Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Firmware
The Z590 Aorus Master BIOS theme doesn’t look any different from the Z490 versions. The Aorus board still uses the black and orange theme we’re familiar with. We’ve captured a majority of the BIOS screens to share with you. Like other board partners, Gigabyte includes an Easy Mode for high-level monitoring and adjustments, along with an Advanced section. The BIOS is well organized, with many of the more commonly used functions easily accessible without drilling down multiple levels to find them. In the end, the BIOS works well and is easy to navigate and read.
Software
Gigabyte includes a few applications designed for various functions, including RGB lighting control, audio, system monitoring, and overclocking. Below, we’ve captured several screenshots of the App Center, @BIOS, SIV, RGB Fusion and Easy Tune.
Test System
As of March 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 10 64-bit OS (20H2) with all threat mitigations applied. On the hardware front, we’ve switched to all PCIe 4.0 components. We upgraded our video card to an Asus RTX 3070 TUF Gaming and the storage device to a 2TB Phison PS5-18-E18 M.2. Along with the hardware changes, we’ve also updated the games to F1 2020 and Far Cry: New Dawn. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted (typically during new releases). The hardware used is as follows:
| CPU | Intel i9-11900K |
| RAM | GSkill Trident Z Neo 2x8GB DDR4 3600 (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZN) |
| Row 2 - Cell 0 | GSkill Trident Z Royale 2x8GB DDR4 4000 (F4-4000C18Q-32GTRS) |
| GPU | Asus TUF Gaming RTX 3070 |
| CPU Cooler | Corsair H150i |
| PSU | Corsair AX1200i |
| Operating System | Windows 10 64-bit 20H2 |
| Graphics Driver | NVIDIA Driver 461.40 |
| Sound | Integrated HD audio |
| Network | Integrated Networking (GbE or 2.5 GbE) |
Benchmark Settings
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | Row 0 - Cell 1 |
| PCMark 10 | Version 2.1.2508 64 |
| Row 2 - Cell 0 | Essentials, Productivity, Digital Content Creation, MS Office |
| 3DMark | Version 2.17.7137 64 |
| Row 4 - Cell 0 | Firestrike Extreme and Time Spy Default Presets |
| Cinebench R20 | Version RBBENCHMARK271150 |
| Row 6 - Cell 0 | Open GL Benchmark - Single and Multi-threaded |
| Application Tests and Settings | Row 7 - Cell 1 |
| LAME MP3 | Version SSE2_2019 |
| Row 9 - Cell 0 | Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160Kb/s) |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 1.2.2 |
| Row 11 - Cell 0 | Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x264 (light AVX) and x265 (heavy AVX) |
| Corona 1.4 | Version 1.4 |
| Row 13 - Cell 0 | Custom benchmark |
| 7-Zip | Version 19.00 |
| Row 15 - Cell 0 | Integrated benchmark |
| Game Tests and Settings | Row 16 - Cell 1 |
| F1 2020 | Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080, TAA, 16xAF (Australia, Clear, Dry) |
| Far Cry: New Dawn | Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080 |
MORE: Best Motherboards
MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard
MORE: All Motherboard Content
