Consumers may still be confused as to how they feel about AMD’s Ryzen processors but the general consensus for the top-tier Ryzen 7 processors is that they are workstation powerhouses for less cost and with Intel holding a premium for their HEDT lineup, its easy why most professionals jump over to Ryzen. This may have been enough for Intel to violently react and release a wave of products to displace its HEDT (high-end desktop lineup), so much so that its mixing in the current mainstream products in their extreme platform socket.
As seen from our visit at GIGABYTE’s showroom at COMPUTEX, we have the flagship gaming motherboard from GIGABYTE, the X299 AORUS GAMING 9 and it is one decked-out piece of kit intended for extreme gamers looking to take advantage of the core count and performance advantage of intel. Read on!
Do note that we will focus solely on motherboards for this release as we feel the Skylake-X Core i7 7800X is not a good representative processor of the new family and we will reserve the review for this product in an upcoming article.
Intel Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X
It’s quite the stack for Intel this time around for their HEDT line-up and with Kaby Lake-X getting added to the mix, it certainly gets a bit more confusing. To start off, the Skylake-X family is the larger of the two with the bulk of the LGA2066 processors stemming from this family. The Skylake-X is then further subdivided by another tier, separated by release schedule to the ones that will be released later this month. For this month, the Skylake-X-based Core i7 7800X, Core i7-7820X and Core i9-7900X (6-, 8-, 10-core parts respectively) will be available on pre-order today and are schedule to hit retailers by June 26. These are joined by the Kaby Lake-X models the Core i5-7640X and Core i7-7740X, both of which are more consumer-oriented but the platform cost that X299 boards entail may offset that. Last up are the higher-end Skylake X processors which will arrive later this year (reportedly August) to combat AMD’s Threadripper CPUs. The Skylake-X’s new high-end parts include the Core i9 7920X, 7940X, 7960X and the Extreme Edition 7980XE (12, 14, 16, and 18 core parts respectively.) All Skylake X processors feature HyperThreading along with the Core i7-7740X while the lone Core i5 does not.
Why a Core i5 or the Kaby Lake X exist for X299 is a question we do not have the answer for and there are many inferences we can come up with, its best to reserve them once we have the chip on hand.
Features & Specifications
- Supports Intel® Core™ X-series Processor Family
- Quad Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 8 DIMMs, DDR4333+(OC)
- Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
- ASMedia 3142 USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-Câ„¢ and Type-A
- Front USB 3.1 Gen 2 Header
- 3-Way Graphics Support with Dual Armor and Ultra Durableâ„¢ Design
- Ultra Durableâ„¢ Base Plate Armor and Integrated I/O Shield Armor Design
- Server-Class Digital Power Design
- 127dB SNR AMP-UP Audio with High-End ESS SABRE 9018K2M DAC, LME 49720 and OPA1622 OP-AMP, WIMA audio capacitor
- Sound BlasterX 720°, the top-of-the-line audio engine solution for 4K gaming and entertainment
- Killer DoubleShot™ Pro and Intel® GbE LAN for the best gaming networking experience possible
- Killer 2×2 802.11ac Wireless – AC 1535
- RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone Digital LED Light Show design, support digital LED & RGB LED strips
- Swappable Overlay for Accent LED
- Smart Fan 5 features Multiple Temperature Sensors and Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP
- Triple Ultra-Fast M.2 with PCIe Gen3 x4 interface and Thermal Guard
- PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 Add-In Card with Thermal Guard
- NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 U.2 adaptor
- USB DAC-UP 2 with Adjustable Voltage
- Precise Digital USB Fuse Design for Stronger Protection
- Anti-Sulfur Resistor Design
- Ultra Durableâ„¢ 25KV ESD and 15KV Surge LAN Protection
- Lightning-Fast Intel® Thunderbolt™ 3 support by option AIC
- GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOSâ„¢ with Q-Flash Plus USB port
Unboxing
Closer Look
GIGABYTE isn’t new to experimenting with their boxart but the past few generations have seen them gradually step away from the big bold model name at the front to a more branding-inspired approach of their giant logo at the front. the X299 AORUS GAMING 9 is the same and is now a bit more distinct rather than the flat design it initially came in during the Z270 launch. The back of the box features a ton of highlights including RGB Fusion, ESS Sabre Hi-FI support as well as the obligatory feature breakdown for some of the inclusions on this board.
GIGABYTE really made a statement when they unveiled their LED lighting approach during the X99 days and the AORUS receives the same treatment but gets the more evolved RGB we’ve seen in newer products. The X299 AORUS GAMING 9 comes equipped with a lot of dense metal with its PCH, portion of its IO shield, expansion and DIMM slots all decked out with a touch metal. And they’re not just for some thin slab of metal, they’re actual chunks of aluminium treated with powdercoating so its got legit weight as well as quality to it. Its an structural integrity improvement as well as a touch of bling and its rounded out by the giant backplate for the motherboard.
A common trend for high-end boards nowadays is the inlcusion of a built-in I/O shield. The X299 AORUS GAMING 9 has LED-lit one like what GIGABYTE has done before and the I/O themselves comprise of a legacy PS/2 port, a couple of USB3.0 ports, two of which feature the GIGABYTE DAC-UP feature which offers smooth and better signals for DACs that allow cleaner and more crisper audio for discerning individuals. A USB3.1 Type-C is present but do note this is not a Thunderbolt port. We also have Type-A USB3.1 ports alongside the Intel and KillerNIC ethernet ports. Right below that are the antenna ports for the Killer WIFI and we have specialized gold-plated audio outputs.
We have 8 SATAIII ports for plenty of storage connectivity.
The GIGABYTE X299 AORUS GAMING 9 features a 12-phase CPU power design comprising of GIGABYTE’s signature IR-made digital controller for delivering server-class stability along with server-class chokes which GIGABYTE is boasting as being able to reduce unnecessary heating on unoptimal power designs.
A closer look at one side of the 8-DIMM slots on the motherboard. We can see the LED lighting as well as the metal retention brackets that line this motherboard. Fan headers are present on the upper edge of the board for convenience.
The PCIe expansion slots also get the LED treatment with their own metal retention mounts and LED lighting.
One of the great visual touch on this motherboard is the blending of this M.2 heatsink to the PCH. GIGABYTE’s M.2 heatsink covers for the X299 AORUS GAMING 9 are quite beefy and are a great touch even if you don’t have M.2 devices.
Here’s the audio area for GIGABYTE. There’s really not much to see here as more and more board cover up their audio components with a shroud. GIGABYTE does take the time to stamp the ESS Sabre Hifi branding in there as they are using an ESS 9018 DAC in the board. They’ve also done away with the user-replaceable OP-AMPs and are sticking to a digital solution.
RGB Fusion Lighting
There’s a lot of LEDs in this board and each group can be controlled via GIGABYTE’s own RGB fusion software. In our case, we use the G.Skill Trident Z RGB memories which are currently not compatible with RGB Fusion but GIGABYTE has stated to us that they are working on it. Compatible RGB memories are GEIL’s EVO X (via header), Corsair’s Vengeance LED, and ZADAK511’s elusive SHIELD memory. The I/O shroud and audio shield have a full-spectrum RGB lightbar which allows fluid lighting to flow through. The entire board lights including the I/O shield though are single color displays though but you can cycle through them and offer a vast array of colors for display as well as effects.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVgYIv4nNvJ/?taken-by=b2g.bossmac
Software
GIGABYTE’s notoriously gigantic suite of apps under its APP Center is a ton of bloat and really needs a unified system in managing everything. From EasyTune, @BIOS and a bunch of other software of more than 10 or so are under the APP Center and are completely hard to comprehend on what they do. GIGABYTE needs to address this and create a unified solution for most of their functions instead of relying on individual software with individual installations.
BIOS Gallery
The UEFI BIOS for GIGABYTE has been the most resilient over the years similar to both ASUS and MSI but have had experience issues in the past. In the X299 era, the interface is generally smoother and offers the same level of controls to board functions which are easily segmented into sections and sub-menus.
Performance Testing
Processor: Intel Core i7-7800X
Motherboard: GIGABYTE X299 AORUS GAMING 9
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4-3600 8GB x 4
Storage: WD Blue 1TB SSD
GPU: COLORFUL GTX 1080 Vulcan X OC
PSU: Seasonic P1000
Display: ViewSonic VX2475SMHL-4k
AMD Test Setup
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 1800X
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3000
Storage: WD Blue 1TB SSD
GPU: ZOTAC GTX 1080 AMP!
PSU: Seasonic P1000
Display: ASUS ROG PG27AQ
Note: Due to BIOS stability issues, the GIGABYTE X299 AORUS GAMING 9 is running at DDR4-2133 only. This will be updated soon.
Memory Benchmarks
Temperature and Power Consumption
We check to see how motherboard makers tune their default BIOS settings and see how it impacts temperatures and power consumption. The system is left to idle for 30 minutes before readings are taken and load data is taken 30 minutes while AIDA64 stress test is running. Power readings are taken for the entire system from the socket. Power draw for the entire system is captured for this test via an outlet wattmeter and temperatures via the brand software and confirmed with AIDA64 and Intel Extreme Tuning.
We’ll leave this here for reference and comparison only of the stock BIOS settings for voltages and such of the motherboards we have. As of this moment, brands are still refining their BIOS so we’ll save any final say once we feel they have matured their settings.
Conclusion
Teething pains hurt all platforms during launch and the same can be said with Intel’s new X299 boards. Brands have been wise enough to bring in last-minute BIOS updates to address problems but not all problems are screened the last minute. For the GIGABYTE X299 AORUS GAMING 9, we’ve experience compatibility issues with our memory of choice but we can confirm that quad-channel DDR4-3200 for the Trident Z works but the Trident Z RGB DDR4-3600 is something we’re coordinating with both G.Skill and GIGABYTE. GIGABYTE does have a memory compatibility list on launch which does not cite our kit. This should improve as more internal tests over at GB are done to improve things.
Still, we’re veering away from performance and focus more on features as of the past 2 generations of motherboard so breaking it down for the GIGABYTE X299 AORUS GAMING 9, as a gaming motherboard it does offer everything at the extreme end including high-quality build, excellent audio, support for multi-GPU and great looks which should be on every high-end gamers’ checkbox. Barring a few nitpicks here and there like the lack of a built-in U.2 connector or the crappy look (for me) of the I/O shroud, it’s a board which is hard to dislike.
The real concern here is the decision of GIGABYTE to pack the X299 AORUS GAMING 9 with lengthy x16 PCI-Express slots despite the position of board AMD and NVIDIA to forego anything higher than dual-card SLI / Crossfire setups so its quite a needless inclusion to go full length on those slots.
Overall, the decision to go “GAMING” on an expensive platform like X299 is a risk for GIGABYTE and while it is too early to call the future of the GIGABYTE X299 AORUS GAMING 9, its feature set, build quality and overall appeal is hard to put down and makes it the worthwhile X299 champion until the arrival of its true competitor, the ASUS ROG RAMPAGE VI EXTREME. During that time, GIGABYTE can further develop a true flagship for the SOC series or refresh the AORUS GAMING 9.
As it is, it’s a tough situation for the GIGABYTE X299 AORUS GAMING 9 as the status of X299 and Intel’s HEDT lineup is being challenged by AMD and Intel’s mainstream consumer offerings are a competition themselves which offer the same level of gaming performance in dual-GPU setups. That being said, the decision here ultimately lies in the processor and should you be hell-bent on going the X299 route for whatever reason, the GIGABYTE X299 AORUS GAMING 9 offers expansive features for both gamers and professionals and have incredible scalability for storage and add-on card expansions. Its a very flexible motherboard.
Price is yet to be announced. We’ll add in our thoughts on it once we get an official figure from GIGABYTE.
GIGABYTE backs the X299 AORUS GAMING 9 with a 3-year warranty. We give it our B2G Gold Award!