The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Gavin Bonshor on July 9, 2019 8:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE X570 Aorus Elite & X570 Aorus Elite WIFI
Sitting below the GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Pro duo is another pair of ATX models, the X570 Aorus Elite and X570 Aorus Elite WIFI. Both share the same PCB and core feature set which includes a 12+2 power delivery, two full-length PCIe 4.0 slots with support for two-way AMD CrossFire, and two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots. The only difference between the X570 Aorus Elite and X570 Aorus Elite WIFI is that the latter includes an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 802.11ax wireless interface, but for a slightly higher cost.
On the boards aesthetic, GIGABYTE has gone with a subtle black and silver theme with black power delivery heatsinks, and a silver and black X570 chipset heatsink which includes a cooling fan. This model includes two full-length PCIe 4.0 slots with the top slot running at x16, and the bottom locked down to x4 which is handled directly by the X570 chipset. The GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Elite also has two PCIe 4.0 x1 slots, as well as two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, with the top slot which comes with an M.2 heatsink. For users with SATA based drives, there is a total of six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays. The 12+2 phase power delivery is running from an ISL69138 PWM controller which is operating in 6+1; this model is one of just a handful to include one 8-pin 12 V ATX CPU power input for delivering power to the processor.
The rear panel of the X570 Aorus Elite includes two USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, four USB 3.1 G1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports. There's no USB Type-C available on this model, but there is a single HDMI video output, as well as an Intel I211-AT Gigabit NIC controlled Ethernet port. The onboard audio which consists of five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are driven by a Realtek ALC1200 HD audio codec. On the rear panel of the GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Elite WIFI is two antenna adapters for the Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax wireless interface and also adds BT 5.0 connectivity to the board.
The GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Elite has an MSRP of $199, while the Wi-FI 6 enabled version comes in with an MSRP of $209; that's $10 extra for the same board with an Intel AX200 802.11ax wireless interface. Both models represent a good feature set for a reasonable price, and users looking for a gaming-themed model with a seemingly decent power delivery and two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, both these models stake a good claim for good value.
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TheUnhandledException - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
Why on the last page would you label a section "3 or MORE M.2 Slots". I looked up all the boards in the section to find the one with four slots. All of the boards listed have exactly three m.2 slots. It isn't 3 or more m.2 slots. It is three m.2 slots.Sychonut - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
Great job Gavin!! This is impressive.umano - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
Can't wait for the new threadripper platformbinkleym - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
Given that several motherboards are having to remove features (RAID, graphical BIOS, user profiles) from the BIOS in order to fit the AGESA for Zen 2, it would be nice if motherboard reviews would start mentioning the size of the BIOS, so we can easily discern which motherboards are designed to be future-proof, and which ones are nickel'd and dime'd into early obsolescence.ballsystemlord - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
Spelling and grammar corrections (I did not read the descriptions of all the MBs):"...with that link consuming 4 dedicated anes from each chip."
Missing "l":
"...with that link consuming 4 dedicated lanes from each chip."
"Notably motherboard vendors have said that the upcoming 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X was the baseline for which the new VRM designs were validated against."
Missing comma:
"Notably, motherboard vendors have said that the upcoming 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X was the baseline for which the new VRM designs were validated against."
ballsystemlord - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
@Gavin Could you guys start adding a column of boards that have 6 or more PCI(e) slots, it seems that they've been getting fewer and fewer since M.2 came out?Thanks!
ballsystemlord - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
I mean total slots. Not any particular size.stux - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
In your “if you want thunderbolt 3” section, you really should mention the ASRock Creator. Otherwise the choices are water cooling specialist limited edition or ITX.peevee - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
Why "DDR4 support" and "memory channels" are listed in the chipset table? These are CPU features, not chipset features.BerserkZodd - Saturday, July 13, 2019 - link
I ordered an X570 Steel Legend and a MP600 Gen4 PCIe M2 drive. My motherboard is still being shipped but it looks like the heatsink that goes over top of the M2 slots is one big piece, meaning my very expensive m2 drive wouldnt fit under that. Can anyone confirm if that is in fact one giant heat sink or does the M2 part come off separate.