in wifi, relatively good audio (or people using external DAC/AMPs), the only common use for the extra slot is for a capture card.

 

[Chaitanya]

I have a feeling more people would be populating m.2 slots for storage before using the secondary pci-e. With most motherboards having built in wifi, relatively good audio (or people using external DAC/AMPs), the only common use for the extra slot is for a capture card.

Faster NICs, video cards(capture and accelerators), etc... there are still a lot of things that need x4 slot of better. Shitsus has a castrated PCIe layout with only RoGarbage Hero board getting dual x8 slots and bifurcation with rest having slots that are shared with M.2 slots. MSI and Asrock might offer better options in that regard.

Already had posted about the board and with link to product page.

Noticed Gigabyte has quitely posted product page for their X870E Master and just like these Shitsus products quite stupid PCI-e configuration.

X870E AORUS MASTER Key Features | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ultimate platform for...

www.gigabyte.com

 

[csendesmark]

I have a feeling more people would be populating m.2 slots for storage before using the secondary pci-e. With most motherboards having built in wifi, relatively good audio (or people using external DAC/AMPs), the only common use for the extra slot is for a capture card.

From a B450 B550 B650 B850 mainboard with 16×+4×+4× slots would not bat an eye
This supposed to be a High-end board, not talking about ITX or mATX board of course, that is a different story...
Can't take anyone's cope seriously about this.
This solution is terrible

Trading the second 8× slot for two hot-as-hell m.2 slots just under your GPU block
While the second and third PCIe slots are on the second chip and one of them just PCIe v3.0

Brilliant!!!!

 

[Metroid]

I checked and rechecked, no difference from this one besides the usb4 https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X670E-AORUS-MASTER-rev-1x#kf

Now I wonder if the price will also be the same but I bet it won't, they will market it to charge a lot more. Rebranding 101 and yet charging a lot more, thieves.

 

[rv8000]

Faster NICs, video cards(capture and accelerators), etc... there are still a lot of things that need x4 slot of better. Shitsus has a castrated PCIe layout with only RoGarbage Hero board getting dual x8 slots and bifurcation with rest having slots that are shared with M.2 slots. MSI and Asrock might offer better options in that regard.

Already had posted about the board and with link to product page.

Doesn’t 1 lane of pcie 4.0 offer more bandwidth than a 10gb nic requires? Seems like a moot point when it would be a 4x1.

Consumer internet doesn’t normally exceed 2.5gb, most of these motherboards support that at a minimum. Some offer 5gb nics built in. The overwhelming majority of users will never require that sort of speed for home use, and if you’re a hyper specialized use case there are options. Seems like you’re making a big stink over absolutely nothing.

 

[Hail the Brain Slug]

Once again, gigabyte has made sure to place the cmos battery under the chipset heatsink, meaning you have to remove the motherboard from your case, remove the backplate, then remove the chipset heatsink to service it.

I wonder if they're still giving almost dead batteries pre-installed for your convenience, as well?

I checked and rechecked, no difference from this one besides the usb4 https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X670E-AORUS-MASTER-rev-1x#kf

Now I wonder if the price will also be the same but I bet it won't, they will market it to charge a lot more.

The X670E Aorus Master has only 2x CPU PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots and the other 2x are chipset pcie 4.0 M.2 slots. The third pcie slot is limited to only pcie 3.0 x2. It's got a 2.5GbE onboard nic. It also doesn't have a cmos clear button on the rear I/O.

Besides that, I don't see much difference.

 

[csendesmark]

Once again, gigabyte has made sure to place the cmos battery under the chipset heatsink, meaning you have to remove the motherboard from your case, remove the backplate, then remove the chipset heatsink to service it.

That battery will die way later than your warranty period expires, but still can be a pain in your @$$

 

[Hail the Brain Slug]

That battery will die way later than your warranty period expires, but still can be a pain in your @$$

My two X670E gigabyte boards that had dying batteries within 6 months ths would beg to differ. Still haven't replaced one because it's too much work to remove it from the custom loop to remove the motherboard from the case to service it.

 

[csendesmark]

My two X670E gigabyte boards that had dying batteries within 6 months ths would beg to differ. Still haven't replaced one because it's too much work to remove it from the custom loop to remove the motherboard from the case to service it.

Sorry to hear that, I never had a battery die on me, and I had several boards serving me more than 3 years
my current oldest is 13 years old and doing just fine

Also, the X870 chip mandates 10GBe and USB4
This board only supports 5GBe...

 

[Hail the Brain Slug]

Sorry to hear that, I never had a battery die on me, and I had several boards serving me more than 3 years
my current oldest is 13 years old and doing just fine

Also, the X870 chip mandates 10GBe and USB4
This board only supports 5GBe...

Source for 10GbE requirement? I've only seen USB4 and Wifi 7 as requirements for the new platform.

Granted, bios flashback was made a requirement for AM5 yet some designs ignored that requirement as well. Requirements only work as well as they are enforced.

 

[Chaitanya]

Doesn’t 1 lane of pcie 4.0 offer more bandwidth than a 10gb nic requires? Seems like a moot point when it would be a 4x1.

Consumer internet doesn’t normally exceed 2.5gb, most of these motherboards support that at a minimum. Some offer 5gb nics built in. The overwhelming majority of users will never require that sort of speed for home use, and if you’re a hyper specialized use case there are options. Seems like you’re making a big stink over absolutely nothing.

Unfortunately most 10Gbps NICs available are still running on older chipsets with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. Most users dont use faster NICs for Internet but for NAS on Intranet, its not a niche use case anymore where non-gamers are buying these products.

 

[Hail the Brain Slug]

Unfortunately most 10Gbps NICs available are still running on older chipsets with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. Most users dont use faster NICs for Internet but for NAS on Intranet, its not a niche use case anymore where non-gamers are buying these products.

The previous gen (X670E) slot layout was even less serviceable - PCIEX2 was 4.0 x4, and PCIEX3 was 3.0 x2. If you needed a capture card, thunderbolt card, usb 4 card, you needed to put that into the 4.0 x4 slot, leaving only the 3.0 x2 slot for a 10GbE nic - except most of the 10GbE AIC NICs available won't link at x2, only x1 or x4. So you are left with a hamstrung 8GT/s link for a 10GbE NIC.

 

[rv8000]

Unfortunately most 10Gbps NICs available are still running on older chipsets with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. Most users dont use faster NICs for Internet but for NAS on Intranet, its not a niche use case anymore where non-gamers are buying these products.

Even with a NAS, running plex, file backups, and so on, the average joe definitely doesn’t have the infrastructure to utilize that kind of network speed. It’s definitely a niche. Unless you’re running NAS, storing working files on the NAS and doing live video editing/scrubbing what kind of average user needs this or even has this?

Enthusiasts have a bad habit of thinking the majority of hardware deployed/used is anything but niche. I often do it myself.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I like how this board is all Asus ROG Strixx looking.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

They ditched the EATX form factor. I wonder if the X670E vairent wasn't popular due to that.

More likely to cut cost and charge the same lol.

I like the way this board looks better though.

 

[Tomorrow]

Faster NICs

Faster than the 5G included?

video cards(capture and accelerators),

Why would there be a second video card for capture? I could understand accelerators but this is not mainstream consumer territory.

etc... there are still a lot of things that need x4 slot of better.

In professional/enterprise space. Not in mainstream consumer space.

 

[claster17]

The X670E Aorus Master has only 2x CPU PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots and the other 2x are chipset pcie 4.0 M.2 slots.

Those two CPU M.2 slots are fully independent without the lane-sharing tomfoolery that is its successor.
Some would argue that X870E is a downgrade from X670E because of the mandated diversion of four CPU lanes towards USB4 which could have been used for a second CPU M.2.

 

[Tigerfox]

Unfortunately most 10Gbps NICs available are still running on older chipsets with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. Most users dont use faster NICs for Internet but for NAS on Intranet, its not a niche use case anymore where non-gamers are buying these products.

Marvell Aquantia AQC113 can be either Gen3x2 or Gen4x1.

 

[Sarajiel]

Will you offer an ITX version?

Why would you want a X870E (or X670/X670E) m-ITX board? You could put a chipset based M.2, a Wi-Fi card, a NIC, a TB4/USB4 controller, and 2 SATA ports on an m-ITX board running B650(E) today, if you wanted to.
Check out the B650I Aorus Ultra for comparison, and if that isn't expensive enough for you, check out the ASUS ROG Strix X670E-I Gaming Wi-Fi. It has the 2nd chipset on a daughter board just for the giggles of being expensive and using a TB4 controller.

Why is so hard putting an actually 8× capable PCIe slot for the second card on a high end mobo?

MSI X670E Carbon WiFi, Ace & Godlike, Asus X670E Crosshair Hero, both ProArts, or the Asrock X670E Taichi (Carrara) not good enough for you? If you want a Gigabyte board, you probably have to wait for the X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top (or whatever it will be called) which seems to be the only non-Asus board that supports x8/x8 lane splitting for 4-slot wide GPUs so far.
Since SLI is dead and Crossfire seems to be even too antiquated for AMD to list it as a feature, most folks are happy with their single RTX 4090, it seems. The MSI X670E Godlike seems to come with an SLI-license, though. At least it has the trademark for the license on the back of the board, but MSI doesn't list it as a feature. Maybe, if you still have a matched pair of RTX 3090 TIs, that board could be interesting for you, otherwise multi-GPU is pretty much dead in the consumer space.
If you seriously need more PCIe lanes for Prosumer or professional workloads, and HBAs, video I/O cards, etc., you always have the option to go for entry level workstation DIY with TRX50 or Xeon-W 2000 series...

I checked and rechecked, no difference from this one besides the usb4 https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X670E-AORUS-MASTER-rev-1x#kf

It's more like an B650E Aorus Master with the lane splitting of the B650E Aorus Pro X USB4, but with a 2nd chipset added for the PCIe x4 slot. Personally, I get why one wants TB4/USB4 on the general purpose PCIe lanes for external GPUs, but sacrificing x4 gen5 lanes for something that only uses the bandwidth of a single one is really disappointing.
To be completely honest, after looking at the block diagram, I'm tempted to get another B650E Aorus Master or an X670 Aorus Xtreme on sale just in case, than buying this thing at any point in the future.

Doesn’t 1 lane of pcie 4.0 offer more bandwidth than a 10gb nic requires? Seems like a moot point when it would be a 4x1.

Marvell Aquantia AQC113 can be either Gen3x2 or Gen4x1.

Afaik, the Marvell Aquantia AQC113 is the only controller that is capable of running at different lane configurations from x1 to x4, but it still costs an arm and a leg. The cheapest add-in cards I've seen so far are still €80 around my place. Funnily enough, Gigabyte figured that out for their TRX50 boards, which are surprisingly economic when it comes to the PCIe lane allocation.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

This board looks really nice from an aesthetic standpoint. Kinda surprised at the change in form factor from E-ATX to ATX. That said, I still might just go for an X670E Extreme over this new Master.