Board Layout

The Z490 AORUS Master features a black PCB matched with a black and gray I/O cover and heatsinks. There is a large aluminium backplate that adds rigidity to the board and offers an added element of cooling to the back of the VRM.


The CPU socket is open enough for most air coolers. The VRM features a finned heatsink design to maximize the surface area.


There are three M.2 slots on the Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Master. All three slots feature double-sided full coverage heatsinks.


The Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Master offers three steel-reinforced PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots. The board has a total of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports on the side, angled 90 degrees from the board.

The top M.2 slots as well as the top two PCIe x16 slots are PCIe 4.0 ready.


The Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Master has a good I/O offering that includes an optical S/PDIF out port, Wi-Fi 6, and lots of USB connectivity.

• 2x Antenna ports
• HDMI port
• Clear CMOS button
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports
• Q-Flash Plus button
• 4x USB 2.0 ports
• 3x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A port
• USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port
• RJ-45 LAN port
• Optical SPDIF out port
• 5x 3.5 mm audio jacks

Networking on the Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Master is handled by Intel's new 2.5 Gb/s controller. For wireless connectivity, there is an AX201 Wi-Fi 6 module.