Gigabyte Announces X299 Aorus Gaming Pre-Order Specials (Updated)

Update, 6/26/17, 11:30am PT: Gigabyte has started to ship X299 motherboard pre-orders. The company also revealed the contents of the Xperience Pack it offered last week-- an Aorus Hoodie, a 1-Year subscription to Xsplit Gamecaster, LEDs from CableMods, a Limited Launch Edition Keyboard Mousepad, and Sennheiser CX3.00 In-Ear Headphones. Gigabyte said "each bonus item is critical to enhance elements of the Gigabyte X299 experience." Pre-orders should arrive sooner than later.

Update, 6/19/17, 11:30am PT: Gigabyte revealed that the MSRPs for the Aorus Gaming 9, 7, and 3 are $499, $399, and $279, respectively. The company has links to all participating retailers on the X299 pre-order page. It also revealed that pre-ordering will make you eligible for the "exclusive Xperience pack," which is purportedly worth $200, but it won't divulge the pack's contents until June 23.

 Original article: 6/16/17, 12:35pm PT:

Intel's X-series CPUs are coming, and if you want to take advantage of their multitudinous cores and threads, you'll need a new motherboard. Enter the X299 Aorus Gaming 9, 7, and 3 from Gigabyte, which announced that you can pre-order the new boards from June 19-25.

We covered Gigabyte's new X299 chipset motherboards back at Computex 2017, where the company showed off these Aorus Gaming models as well as several other products just raring for Intel's new X-series processors. Gigabyte has since offered some more information about the Aorus Gaming 9, 7, and 3, and the pre-order event will allow you to make sure you have one ready for the debut of Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X CPUs.

Gigabyte said in a press release that the X299 Aorus Gaming 9, 7, and 3 to be available from "many retail stores and online retailers." Those include Amazon and Newegg in the U.S. as well as NCIX, Canada Computers, and Memory Express in Canada. The company told us the promotion varies by retailer:

Purchasing from Newegg, customers will receive a HyperX Cloud Series Headset & $15 CPU bundlePurchasing from Amazon, customers will receive a $50 Steam code voucher.Purchasing from a Canada retailer (NCIX, Canada Computers, Memory Express), customers will receive a $50 CPU Bundle

There's a frustrating and continued lack of MSRPs. Gigabyte didn't share 'em at Computex, and a spokesperson told us that the company can't reveal the prices until Intel's embargo lifts, so it seems we'll have to wait until the event is actually live to learn more about how much these motherboards are going to cost. Unless you know you're going to want an X-series processor and you like the idea of getting a free headset, Steam Card, or CPU discount, you probably won't be able to decide if you want to scoop up one of these boards until June 19.

Not that Gigabyte is the only manufacturer slinging X299 motherboards. Asus revealed seven of its own at Computex, and MSI announced five more. Between these three manufacturers and their many different products, you certainly won't be hurting for options. (And yes, other companies are bound to announce their own offerings, too.) Still, it's probably worth keeping an eye on the pre-order website, which is currently counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until you can finally decide if you're ready to hop on to the X299 bandwagon.

Pre-order shipments will start on June 26.

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ProductGigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 9Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 3
SocketLGA2066LGA2066LGA2066
ChipsetX299X299X299
Form FactorATXATXATX
Memory Support16-lane CPU: Up to 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4-4333(OC)28- or 44-lane CPU: Up to 128GB (8 x 16GB) DDR4-4333(OC)16-lane CPU: Up to 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4-4333(OC)28- or 44-lane CPU: Up to 128GB (8 x 16GB) DDR4-4333(OC16-lane CPU: Up to 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4-4333(OC)28- or 44-lane CPU: Up to 128GB (8 x 16GB) DDR4-4333(OC
Audio- Realtek ALC1220 codec- TI Burr Brown OPA1622 operational amplifier- ES9018K2M chip- Support for Sound BlasterX 720°- High Definition Audio- 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel- Support for S/PDIF Out- Realtek ALC1220 codec- ES9018Q2C chip- Support for Sound BlasterX 720°- High Definition Audio- 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel- Support for S/PDIF Out- Realtek ALC1220 codec- High Definition Audio- 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel- Support for S/PDIF Out
LAN1 x Intel GbE LAN chip (10/100/1,000Mb) (LAN1)1 x Rivet Networks Killer E2500 LAN chip (10/100/1,000Mb) (LAN2)1 x Intel GbE LAN chip (10/100/1,000Mb) (LAN1)1 x Rivet Networks Killer E2500 LAN chip (10/100/1,000Mb) (LAN2)1 x Intel GbE LAN chip (10/100/1,000Mb)
Storage1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P_32G)1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2M_32G)1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2Q_32G)8 x SATA 6Gbps connectorsSupport for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 101 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P_32G)1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2M_32G)1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2Q_32G)8 x SATA 6Gbps connectors Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 101 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2Q_32G)1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P_32G)8 x SATA 6Gbps connectorsSupport for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
USBChipset+2 ASMedia USB 3.1 Gen 2 Controllers: 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 port available through the internal USB header1 x USB Type-C port on the back panel, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 supportChipset+Realtek USB 3.1 Gen 2 Hub: 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) on the back panelChipset+Realtek USB 3.1 Gen 1 Hub: 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports on the back panelChipset: 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports available through the internal USB headers4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports available through the internal USB headersChipset+2ASMedia USB 3.1 Gen 2 Controllers: 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 port available through the internal USB header1 x USB Type-C port on the back panel, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 supportChipset+Realtek USB 3.1 Gen 2 Hub: 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) on the back panelChipset+Realtek USB 3.1 Gen 1 Hub: 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports on the back panelChipset: 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports available through the internal USB headers4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports available through the internal USB headersChipset+ASMedia USB 3.1 Gen 2 Controller: 1 x USB Type-C™ port on the back panel, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port (red) on the back panelChipset: 10 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (6 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports available through the internal USB headers
I/O1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors1 x CPU fan header1 x water cooling CPU fan header4 x system fan headers1 x system fan/water cooling pump header1 x 3 Amp fan/water cooling pump header1 x digital LED strip extension cable header2 x RGB (RGBW) LED strip extension cable header3 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors8 x SATA 6Gbps connectors1 x Intel VROC Upgrade Key header1 x front panel header1 x front panel audio header1 x S/PDIF Out header1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 header2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers1 x Thunderbolt add-in card connector1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header1 x power button1 x reset button1 x Clear CMOS button1 x ECO button1 x OC button2 x temperature sensor headers1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors1 x CPU fan header1 x water cooling CPU fan header4 x system fan headers1 x system fan/water cooling pump header1 x 3 Amp fan/water cooling pump header1 x digital LED strip extension cable header2 x RGB (RGBW) LED strip extension cable header3 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors8 x SATA 6Gbps connectors1 x Intel VROC Upgrade Key header1 x front panel header1 x front panel audio header1 x S/PDIF Out header1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 header2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers1 x Thunderbolt add-in card connector1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header1 x power button1 x reset button1 x Clear CMOS button1 x ECO button1 x OC button2 x temperature sensor headers1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector1 x CPU fan header1 x water cooling CPU fan header4 x system fan headers1 x system fan/water cooling pump header1 x 3 Amp fan/water cooling pump header1 x digital LED strip extension cable header2 x RGB (RGBW) LED strip extension cable headers2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors8 x SATA 6Gbps connectors1 x Intel VROC Upgrade Key header1 x front panel header1 x front panel audio header1 x S/PDIF Out header2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers1 x Thunderbolt add-in card connector1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header1 x power button1 x OC button2 x temperature sensor headers1 x Clear CMOS jumper
Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

  • DocBones
    Hard to think of any deals that would justify not waiting till we see how well either Intel's or AMD's new systems overclock.
    Reply
  • No, thanks. Benchmark numbers are already out since NDA does not apply in EU and performance wise new Intel CPU ~ to Broadwell-E. This new platform is a joke.
    Reply
  • DaFees
    A couple of weeks ago EVGA announced their three offerings. Just wanted to point this out since it wasn't directly mentioned in the article only indirectly hinted at. https://www.evga.com/articles/01114/evga-x299-series-motherboards/
    Reply
  • adobepro
    Was a fan of Gigabyte until their boards moved over to manufacturing in China instead of Taiwan. My next build wont be exclusively Gigabyte like it was on all my past builds, I'll consider others now (since probably all have moved to China, except Asus, everything from Asus I've ever bought died within two years, wouldn't by from them no matter where they make it.) My SB i7 2600 lives on....
    Reply
  • JamesSneed
    19826026 said:
    A couple of weeks ago EVGA announced their three offerings. Just wanted to point this out since it wasn't directly mentioned in the article only indirectly hinted at. https://www.evga.com/articles/01114/evga-x299-series-motherboards/

    Yeah Im eyeballing that micro ATX board from evga. I have been disappointed by the micro ATX Ryzen boards.
    Reply
  • JonDol
    19834421 said:
    Was a fan of Gigabyte until their boards moved over to manufacturing in China instead of Taiwan. My next build wont be exclusively Gigabyte like it was on all my past builds, I'll consider others now (since probably all have moved to China, except Asus, everything from Asus I've ever bought died within two years, wouldn't by from them no matter where they make it.) My SB i7 2600 lives on....

    Never had HW from Gigabyte but I have 13 years old Amd 64 PCs with MSI and Asus MBs and they both are still working... I'm pretty sure my next MB will be a SuperMicro : they don't feature all the gamer gadgets like the consumer ones and they mainly lack the integrated audio but they have solid reliability. The integrated audio is hardly missing since I use high end external USB sound cards which I also share with my laptops. With SuperMicro you won't get neither the integrated water cooling parts as you have on some consumer MBs but that won't prevent one from installing its custom water cooling solution. In exchange you'll get a wide range of cool pro 'gadgets' like integrated SAS3 controller, single and even dual 10 Gbps ethernet, remote management with IPMI 2.0 and so on. And as a bonus, they don't suffer from the LED mania !
    Reply
  • JonDol
    These ones are for starters. The hardcore ones with integrated water cooling, 10 Gbps ethernet, Creative Labs audio, Thunderbolt 3 without add-in card, etc. will come (hopefully) later.
    Reply
  • JamesSneed
    19839419 said:
    Being myself a pc gamer only, X229 is nothing that interests me cause games do not profit from more than 4 cores.

    Google for benchmarks if you do not believe me :)

    These games all use more than 4 cores. As a gamer if you played these I would just snag a Ryzen 1700 and be done with it.

    Ashes of the singularity
    Battlefield 1 (64 player maps especially)
    Cities skylines
    GTA 5
    Witcher 3
    Reply