We have reached the end of the review, and it is once again time to consolidate everything into a few talking points. As standard practice, we will start with whom this motherboard is marketed for, then move onto features and concerns. Finally, we will conclude by putting everything into perspective and finish on a positive note.

First, let's place this motherboard in the product ladder, so it is easier to set expectations. The Gigabyte AORUS line covers entry-level to high-end enthusiast products. With the AORUS Elite AX being the lowest entry on the list. It is above the basic budget motherboard that would severely cut back on features as a cost saving tactic, but it also isn't catering to those who want a more feature-rich motherboard either. At the core, this is an entry-level enthusiast grade product that cuts back a little, but still provides a good user experience and quality components. The price point places this alongside ASRock Steel Legend, MSI Pro and ASUS Prime series offering simliar features.

Now that we have the motherboard placed relative to the competition, It's time to switch gears and talk about a universal problem AM5 owners will face regardless of the motherboard you purchase. For those who are not up to date to with all things AMD recently, the company has had some major bad press with users reporting the CPU's melting in the socket, destroying both the CPU and the motherboard. This due to unsafe voltages that were being auto applied with XMP/EXPO enabled, and was confirmed by Gamers Nexus replicating the steps to cause failure independently. While ASUS has been in the spotlight after being publicly shown to exhibit problems under certain conditions with some of their motherboards, they are not the only ones. In response to these findings, AMD is pushing out a mandatory AGESA update to limit SoC voltage. This also includes new warnings reminding customers that overclocking is not supported and will void the warranty.

Because of this, regardless of the motherboard vendor, it is highly encouraged to update the BIOS immediately. For this X670 AORUS Elite AX motherboard review, BIOS F8d was used and is seemingly without the risk of directly leading to a CPU meltdown by just enabling XMP/EXPO memory profiles. Therefore, this review and the following commentary is strictly based on that specific BIOS revision. That being said, memory support for higher speed kits is now a lot weaker due to the decrease of the maximum safe voltages deemed "okay" by AMD. Gigabyte is also being a little too safe now (opinion) as many dual-rank kits rated above DDR5-5200 will no longer work without manually adjusting the VDDIO_mem (CPU) voltage. Something that most users do not want to perform, or feel comfortable dealing with. The entire AM5 product launch was a bit of a mess and with the current problems at hand, it is Déjà vu to when early adopters of the first Ryzen CPUs in 2017 faced many memory compatibility issues. DDR5-6000 is still the optimal target, but also now comes with a lot of uncertainties.

We are halfway through the review and this where we now finally get to discuss the shortcomings of this particular motherboard. Going along with possible memory compatibility issues one may face, it is always nice to have some indication of where the system is in the boot process. Here, Gigabyte does provide four LEDs, one for each boot step, but a code-debugger is a much more desired option. With a readout, the common "Code 15" is seen first and related to memory training, each and every motherboard goes through, then next is a series of quick numbers and letters before finally booting. Without the code-bugger, you just get a red LED, that stays on until the next step. After a few minutes of waiting, it's safe to assume that something is amiss, but what exactly the hold up is will continue to be a mystery. During the memory compatibility testing for this review, there was an intense minute of holding my breath, hoping for a successful boot. It is superficial of course, but nonetheless, waiting for a single LED to turn off was not an enjoyable experience. Those confident in their troubleshooting tactics and/or who are not planning to run an aggressive memory or CPU overclock, should ignore this complaint. Having a code debugger isn't going to magically make things better, but it does help speed the troubleshooting process up slightly.

Next up is less of a complaint, rather something to point out. Just like every other motherboard on the market (it seems), the additional PCIe slots are not internally wired for x16, but give the illusion in the marketing material that they are. From a technical standpoint, it makes sense why these are not true PCIe x16 slots, because of the limited amount of PCIe lanes coming from the processor and or chipset. Website specification pages and motherboard boxes are often missing this critical information. Here, Gigabyte does everything correctly and labels these on the box and website. The Gigabyte X670 AORUS Elite AX second PCIe slot is wired for x4 Gen 4, while the third slot is actually x2 Gen 3. It is only slightly misleading on Gigabyte's part to have a full length slot that isn't actually providing x16 of bandwidth, as the average buyer may not know the difference. Still, Gigabyte looses no points here. Just worth pointing out what could be a misunderstanding.

The AM5 platform is expensive all-around, from the CPUs to the motherboards. Some of that "early adopter tax" has receded and will continue to as the platform matures. Potential buyers have five choices, starting at the X670E all the way down to the A620 chipset. The biggest difference is the amount of PCIe lanes available and if they support PCIe Gen 5.0. Any motherboard using the Extreme (E) chipset will have PCIe Gen 5 support. If PCIe Gen 5 support is wanted, the B650E chipset will be the cheapest option. Without the "E" designation, motherboards like this Gigabyte X670 AORUS Elite AX only support PCIe Gen 4. To some, the inclusion of PCIe Gen 5 is seen as a waste of money, due to no graphics card supporting this next generation or needing that much bandwidth (yet). There are certainly valid augments for or against early adoption of the newest technologies. What Gigabyte offers here with the baseline X670 chipset is all the benefits of the dual-chipset design that allows for more USB ports, SATA and PCIe slots for customers who just need more of everything. As a bonus, this motherboard does offer a single M.2 Gen 5 x4 compliant socket, which is routed to the CPU.

Gigabyte takes things one step further for user friendliness by staying within the more common ATX form factor. Because the X670 chipset design takes up precious real estate, the larger E-ATX size seems to be preferred, but comes with restrictions related to case compatibility. The X670 AORUS Elite AX also has spacing for a 4-slot graphics card, which is a nice addition. While these larger graphics cards will fit in all ATX motherboards, depending on the PCIe slot layout, often the second or third slot is partially blocked or covered up completely, rendering the motherboard useless for additional add-in cards. The spacing is just right here, leaving access to the second and third PCIe slot, while still having support for those extra thick graphics cards.

To wrap this review up, the shortcomings of the Gigabyte X670 AORUS Elite AX are few, due to having all the necessities one would expect of a motherboard in 2023. Something to note is the on-board audio solution, it is just the basics for today's standards. However, chances are that the onboard audio solution will go unused in favor of a wireless headset or USB DAC. Besides that minor flaw, this motherboard fundamentally has a disadvantage when looking at what the entire AM5 platform lifecycle will be. AMD will support this until at least 2025. In a few years, PCIe Gen 5 may become essential to the best gaming experience, or it may not. Don't let the FOMO get to you, but understand that this future upgrade path is less potent for non E (Extreme) motherboard variations.

What Gigabyte does offer is a solid product that serves the consumers of today. It has an adequate VRM built to accommodate overclocking (PBO) adventures for current or future CPUs. Paired with a beefy heatsink, Gigabyte knows the market and it can handle long periods of productively or gaming sessions without concern. As such, even though the X670 AORUS Elite AX isn't going to take home "best product" of the year award, it is still a worth consideration for that next build. Just understand the competition is fierce in this price range. Without a promotional discount, MSI, ASRock and ASUS offer motherboards that are worth a closer inspection as well. The Gigabyte AORUS series is overall quite good based around the motherboards we reviewed so far! If you are a fan of Gigabyte, there isn't a reason not to stick with what is considered an already good AMD X670 motherboard.