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The Gigabyte X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top is a powerful, feature-rich flagship motherboard with strong performance across the board. With the refreshed X3D version out, the steep price and lack of reginements make it worthwhile, but only if you can buy it at the refurbished price.
Reasons to buy
+
Dual 10 GbE
+
No lane-sharing conflicts
+
Robust power delivery
Reasons to avoid
-
Lacks the integrated display of other flagships
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‘Only’ four M.2 sockets (1x PCIe 5.0 x4)
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Last-gen (but flagship) audio codec
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Updated X3D version exists
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Gigabyte’s X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top has finally landed in our lab for testing. The AI Top has been out for a while now and is the pinnacle of AM5 motherboards for the brand. This version offers plenty of awesome things, but it also made some curious choices for a high-end motherboard. First, you get a premium product through and through. From the appearance to the features, there’s no doubt it’s a quality offering. And now priced at $599.99 for a refurb (but still over $1,200 from a 3rd-party seller new), it’s one of the more expensive ones new, as it’s no longer available in large numbers, given the newer X3D version.
The Xtreme AI Top comes with four M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0 x4) and four SATA ports for storage, dual 10 GbE ports and fast Wi-Fi 7, last-gen flagship-class audio, plenty of USB ports including 10 on the rear IO (two USB4 40 Gbps Type-C), and even has multiple DIY-friendly features (including screwless M.2 designs, to EZ Wi-Fi plugs) to entice you into buying. Using the latest BIOS, it also enhances X3D chips' performance by simply enabling an option in the BIOS, just like the more expensive X3D (read: refresh) boards - though you don’t get any of the updated features some may have. We do like how it looks overall, but we were surprised not to find an LCD screen on the VRM heatsink, as most of its peers had (and even on their original AM5 flagships).
Performance on this board using the latest BIOS (F12a with AGESA 1.3.0.0) was among the best we’ve seen. It’s this way because, by default (we only enabled Expo profile for the RAM; Expo AI Boost, and high bandwidth support were disabled), there’s some magic sauce in the RAM bandwidth, as you’ll see later, improving all facets of the AIDA64 testing rather significantly.
The increased bandwidth and slightly reduced latency improved some of our results, yielding some of the fastest times we’ve seen in Handbrake, and it did very well in gaming. In short, this board performs quite well across a wide range of tests and games, thanks to the bandwidth increase that seems baked in when enabling the Expo profile on the base kit.
Below, we’ll examine the board's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Gigabyte’s website.
Inside the retail packaging are a wide variety of accessories, including an inline USB DAC for audio and a small ~60mm fan to help cool the RAM. Outside of that, it comes with your typical collection of accessories, though it is a bit light compared to other flagship-class motherboards that come with additional add-in-cards (for more M.2), for example. See the complete list below:
The Aorus Xtreme AI Top looks the part of a premium motherboard, with only a small amount of the 8-layer PCB exposed. There’s a large, oversized heatsink with branded (Aorus) RGB, the only integrated RGB feature. There’s a large heatsink for the top PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket, with the model listed across the top. The bottom heatsink is a large plate that connects via magnets on the left, above the audio, and has a simple latch for removal. On top of it is the Aorus Falcon on a glossy surface. I was surprised not to see an LCD, since most of this board’s flagship competitors have one. That said, the newest iteration of this board, the Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top, does. So if you love the board and insist on an integrated screen, you’ll have to step up to the new one (and pay more than you'd pay for this one).
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Overall, we like the look, and it gives off the premium vibes you expect from a flagship-class offering, but it isn’t the standout of the group (that would go to the Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial we reviewed).
(Image credit: Future)
Zooming in on the front, we get a better look at the connector-free front side and how clean it looks. We won’t talk much about the VRM heatsinks (covered above), Focusing on the top half, starting on the left, we get a better look at the ‘polymo’-like RGB feature on top of the huge heatsinks. The VRM heatsink uses fins (with a ‘nano carbon coating’), a lot of mass, and a heatpipe connecting both to dissipate heat from the MOSFETs below. Between this and the MOSFETs below, you can run and overclock any compatible chip to its limit. The top has an infinity mirror look, which is cool, but again, I want a screen like the others at this price point. Above that are the two 8-pin EPS “UD” (Ultra Durable) power connectors for the CPU.
Just past the socket area to the right are the DRAM slots. Here, the two primary slots (A2/B2) use reinforcement, while all four have locking mechanisms on both sides to secure the sticks in place. Gigabyte lists support of up to DDR5-8800, which is plenty fast for the platform. We didn’t have any issues running any three of our kits, up to DDR5-8000 with an APU, as expected.
Above the DRAM slots are your first three (of 10) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports both PWM- and DC-controlled devices and delivers 2A/24W, which is plenty for fans and pumps. Control over the headers is handled by the BIOS, Smart Fan 6, or Gigabyte’s Control Center (GCC) software. Just to the right are a 4-pin RGB header (also controlled through GCC and the RGB Fusion Applet inside) and a 2-pin reset jumper. At the top right is the first 3-pin ARGB header.
Rounding the corner and working our way down the right edge, we first hit the “EZ Debug Zone,” which includes power and reset buttons (the latter a multi-key you can assign various functions), the Debug LED (four LEDs), and the 80 Port 2-character debug display. Between them, you’ll have a good idea of any issues that arise during the POST process and holding up getting into Windows. Next is the 24-pin ATX power connector for the board, another 3-pin fan header, a 2-pin temperature header (use the included thermistors), and the front HDMI output for easy installation of additional monitors (think an internal display for sensors or the like). Last but not least is the front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) connector.
(Image credit: Future)
Power delivery on the X870E Aorus Extreme AI Top consists of 22 phases, with 18 dedicated to Vcore. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) in the top-left corner, onto an Infineon XDPE192C3D 12-channel controller. From there, it moves to the 18 Infineon PMC41430 110A SPS MOSFETs. It’s a robust solution that will handle anything you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X, the recently released Ryzen 7 9850X3D (fastest gaming processor around), or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, even if you want to use extreme ( sub-ambient) cooling methods.
(Image credit: Future)
On the bottom half of the board, starting on the front-left side and under the plate heatsink, is the audio section. Gigabyte equips the Xtreme AI Top with a last-gen flagship Realtek ALC1220 codec and several audio capacitors (including the red WIMA). We’d like to see the latest generation on the newest boards, but this solution is perfectly acceptable for an overwhelming majority of buyers. The company also includes a USB DAC that connects your 3.5mm headphones to the DAC and Type-C to the PC.
In the middle of the board, under the heatsinks, are the four M.2 sockets. The top socket (M2A_CPU), with its own larger heatsink, supports up to 110mm devices and runs at PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps). Under the plate heatsink are three other sockets, each supporting up to 110mm modules. The top-most, M2D_SB and M2B_SB, run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) again, supporting up to 110mm devices, and connect through the chipset. I’m surprised we don’t see a second PCIe 5.0-capable M.2 socket on a flagship, and others do have five or more. This isn’t a problem for most users, but the count is comparatively short here.
Visible around the plate heatsink are three full-length PCIe slots. The top two connect through the CPU and are reinforced with their Titanium PCIe UD Slot X, which connects to the CPU. The top slot supports PCIe 5.0 x16 (also x8), while the second supports PCIe 5.0 x8. The top slot is your PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for your video card, and it also uses the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus to secure your expensive graphics card. Simply install the card, and it locks, then press the button to remove. Easy breezy. The bottom full-length slot connects to the chipset, supports PCIe 4.0 x4, and is used for expansion cards.
Moving right, past the chipset, the first item we run into next to the PCIe release button is a voltage read point. There are several holes in the PCB where you’d put a probe to read the voltage of multiple important things, including VCore, VDDIO, VDD MISC, and more. If you need accurate voltage readings for your overclocking adventures (or just for curiosity's sake), your best bet is to use these read points, as software can sometimes be inaccurate. Moving down, we see the four SATA ports, two more 4-pin fan headers, and a 19-pin front USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) connector.
We also captured some pictures of the chips Gigabyte uses on this board. We see ASMedia for USB, Infineon for PWM controller and MOSFETs, along with Realtek covering audio, PWM control, and USB. Networking duties are handled by Marvell and Qualcomm (for rev 1.0, Mediatek for rev 1.1).
At the bottom of the board are several headers offering typical connectivity for the location. There’s nothing really missing or worth a specific mention. Below we’ve listed all the connections across the bottom (rear) of the board.
Front panel audio
(2) 3-pin ARGB headers
Debug header
SPI TPM header
(3) 4-pin system fan headers
(2) USB 2.0 headers
USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header
4-pin fan header
Front panel
(Image credit: Future)
The rear IO on the Aorus Xtreme AI Top offers enough connectivity, including 10 USB ports. Starting on the left, we see the convenient Clear CMOS and Q-Flash Plus buttons (for CPU-less BIOS flashing), and next to that is the rear HDMI (v2.1) port for using the integrated graphics on most CPUs. There are two USB4 (40 Gbps) Type-C ports, six USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports (red), and two USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports (black). Next are the two Marevell AQTion 10 GbE ports, the Mediatek-based (or Qualcomm depending on board version) Wi-Fi 7 (5.8 Gbps) quick connect, and, finally, the audio stack comprising line out, mic-in, and SPDIF optical output. I would have liked to see more USB ports here, like the competition, but most users won’t need or miss them.
Why does every product needs to have the word AI in it? Apple didnt include the word AI in M4 or the M5 or the Neo series. And they are selling well. Maybe they know what the consumers want. MS included the word Co-pilot and most people hate it.
AI just gives you the feeling that its here to steal your job and harevst your data.
it does feel odd to review an out of date board and not the refreshed one that is available new.
can't say i have ever seen a recommendation only if you can buy a refurb but not new stock.
like most others, i get my hair in a tizzy when AI is thrown about all over the place. so i like to at least know what they are claiming is "AI" about it.
i am a big fan of GB boards and currently have an x570s Elite and Extreme model in my home builds. they seem to be the right mix of price/feature for me and those i build for. many of the other brands base models are much pricier than what GB offers for similar features. of course all the top end models are crazy expensive but they are not for the average user anyway.
