The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Gavin Bonshor on July 9, 2019 8:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE X570 Aorus Ultra
The GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Ultra sits in between the X570 Aorus Master ($359) and the X570 Aorus Pro WIFI ($269) in its current product stack. The X570 Aorus Ultra is however more similar to the X570 Aorus Pro WIFI in terms of feature set with a Realtek ALC1220-VB audio codec, an Intel I211-AT Gigabit NIC, while it shares the same three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots as its more expensive brother in the X570 Aorus Ultra. This model essentially takes some features from both the board above and below in the product stack.
There are three full-length PCIe 4.0 slots which run at x16, x8/x8, and x8/x8/x4. This means the X570 Aorus Ultra has support for two-way NVIDIA SLI and up to three-way AMD CrossFire multi-graphics card configurations. Also present is two PCIe 4.0 x1 slots, while the board also benefits from three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots which each comes with its own individual heatsink. For users not adopting M.2, there are six SATA ports which have support for RAID 0, 1 and 10 arrays. The four memory slots include support for DDR4-4400 and with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB. The aesthetics aren't as overbearing as the X570 Aorus Xtreme, but the rear panel cover which extends down to cover the audio PCB does feature integrated RGB LEDs.
On the rear panel is two USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 G2 Type-C, three USB 3.1 G1 Type-A and four USB 2.0 ports. A set of antenna ports for the Intel AX200 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface are present, and the single Ethernet port is controlled by an Intel I211-AT Gigabit NIC. The five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are controlled by a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec, while a single HDMI output is featured for users to use Ryzen APUs with integrated graphics.
The GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Ultra as previously mentioned takes shades from both the model below and above with the three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots of the X570 Aorus Master while keeping the same 12+2 phase power delivery of the X570 Aorus Pro WIFI model. With an MSRP of $299, the GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Ultra doesn't include a premium NIC and for the extra $30, the X570 Aorus Master does seem to offer its worth. Users do however have the choice to run with two PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, and the GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Pro WIFI at $269 for $30 less is also an option.
225 Comments
View All Comments
abufrejoval - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
It's amazing how quickly you run out of PCIe lanes, when you don't have switches to multiplex and translate between PCIe revisions and lanes (e.g. PCIe v4 x2 <-> PCIe v2 x8).I find myself using USB 3.x NBase-T NICs and NVMe adapters, simply because they *do* switch.
Bensam123 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Maybe a bit more depth on the power delivery page. I have absolutely no idea how to go about parsing what's there. More chokes is better? What denotes a power phase?A5 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
+1. Some analysis of that information would be helpful.MrSpadge - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
+1bunkle - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
The controller column includes the total number of phases supported split between CPU cores and SoC e.g. (6+1) = 6 CPU phase and 1 SoC phase. More is *usually* better but has diminishing returns regarding tighter and tighter voltage regulation. Some controllers are better than others (can operate at high frequency e.g. 500KHz v 1000KHz, include other features to improve performance) mitigating the need for more phases.Each phase is a buck converter comprised of a low/high side MOSFET (can be integrated in a single package) and choke. Some controllers can support doubling up the PWM signal to driver more MOSFETs. Doublers can also be added as discrete components if not built into the controller.
Current rating of the MOSFET (e.g. Sic639=40A IR3555=60A) indicates the total power deliverable. MOSFETs are not 100% efficient and vary in efficiency. The more current they provide the hotter they get and the less efficient they become, with better MOSFETs producing less heat for a given current. Thus using doubles can improve temperatures and efficiency without the benefits of the tighter voltage tolerance that *real* phases provide.
Hope that’s helpful!
bunkle - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
A lot more detailed explanation: https://en.wikichip.org/wiki/voltage_regulator_mod...bug77 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
The description for AsRock X570(M) Pro4 says "5 jack + 1 SPDIF". Unfortunately, those boards lack SPDIF and only come with 3 jacks ;)Smell This - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
I'm thinking the *ASRock Thunderbolt AIC* ...https://thunderbolttechnology.net/product/asrock-t...
would cover all your TBT peripheral needs, including optical.
DanNeely - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Do X570 boards still need an extra chip per USB port to support USB-C reversibility?The additional expense and needed PCB space were cited as among the reasons why earlier generation boards (IIRC both Intel and AMD) almost never had more than 1 C port; but it was never clear to me if that was an inherent implementation penalty for the C port or an artifact of Intel's tech stack being stalled out and AMD outsourcing to ASMedia which built the chipsets on an ancient (55nm) platform.
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Gavin - X370 and X470 only supported PCIe 2.0. The connection between the CPU and chipset was 3.0, but all the ports on the chipset were 2.0.