Leading Japanese capsule toy maker Tarlin International has announced an official collaboration with “the four major manufacturers” of the PC components industry. The teased result means that gachapon fans will be able to get their hands on tiny models of ASRock, Gigabyte, MSI, and Intel parts (plus fans, PSUs, and cases), accurate enough “that you can assemble and play with.” In 2026, PC building has become so expensive that perhaps Tarlin’s latest wares will fill an emotional vacuum in the market.

In the image above, you can see Tarlin has inked some kind of official licensing deal with ASRock, Gigabyte, MSI, and Intel. There’s already been four series of networking equipment gachapon launched by Tarlin, for some context.

As far as we can see from the social media posting, the new Tarlin gachapon series includes three branded miniature motherboards: the ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi, the Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite WiFi7 Plus, and the MSI MEG Z890 Ace. Premium stuff. Intel’s Core Ultra 7 270K Plus seems to be the only CPU choice. There are also case fans, a PSU, and a tower case for your minuscule components PC build.

Tarlin’s eccentric gachapon pedigree

Compared with gachapon rivals like Bandai and Takara Tomy, Tarlin has carved a niche, eccentric furrow in the industry. It has a reputation for turning everyday, mundane, or highly technical objects into accurate scale miniatures.

Examples of other incredibly niche Tarlin-produced capsules include its Temporary Toilet Series, a realistic Articulated Crayfish, and its series of Cisco rackmount network gear toys. In this context, it's “serious spec” PC component capsule toys, which are made to such exacting precision that they can be assembled to make tiny tower PCs, aren’t so unusual.

In 2024, we spotted a Japanese capsule toy machine filled with Intel CPUs. One gacha chancer acquired an Intel Core i7-8700 CPU after inserting 500 Yen (around $3.25) and twisting the customary knob.

Everyone is talking about next-gen OLED monitors at Computex, but there's a high-end LCD panel slowly creeping up with insane specs. MSI and Gigabyte have announced new 27" Mini-LED monitors featuring a native 5K resolution, enabling retina-level pixel density across 2,304 dimming zones that are further enhanced by a glossy coating. With dual- and even multi-mode support, along with a range of other features, these new monitors can genuinely rival OLEDs for certain use cases.

Both monitors use the same panel underneath (made by BOE), so they share identical specs for the most part. LG has already released its own model featuring this panel, but it has a matte coating instead. Glossy coatings are generally preferred for punchier colors and deeper blacks, and they can particularly help sell the illusion of pixel-level control with Mini-LED technology. But since Mini-LED monitors use IPS or VA panels, they've been almost exclusively matte... until now.

Let's start with MSI's offering, which is called the "MPG 271KRAW18." It uses a 27" Rapid IPS panel with a native resolution of 5,120 x 2,880, which comes out to 218 PPI and would be classified as "Retina" according to Apple. That means you won't be able to discern its individual pixels at regular viewing distances. At 5K, the monitor has a native refresh rate of 180 Hz that can be doubled to 330 Hz at 1440p, thanks to dual-mode support.

The Mini-LED backlight here consists of 2,304 dimming zones, up from 1,152 zone count limit we've seen for a long time. That allows for a DisplayHDR 1400 certification, meaning this monitor has a peak brightness of 1,400 nits. There's a quantum-dot layer in the LCD stack as well, which enables 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and an average Delta-E of less than 2, so it's ready for even professional work.

For connectivity, you get a full-fat UHBR20 DisplayPort 2.1 port for up to 80 Gbps of bandwidth. There's also 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB Type-C (with DP Alt Mode and 98W power delivery), 2x USB Type-A, 1x USB Type-B and a 3.5mm audio jack. The monitor has a bunch of AI features and support for Nvidia G-Sync. There's no pricing but MSI says the MPG 271KRAW18 will come out next year in January.

Moving on to the Gigabyte model, it's called the "Aorus FM275K16P" and it has the same base features and specs. The main difference lies in its unique multi-mode support. Unlike the MSI that can only switch between 5K and 1440p, the Gigabyte model has a third mode. By default, it's 165 Hz at 5K, but it can be overclocked to 180 Hz, then you can switch to 330 Hz at 1440p, or 220 Hz at 4K.

The HDR certification is also different; Gigabyte only advertises DisplayHDR 1000 but says the monitor can hit 1,250 nits of peak brightness. Lastly, the connectivity gets a boost because the HDMI 2.1 port also features eARC, which is incredibly rare on monitors. But the power delivery on the USB-C port drops to just 15W. Apart from that, we get the same 2,304 dimming zones and a glossy coating.

Each of those zones is made up of 4 LEDs, which means there are almost 10,000 LEDs behind the IPS panel. And they're really right behind it because the BOE panel has "0-OD" or zero optical distance, meaning there's no physical gap between the backlight and the panel itself. This helps with dimming, reducing blooming and halos while maintaining proper blacks that aren't crushed by an aggressive dimming algorithm.

Gigabyte has both a price and a release window for this monitor. The Aorus FM275K16P is supposed to launch sometime in Q4 2026 and will cost $999. That's around $200 cheaper than LG's equivalent, but still in 4K OLED territory. Current 4K-class Mini-LED monitors retail for around $500, but since these 5K models bring so many improvements together, it makes sense why they'd be expensive initially.

Lastly, it's important to mention that the Gigabyte model comes with a built-in upscaling chip that handles 4K to 5K upscaling on the hardware level, similar to LG. MSI has not spoken of dedicated silicon, but it does have AI-based upscaling features that work at the software level. We'll have to wait and see how either implementation fares in person, but for now, these monitors look like a robust overall package.

Gigabyte’s press event at Computex 2026 showed off a slew of new items, including a monster 1,600W power supply, new monitors, AIOs, keyboards, motherboards, graphics cards, and a whole lot more we won't list in this article.

On the motherboard side of things, one of the first things it showed off is the X870 Aorus Infinity, sporting a unique two-DIMM design with the socket rotated 90 degrees and the two DRAM slots running above it. This design allows for ultra-high DDR5 performance, reaching a blazing 11,400 MT/s with a low CL24 rating. The E-ATX board has several buttons for overclocking and looks like a virtual twin to their overclocking board, the X870 Tachyon Duo X Ice. Pricing and availability were not mentioned (for any item) at the event.

The real star of the motherboards is the X870 Infinity Next. This halo board has a unique appearance thanks to the advanced 3D metal printing technology used to design the heatsinks, which resemble the pores of lava rock (or even a sponge) more than traditional metal blocks. The rocket thruster-grade thermal materials boast up to 44% greater cooling surface area than traditional designs.

It’s not all about the looks and cooling, though. This board is built like no other, offering 64 power phases using newly designed MOSFETs with Quad OptiMOS technology MOSFETs supporting up to 5,120A total current (so 80A each), almost double that of the next highest motherboard. Additional details are scarce, but this has to be one of the freshest, coolest-looking designs I’ve ever seen on a motherboard. This board is not cheap to produce, over $3,000, so it will only be in the hands of a few fortunate souls when it moves to mass production. Sadly, we haven't seen the board in person yet, and we’ll add better photos of this beast later once we see it at their booth.

The next motherboard they showed off was the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood. As the name suggests, it’s an Aero X3D Wood, but with a darker-colored synthetic wood material for an elegant look and a real wood feel. Gigabyte also expanded the Stealth series (back-connector) motherboards with the world’s first gaming B850 MicroATX boards: the B850M Aorus Stealth and the Stealth Ice (white). Shrinking the boards down lets you get that stealthy, clean look in a smaller chassis, and if we’re lucky, they should cost less since they are based on the B850 chipset and are smaller. ALBM - Infinity GPUs

Last but not least, the Infinity cooling architecture found on the flagship Aorus RTX 5090 Infinity video card expands down the product stack. It is now available in RTX 5080, 5070 Ti, and 5070 flavors, keeping the same Windforce Hyperburst cooling design (said to deliver much more airflow than standard hollow-out and non-hollow-out cards), a hidden power connector, and a unique appearance compared to most that are simply cuboid. If you’re a fan of the wood look on the Aero boards, Gigabyte has you covered, also showing off the Aorus RTX 5080 Infinity Wood that takes the Infinity design and adds walnut ‘wood’ accents to match motherboards.

Gigabyte had a lot to show off at Computex 2026. While there was a new AI ecosystem, most of it was for consumers like us, which is nice to see compared to the AI-laden showcases at recent trade shows.

Gigabyte has unveiled a new line of Aorus Elite gaming monitors for Computex 2026, ranging from 27 to 32 inches. Three of the monitors feature fourth-generation Tandem WOLED technology, which helps to boost color and brightness output, while one includes a Mini LED backlighting.

There are actually two 32-inch models that were introduced: the FO32U24GP and the FO32U24G. The FO32U24GP features a dual-mode 4K panel with a native refresh rate of 240 Hz. However, when you flip the switch to 1080p resolution, the maximum refresh rate doubles to 480 Hz. You get a 0.03 ms response time, 99.5 percent coverage of DCI-P3, and 1,500 nits peak brightness.

For ports, you'll find DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR20) and HDMI 2.1 (eARC supported) connectivity. In addition, the FO32U24GP supports Gigabyte's Tactical Features, including the Tactical Crosshair, which dynamically changes color from green to red depending on the background. And given that this is an OLED monitor, Gigabyte includes a comprehensive suite of tools to increase panel longevity, including adaptive light control and burn-in protection mitigation.

As for the FO32U24G, it is the cost-optimized version of the FO32U24GP and lacks UHBR20 support, which enables 80 Gbps connectivity exclusive to Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards. This appears to be the only difference between the monitors that we can identify.

The FO27Q28G is in the same family, but as its name implies, features a smaller 27-inch panel. You'll get the same DCI-P3 coverage, response time, and maximum brightness rating as its 32-inch siblings. However, you lose dual-mode functionality and are instead presented with a 2560 x 1440 panel at a 280 Hz refresh rate.

The final piece to the puzzle is the FM275K16P, which is among a growing number of multi-mode monitors. While we are all familiar with dual-mode monitors, such as the aforementioned FO32U24GP and FO32U24G, tri-mode monitors offer even greater flexibility in resolution and refresh rates. The FM275K16P supports a 165 Hz refresh rate (180 Hz overclocked) at its native 5K resolution, 220 Hz at 4K, and 330 Hz at QHD.

The FM275K16P features Mini LED backlighting with 2,304 local dimming zones and peak HDR brightness of 1,250 nits. It also boasts 99.5 percent DCI-P3 coverage, HDMI 2.1 with eARC, and full-featured DisplayPort 2.1 ports that are UHBR20-compliant.

Gigabyte hasn't announced pricing or availability for this new crop of Aorus Elite gaming monitors.

Motherboard sales are collapsing amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI, causing prices for many major PC components to rise across the board during the past six months, with memory modules and storage drives leading the way.

Those shortages are being exacerbated by chipmakers like Nvidia, Intel, and AMD, which have reduced production of consumer chips so they can manufacture more AI processors. The AI infrastructure buildout is also causing shortages for Intel and AMD CPUs (and even high-end Macs), as interest in agentic AI rockets through the roof.

Because of this, users who lack deep pockets are putting off upgrading their PCs and holding on to their current devices longer. Motherboard manufacturers have begun to feel the effects of these delayed purchases, with Digitimes [machine translated] reporting that the four major firms are revising target sales downward.

Asus, which sold 15 million motherboards in 2025, has shipped only a little more than 5 million in the first half of 2026. The company will have to push hard to even move 10 million units by the end of the year, marking a 33% decrease in sales year-on-year. Gigabyte and MSI sold 11.5 million and 11 million motherboards last year, respectively. The companies have revised their internal forecasts for 2026 to 9 million (Gigabyte) and 8.4 million (MSI), a 22% drop for the former and a 24% contraction for the latter.

ASRock will be hardest hit by the situation: The company’s shipments are projected to fall by 37%, from 4.3 million in 2025 to just 2.7 million by the end of the year. This marks a contraction of 28% for the overall motherboard market, at least for the big four manufacturers.

AI’s demand for memory, storage, and processors is the primary driver for this drop in sales. Shortages that have been caused by their massive purchases have forced PC builders and enthusiasts to fight over a smaller pie of PC components, resulting in higher overall prices for these components.

Aside from this, AMD continues to use the AM5 socket for its latest processors, while Intel's Nova Lake, which will reportedly use LGA 1954, isn’t available until later this year. The situation is further compounded by Nvidia not releasing a refreshed RTX 50 Super series this year, while rumors claim that the RTX 60 series will not debut until 2028. This confluence of factors is discouraging PC builders from upgrading their current systems.

Despite this drop in sales, these companies aren’t exactly struggling. Asus, Gigabyte, and ASRock have pivoted some of their production towards AI servers, allowing them to capture some of the investments that hyperscalers are generously pouring into their data centers.

If you’re planning to build a completely new PC from scratch, you might be able to find good deals on motherboard combos, especially as retailers are keen on getting their inventories moving. Although these discounts might not be enough to offset the increased costs of memory, storage, and, to some extent, processors, it will at least save you a few dollars as you navigate the current chip crisis.

The Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X motherboard is the first of several Z890 refresh motherboards we expect will land on our test bench in the coming weeks. Hailing from the budget mid-range side of the tracks, the Duo X supports the latest and greatest Intel processors, including the newest Arrow Lake refresh chips in the Core Ultra 270K Plus and 250K Plus, as well as the original Core Ultra chips. In addition to native Arrow Lake Refresh refresh support, Gigabyte adds an “Ultra Turbo Mode” to easily extract maximum performance from your system (details on that later), and it's one of the first to be compatible with high-density CQDIMMs (Clocked Quad-rank Unbuffered Dual In-line Memory Modules - think high-density, high-speed modules).

The Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X ($279.99) comes well-equipped for a budget mid-range board. One of its primary differentiating features is CQDIMM compatibility, designed for high capacity and high speed, enabling 256GB (2x128GB) capacities and speeds up to DDR5-8000. With that much RAM, you typically need four sticks, and there’s no chance to run close to those speeds with four sticks, as it’s too much stress on your memory controller. So, for those who want or need higher RAM capacities, you can now have that and higher speeds. To be clear, Gigabyte doesn’t officially support CQDIMMs, but it does allow them to work with the Core Ultra CPU.

Outside of that, you’ll find five M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0) and four SATA ports for storage, Wi-Fi 7 and 5 GbE networking, a last-gen flagship-class audio codec, capable power delivery, 64MB driver BIOS, and several DIY-friendly features, including the M.2 EZ-Latch Click and EZ-Latch plus to secure your M.2 module and its heatsink. Finally, the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus lets you easily remove the graphics card with the push of a button. On top of the hardware, Gigabyte’s Ultra Turbo mode is said to increase performance by up to 40% (in specific situations) on Ultra 200S Series (K-SKUs) CPUs with a single click, and you can overclock through the BIOS or the AI Snatch software.

Performance with the latest BIOS (F2) is fine, at least compared to our Core Ultra 7 270K Plus review, where we had a couple of similar benchmarks and settings. The performance portion of the review focuses more on Intel 200S Boost and Gigabyte’s one-click overclocking presets than on comparisons with other boards at the moment. We really didn’t see much out of the 200S profile, but did see some worthwhile gains out of the Level 2 setting. We tried the ‘Level 3, Extreme’ setting, but our CPU wasn’t stable enough to complete the test suite (particularly Cinebench R26 or other heavily multithreaded tests). We’ll cover the details in the overclocking section.

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.

Specifications of the Aorus Elite Duo X

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging are several accessories to help get your system up and running. Gigabyte includes the typical fare: manuals, a quick-connect Wi-Fi 7 antenna, a Q-connector, two SATA cables, some pads for M.2 drives, and an Aorus sticker. There isn’t a lot here, but it isn’t lacking compared to similarly priced offerings from other board partners, either.

Design of the Aorus Elite Duo X

As for the looks and design, the multi-layer PCB is black with some grey lines around the socket, DRAM, and chipset areas to break up the monotony. It uses oversized heatsinks with a matte finish, and a plastic shroud above with a brushed-metal appearance. There’s also some Aorus branding on the shroud, backlit by a couple of RGB LEDs. The bottom of the board is covered with heatsinks on the hot spots, but nothing else (as expected for this class of board). The heatsinks here also sport a brushed-aluminum finish and more Aorus branding that bleeds over to the RGB-laden chipset heatsink.

In all, it’s a simple design aesthetic, fitting for its class, and it should look good with any dark-themed build.

Focusing on the top half, we get a closer look at the two VRM heatsinks and shrouds and see the two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) just above. Looking past the socket to the right, we then run into the two memory slots and Gigabyte’s D5 Duo X technology, which promises to deliver traditional 4-slot capacity with only two DIMMs and increased speeds due, in part, to direct path (skipping the middle slots) and zero signal reflection, according to Gigabyte. Listed memory support is up to a smokin’ fast 10,266 MT/s – and you can achieve that speed, but with lower-capacity DIMMs and a CPU with a better-than-average Integrated Memory Controller (IMC).

With the updated platform and chip, speeds have increased to DDR5-7000 without even overclocking the IMC. RAM isn’t cheap these days, and there isn’t an end in sight to the pricing madness. Performance will still be solid at slower speeds, but if you’re anything like me, running below the platform's maximum leaves me feeling uneasy, even if the performance difference isn’t typically much. Just be sure your use case utilizes the bandwidth before dropping more money than you need to on RAM and not getting the performance bump you expect.

Above the DRAM slots are the first two (of six) 4-pin fan headers; in this case, it's the CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT headers. Gigabyte balances output across all headers, with each capable of 2A/24W, which is plenty to support fans, AIOs, and even custom water loops. Control over the headers is handled through the BIOS, Smart Fan 6, or the Gigabyte Control Center software. Next to these headers is the 2-character debug display, which offers up codes during the POST process and provides details on where any potential problem may be.

Before we travel down the right edge, between that and the two DRAM slots is a chipset-connected M.2 socket (PCIe 4.0 x4 64 Gbps) that fits up to 110mm modules. We don’t often see M.2 in that area, but with the extra real estate afforded by using two RAM slots instead of four, you might as well add something useful here.

Down the right edge is the 4-LED debug (CPU, Boot, VGA, RAM). And like the ‘80 port’ debug above, it lets you know, at a high level, where the problem is when your system hangs in POST. Next are the 24-pin ATX connector for powering the board, the 4-pin FAN4_PUMP header, and the front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C connector.

Power delivery on the Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X has a total of 19 phases, with 16 dedicated to Vcore. Power is supplied to the OnSemi NCP81537 controller via the 8-pin EPS connector. From there it heads on to 16 OnSemi NCP307155 60 SPS MOSFETs. While the 960A isn’t a lot, it can easily handle the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, as well as the Core Ultra 9 285K. You can even overclock; just be sure to keep good airflow in your chassis, as the components here can get warm with sustained heavy use.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the left, is the audio section, which includes the previous-generation flagship Realtek ALC1220 codec and a mix of standard (yellow) and WIMA (red) audio caps. It’s a solid audio solution for this class of board, though I would like to see the newest codecs (Realtek ALC408X) on the latest boards.

In the middle of the board, between the M.2 heatsinks, are three full-length PCIe slots. The top slot sports an “UD” (Ultradurable) reinforced slot and features the company's PCIe EZ-Latch Plus button for unlocking and releasing your graphics card. The slot connects the CPU, runs at the full PCIe 5.0 x16, and is the primary slot for discrete video cards. The bottom two full-length slots connect via the chipset, and both support PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds, making them good for high-speed expansion.

Mixed in with the PCIe slots are four other M.2 sockets. The top socket, above the primary graphics slot and working with its own (puny-for-a-PCIe 5.0) heatsink, connects through the CPU and is the only PCIe 5.0 4 (128 Gbps) socket. It, like the others, supports devices up to 110mm. The three M.2 sockets below share the same heatsink, and all run through the chipset at up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. The bottom-most, M2M_SB, also supports SATA-based SSDs. These M.2 sockets and SATA ports support RAID 0/1/5/10 for additional speed or redundancy (remember, RAID is not a backup!).

Moving right, past the chipset heatsink, near a second source of RGB lighting on the right edge, is the 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector and the four SATA ports (supporting RAID 0/1/5/10).

We've also captured several images of the IC's used to make this motherboard work consisting of a mix of OnSemiconductor for power and Realtek brand networking and audio.

On the bottom of the board are a slew of headers. It offers your typical connectivity, with nothing 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
• 4-pin RGB
• SPI TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Thunderbolt AIC headers
• (2) 4-pin system fan headers
• Front panel
• 2-pin Clear CMOS
• 2-pin Reset

The rear I/O on the Aorus Elite Duo X offers enough connectivity and has a couple of buttons typically found on the motherboard itself. From left to right, we see those power and reset buttons, along with Clear CMOS and the Q-Flash Plus functionality. To the right is a DisplayPort output to use with integrated graphics. For USB ports, there are a total of 10: one USB4 40 Gbps Type-C port (that’s correct, USB4, not Thunderbolt 4), two USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports, and four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. Above the blue USB ports is the Realtek 5 GbE, and next to that, the quick-connect Intel Wi-Fi 7 (BE200NGW). Finally, on the right edge is the audio stack with two 3.5mm (mic and line out) and SPDIF out.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s updated “UC BIOS 2.0” also made its way to Intel boards, and, like the AMD counterpart, defaults to Easy Mode. It’s laid out logically, and displays a wealth of information about the system, including processor, RAM, fan speeds, and several selectable options, such as XMP profiles, RAM tweaks, Re-Size BAR support, Smart Fan 6 access, and more. The Aorus Elite Duo uses a black background with light blue accents and white writing, providing a high-contrast screen that’s easy to read, similar to the Aorus Stealth, but with a mountain lit up by the moon as a background instead of the Aorus branding.

All headings are still displayed across the top in advanced mode; they are now larger ‘buttons’ and can be easily selected with a mouse. The highlight bar (where you are on the page) is a light blue here and easy to see. Every option you need and want is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to drill down several layers to reach the most commonly used functions – especially if you populate your selections in the Favorites section.

Another feature is that the new 64MB BIOS includes a “DriverBIOS” function that preinstalls your Wi-Fi driver, so you can get online easily when you first boot. It’s a beneficial feature for Windows 11 25H2 users who need an internet connection to use their Microsoft account to install the OS.

Software

Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) is a one-stop solution for controlling various functions, including RGB and Fan control, hardware monitoring, and overclocking. It’s also helpful in finding, downloading, and installing driver updates for your system. It’s a simple application that does its job. It’s also a much cleaner tool than the previous App Center. It earns our approval for the breadth of functionality it offers users. There’s also the curiously named AI Snatch utility to help with AI overclocking.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (25H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late April 2026. On the hardware front, we’ve updated the RAM kits to ones appropriate for the platform. Peripherals, including cooling, storage, power supply, and graphics cards, remain unchanged. We also use the latest publicly available BIOS unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS:
• CPU - Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Renegade - 32GB DDR5-7600 CL38 (KF576C38RWAK2-32)
• RAM - G.Skill Trident Z5 CK - 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 (F5-8200C4052G24GX2-TZZ5CK)
• RAM - V-Color 256GB (2x128GB) DDR5-8000 CL64 (TECQ5128G80Q864K)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (25H2 - 26200.8037)
• NVIDIA Driver 595.97

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS then set the memory by enabling the XMP profile. If there are boosts enabled by the BIOS by default, it runs like that. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks and Real World Applications

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios. We’ve also combined our previous ‘timed’ benchmark applications into this section.

Since this is our first review using the Core Ultra 270K Plus CPU, we don’t have any direct comparisons with other motherboards at this time. We have several sitting in the lab ready for their chance to shine, and will populate the charts soon.

The results we do have match our 270K Plus review, so we know this motherboard performs fine; we just can’t compare it with anything in this, our first review with the new processor and updated benchmarks.

Intel’s baked-in 200S turbo didn’t yield much improvement in our testing suite, but using Gigabyte’s “Level 2” overclocking did see minor gains across the board. The “Level 3” extreme setting wasn’t stable with our CPU. In fact, it couldn’t handle any multi-threaded applications we run and didn’t complete any long-running benchmarks (think Cinebench R26's single-thread test). So if you’re going to use this functionality, Level 2 is your goldilocks setting unless you have a better overclocking CPU than we do.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Arrow Lake refresh chips, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 25. We’ll continue with the ever-popular and aesthetically pleasing Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed in the table above). Both games are set to use DLSS (previously, only used in Cyberpunk 2077).

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

As has been the case with previous motherboards and CPUs, the 3DMark tests don’t show much separation from worst to first, and we see that again across our varied datasets. In games, the 270K Plus does well, beating out the 285K and our 9900X. They still don’t hold a candle to the 9800/9850X3D chips, but the refresh has improved gaming performance over the original Arrow Lake processors. Our RTX 4080-based system managed 151 frames per second in Cyberpunk 2077 and 204 frames per second in F1 2025 on the Texas track.

The ‘level 2’ boost setting also showed minor frames per second improvement in games. CP2077 increased by around 2.5%, and F1 2025 was roughly the same. They aren’t big increases, but they are real.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while out-of-the-box performance has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and an overwhelming majority support power-hungry flagship-class processors, so we know the hardware can handle them.

There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: manually adjust the settings or use some of the fancy AI overclocking board partners have been touting. Results will vary and depend on the CPU's cooling and quality. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering the above, we’re not overclocking the CPU for these review articles. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

The new Arrow Lake refresh CPUs have a maximum in-spec speed up to DDR5-7200. Anything above that would be considered overclocking for the IMC. However, the base kit we use for testing and benchmarking is the Kingston Fury Renegade 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-7600 CL38, so it (the IMC) is overclocked. The second set of RAM we use to further stress the memory controller/system is the G.Skill Trident Z5 CK 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 kit. With the board’s specs listing a limit of over 10,000 MT/s (for 9000-series APUs) and 8600 MT/s for desktop-class processors, running well below that, we expect our two kits and the 270K Plus to pass testing.

Now the fun part. Remember reading earlier that this two-DIMM board supports CQDIMMs? We had a chance to test out a 256GB (2x128GB CL64 - TECQ5128G80Q864K) V-Color kit, an ‘AI Server Solution’ says the package, that’s set to run at once-unthought-of speeds, for the capacity, of DDR5-8000. But sure enough, our 270K and the Elite Duo X took our two sticks loaded with ICs front and back and successfully completed a 30-minute stress test at those speeds.

The overall usefulness of CQDIMMs on a consumer platform is, arguably, relatively little. Most users are good with 32GB, or even 64GB on two-DIMM boards for normal use scenarios (think gaming, productivity, creative workflows, etc.). RAM is also prohibitively expensive right now and for the foreseeable future. Admittedly, it is cool to see more gigabytes crammed onto a DIMM and running at fast speeds, and this helps the home user who wants to run local LLMs and a lot of RAM. I’m just not sure many people’s pockets are deep enough to stand up a system with this much RAM in 2026, considering that a similar V-color kit with four sticks at DDR5-6000 (not quad-rank, and a lot slower speed, note) is over $10,000.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Please note that we moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing with our flagship-class 270K Plus and the Kingston DDR5-7600 kit at stock and with Intel’s 200S Boost yielded similar results, peaking at 335/338W, respectively, while idling at a low 69W. Using Gigabyte’s Level 2 performance bump cranked the wall power to 408W, significantly increasing power consumption. We’ll see additional motherboards in the list as they are tested.

VRM temperatures weren’t a concern with the 270K Plus. Throughout the 30-minute test, the system (excluding the monitor) used an average of 247W, and temperatures peaked at 48 degrees Celsius on our sensor (the readings from Hwinfo and the internal sensor showed that the temperatures went DOWN a couple of degrees during the test, so we didn’t include that dataset). That value is well within specification for the MOSFETs below. We have plenty of confidence that the power delivery can handle anything you throw at it, as the CPU temperature will limit you before the board hinders overclocking.

Bottom Line

The mid-cycle update Gigabyte Aorus Elite Duo X is a solid mid-range motherboard designed with the Arrow Lake refresh processors in mind. The board's biggest stand-out is the CQDIMM capability. While the company is shying away from officially supporting them, we know the high-capacity kit was compatible and worked in our testing. For most mortals, that doesn’t matter, as the platform already supported 64GB DIMMs/128GB total with two DIMMs, which is more than enough for most users. But if you need more than that and at faster speeds, boards that can run the CQDIMMs are where it’s at.

Specs-wise, the Duo X has enough connectivity, including 10 USB ports on the rear I/O (though one Type-C port can certainly be limiting), five total M.2 sockets, fast networking, and native support for the new, refreshed processors. The software stack is also comprehensive, covering a wide range of functionality from overclocking to RGB lighting with GCC and AI Snatch. In all, it’s a well-rounded offering and one of the first reasonably priced boards (the Z890 Tachyon CQDIMM edition was the first) to run CQDIMMs. Relative usefulness notwithstanding, it was cool to see 256GB of RAM running at DDR5-8000 at only 1.1V.

For $279.99, the Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X sits right in what I would consider a sweet spot for budget mid-range motherboards, and there is plenty of competition in that space. You can find the Asus ROG Strix Z890-A Gaming Wi-Fi for $288.99. It offers multiple 40 Gbps (Thunderbolt 4) ports but has fewer M.2 sockets. ASRock’s Z890 Nova Wifi (currently $281.99) offers a ridiculous-for-the-price six M.2 sockets, superior audio and VRM solutions, and dual Ethernet ports. The MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk Wi-Fi ($259.99), out since Arrow Lake, is the least expensive of the bunch, but offers fewer M.2 sockets and the same last-gen flagship audio solution as the Duo X.

Among these boards, none stand out as superior to the others, as we can all make arguments for each depending on our needs and personal preferences. Obviously, if you need what CQDIMMs offer, the Duo X is the only option in this group and at this price. In the end, the Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X motherboard won’t make our best motherboard list, but it is a well-appointed motherboard for the price. If you’re looking for an out-of-the-box Arrow Lake refresh, CQDIMM compatibility, and squeezing 256GB of fast RAM into a two-slot board, this is the one under $300.

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Not long ago, we covered the non-X3D version of Gigabyte's X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top motherboard and, in general, liked what it had to offer (especially at the lower refurbed price point). The elephant in that review, though, was that this X3D board was already on the market, with notable improvements in design and functionality. Like the original, the X3D is a flagship-class product through and through. From the appearance to the features, there’s no doubt it’s a premium offering. And now priced at $999.99, it’s one of the more affordable flagships. But as you’ll see, it measures up with the others.

The Xtreme X3D AI Top comes with five M.2 sockets (up from four on the non-X3D) and two SATA ports (from four) for storage. Dual 10 GbE ports and fast Wi-Fi 7, unique flagship-class audio codec, plenty of USB ports including 10 on the rear IO (two USB4 40 Gbps Type-C), and multiple DIY-friendly features (including screwless M.2 designs, to EZ Wi-Fi plugs) sweeten the pot when considering this board against its high-end competitors. We love the appearance, and it is no doubt better than the non-X3D version all around. You even get a fancy LCD Edge View display like its peers, placing this in the crosshairs of other, more expensive flagships like the MSI X870E Godlike X, and the Asus X870E Extreme Glacial, both of which we reviewed in recent months.

Performance on this board using the latest BIOS (F7a with AGESA 1.3.0.0a) was among the best we’ve seen, too. It’s this way because, by default, there’s some magic sauce in the RAM settings increasing bandwidth (we only enabled Expo profile for the RAM; Expo AI Boost, and high-bandwidth support were disabled). As you’ll see later, what Gigabyte is doing improves all facets of our AIDA64 testing rather significantly.

The increased bandwidth and slightly reduced latency improved some of our results, yielding the fastest times we’ve seen in some tests. The board is a great gamer, and did well in productivity tests as expected. 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 Gigabyte X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top'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.

Specifications of the Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging are a wide variety of accessories, including an inline USB DAC for audio, an apparatus with a ~60mm fan to help cool the RAM, and even a “CPU Thermal Matrix” designed to reduce VRM and RAM temperatures, with Gigabyte stating improvements of up to 8.5 degrees Celsius. 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 slots), for example. See the complete list, below:

• Installation guide/User’s Manual/Stickers
• ESSential USB DAC (Type-C to 3.5mm)
• M.2 Thermal Guard Xtreme
• (2) SATA cables
• DDR5 Windblade fan
• G-Connector
• Quick connect Wi-Fi antenna
• (2) Thermistor cables
• Speaker
• (2) Velcro strips
• Xtreme M.2 cooler
• Front panel extension cable
• (2) Fan power extension cables
• (2) Integrated extension cable for sys fan/water cooling
• CPU Thermal Matrix
• 3-in-1 bottle opener
• Aorus insulated tumbler

Design of the Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top

The Aorus Xtreme X3D 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 the LCD Edge View display on top, plus a large heatsink for the top PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket (with an even larger one included in the accessories) sporting ‘Xtreme’ branding in RGBs. The bottom heatsink is a large plate that connects via magnets on the left, above the audio, and has a simple latch for removal. Covering two of three PCIe slots is a magnetically attached plastic shroud. If you need to use the bottom two PCIe slots, simply remove the plastic shroud exposing the slots. This two-piece heatsink and shroud configuration allows you to retain the premium ‘covered’ appearance while still having access to the slots. I like this a lot better than Asus’ implementation, where you need to remove a fancy-looking metal cover to expose the other PCIe slots, which takes away from its appearance.

Overall, we like the look, and it gives off the premium vibes you'd expect from a flagship-class offering – you can barely see any PCB, it has a large LCD screen, and a clean overall appearance with only a single PCIe slot and CPU socket visible. The design is much improved over the Xtreme non-X3D, and looks the part of a flagship motherboard, fitting in with the likes of the X870E Godlike X and Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial.

Focusing on the top half, starting on the left, we get a better look at the 5-inch LCD Edge View screen, which displays system parameters for instant insights, including temperatures, voltages, and clock speeds. You can also customize the display to show your own GIFs or still images for your own special touch. The VRM heatsink below uses fins (with a ‘nano carbon coating’), a lot of mass, and a heatpipe connecting to both, helping to dissipate heat from the MOSFETs below. Between this and the high-quality VRMs underneath, you can run and overclock any compatible chip to its limit (which will be your cooling method). Above the socket area, Gigabyte includes another magnetic shroud, this one designed to cover the dual 8-pin EPS connectors and some unsightly bits along the top edge, maintaining the clean appearance.

Just past the socket area, to the right, are the DRAM slots. Here, all four slots use Gigabyte Memory UD Slot D5 reinforcement (only two are reinforced on the non-X3D), and all four have locking mechanisms on both sides to secure the sticks in place. Gigabyte lists support of up to DDR5-9000, which is plenty fast for the platform and is a slight increase over the original Xtreme AI Top. We didn’t have any issues running any of our three kits, up to DDR5-8000 with an APU, as expected. The X3D also includes a RAM fan with a shroud that slides over your RAM (secured via a magnet) to help cool the warmer-running DDR5 sticks. We didn’t crank the voltage to see any differences, but we did observe a ~4°C drop during our 30-minute stress test using our DDR5-7200 kit, which runs at a higher 1.4V.

Above the DRAM slots and below that shroud are the first two (of three - 10 total fans through internal headers) 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, left, and above the VRM heatsink are two 2-pin temperature sensor headers for additional monitoring capabilities.

Rounding the corner and working our way down the right edge, we first see the 2-character debug display. Below that are power, reset, and Clear CMOS buttons. Next, in the upper-right corner, we see another 4-pin system-fan header and two more fan headers (those that split into three each - cables included). Below that is a front USB Type-C connector with DisplayPort capability (for installing an extra monitor on your chassis). Continuing down the edge, we then run into the 24-pin ATX to power the board, along with supplemental PCIe power (6+2) for additional board power (think RTX 5090 or a pair of graphics cards).

Next is 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.

Power delivery on the X870E Aorus Extreme X3D AI Top consists of 24 phases, with 22 dedicated to Vcore, again, more than the non-X3D version. 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 22 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.

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 X3D AI Top with unique ESS ES9080 chips (versus the Realtek ALC4000-series we’re used to) and an ESS ES9280AC DAC chip. On paper, the specs are similar: Both offer 7.1 channels and around 110 dB SNR. You’d be hard-pressed to hear a difference between them, and we have no issue with the audio selection as it is excellent. Gigabyte also includes a USB DAC that connects your 3.5mm headphones to the DAC and system.

In the middle of the board, under the heatsinks, are the five M.2 sockets. The top socket (M2A_CPU), with its own larger heatsink (another massive heatsink is included in case you have a hot-running 5.0 x4 M.2 drive and plan to beat on with extended transfers), supports up to 110mm devices and runs at PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps), as does M2B-CPU, but it’s under the plate heatsink. Also below the large plate heatsink are three other sockets, each supporting up to 110mm modules. The top-most, M2C/D_SB and M2E_SB, run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) again, supporting up to 110mm devices, and connect through the chipset. Compared to the non-X3D AI Top, this board has one more total socket and a second PCIe 5.0 x4 slot, which we expect from a flagship.

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 both use the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus to secure your expensive graphics card. Simply install the card, then press the button to lock it and remove it. Easy. 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 is next to the PCIe release buttons. Along the edge is a front USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) port, followed by two SAT ports below it. Next are the LED header, USB fan header, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) headers, and, finally, the front panel port.

We've also captured several images of the IC's used to make this motherboard work consisting of a mix of Infineon bits for power and Realtek brand networking and USB support. Typical fare.

Normally, we’d list all the headers across the bottom, but unlike most motherboards, all the headers you typically see are on the right edge and covered above.

The rear IO on the Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top offers enough connectivity, including 10 USB ports. Starting on the left, we see the convenient Q-Flash Plus buttons (for CPU-less BIOS flashing) and the OC Ignition button for one-touch overclocking. Next to that is the rear HDMI (v2.1) port for using the integrated graphics on (most) CPUs. Above that is the audio stack (2x 3.5mm plus SPDI/F). There are two USB4 (40 Gbps) Type-C ports, one 20 Gbps Type-C port, and a 10 Gbps Type-C port, for a total of four. You get eight Type-A ports, all running at USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps). Above the USB ports are the two Marvell AQTion 10 GbE ports, and finally, the Mediatek-based Wi-Fi 7 (5.8 Gbps) quick connect. I would have liked to see more USB Type-A ports here, like the competition, but most users won’t need or miss them.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s updated “UC BIOS 2.0” starts in Easy Mode, is laid out logically, and displays a wealth of information about the system, including processor, RAM, fan speeds, and several selectable options, such as XMP profiles, RAM tweaks, Re-Size BAR support, Smart Fan 6 access, and more. The Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top uses a black background with light-blue accents and white writing, providing a high-contrast screen that’s easy to read. The background is similar to the Aorus Stealth, but with a mountain lit up by the moon instead of the Aorus branding.

All headings are still displayed across the top in advanced mode; they are now larger ‘buttons’ and can be easily selected with a mouse. The highlight bar (where you are on the page) is a light blue here and easy to see. Every option you need and want is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to drill down several layers to reach the most commonly used functions – especially if you populate your selections in the Favorites section.

Another feature is that the new 64MB BIOS includes a “DriverBIOS” function that preinstalls your Wi-Fi driver, so you can get online easily when you first boot. It’s a beneficial feature for Windows 11 25H2 users who need an internet connection to use their Microsoft account to install the OS.

Software

Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) is a one-stop solution for controlling various functions, including RGB and Fan control, hardware monitoring, and overclocking. It’s also helpful in finding, downloading, and installing driver updates for your system. It’s a simple application that does its job. It’s also a much cleaner tool than the previous App Center. It earns our approval for the breadth of functionality it offers users.

If you’re into local AI development, Gigabyte’s AI Top utility is a specialized, no-code software platform that enables users to train, fine-tune, and run AI models directly on their desktops without programming expertise. It leverages system memory and SSDs, making it ideal (according to Gigabyte) for running large language models (LLMs/LMMs with 685B parameters) and Stable Diffusion locally. It’s a unique piece of software to include with motherboards and is useful if you want to play around with your own local AI.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

The X870 Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top performed very well in our synthetic benchmarks, posting some of the best scores we’ve seen across the suite, just like the non-X3D, and again thanks to higher bandwidth (by default) on our base DDR5-6000 sticks. Be it office apps, encoding, or rendering, the Xtreme X3D AI TOP was one of the best overall performers in our tightly packed results.

Timed Applications

In our timed applications, LAME fell into the slower of the two times, while the Corona benchmark result was the fastest, but matching multiple other boards. Handbrake performance was also above average, responding well to the magic bandwidth sauce Gigabyte’s using.

3D Games and 3DMark

With the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular and good-looking game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the board was average to above average in Speedway, and slightly below average in Steel Nomad. That said, the X3D AI Top did really well in our actual games, posting the best non-9800X3D FPS we’ve seen in Cyberpunk 2077 (146, also with the highest minimum, 111 frames per second), and did well in F1 24, running faster than the average (129 min, 175 avg). In short, this is one of the better performing boards we’ve tested. Regardless of whether you’re gaming, a creative, or just doing general productivity, the X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top can get the most out of any installed processor.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: the Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X, but the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s outlandish RAM (and video card and storage) prices, we imagine few people are considering them in the first place. Dropping in our Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, as we can on most motherboards. There’s plenty of headroom for anyone who can afford faster speeds.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress-testing the X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it drawing more power than most boards. At idle, it sat around 93W and peaked at 268W. This averages out to 178W and puts it just above average. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here either. Boards with more functionality / features generally use more power.

VRM temperatures were, not surprisingly, good, peaking at 49 degrees Celsius on the internal sensor and 48 degrees on ours. The 22 110A SPS MOSFETs, combined with the oversized heatsink, mean you can overclock any processor, with the only limitation being your cooling.

Bottom Line

I’m glad we had the opportunity to test the X3D AI Top as the original Xtreme AI Top just didn’t cut it compared to the other updated flagship motherboards (but still stands as a solid motherboard). Priced at $999.99 on Amazon, the X3D AI Top is one of the least-expensive ‘true’ flagships available for the AM5 platform and a relative ‘deal’ compared to the others. You’re essentially missing some add-in cards for additional M.2 storage, and other tidbits. But if you don’t use them, there’s little need to pay more.

Speaking of others, this board competes with the MSI MEG X870E Godlike X ($1,299.99) and stands its ground. The Godlike X offers more M.2 sockets (thanks to the Xpander AIC) and doesn’t include a fan cooler for the RAM, but it still offers plenty of reasons to buy. The Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial ($1,199.99), is another worthy combatant at the top. Its icy-white appearance is arguably the best of the bunch, and you get a fancy display above the VRMs, oversized heatsinks all around, and plenty of connectivity. If you need or want to use the AI Top software, the answer is obvious: Gigabyte takes it. But if you aren’t worried about running local LLMs on your PC, it’s all going to come down to looks and how you want to divide up connectivity.

In the rarefied air of flagship motherboards, Gigabyte’s X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top strikes a smart balance between value and a high price point. Compared in a vacuum, these boards are downright expensive, and for many who aren’t wowed by LCD screens and extra bits they offer, they aren’t on the shopping list, even if you can afford it. But for those who need a board at the top of the product stack and five or more M.2 sockets, overbuilt VRMs for overclocking, work with local LLMs, cool LCDs, or just would like to get the most out of their X3D chip with X3D Turbo Mode 2.0, the Xtreme X3D AI Top is one of the best motherboards. It should be on your shortlist if you’re interested in this class of board.

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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.

Specifications of the X870E AI Top

Inside the Box

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:

• Installation guide/User’s Manual/Stickers
• ESSential USB DAC (Type-C to 3.5mm)
• (2) SATA cables
• DDR5 Windblade fan
• G-Connector
• Quick connect Wi-Fi antenna
• (2) Thermistor cables
• Speaker
• (2) velcro strips

Design of the Aorus AI Top

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).

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).

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.

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.

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

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.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s updated “UC BIOS 2.0” starts in Easy Mode, is laid out logically, and displays a wealth of information about the system, including processor, RAM, fan speeds, and several selectable options, such as XMP profiles, RAM tweaks, Re-Size BAR support, Smart Fan 6 access, and more. The Aorus Xtreme AI Top uses a black background with light-blue accents and white writing, providing a high-contrast screen that’s easy to read. The background is similar to the Aorus Stealth, but with a mountain lit up by the moon instead of the Aorus branding.

All headings are still displayed across the top in advanced mode; they are now larger ‘buttons’ and can be easily selected with a mouse. The highlight bar (where you are on the page) is a light blue here and easy to see. Every option you need and want is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to drill down several layers to reach the most commonly used functions – especially if you populate your selections in the Favorites section.

Software

Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) is a one-stop solution for controlling various functions, including RGB and Fan control, hardware monitoring, and overclocking. It’s also helpful in finding, downloading, and installing driver updates for your system. It’s a simple application that does its job. It’s also a much cleaner tool than the previous App Center. It earns our approval for the breadth of functionality it offers users. This is the latest version from early 2026.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

The X870 Aorus Xtreme AI Top performed very well in our synthetic benchmarks, posting some of the best scores we’ve seen across the suite, thanks to higher bandwidth (by default) on our base DDR5-6000 sticks. Be it office apps, encoding, or rendering, the Xtreme was one of the best overall in our tightly packed group of results.

Timed Applications

In our timed applications, LAME fell into the slower of the two times, while the Corona benchmark was the fastest, matching multiple other boards. Handbrake performance was the best we’ve seen, clearly responding well to the memory bump, posting the fastest times across over 30 motherboards.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the board was average to above average in the really tight 3DMark results, and did really well in our actual games posting the best non-9800X3D FPS we’ve seen in Cyberpunk 2077 (145, also with the highest minimum), and did well in F1 24, running slightly faster than the average (134 min, 173 avg) In short, this is one of the better performing boards we’ve covered. Regardless of whether you’re gaming, a creative, or just general productivity, the X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top can get the most out of any installed processor.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X, and the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s outlandish RAM (and video card and storage) prices, we imagine few people are considering them in the first place. Dropping in our Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, as we can on most motherboards. There’s plenty of headroom for anyone who can afford faster speeds.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress-testing the X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it drawing more power than most boards. At idle, it sat around 96W and peaked at 267W. This averages out to 182W and puts it towards the higher end of power use. That said, you’d be hard-pressed to notice it on your bill. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here either.

VRM temperatures were good, peaking at 49 degrees Celsius on the internal sensor and 48 degrees on our own. The 18 110A SPS MOSFETs, combined with the large heatsink, mean you can overclock any processor, with the only limitation being your cooling.

Bottom Line

Although the Gigabyte X870E Aorus Xtreme Ai Top has been out for a while, it’s still a great all-around motherboard, even though the refresh boards have some added tweaks. The biggest problem with the board at this time is that it’s still fetching a premium (over $1,200). That said, there are several refurbished models available at Newegg and Amazon for an incredible $599.99, which is much more reasonable considering the age and is priced less than the X870E Godlike released around the same time.

The flagship boards it competes against include the Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial ($1,199.99 - or the Extreme at $998.99), and the MSI Godlike X ($1,300 at Newegg). The Glacial and Godlike X are refreshed boards, both with large displays on the VRM heatsink, unlike the Aorus Xtreme AI Top. The ‘original’ Godlike is available but still $1040.11. These also have more M.2 storage (and more PCIe 5.0-capable M.2 sockets), a better audio solution (at least the latest-gen flagship codecs instead of last-gen), and arguably a more premium appearance. The real competition for these boards is the updated X870E Aorus Extreme X3D AI Top ($1,099.99), which mitigates most of the shortcomings of the original by adding more M.2 sockets (now two PCIe 5.0 x4), a large display, an updated audio solution, and improved aesthetics.

While this board doesn’t make our best motherboards list, overall, we do like the Aorus Xtreme AI To. It’s just not ‘the one’ at this time because of the refresh boards, current prices, and availability (or lack thereof). If you’re good with a refurbished board, you can find these at a hell of a deal, $599.99, and it’s worth the cost at that price. But if you have to pay full price, you’ll want to move to the refreshed X3D AI Top instead.

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Gigabyte’s Aero X16 aims to be a do-it-all machine for gamers and creators alike, pairing an AMD Ryzen AI CPU and an Nvidia RTX 5070 graphics card inside a clean, professional-looking chassis. There is plenty to appreciate here, particularly its strong productivity performance and excellent battery life, though its average display and some shortcomings make it feel less modern than it should. While capable, it's quite expensive for those looking for one of the best gaming laptops.

Design of the Gigabyte Aero X16

Available in lunar white or space gray on our unit, the Aero X16 looks understated yet modern, with slim display bezels and a thin chassis. Its aluminum exterior exhibits minimal flexibility and feels strong. The quality is excellent, with minimal and consistent gaps between parts and includes luxury touches, like a display that opens one-handed. The only branding is a small highlight on the lid and Aero lettering under the screen.

Measuring 14 x 9.9 x 0.78 inches and 4.2 pounds, the Aero X16 is shallower and significantly lighter than the Framework Laptop 16 (14.03 x 11.43 x 0.82 inches, 5.29 pounds with graphics module). The Acer Predator Trito 14 AI (12.68 x 8.84 x 0.71 inches, 3.5 pounds) is more portable, but it uses a smaller 14.5-inch display.

Gigabyte’s port selection is adequate, starting on the left with Ethernet, HDMI, USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, and USB4. On the right, you’ll find a 3.5 mm audio jack, another USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, and a USB 2.0. The barrel-style power connector and the legacy USB 2.0 port make the laptop feel less modern than it should. Internally, the Realtek 8852CE wireless card doesn’t help by only supporting previous-generation (albeit perfectly adequate for most users) Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. A modern laptop in this price-range should have Wi-Fi 7.

Gigabyte Aero X16 Specifications

Gaming Performance on the Gigabyte Aero X16

Our Gigabyte review unit features a Ryzen AI 7 350 processor, a GeForce RTX 5070 rated for 85 W of total graphics power, and 32GB of RAM.

Playing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order with Epic settings at 2560 x 1600, I saw upwards of 100 frames per seconds outdoors and sometimes near 140 FPS, with only occasional dips into the mid-80 to 90 FPS range in firefights. Gameplay was fluid and stutter-free.

Our comparison systems include two other creative-centric gaming laptops: the Acer Predator Triton 14 AI (Core Ultra 9 288V, RTX 5070 110 W, $2,499) and the Framework Laptop 16 (Ryzen AI 7 350, RTX 5070 100 W, $2,309 as tested but now $2,609). The MSI Katana 17 HX (Core i7-14650HX, RTX 5070 115 W) fills out the last spot as a budget gaming option. (The MSI was $1,299 when we reviewed it but appears out of stock everywhere, though the 15-inch version is still available for around the same price.) It’s notable that all these laptops have a higher-wattage GPU than the Aero X16, even though they're all RTX 5070's.

We use the 1080p numbers as a baseline, but we also tested at native resolution, which was 2560 x 1600 for the Gigabyte and Framework and 2880 x 1800 for the Acer. Only the MSI has 1920 x 1080 as the native resolution.

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest detail preset), the Gigabyte’s 109 FPS at 1080p compared favorably to the Acer (102 FPS) but trailed the Framework (132 FPS) and MSI (119 FPS). The 64 FPS it achieved at 1600p naturally outpaced the Acer’s 48 FPS at 1800p, though the Framework remained the 1600p leader with 76 FPS.

Testing Cyberpunk 2077 at its demanding Ray Tracing Ultra preset, the Gigabyte posted a just-playable 34 FPS at 1080p, edging out the Acer (30 FPS) but trailing the Framework and MSI by a few FPS. Native resolution proved too demanding, where the Gigabyte posted just 17 FPS, but it outpaced the Acer (8 FPS) and nearly matched the Framework (18 FPS).

At Far Cry 6’s Ultra preset, Gigabyte’s laptop produced a competitive 85 FPS at 1080p, which was within a few FPS of the Acer and Framework, though it couldn’t catch the MSI (94 FPS). Its 70 FPS at native resolution was playable, much more so than the Acer (53 FPS). The Framework (83 FPS) remained noticeably faster.

In Red Dead Redemption 2 at the game’s Medium settings, the Gigabyte’s 78 FPS at 1080p handily outperformed the Acer’s 57 FPS, though it continued to trail the Framework (91 FPS) and MSI (85 FPS). The gap narrowed at native resolution, with Gigabyte’s 49 FPS proving much better than Acer’s 32 FPS, but it wasn’t quite on the Framework’s level (57 FPS).

Finally, in Borderlands 3 at the game’s “Badass” settings, the Gigabyte’s 96 FPS at 1080p and 61 FPS at native outperformed the Acer (91 FPS and 50 FPS) but trailed the Framework (115 FPS and 76 FPS) and MSI (101 FPS).

This Gigabyte performs within expectations considering its RTX 5070 is tuned for 85 W, whereas the GPUs in the comparison laptops have at least another 15 W on tap. It’s nonetheless proficient for 1080p gaming and can handle 1600p, though some newer games might require reducing the visual quality settings for optimal performance.

We stress test gaming laptops running 15 loops of the Metro Exodus stress test at RTX settings. During the test, the Gigabyte Aero X16 averaged 80.86 FPS across all runs, with an impressively minimal standard deviation of 0.22 FPS between runs, suggesting stable thermal performance. The Ryzen AI 7 350 had an average clocks peed of 2.76 GHz while the RTX 5070 averaged 1,928 MHz.

Productivity Performance on the Gigabyte Aero X16

Our Aero X16 review unit features an AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor, 32GB of DDR5-5600 RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

On Geekbench 6, the Gigabyte’s Ryzen chip yielded the highest single-core score (2,916 points), just outpacing the Framework (2,878) powered by the same chip. It also led in multi-core, with 14,074 points to lead the next-best MSI (13,570) powered by a venerable Core i7-14650HX and more surprisingly, the Framework (12,399). The Predator Triton’s Ultrabook-class Core Ultra 9 288V landed it in last place (10,974).

The Gigabyte placed mid-pack in our 25GB file transfer test, with an average of 1,480.57 MBps. The Acer and MSI barely managed over 1,200 MBps while the Framework’s 1,724.69 MBps was clearly the fastest.

Our 4K to 1080p Handbrake video transcoding test was another win for the Gigabyte, which it completed in 3 minutes and 54 seconds, again leading the Framework (4:18). The MSI was just behind (4:30) while the lightweight Acer took 6:03.

Overall, with the Ryzen AI 7 350 on tap, the Aero X16 provides ample performance for most productive and creative tasks.

Display on the Gigabyte Aero X16

Gigabyte’s IPS screen has a 2560 x 1600 resolution, anti-glare surface, and a 165 Hz refresh rate with adaptive sync support. Its picture leans more towards serviceable than eye-popping, with brightness that’s adequate but not noteworthy. Colors have adequate saturation but lack the pop you’d get in an OLED or mini-LED panel.

Watching Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, I noted deep if not inky blacks in space scenes and convincing flashes from blaster bolts and explosions in firefights. Endor’s rugged forests had plenty of color. I was left with the sense that this display is of the minimum quality for a laptop in this class. A better display would significantly improve its appeal.

The Gigabyte unsurprisingly outperformed the budget MSI gamer in all metrics, particularly color, with 78.5% of DCI-P3 to MSI’s 46.6%. Its peak brightness of 369 nits slightly exceeded the Acer (359 nits), though the Acer uses an OLED panel that appears brighter than IPS at similar ratings. Acer’s panel was far more colorful, with 135.7% DCI-P3 coverage. The Framework system also outperformed the Gigabyte, with superior DCI-P3 coverage and an impressive 444-nit brightness. Overall, given Gigabyte’s creative focus, lack of full DCI-P3 coverage hurts it.

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Gigabyte Aero X16

Typing on the Aero X16 is comfortable, with a healthy 1.7 mm of key travel and sufficient cushioning at the bottom of the keystroke. Tactile feel is average, without much feel during the keystroke and not enough spring at the bottom to make it feel exciting. Nonetheless, I nearly matched my peak typing speed in my MonkeyType run, hitting 126 WPM with 99% accuracy.

The single-zone RGB backlight works well in the dark. One zone at this price isn’t impressive, but some leniency can be granted given this isn’t purely a gaming laptop. The backlighting can be changed in the RGB Fusion app, with some patterns available like color cycling and breathing.

The expansive surface and responsive tactile feedback from the touchpad make it a joy to use. It’s slightly indented into the palm rest, giving your fingers a clear barrier. The touchpad can be disabled with Fn + F9.

Audio on the Gigabyte Aero X16

Audio quality is a weak point for the Aero X16. Listening to Lockbox’s “Something Bout You”, I noticed muddy details and a lack of instrument separation, compounded by distant vocals and minimal bass. Though the laptop includes Dolby Atmos, the equalizers didn’t help much, including my go-to Balanced preset. Volume is also barely adequate -- you might be able to watch a movie or show or play a game in a quiet room, but the immersion factor isn’t there.

Upgradeability of the Gigabyte Aero X16

The Aero X16 is about as upgradeable as laptops get, with two SODIMM memory slots, two M.2 2280 drive slots, an M.2 2230 wireless card, and a removable battery. These can all be accessed under the bottom panel once the 10 Philips-head screws are removed, all of which are the same length. I used a plastic trim tool to pop the clips on the bottom panel, starting near the display hinge cutouts and working my way along the back edge and sides.

Battery Life on the Gigabyte Aero X16

In our battery test, which includes web browsing, video streaming over Wi-Fi, and OpenGL workloads at 150 nits, the Aero X16 led the group, lasting 9 hours and 13 minutes. The Acer (8:16) and Framework (8:20) placed about an hour behind, and the MSI landed well back (6:21).

Gaming laptops don't have the best reputation for battery life, so it's nice to see a full workday here.

Heat on the Gigabyte Aero X16

Gigabyte’s cooling system uses two fans that exhaust from the sides and rear. I noticed almost no noise for everyday tasks. Fan noise is audible while gaming, but isn't enough to be a distraction; the built-in speakers easily overpowered the noise.

The cooling system kept the Aero X16’s surface temperatures within acceptable ranges during our Metro Exodus stress test, where we measured peaks of 71 degrees F on the touchpad, 95 F between the keyboard G and H keys, and 114 F on the bottom towards the rear edge. Internally, the Ryzen AI 7 350 averaged 58 degrees Celsius while the RTX 5070 ran at 68 C.

Webcam on the Gigabyte Aero X16

Gigabyte’s center-mounted webcam offers an average picture. It sports the expected 1080p resolution, though details remain soft particularly in lower lighting conditions. Noise reduction appears to be excellent, with minimal graininess until lighting deteriorates, though the aggressive tuning here likely mutes details. There's no privacy shutter, but there is an IR sensor for facial recognition logins with Windows Hello.

Software and Warranty on the Gigabyte Aero X16

The only significant app included on the Aero X16 is GiMATE, which provides basic system settings including battery charge mode (full or options to limit at 80% or 60%) and, interestingly, toggles for the battery status and power indicator LEDs. The app also has a hardware dashboard and provides system updates. Available power profiles include balanced (the default), gaming, creator, power saving, and online meeting. These are all well explained in the Scenario Profile Setting section, and can be customized. For instance, Game Mode prioritizes CPU/GPU power and network traffic for your game; meeting mode enables presence detection (automatically locking your laptop when you walk away) and uses the webcam to detect onlookers; and power saving even disables keyboard backlighting. Its real pitfall is that users must manually switch between these modes, which they will most likely forget to do. Balanced worked well for nearly all my testing.

GiMATE also includes some AI features; you can bring up a prompt using the keyboard shortcut and give it basic commands. As an example, I used “disable keyboard backlight”, and that worked, automatically sending the requisite command to the RGB Fusion app. Using “enable keyboard backlighting” turned it back on. This was surprisingly useful and a good feature for users who don’t want to hunt through menus for basic settings.

GiMATE also includes a Creator app, which connects to Hugging Face and lets you use various image to image and text to image models locally. It’s useful if you have an offline need to use this, though only certain models are available, and it’s not a truly unique feature. That said, it does simplify downloading the models and provides a consistent interface for them, a thoughtful touch if you want to try a bunch without needing to learn a new interface each time.

Gigabyte Aero X16 Configurations

Our Gigabyte review sample features a Ryzen AI 7 350 processor, GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It retails for $1,899 through B&H Photo and Video, though Newegg had what appeared to be the same model for $1,739, making it worthwhile to shop around.

Other configurations start at $1,499 with a GeForce RTX 5050 and 16GB of RAM, with an RTX 5060 model available on Newegg for $1,549 at review time. Both B&H and Newegg listed an out-of-stock notice for a model with our review specs but an uprated Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip; expect to spend a few hundred more for it should it come back in stock.

Bottom Line

Gigabyte’s Aero X16 is a reasonable attempt at straddling creative and gaming duties. It gets the core concepts right, including solid productivity performance, decent battery life, comfortable input devices, and welcome upgradeability.

However, some shortcomings keep the Aero X16 from joining the top ranks. The most limiting is its display, which is serviceable for everyday use but misses the creative mark with incomplete DCI-P3 coverage and modest brightness. Weak speakers don’t help its expressive ambitions, and the reliance on Wi-Fi 6E and USB 2.0 give the machine a slightly dated feel. And while the RTX 5070 is capable, gaming performance trails far cheaper alternatives, making the Aero X16 a tough sell for those prioritizing framerates.

Overall, the Aero X16 feels less like a hybrid and more like a compromise, competent in several areas but not exceptional where it counts. Creators willing to spend more will find a far better display in the Framework Laptop 16, which boasts even more upgradeability, while budget-minded gamers can get stronger performance from systems like MSI’s Katana 17 HX. The Aero 16 X16 has its merits, but at this price, the competition simply plays its cards better.

In the quest for more color volume, the best OLED gaming monitors have traditionally employed Quantum Dot layers to see increases of 10 to 15% over the average, with some displays cracking 110% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut benchmark. There are no downsides to this other than a slight color tint when viewed at 45 degrees to the sides and perhaps a tiny brightness penalty.

A new technology called Tandem OLED addresses both issues. Put simply, it’s two layers of light-emitting diodes stacked together, bringing multiple positives while making the panel more colorful. Light output increases, power consumption decreases, and burn-in risk is lower because more diodes do less work.

Gigabyte has leveraged this new tech in its MO27Q28G. It’s a 27-inch QHD panel with a 280 Hz refresh rate, Adaptive-Sync, DisplayHDR 500, and a large color gamut. Let’s take a look.

Gigabyte MO27Q28G Specs

The MO27Q28G isn’t significantly brighter than its Quantum Dot competitors; however, in SDR mode with variable brightness turned on, I measured nearly 600 nits from a 25% window pattern. HDR highlights are easily in the 1,000-nit range, making for a very impactful picture. You can opt for constant brightness too, and in that case, you’ll see around 330 nits from a full field white pattern. That’s more than others in the category.

There is also abundant color — the measured volume for my sample was just under 110% of DCI-P3, which is in the top tier of all the monitors I’ve reviewed. The MO27Q28G delivers a very colorful image that is also pretty close to industry standards. I only needed a few tweaks to reach professional-level accuracy.

Of course, gaming is what we’re here for, and in that area, the MO27Q28G excels with a 280 Hz refresh rate and the super-quick panel response that OLED is known for. It’s also flexible at low frame rates, with an Ultra Clear feature that uses black-frame insertion to reduce blur below 120 Hz. If you prefer the wonders of Adaptive-Sync, that works perfectly on both Nvidia and AMD platforms at the full 280 Hz.

Like all premium OLEDs, the MO27Q28G supports HDR10 content with five additional picture modes, some of which allow brightness and contrast adjustments. This is handy when you’re playing in a dark room, and those 1,000-nit peaks might be hard on the eyes after hours of battle.

Despite a relatively low price of $600 at this writing, the MO27Q28G doesn’t sacrifice any extra features. Gigabyte includes a full suite of gaming aids, including aiming points, a timer and stopwatch, and the unique dashboard found only on Gigabyte and Aorus screens, where you can monitor CPU and GPU temps and fan speeds in real time. There are many OLED Care options too, like pixel orbiting, refresh, and logo detection. And you get a pair of internal speakers and USB ports for your input devices. Video inputs are aplenty, with two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 port, and a USB-C port.

Assembly and Accessories

The MO27Q28G is one of the thinnest and lightest OLEDs I’ve encountered. The box is slim and almost makes you double-take that it’s actually an OLED. The crumbly foam blocks inside reveal a slim panel and a slender solid stand with a metal base. The whole affair bolts and snaps together with no tools required. The cable bundle includes three power cords, an external power brick, and wires for HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB.

Product 360

The MO27Q28G’s styling is minimalist, with the screen being the focal point, and about the only thing you see from the front. It’s touted as borderless, but that isn’t quite accurate; there is a flush bezel around the image that’s 8-12mm in width. It’s barely noticeable, and no plastic molding is visible. The panel is set in a thin metal backing to which a small component bulge is attached. It has a few visual features that you can see in the back.

The inputs are clearly labeled and face downwards. You get two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 port, and a USB-C port that provides DP functionality and 18 watts of power. A 3.5mm jack supports headphones, and there are three USB 3.2 ports: one upstream and two downstream.

The stand is slim and minimalist as well, but make no mistake, it’s rock-solid. The base is a thin, rigid metal stamping. It has a small footprint that is more than enough for a stable package. The upright is also metal, with a 5/21-degree tilt, a 15-degree swivel, and a 90-degree portrait mode. The height range is a generous 5.1 inches (130mm). Movements are firm and smooth with no play or wobble.

OSD Features

The MO27Q28G’s OSD is summoned with a joystick in the back right. It’s flanked by a power toggle and a multi-function key that can be programmed in the menu. Gigabyte calls it Tactical Switch, and it is handy for quick access to things you might need in-game.

The main menu starts with Gaming, where you’ll find video processing options. VRR equates to Adaptive-Sync, G-Sync, and FreeSync, and can be turned on or off. Or you can opt for Ultra Clear, which is black frame insertion. It works instead of VRR at 120 Hz or below. It’s great for slower PCs that can’t maintain high frame rates at QHD resolution. It has three levels, with less blur corresponding to lower brightness, like an LCD’s backlight strobe.

In the Picture menu, there are 10 image modes for specific game types along with presets for sRGB, movies, and reading. Each has its own set of tweaks, but you can do everything in Standard, which is the best option. The MO27Q28G ships in Eco mode, which is brightness-limited. You can calibrate with gamma presets and a set of RGB sliders in the color temp menu. Color space options include Native, Adobe, and Display P3. The native gamut covers just under 110% of DCI-P3.

To view two sources at once, Gigabyte provides PIP and PBP modes. In the System menu, you can program the joystick directionals for easy access to monitor functions.

The MO27Q28G has a variable brightness feature, but it’s not in the Picture menu where you’d expect. A separate OLED Care screen includes it along with pixel orbiter, corner and logo dim and a pixel cleaner (screen refresh). Variable brightness here is called APL Stabilize and it comes in three levels. Low is equal to constant brightness where a full screen and a window pattern measure at the same level. Middle and High vary the light level depending on screen area and image content. The brightest highlights occur when it’s turned to High.

The MO27Q28G includes a full set of Game Assist features, available in its own menu. Click the joystick, then go right to open it. You’ll find a set of crosshairs, Tactical Switch programming, and Gigabyte’s unique dashboard that monitors GPU and CPU fan and temps in real time. The option labeled Flash Dimming does exactly what it says. It reduces the brightness of muzzle flashes and other specular screen elements. It’s handy when playing in the dark, and you don’t want to be dazzled.

Gigabyte MO27Q28G Calibration Settings

The MO27Q28G ships in its Eco mode, which is fine if you don’t mind being brightness-limited. To unlock the full dynamic range, go for Standard. It’s close to the mark for color, but can use some help with grayscale tracking, as neutral tones are a little purple. The RGB sliders in the user color temp take care of that neatly. Gamma runs slightly dark but tracks straight for full detail rendering. I noted that the monitor did not retain brightness levels when switching between the three APL Stabilize options. This means you must reset the slider each time you change to equalize the peak highlights. I recommend using Low for SDR content and productivity, and High for HDR gaming and video. My settings are provided below.

Gaming and Hands-on

The MO27Q28G proved to be exemplary in all areas, from work to hardcore gameplay. I have noted that 27-inch QHD OLEDs provide the best bang-for-the-buck performance and hit a sweet spot where resolution and frame rate can be had in high degrees without expensive system requirements. Though my GeForce RTX 4090 is still at the premium end of the spectrum, it isn’t the fastest card any longer, but I had no trouble playing games set to full detail at 280fps. With this and any other OLED, motion resolution is perfect at any speed over 200fps. By perfect, I mean that there is no difference in detail between static and moving images.

The MO27Q28G also proved to be quick. It has very low input lag and by my testing method it’s one of the fastest monitors you can buy, regardless of refresh rate or resolution. It is very accurate for shooters where I achieved precise aim time and time again. If you want the best equipment to advance your gaming skills and success, the MO27Q28G is an extremely useful tool.

The image is stunning in every respect. Quantum Dot displays have spoiled me in the past, and this one is easily their equal. I measured almost 110% coverage of DCI-P3 during testing and that extra volume shows in both SDR and HDR content. HDR is a superlative experience with deep blacks and extremely bright highlights. I noted a feature in the Game Assistant menu called Flash Dimming. It reduces the effects of muzzle flash, and I found it useful when playing in a darkened room. Without it, the monitor can easily overwhelm one’s eyes to where you retain light spots, like being exposed to a camera flash. Flash Dimming reduces that retention and lowers fatigue in the process. This is the only monitor I’ve seen with this feature and it’s something I would love to see more often. Kudos Gigabyte.

The variable brightness feature is called APL Stabilize and it’s hidden in the OLED care menu which I found confusing. I would put it in the Picture menu as one of the image options. It is effective though, and it has three levels: Low, Medium and High. Low is essentially off, which means constant brightness is in effect. Medium and High settings vary brightness to make highlights pop. It’s great for gaming and video, while Low is appropriate for productivity.

Physically, the MO27Q28G is premium all the way. I appreciated the minimal styling and slender chassis. The stand is plenty solid but has a small footprint and a thin upright. There’s a lot of metal used, which adds to the feeling of quality. The build is as good as it gets. It was good to see USB ports and internal speakers. They’re limited in frequency but will play loudly without distortion. If you want better sound, the headphone jack is there.

Takeaway: The MO27Q28G lowers the OLED price of entry a tad at around $600 but delivers all the performance of the best displays. It has tremendous color volume and looks even better after a quick calibration. It’s a tad brighter than its competitors for both SDR and HDR, if you need that extra output. And it games with the best monitors I’ve reviewed, OLED or otherwise.

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To compare the MO27Q28G’s performance, I’ve charted five other 27-inch QHD OLEDs with 240 and 280 Hz refresh rates. They are Aorus’ FO27Q2, Alienware’s AW2725D, Asus’ XG27AQWMG, AOC’s Q27G4ZD, and ViewSonic’s XG272-2K.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

Starting with my review of the Asus PG32UCDM3, I’ve turned to Nvidia’s LDAT photosensor and software to measure the panel's response and input lag (latency). Since I’ve measured only two monitors with this tool, the response chart shows only two screens. The MO27Q28G transitions from black to white in 0.16ms for a one-inch square. The PG32UCDM3 is a tad slower at 0.24ms. As I add more screens to this test data, I’ll be able to note trends and whether response goes hand in hand with refresh rate.

In the lag test, the MO27Q28G proved very quick with a 14ms average over 25 clicks. The button on the LDAT mimics a mouse input. This is one of the lowest lag times I’ve recorded across all monitors and refresh rates. The current record is 10ms, co-held by the Philips 27M2N8500 (360 Hz) and LG’s 27GX790A (480 Hz). Gigabyte isn’t too far behind, and it manages the feat with only 280 Hz, which is impressive.

Test Takeaway: The MO27Q28G is super quick with panel response, providing visually perfect motion resolution and instant response to control inputs. It is a competitor’s weapon that is fully qualified for pros and casual gamers alike. It provides the smooth operation you’d expect from any premium OLED and delivers top performance for a relatively low $600.

Viewing Angles

One of the advantages of Tandem OLED is that it doesn't have the polarizing effect of a QD layer, but those stacked emitters still cause a barely visible green tint at 45 degrees to the sides. You won’t see an issue in actual content; the grayscale step pattern constitutes a torture test. There is no change to gamma or brightness. From the top, you can see a little red and reduced gamma.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

I’ve seen great uniformity results from all the OLEDs I’ve reviewed, so the MO27Q28G’s last-place finish is by no means a negative. 7.49% is still well below the visible level of 10%. There was no apparent glow or hot spotting in my review sample. This is excellent performance.

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To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

The MO27Q28G’s Tandem OLED tech provides a little extra brightness putting it on top of this group by around 25 nits. This is with APL Stabilize set to High and measuring a 25% window pattern. The Asus and Aorus screens had their variable brightness options turned on as well. A full field with APL Stabilize on Low yielded just over 330 nits which is also brighter than the constant brightness screens in this bunch from ViewSonic, Alienware and AOC. Black levels and contrast could not be measured.

After Calibration to 200 nits

Calibration doesn’t alter the measurable dynamic range, which remains theoretically infinite. The MO27Q28G is a typical OLED in this regard. The ANSI test is also undetermined. Since the checkerboard pattern has a 50% APL, the variable brightness levels don’t affect the result. This is also typical OLED performance.

Test Takeaway: The MO27Q28G is a tad brighter than the competition, but its black levels and contrast are comparable to other OLEDs. Not all its competitors have variable brightness, so Gigabyte stands out there. And it’s one of the very few to offer two levels of adjustment. With a bit of extra punch from Tandem OLED tech, it delivers stellar SDR imagery.

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To test the MO27Q28G’s color accuracy, I switched from the default, Eco, to Standard, to have access to the monitor’s full dynamic range and calibration options.

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.

The MO27Q28G starts out a tad warm in tone with slight purple shades visible in brightness steps from 50-100%. Gamma tracks close to the reference in a linear fashion and is a tad dark. This can be compensated for by upping the brightness slider a little. This is solid out-of-the-box performance.

With calibration, grayscale tracking reaches reference-level with no errors exceeding 1dE. Gamma is unchanged. It’s a little dark, but since it tracks linearly, there is no loss of detail.

The sRGB mode shows similar results with slightly dark gamma and a warm grayscale. There are no calibration options here; you can only change the overall brightness level.

Comparisons

The MO27Q28G starts at 4.63 dE, so I recommend calibrating the RGB sliders. Gamma is fine, whether you adjust or not, the 2.2 preset works well. And you’ll see below that color is on spec whether you calibrate or not. After a few tweaks, it’s right in the mix with the very best, at 0.43 dE. That’s pro-level accuracy. Gamma runs a tad dark at a 4.54% deviation (2.30) but tracks with a tight 0.08 range of values, also among the very best I’ve recorded. I have no complaints here.

Color Gamut Accuracy

Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

In the color test, you can see that the MO27Q28G fully leverages its large gamut for SDR content. It’s slightly oversaturated in the primary hues, but the points are linear, so the picture looks natural and correct. It’s extremely colorful in a way that will appeal to all users. Calibration tightens up the chart slightly, but the visual change is subtle. This is excellent performance.

To measure sRGB, I selected the sRGB picture mode, which cannot be calibrated. It has adjustable brightness, but that is all. It’s a tiny bit oversaturated, but you won’t notice an issue. It’s fully qualified for color-critical applications.

Comparisons

The MO27Q28G’s color error goes from 2.62dE out of the box to 2.45dE after calibration. That’s a tiny change that you aren’t likely to see in content. The improvement to grayscale tracking is the reason to make the adjustments. OLEDs as a category have very accurate color so the MO27Q28G is solidly in the mix there.

Where it excels is color volume and it is the equal of any Quantum Dot display with nearly 110% coverage of DCI-P3. Though the ViewSonic does without this tech, it still looks very colorful with almost 100% coverage. You can see that extra 10%, though, mostly in red and green, which are more vivid. The MO27Q28G covers an ideal 103.63% of sRGB, which is also a good thing. It can be used for any situation where accurate and saturated color is needed.

Test Takeaway: The MO27Q28G demonstrates excellent color accuracy and high gamut volume. It is on par with the best Quantum Dot displays I’ve reviewed with a bright and colorful image that pleases in all areas. It has good out of box color but grayscale tracking accuracy benefits from calibration.

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Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

The MO27Q28G supports HDR10 content with five specific picture modes, some of which include adjustable brightness. The switch is automatic when HDR10 signals are used.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

The MO27Q28G is one of the brighter OLEDs I’ve tested, but it isn’t the very brightest. That honor, at least in the 27-inch QHD category, belongs to the ViewSonic, which delivers over 931 nits from a 25% window. Gigabyte rates the MO27Q28G at 1,500 nits for a 1.5% window and there is no reason to doubt that claim. Highlights are very forward and specular in all the content I viewed. It’s rated for VESA DisplayHDR 500, and it meets that spec with room to spare.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

For the color tests, I measured the default mode labeled simply “HDR.” It delivers decent grayscale tracking with a slight purple tint visible at 50% and greater brightness. The EOTF tracks to near perfection with slight darkness from 0 to 40%, then slight lightness up to the tone-map transition point at 65%. This is the correct level for the measured white and black levels.

In the color test, it oversaturates in the same way as most of the HDR monitors I’ve tested. This is done to punch up color and more clearly separate it from SDR, and it is effective here. By keeping the saturation points linear, there is no reduction of fine detail at any point in the brightness range. The MO27Q28G goes a bit past the perimeter in the DCI-P3 test, and when measured against BT.2020, it covers 90% red, 75% green and 95% blue.

Test Takeaway: The MO27Q28G has a tad more HDR brightness than most, but not all of its competitors. It is extremely colorful and very accurate, which gives the HDR image high impact and a vivid presentation. You can adjust the HDR modes if you like, but leaving it at the default setting will be fine for most users. This is one of the better HDR OLEDs I’ve reviewed.

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While you won’t find any OLED gaming monitors in the value category just yet, there are a few screens that don’t cost an arm and a leg. The 27-inch QHD category is still the go-to for the most bang for the buck. And now, wider color gamuts and higher brightness are coming to the party.

The Gigabyte MO27Q28G is a perfect example of what might be considered a new generation of OLEDs. Quantum Dots are great, and I’ll recommend them any day, but Tandem OLED is now bringing the same color volume with higher brightness and lower cost. I measured almost 110% DCI-P3 coverage and an SDR peak level of 582 nits. HDR was also higher than most, with whites around 580 nits for a 25% window. Only a couple of hard-driven OLEDs from ViewSonic and Asus are brighter, and only for HDR.

If gaming is your primary focus, the MO27Q28G has few, if any, equals. It has one of the lowest input lag scores I’ve recorded, and that translates to real-world play. It’s super quick and responsive with perfect motion resolution over 200fps. That’s an easy frame rate to achieve in QHD. And if you pair it with a slower PC, there’s Ultra Clear for blur-free operation at 120 Hz.

The Gigabyte MO27Q28G isn’t quite a budget screen, but it is a solid value. And it delivers with the very best for color, brightness and speed. If you have $600 to spend on a monitor, this OLED is definitely worth checking out.

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With Asus grabbing plenty of attention with its limited-edition ROG Matrix RTX 5090 last year, Gigabyte has now entered the spotlight with its own flagship response — the Aorus GeForce RTX 5090 Infinity. Featuring a rounded look that resembles the light cycles from Tron, it adopts a double flow-through design with two cooling fans on either end, and a smaller third fan hidden at the center behind a mesh.

According to the company, the GPU features their Windforce Hyperburst cooling system that includes a separated PCB design. This is said to enable ‘penetrating airflow’ on both sides of the card’s backplate wherein all the hot air is exhausted towards the backside of the card. The smaller third ‘overdrive’ fan helps by providing an additional airflow that only fires up during demanding workloads.

Gigabyte has also used a range of advanced thermal materials to improve heat dissipation. These include superconducting heat pipes, composite metal grease for the GPU die — a hybrid compound that blends traditional thermal paste with liquid metal properties — and server-grade thermal conductive gel for other internal components. Together, these changes are said to keep temperatures in check while maintaining stable performance under sustained loads.

Thanks to the cooling system, Gigabyte has managed to make the card smaller compared to most RTX 5090 models in the market measuring 330mm in length, 145mm in width, and 65mm in height. While that should make it easy to install in most PC towers including a selection of mATX cases, it is still larger than the RTX 5090 Founders Edition. Speaking of which, the Aorus GeForce RTX 5090 Infinity comes with a 16-pin 12V-2x6 power connector in a vertical orientation similar to the Founders Edition.

The primary cooling fans also come with Gigabyte’s RGB Halo customizable LED lighting, which has been a staple on Aorus GPUs. Other features include a die-casted metal backplate, dual-BIOS functionality, and a four year warranty. Pricing and availability has not been disclosed yet, but expect the flagship GPU to launch with a premium price tag possibly upwards of $3000.

It is undoubtedly the age of OLED these days, with a new display appearing about as fast as I can review them. Since they are so close in terms of contrast and color quality, the only way to differentiate the best OLED gaming monitors from the pack is with high refresh rates. We were satisfied with 240 Hz for quite some time, but now 500 Hz is the new normal.

Gigabyte’s Aorus line has always contained high-performance displays, and the FO27Q5P is the latest addition. It’s a 27-inch QHD 2560x1440 Quantum Dot OLED panel with 500 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, DisplayHDR 500 and wide gamut color. Let’s take a look.

Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q5P Specs

The FO27Q5P is absolutely packed with features and performance. Nothing has been left out, and, in a few areas, it outclasses all the competition. Starting with its 500 Hz refresh rate, that is a native figure, no overclocking required. I didn’t even have to set the resolution when running Windows on it for the first time. It went right to 500 Hz without a hiccup. Of course, it’s certified FreeSync Premium Pro, and it is G-Sync Compatible. It also features a black frame insertion option for reducing motion blur, and includes OLED anti-flicker technology to prevent artifacts during rapid changes in refresh rate. Every possible video processing option is included here.

The picture is stunning thanks to a Quantum Dot layer, which expands the color gamut to over 108% of DCI-P3. And accuracy comes out of the box with no need for calibration. Brightness is high, over 500 nits for HDR content, and you get variable brightness, meaning small highlights will exceed 1,000 nits. Black levels, it goes without saying, are OLED deep, meaning they are unmatched by any LCD technology.

Panel health is enhanced by passive cooling, which maximizes airflow through a graphene layer and component heatsinks, eliminating the need for fans. You also have extensive options for features like pixel shift, logo detection, and panel refresh. Gigabyte backs the FO27Q5P with a three-year warranty that includes burn-in.

Connectivity is also top-notch, with DisplayPort 2.1 support through two inputs, one of which is the mini version, and an output for daisy-chaining multiple screens with a single cable to your PC. You also get DP functions through the USB-C port, and there are two HDMI 2.1 inputs as well. KVM is supported by USB 3.2, one upstream and two downstream ports. There are two 3.5mm analog jacks, one for headphones and another for a microphone. The FO27Q5P is a complete gaming hub that lets you connect all your peripherals. A pair of internal speakers operates with 5 watts of power, and there’s a backlit Aorus logo that can display different colors and effects.

Assembly and Accessories

My FO27Q5P arrived in a plain white box, suggesting that it was an early production sample. It’s packed in cleverly engineered cardboard rather than crumbly foam, and the entire carton is recyclable. After assembling the three parts —base, upright, and panel —I found a small external power supply, plus HDMI, USB-C, and USB-A/B cables. There’s a 100mm VESA mount for monitor arms, but no fasteners are included.

Product 360

The FO27Q5P sticks to the two-piece version of OLED style, with the screen surrounded by a metal backing and a large component bulge attached to its backside. The bulge isn’t too thick and is nicely accented up top by a backlit Aorus logo whose colors and effects can be controlled from the OSD. This separate panel approach makes cooling easier since air can flow through freely. There’s a graphene layer behind the OLED, and no fans are required.

The stand is solid and substantial with a slender but wide base made from cast aluminum and finished in a fine crinkle powder coat. Adjustments include 5/20 degrees tilt, 20 degrees swivel and a 5.1-inch height adjustment. You also get a 90-degree portrait mode. Movements are firm with no wobble or play, which befits this premium display.

In the back, you can see a fine grill pattern offset by the LED lighting. There’s an Aorus logo and two small accents underneath the stand attachment point. It doesn’t draw too much attention to itself, but still adds a nice touch of visual flair. The stand has a cutout running its full length, and there’s a cable clip to keep your wiring tidy.

The potential for lots of wiring is here thanks to the FO27Q5P’s extensive connectivity. There are two DisplayPort 2.1 inputs, one standard and one mini, and the USB-C input supports DisplayPort. You also get two HDMI 2.1 inputs, and there’s a DisplayPort output, something I rarely see. This means you can daisy chain multiple monitors with a single cable connection to the PC. USB is version 3.2 and has one upstream and two downstream ports. Full KVM functionality with a setup wizard is included in the OSD. Finally, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack and a 3.5mm microphone input. I’m surprised there isn’t DVI and VGA back there too!

OSD Features

The FO27Q5P’s OSD is packed with features for video processing and image adjustment. There are gaming aids, KVM switching, and even quick-change resolution options. Literally nothing has been left out here.

Gaming is first with VRR (Adaptive-Sync), which includes an anti-flicker function with two levels of correction. It is intended to prevent flicker during rapid changes in refresh rate. I ran several tests and never saw flickering, whether it was on or off. You also get Ultra Clear, which is a black frame insertion feature. It works at speeds below 250 Hz with VRR turned off. It cuts brightness by about 50% but it will eliminate blur at low frame rates. The magic number in my observation is 200fps. Anything above that doesn’t need help, but below that, Ultra Clear is effective at keeping motion resolution high.

Each of the 10 picture modes has either all the image controls or a subset of them. Standard lets you change the important things like color temp and gamma. You also get gamut selection though to use sRGB, you must select the sRGB picture mode, which only allows brightness changes. The Native color space option covers just over 108% of the DCI-P3 color space.

The KVM wizard allows you to bind peripherals to video inputs via either USB-C or USB-B, enabling you to control multiple systems with a single keyboard, mouse, and display. It can be two PCs or a PC and a console, for example. The FO27Q5P has both PIP and PBP capabilities, allowing you to view two video sources simultaneously. The remaining settings are located in the System menu, where you can find the LED controls under RGB LED.

It took me a while to find the variable brightness options because Gigabyte hides them confoundingly in the OLED Care menu. It should be with the other image controls, not in a menu accessed outside the main OSD tree. It’s called APL Stabilize and it has three settings. The closest one to constant brightness is Low. And it can only be adjusted for SDR content. In HDR mode, it’s locked to its most aggressive level for the brightest possible highlights. Other options here include pixel shift, pixel clean and logo/corner dimming.

Gigabyte includes its full suite of Game Assist options with timers, a stopwatch, refresh rate indicator, and the ability to move the information around the screen. There are four different aiming points, and you get a sniper mode and night vision. Tactical Switch is a resolution toggle for changing screen aspect ratio and sizing on the fly.

Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q5P Calibration Settings

Calibrating the FO27Q5P is purely optional if you pick the Standard picture mode. The default is Eco, and it limits brightness, so I recommend avoiding that one. With a few changes to the RGB sliders, I took grayscale tracking from good to great and tightened up the gamut chart in the process. Gamma tracks closely to the reference, so all detail is crisply rendered at all brightness levels. My SDR settings are below, with APL Stabilize set to Low. If you use Middle or High, you’ll likely need a lower brightness value to keep the picture from being too harsh.

When an HDR signal is present, the FO27Q5P offers five specific modes, all but one of which are adjustable for brightness and contrast. The best choice there is HDR Peak 1000 because it has the most accurate luminance and color tracking. The FO27Q5P delivers some superb HDR with bright highlights and richly saturated color.

Gaming and Hands-on

The FO27Q5P has several video processing options, so I’ll take them one by one. Playing Doom Eternal and other similar titles at max detail on a GeForce RTX 4090-equipped PC, I saw framerates between 350 and 450 frames per second (fps). Though there was constant and wide fluctuation, I never needed to employ the anti-flicker setting. That’s just as well because it doesn’t work in HDR mode.

To use Ultra Clear, I had to disable Adaptive-Sync and reduce the refresh rate to 250 Hz. The only difference I noticed was the 50% reduction in brightness. It wasn’t any smoother because motion was already perfect without help. It was obvious, though that this would be an effective tool to maintain high motion resolution at speeds below 200fps. There are no visible artifacts to spoil gameplay.

To explore the variable brightness feature, I had to play in SDR mode. With HDR content, the setting is grayed out and it’s locked to the most aggressive level. That provides excellent HDR with brightly detailed highlights and deeply detailed shadow areas. Speaking of, the best HDR mode was Peak 1000. It delivers the best detail rendering and the most accurate color. Game and Cinema are very good too, but with a little less impact. Vivid should be avoided as it made the image look garish and cartoonlike.

Though a GeForce RTX 4090 provides very high frame rates, a 5090 would be the way to the FO27Q5P’s full potential of 500fps. Black frame insertion (Ultra Clear) is something few OLEDs have, so if you have a slower card, it can adapt better than other displays.

Color and contrast were superb regardless of other settings as long as I stuck with HDR Peak 1000 or Standard for SDR content. I’m used to the larger DCI-P3 gamut for SDR even though it isn’t strictly correct. The FO27Q5P has an sRGB mode which is accurate enough for critical work, but I noted slightly light gamma that could not be corrected. In Standard, there are gamut options but sRGB isn’t among them.

For other tasks and media, the FO27Q5P is a great desktop tool. The pixel density of a 27-inch QHD screen provides a sharp image with no pixel structure visible at normal viewing distances. It certainly gave nothing away to Ultra HD screens when gaming. Smooth motion and high frame rates are always preferred over sheer pixel density.

I noted the FO27Q5P’s large list of extras like USB ports, KVM, clear speakers with four audio modes, and its premium build quality and user experience. The speakers play clearly at decent volumes and the modes sound different from one another, with my favorite being Game for its broad and deep sound stage. Online players will appreciate the inclusion of both headphone and microphone jacks. That’s something almost no monitors offer.

Takeaway: The FO27Q5P is a premium display in every way. It includes absolutely every feature under the sun for gaming, entertainment and productivity. The picture is gorgeous with rich color and contrast only an OLED can deliver. It exudes excellent build quality and solid feel. In the 27-inch QHD OLED category, it’s hard to imagine better.

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To compare the FO27Q5P’s performance, I’ve harvested five other speedy 27-inch QHD OLEDs from my database that range from 280 to 500 Hz. There’s Asus’ most recent addition to its Strix line, the XG27AQDPG, along with LG’s 27GX790A, Samsung’s OLED G6, Philips’ 27M2N8500 and Alienware’s AW2725D.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

On planet LCD, you’ll see smoother motion at 500 Hz than you do at 280. This is not true of OLED, in my observation. Once you get to 240 Hz, motion resolution is perfect, in that it is indistinguishable from static. That’s something you can easily see in a moving test pattern. Regardless, the 2ms it takes for the Aorus and Asus screens to draw a full white field is impressive. Visually, all the monitors look the same at 280fps or faster.

Input lag is a more significant decider, and there, the Philips and LG displays still maintain their dominant 10ms score in my test. The FO27Q5P may seem far down the pack at 18ms, but in practice, I cannot see a difference in response between any of them. Gaming pros will want the absolute fastest monitor and that is still the Philips or LG. But anyone playing on the Aorus will be happy as a clam. It’s super quick. I also noted its complete lack of artifacts when using the Ultra Clear option at lower frame rates.

Test Takeaway: The FO27Q5P stands out not for its 500 Hz but for its superb black frame insertion feature, Ultra Clear. It’s the perfect solution for game systems that can’t run QHD resolution faster than 200fps. If you have the horsepower, GeForce RTX 4090 or better, the higher refresh rates deliver some headroom. But the quickest overall screens are still the Philips 27M2N8500 and the LG 27GX790A.

Viewing Angles

You wouldn’t know that the FO27Q5P is a Quantum Dot display from these photos. That tech sometimes causes a slight color shift at 45 degrees, but Aorus avoids that anomaly. I saw no change in color, luminance or gamma. The top view is slightly dimmer and a tad red with reduced gamma, but you can still see all the brightness steps. This consistency at multiple viewing angles is one of the principal reasons to buy an OLED.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

The newest generation of OLED monitors has excellent screen uniformity. I’m impressed by anything that comes in under 10%, but look at the top five screens here; they’re all below 4%. And the FO27Q5P tops them all at an impressive 1.31%. This is excellent performance.

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To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

While I maintain that no computer monitor needs more than 350 nits peak, the extra headroom provided by the FO27Q5P’s 503 nits is welcome. It comes into play when using Ultra Clear, which cuts brightness by around 50%. It’s brighter than all its competitors except the XG27AQDPG. However, there is a variable brightness option to consider. With APL Stabilize on Low, the peak is around 360 nits. That’s equivalent to the constant brightness feature found on other OLEDs. To get 503 nits, I set that option to High. Black levels and contrast are unmeasurable, like all the OLEDs I’ve reviewed.

After Calibration to 200 nits

Calibration changes nothing except the peak brightness level. I set that to 200 nits with APL Stabilize still on the Low setting. If you use Medium or High, you’ll have to reduce the brightness value to keep the peak at 200 nits. You’ll also have to turn the brightness up if you use Ultra Clear. ANSI contrast is unaffected by any of these settings. It can’t be measured in any circumstance.

Test Takeaway: The FO27Q5P is a bit brighter than most 27-inch QHD OLEDs, matched only by the Asus XG27AQDPG. It stands out by having three variable brightness options, most monitors have either one or none, i.e., they run constant brightness only.

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The FO27Q5P includes a factory calibration data sheet with each sample. Mine matched the test results closely. It does not need to be calibrated in the Standard picture mode I used for all tests.

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.

If you stare at the FO27Q5P’s grayscale step pattern long enough, you can see a slight warmth in the top two steps. You probably won’t see that in content, even if you try hard. There is a tiny gamma anomaly from 70-90% brightness, but this too is a minuscule error. This is excellent out-of-the-box performance.

Calibration delivers a pro-level result with all errors below 1dE. The gamma issue is slightly worse, but again, this is a hard error to spot in content.

In the sRGB picture mode, you lose all picture adjustments except for brightness. The warm tone in the brighter grayscale steps is a tad more visible. I also noted gamma issues at 10 and 90% brightness where the luminance values are too high. This manifests in slightly murky highlights and a few gray shadow areas. These issues are small, but they are visible in content.

Comparisons

Looking at all six monitors, the FO27Q5P clearly does not need calibration, nor do the Asus or Samsung displays. The Philips and Alienware are borderline, but most users would not see a problem. The LG definitely needs some tweaks for the best picture. After calibration, though, they are all on equal footing with no visible errors among them.

In the gamma test, the FO27Q5P turns in solid numbers with a small 0.19 range of values and a 0.91% deviation from the 2.2 reference. The actual value is 2.18. In the chart, only the Samsung and LG stand out as having a little room for improvement.

Color Gamut Accuracy

Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

Quantum Dots mean a very colorful monitor, and the FO27Q5P delivers both volume and accuracy. The default chart has no significant errors to point out. Red is a bit oversaturated, but hue points are on or near their targets for all colors. This is excellent out-of-the-box performance. Calibration tightens up hue tracking in yellow and magenta, but this is something more clearly seen by the meter rather than the naked eye. Color tracking doesn’t get much better than this.

Though I noted some gamma errors in the sRGB picture mode, its color gamut tracking is nearly perfect. It has no visible errors, and on the chart, every point is in its target box. This is pro-level performance.

Comparisons

Aorus has clearly made the FO27Q5P’s color accuracy a priority. That is as it should be given the price, but it is a bit above average when compared to other premium OLED displays and that’s a good thing. Looking at all the numbers together, it’s hard to complain about any of these monitors.

In the volume test, only the LG stands out as lacking a Quantum Dot layer. It's nearly 100% coverage of DCI-P3 is good, but the FO27Q5P’s 108.61% is visibly better. Both red and green are more vivid and that’s a difference that can be seen in a side-by-side comparison. The 97.94% coverage of sRGB is ideal as well. The FO27Q5P is well-suited for color-critical tasks.

Test Takeaway: The FO27Q5P delivers high color accuracy and high volume. It’s one of the most colorful OLEDs you can buy, and it doesn’t need calibration. Its gamma and grayscale tracking are on point as well. There is nothing to complain about here.

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Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

The FO27Q5P supports HDR10 signals with an automatic switch and five specific HDR picture modes. One is fixed, but the other four include luminance and color saturation adjustments, which is something most HDR monitors lack.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

If you want the brightest possible HDR, the LG has about 240 nits on the Asus and Aorus. But peaks of 527 nits are still very bright. Coupled with perfect blacks and infinite contrast, the FO27Q5P delivers superb HDR image quality with incredible depth and vivid color. It doesn’t get much better on the desktop than this.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

I measured all the FO27Q5P’s HDR modes and found Peak 1000 to have the best color accuracy and luminance tracking. A solid EOTF like this is important for full detail rendering and HDR that looks like HDR, not just brighter SDR. Most OLEDs have no problem delivering in these tests.

The FO27Q5P’s extra color volume is evident in the fully covered green primary and the oversaturated red one. You also get some bonus blue and magenta. Hue tracking is also spot-on, which makes this monitor one of the best I’ve tested. That accuracy carries over to the BT.2020 test where the FO27Q5P covers up to 90% red, 75% green and 95% blue. This is excellent performance.

Test Takeaway: I use the term “killer HDR” with many QD-OLEDs because their incredible contrast and color saturation are just what that format needs to look its best. The FO27Q5P exemplifies the HDR10 standard and sets a benchmark for others to meet.

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After reviewing many OLED gaming monitors, I still have yet to find a bad one. Even the most barebones models deliver incredible contrast and blur-free motion at speeds above 200 Hz. The differences come down to tiny things that don’t impact gameplay or day-to-day usability.

That said, I look for standout features, and the Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q5P has a few. It includes USB ports, which in years past were standard but are now considered a bonus. And they’re backed by a KVM function, which means you have choices in how you manage peripherals. It also includes a mic input which is very rare. It’s a complete gaming hub. And you get decent speakers with clear sound and usable modes that add to the gaming experience.

More importantly, the FO27Q5P delivers a superb image and fantastic video processing. 500 Hz means perfect motion resolution and low input lag. Though there are a couple of quicker screens available, the FO27Q5P is faster than any human reflex I’m aware of. With its Ultra Clear option, it maintains that smooth motion below 200fps, which is another standout feature. You can feasibly pair it with a less expensive video card at 120-150fps and still enjoy blur-free gaming.

My only slight here is its sRGB mode. The gamut options in Standard don’t include sRGB, so you must use the fixed mode, which only lets you change brightness. I noted some slight gamma errors there that have room for improvement. I expect nearly all users will simply use the wide gamut for both SDR and HDR and enjoy its over 108% coverage of DCI-P3.

The 27-inch QHD class remains the best choice for striking a balance between image clarity and high frame rates. If you can afford an OLED, the Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q5P is one of the best I’ve seen. Definitely check it out.

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Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. has established itself as a formidable presence in the motherboard and graphics card markets, leveraging decades of experience in component manufacturing to expand into adjacent product categories. While the Taiwan-based company built its reputation on innovative motherboard designs and robust graphics solutions, its venture into power supplies represents a strategic expansion aimed at providing complete system solutions for builders at various price points.

The P650G positions itself squarely in the competitive mainstream market, targeting budget-conscious builders who prioritize fundamental reliability over premium features. How does it stack up against our list of best power supplies? This unit adheres to the Intel ATX 12V v2.31 specification and delivers 80 Plus Gold efficiency certification, promising up to 90% efficiency under normal load conditions. At its $100 retail price point, the P650G faces intense competition from established players, making its value proposition heavily dependent on execution quality rather than feature innovation.

Specifications and Design

In the Box

The Gigabyte P650G arrives in utilitarian packaging that prioritizes protection over marketing flash. The cardboard box features a black and gold aesthetic theme that reflects the unit's positioning, with the front panel showcasing a picture of the power supply itself. Inside, foam inserts and a protective nylon pouch provide adequate protection during transport.

The included accessories take a minimalist approach, containing only the essential mounting screws and standard AC power cable. Gigabyte has not included any cable management accessories, documentation beyond basic specifications, or premium touches that might elevate the unboxing experience. This streamlined approach makes sense for a value-oriented product, though it does underscore the unit's positioning in the market hierarchy.

The power supply features completely hardwired cables throughout, a design decision that has become increasingly rare in the modern power supply landscape where modular connectivity has become the expected standard, even in budget segments. All cables employ an all-black color scheme with flat, ribbon-like construction and black connectors.

Of particular note is the complete absence of a 12V-2x6 connector, which immediately limits compatibility with modern graphics cards that require this newer power delivery standard. This represents a significant limitation for builders planning to utilize current-generation high-end graphics solutions and suggests the platform's origins predate the widespread adoption of PCIe 5.0 power requirements, as the unit’s power output is not cripplingly low for the inclusion of a reduced output 12V-2x6 connector.

External Appearance

Gigabyte has adopted a conservative yet professional aesthetic approach for the P650G that emphasizes functionality over visual drama. The unit receives a satin black chassis finish that provides an attractive appearance while remaining neutral enough to complement virtually any build theme. The chassis adheres precisely to the ATX standard's 140mm length specification, ensuring universal compatibility with any ATX-compliant case without clearance concerns.

The front panel is expectedly basic, with only the standard AC power receptacle and rocker-style power switch, while the completely hardwired design results in a plain rear panel without any modular connectors. The top surface houses the electrical specifications and certification label.

The fan guard integrates directly into the chassis design, featuring a circular vent pattern with the Gigabyte logo prominently displayed in the center. Decorative logos are painted on both sides of the unit. This approach provides both functional airflow characteristics and subtle branding that remains tasteful rather than ostentatious.

Internal Design

Cooling responsibilities fall to a Yate Loon D12SH-12 120mm fan equipped with a sleeve bearing system. Yate Loon represents an established manufacturer in the cooling industry with a proven track record for reliability, though sleeve bearings represent a cost-conscious choice that prioritizes quiet operation over ultimate longevity. While sleeve bearings operate more quietly than ball bearing alternatives, they prove more susceptible to wear under sustained high-temperature conditions and may exhibit reduced lifespan in demanding thermal environments. The fan has a relatively high maximum speed for a 650-watt unit.

The original equipment manufacturer behind the P650G is MEIC (Xiamen Metrotec Electronic Industry Co., Ltd.), a Chinese company established in 2007. While MEIC has operated for nearly two decades, they remain among the younger participants in the power supply manufacturing field, and we had their products appear only in Gigabyte units so far.

The input filtering stage implements a very basic configuration utilizing one Y capacitor, two X capacitors, and two filtering inductors. While this arrangement meets fundamental requirements for electromagnetic interference suppression, it represents a minimal approach rather than the robust filtering implementations found in premium units. Two rectifying bridges mount on a substantial shared heatsink.

The APFC circuitry utilizes two PWE180N65SFMF MOSFETs from PingWei alongside a single diode, paired with an encased inductor and a Nippon Chemi-Con 390 μF capacitor. The primary inversion stage employs two JILIN SINO-MICROELECTRONICS JCS18N50FH MOSFETs in a half-bridge topology configuration, all mounted on the same heatsink as the APFC components.

The secondary side implementation utilizes a vertical PCB configuration with synchronous rectification handling primary 12V rail generation, while separate DC-to-DC circuits on other vertical daughterboards manage the 3.3V and 5V secondary rails. The secondary side capacitors represent a mixed selection including Nippon Chemi-Con, Lelon, and APAQ solid-state units, reflecting the varied component sourcing typical of budget-oriented designs.

Cold Test Results

Cold Test Results (25°C Ambient)

For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts.

During controlled cold testing conditions, the Gigabyte P650G demonstrated respectable efficiency performance that comfortably meets its 80 Plus Gold certification requirements. At 115 VAC input voltage, the unit achieved an average nominal load efficiency of 88.5%, while 230 VAC input improved performance to 89.8%. These figures place the unit solidly within Gold certification parameters, though they do not approach the higher efficiency levels seen in premium designs.The efficiency curve exhibits typical characteristics, peaking at approximately 50% load where most power supplies achieve their optimal performance. Low load efficiency proves reasonable for a unit in this market segment, suggesting that users running basic systems will benefit from acceptable power conversion characteristics even during idle or light usage scenarios.

The fan maintains low rotational speeds across most of the load spectrum before becoming more audible as the unit approaches heavily loaded conditions. The thermal performance under normal ambient temperatures proves adequate for typical desktop computer environments, with internal temperatures remaining within reasonable limits during sustained operation.

Hot Test Results

Hot Test Results (~45°C Ambient)

Elevated ambient temperatures reveal the P650G's thermal limitations and budget-oriented component selection. Under hot testing conditions, average nominal load efficiency drops to 86.4% at 115 VAC and 87.8% at 230 VAC, representing significant performance degradation that suggests thermal stress within the design.

The fan responds much more aggressively under elevated ambient conditions, ramping up speed earlier in the load curve and reaching near-maximum RPM during sustained high-load operation. While the unit of course remains fully functional, it becomes notably audible under these conditions. The unit successfully maintains operation throughout hot testing, though the performance degradation suggests that users in warm climates or poorly ventilated cases may experience increased noise levels during demanding applications.

PSU Quality and Bottom Line

Power Supply Quality

The Gigabyte P650G delivers commendable electrical performance that exceeds expectations for its market positioning. Voltage ripple filtering proves quite good for a unit in this price category, with maximum ripple levels of 48 mV on the 12V rail, 30 mV on the 5V rail, and 30 mV on the 3.3V rail. These measurements fall well within acceptable industry standards and indicate effective filtering design implementation despite the budget component selection.

Voltage regulation across all rails is competent. The primary 12V rail maintains a fair 1.4% regulation, while the secondary 5V and 3.3V rails achieve 2.1% and 2.0% regulation respectively. While not on par with higher-tier units, these are good figures.

During our thorough assessment, we evaluate the essential protection features of every power supply unit we review, including Over Current Protection (OCP), Over Voltage Protection (OVP), Over Power Protection (OPP), and Short Circuit Protection (SCP). All protection mechanisms were activated and functioned correctly during testing.

Protection features function correctly during comprehensive testing, with Over Current Protection (OCP) triggering at appropriate thresholds: 152% for the 3.3V rail, 148% for the 5V rail, and 122% for the 12V rail. The Over Power Protection (OPP) activates at 128% under hot conditions. While these protection mechanisms operate correctly, the OCP settings on the minor voltage rails are suspiciously relaxed.

Bottom Line

The Gigabyte P650G 650W occupies a challenging position in today's competitive power supply landscape, delivering fundamental reliability while making necessary compromises to achieve its aggressive price point. The unit succeeds in its primary mission of providing stable, efficient power delivery with 80 Plus Gold certification, but reveals its budget-oriented nature through component selection, thermal performance, and feature limitations.

MEIC's platform engineering proves competent if unremarkable, delivering electrical performance that meets industry standards while avoiding the more concerning issues that have plagued some budget power supply designs. The electrical performance may not be impressive but is better than we initially projected, suggesting that the fundamental electrical engineering has been executed properly despite cost constraints. Thermal performance under elevated ambient conditions reveals the budget component selection's impact, with efficiency degradation and increased noise levels indicating thermal stress within the design.

The decision to implement a completely non-modular design in 2025 represents a significant compromise, as modular connectivity has become virtually standard even in budget segments. While this approach theoretically could enable cost savings that could be passed to consumers or invested in better components, the P650G's retail pricing does not clearly demonstrate this advantage compared to modular alternatives. Still, it is the absence of a 12V-2x6 connector that represents a more serious limitation, immediately restricting compatibility with modern graphics cards that require PCIe 5.0 power delivery. This design choice suggests the platform's origins predate current connectivity standards and may limit the unit's useful lifespan as graphics card requirements continue evolving.

The P650G delivers on its basic promises while revealing the inevitable compromises inherent in aggressive pricing strategies. The five-year warranty provides reasonable peace of mind, though it falls short of the longer warranty periods offered by premium alternatives. However, at its current $100 retail price point, the P650G faces formidable competition from more established designs offering better feature sets, superior component quality, wider connectivity, and enhanced thermal performance.

For budget-conscious builders assembling mainstream gaming systems with current-generation graphics cards that do not require PCIe 5.0 power connectors, the P650G may provide adequate service if found on a sale. However, enthusiasts, overclockers, or users planning to utilize high-end graphics cards would benefit from considering alternatives that offer better thermal performance, modern connectivity standards, and superior long-term reliability prospects.

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OLED monitors are getting more accessible, but innovation on the high-end isn't slowing down. Manufacturers are racing to increase resolution and brightness or push the refresh rate as far as possible, and this time it's the latter. 500Hz monitors are nothing new, but 500Hz QD-OLED monitors certainly are. Initially showcased at CES this year and Computex, we're slowly seeing this new crop of ultra-fast gaming monitors hit the market, and two new entrants are joining us today—one from MSI and one from Gigabyte.

The MSI 272QR and Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q5P are the latest flagships from both brands and they share identical specs for the most part. First off, both of these monitors are using the same 27-inch QD-OLED panel from Samsung under the hood, with very minor differences brought about by firmware and design choices. This is a Gen 3 panel, which means it has an updated subpixel layout that improves text readability compared to earlier OLEDs. It's also brighter, but not as much as the newer Gen 4 screens.

Both are 27-inch 1440p screens with a 500 Hz refresh rate. They carry an HDR1000 certification from VESA, along with HDR TrueBlack 500 and ClearMR 21000. Keep in mind that those HDR numbers represent peak brightness in the smallest windows. The OLED screens offer near-instantenous 0.03 ms response times. There's also FreeSync Premium Pro support for VRR, and both monitors are G-Sync Compatible.

These displays have 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space with both claiming an average Delta-E score of under 2ΔE, which would make them accurate enough for some professional-level use. Furthermore, these are true 10-bit monitors. The real difference lies in connectivity as the MSI 272QP features 2x HDMI 2.1 and 1x DisplayPort 2.1a UHBR20, which indicates 80Gbps of bandwidth that should be more than enough to push 500 frames at 1440p without Display Stream Compression (DSC). MSI also includes a 98W USB Type-C port with DP Alt mode.

In contrast, the Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q5P has the same 2x HDMI 2.1 and 1x DP 2.1 UHBR20, but it also adds another UHBR20 Mini DisplayPort and 1x DisplayPort 1.4 out for daisy chaining. The USB Type-C port on the Aorus only supports 18W charging and does have DP Alt mode. You'll also find two 5W speakers on this monitor. The brands have also fitted custom cooling solutions behind these screens to drive the pixels without breaking a sweat.

Firmware security research company Binarly has discovered four new vulnerabilities affecting the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) on multiple Gigabyte motherboards. The vulnerabilities with CVE identifiers CVE-2025-7029, CVE-2025-7028, CVE-2025-7027, and CVE-2025-7026 were shared with Carnegie Mellon University’s CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) for further analysis.

The cause of concern is said to lie within the System Management Mode (SMM), a high-privilege operating mode on x86 processors meant for low-level system management tasks. SMM grants UEFI access to the system hardware, where all the code is executed in a secure memory area called System Management RAM (SMRAM). This memory can only be accessed using Special System Management Interrupt (SMI) handlers, which rely on specific communication buffers to process data. However, in case these handlers do not validate the data, it can potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code before the operating system is loaded.

As per CERT’s report, an attacker with administrative access could use these flaws to execute arbitrary code in SMM and bypass key UEFI protections, including Secure Boot. The attacker can also install "stealthy firmware implants" and take long-term control of the system. These attacks can be triggered from inside the OS or during early boot, sleep, or recovery states. Since SMM operates below the OS kernel, it can be hard to spot or disable the vulnerability using traditional security tools.

Gigabyte is already rolling out firmware updates for many of the affected models. As per the latest security advisory, the company has shared a list of impacted products and corresponding BIOS versions, which includes a large number of Gigabyte motherboard models across the Intel 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 series platforms.

Binarly has confirmed to Bleeping Computers that over a hundred product lines are potentially at risk, including various revisions and region-specific models. Users are encouraged to visit Gigabyte’s official support page to identify their motherboard model and download the latest BIOS/UEFI firmware. The update can be installed via Gigabyte’s BIOS or using the Q-Flash utility. It is also critical to double-check the BIOS settings after updating to the latest firmware to ensure Secure Boot is enabled. While there’s currently no evidence whether these vulnerabilities have been exploited in the wild, the discovery throws light on the growing threat of firmware-level attacks.

Gigabyte has announced a "revolutionary" new performance boosting feature called Ultra Turbo Mode for its range of Z890 motherboards supporting Intel’s Core Ultra 200S (Arrow Lake) desktop processors. The enhancement is a BIOS-level feature that can enhance performance by fine-tuning the CPU, memory frequency, latency, and power limits to offer improvements of up to 35% in gaming performance. Additionally, the feature can offer a memory boost of up to 68% in AIDA64 testing across fast DDR5 memory configurations, and up to 35% higher frame rates in some titles.

On a conceptual level, it borrows from Intel’s 200 Boost profile but with additional tweaks and enhancements baked into the BIOS. Intel introduced the 200S Boost overclocking profile and Intel Performance Optimizations (IPO) for Chinese consumers back in April with an aim to offer safe overclocking gains via the motherboard BIOS with full warranty coverage.

As per our initial testing, we found that the 200S Boost feature offered a modest uplift of up to 7.5% in performance by automatically applying tuned memory overclocking profiles. It also enhanced internal chip communication by increasing the clock speeds of key interfaces, including the Next Generation Uncore (NGU) fabric from 2.6 GHz to 3.2 GHz, as well as the Die-to-Die (D2D) communication fabric from 2.1 GHz to 3.2 GHz. Applying the profile resulted in gaming performance gains ranging from 3.7% to 11.6% depending on the game title.

A firmware update for Gigabyte's RGB lighting controller is reportedly causing issues for users, as pointed out by various social media posts online. In a recent case, Charlie (@ghost_motley) on X highlighted a concern with a firmware package for the RGB controller listed on the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master motherboard support page, which added support for Windows Dynamic Lighting.

The firmware update in question is the Gigabyte IT5701/ 5702 RGB lighting controller firmware upgrade package with version 1.0.0.9 dated 24 November, 2024. After installing the update and rebooting, the user noticed that not only was Windows Dynamic Lighting unavailable, but the motherboard’s onboard RGB lighting was completely non-functional. Their PC would shut down normally; however, the CPU fan continued to spin. Re-running the tool made no difference, and the update managed to brick the Q-Flash Plus feature (Gigabyte’s BIOS update utility) from working on the particular motherboard.

Gigabyte’s leaky thermal gel problem finally hit a prominent system integrator. According to VideoCardz, PowerGPU founder and CEO Jese Martinez discovered that his Gigabyte RTX 50-Series Master GPU, which he had owned since February, had been leaking its thermal putty after he switched to an RTX 50 Founders Edition graphics card. Martinez had already warned his customers about the issue, but didn’t expect the problem to impact his personal system.

Gigabyte has listed a new B850 motherboard on its official webpage, confirming the return of its iconic SOC Force series. Originally designed for Intel chips, the series was distinguished by its bright orange aesthetics and included models like the GA-Z97X-SOC Force and the GA-Z170X-SOC Force. The latest addition, however, is meant for AMD CPUs specifically for the AM5 platform.

First spotted by @unikoshardware on X (Formerly Twitter), the new B850M Force is an M-ATX motherboard with a black PCB splashed with white and orange patterns that expand to the thermal heatsinks and chipset. A Wi-Fi 6E version of the motherboard has also been listed, which offers a similar set of features.

The B850M Force comes with only two memory DIMM slots, which, in a way, makes sense as one may not get the best stability when installing four RAM sticks instead of two. Speaking of which, Gigabyte lists support for DDR5 memory overclocking up to 9,600MT/s. It also comes with three M.2 storage slots, two of which have PCIe lanes connected to the CPU, while the third relies on the integrated chipset. All three support PCIe Gen 4 speeds, but the topmost slot additionally offers support for PCIe Gen 5 SSD when using the motherboard with a Ryzen 9000 or 7000 series CPU. There are also four SATA ports, if you prefer 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SSDs/HDDs.

One of Gigabyte's B650 (AM5) motherboards now lists support for AMD's unreleased and likely soon-to-launch Ryzen 9000G series APUs, as reported by VideoCardz. This suggests that AMD's upcoming Ryzen 9000G APUs will probably be supported on existing 600 and 800 series motherboards, of course, with a necessary BIOS update. That being said, names, specifications, and pricing still remain unconfirmed.

We first heard of AMD's Ryzen 9000G processors in late March, with leakers suggesting they'd employ Gorgon Point silicon. These APUs succeed AMD's incumbent Phoenix-built Ryzen 8000G lineup, which first debuted in January 2024. As for the underlying silicon, there are some nuances since Gorgon Point is rumored to be a refresh of Strix Point (Ryzen AI 300), alleged to offer single-digit performance increments across the board.

Gigabyte has inadvertently published a list of supported memory modules for unreleased Ryzen 9000G APUs on its B650M GAMING WIFI6E motherboard. This marks the second unofficial confirmation that these APUs will slot into existing AM5 motherboards. Nothing is official until AMD gives the official green light, so we'll still mark this as a leak.

There’s not a lot about the upcoming AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT that remains a mystery after AMD’s launch presentation, and its AIB partner boards being displayed all over Computex. However, Slovakia-based tech site HW Cooling recently enjoyed a Gigabyte factory tour, where they managed to snap a nice, clear shot of an upcoming RX 9060 XT graphics card PCB. There are lots of other interesting photos and details, too, if you care to check their full story.

The PCB is accompanied by a typical Gigabyte codename, which in this case is ‘R906XTG.’ We reckon that the PCB is therefore from one of Gigabyte’s pair of Radeon RX 9060 XT Gaming graphics cards – either the 8GB or 16GB model, we can’t tell from the image, and the -16GB or -8GD Gigabyte short code is missing from the model number. Gigabyte has announced four RX 9060 XT SKUs so far. They’re all dual-slot triple-fan cards.

Refocusing on the image, we saw the diminutive Navi 44 GPU in the flesh at Computex, so that isn’t new, but we can see it here where it should be, flanked by a quartet of GDDR6 memory chips from SK hynix at 12 o’clock and three o’clock. As we don’t know whether this is the 8GB or 16GB Gigabyte RX 9060 XT Gaming PCB, we aren’t sure whether there are another four VRAM chips installed on the other side of the PCB.

Above and to the right of the central GPU and VRAM area, Gigabyte has placed a single 8-pin power connector. Along the bottom edge is the lauded PCIe 5.0 x16 interface. AMD’s decision to feature only three display outputs, as you can see on the left side of this photo, hasn’t been warmly welcomed, though.

Concerned and bemused owners of Gigabyte graphics cards continue to document harrowing signs of thermal putty leaking out of their graphics cards despite the company's efforts to assuage fears that there's nothing to worry about.

Last month, Gigabyte addressed issues of thermal gel creep in its RTX 50-Series and AMD Radeon RX 9000 series GPUs, telling customers that in early production a slightly higher volume of gel was applied, which "may cause the excessive gel to appear more prominent, extended, and could potentially be separated from the designated area."

The company says there's nothing to worry about and the creep won't affect performance, reliability, or lifespan, but that hasn't stopped concerned users from continuing to document worrying signs of the dreaded thermal creep.

In particular, Reddit users u/supatx uploaded a series of images, which you can see in the Reddit embed below, documenting the problem unfolding over the course of a couple of weeks. The first two images show the first signs of the issue, small leakages on the main board. Images three and four "show where the thermal putty has dripped down onto the riser," they shared. Five and six "shows where the thermal putty has dripped down and no longer provides heat dissipation to most of what seems to be a VRAM chip." The final harrowing images show the gap in the system where the putty used to be from photo four.

5070ti Aorus Master Leaking Thermal Putty from r/gigabyte

The Gigabyte subreddit is awash with such reports. "I got my card about a week ago and seeing all those posts made me want to double check," another user shared. After a week of light use, their images show putty leaking from all the usual spots after just five hours of total use, with the card horizontal the whole time. "Is it ok?" another asked sheepishly.

While plenty of comments recommend just wiping up the excess and cracking on, Supatx's images appear to show that eventually, all of the putty in question will leak out, leaving nothing behind and presumably no thermal performance either. That could cast some doubt on Gigabyte's claim that the problem is caused merely by excess, with the images on display here apparently showing no thermal putty left behind on at least some parts of the board.

Gigabyte says that users with more questions or who require further assistance should contact their regional Gigabyte customer service center.

If you've been trying to find a GeForce RTX 5090 card for anything approaching MSRP since the cards first went on sale at the end of January, perhaps this will catch your eye. Newegg is selling Gigabyte RTX 5090 plus Intel Z890 motherboard combos starting at $3,139.

I know that sounds like a lot (because it is!), but the going rate for RTX 5090 cards over the past few months has been $4,000 and up. So the RTX 5090 price here is "only" $2,919 now.

This follows Newegg's past behavior of offering bundles of highly sought after items with products that few people want. We saw that with the best graphics cards during the pandemic and mining induced shortages, we've seen it with CPUs like the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and now Newegg apparently wants to clear some Intel Z890 inventory. Why not an AMD X870 motherboard bundle? I can imagine some bean counter calling out, "Wonder Twin powers... deactivate!"

It's funny / sad that you can buy the combo but not the individual Gigabyte RTX 5090 GPU because that's "out of stock" — with a helpful "Combo available" notification. It makes you wonder if this bundle stems from Newegg or Gigabyte, though perhaps that doesn't matter as the net result is the same. Maybe Gigabyte should bundle one of its exploding PSUs with the card for good measure?

What's particularly painful here is that these are Intel Z890 boards. That means they're designed for Intel Arrow Lake CPUs, like the Core Ultra 9 285K. Gaming performance has been particularly bad on Arrow Lake, for a variety of reasons. The latest BIOS and firmware updates have helped a bit (including a new Intel 200S Boost feature that bumps memory and fabric speeds and yields a few percent performance increase), but socket LGA1851 will apparently be a dead end, and there won't be any new CPUs for the platform.

So it's basically a motherboard that would be fine for a productivity / office build, but a board that will also limit gaming performance. And it's paired with the fastest graphics card currently available — and very possibly the fastest consumer GPU that we'll have until the next generation parts arrive in 2027. Awesome.

If you do happen to buy one of the RTX 5090 + Z890 motherboard bundles, don't just sell the motherboard on eBay or a similar place. You'll need to return both if you change your mind. RMA and warranty coverage shouldn't be a problem, though, as you'd be dealing with Gigabyte for that. The going rate for RTX 5090 cards on eBay over the past 30 days has averaged $4,039.50, with 207 units sold, and at least this comes from a mostly reputable source — questionable bundling practices notwithstanding.

CES is still trucking along in Las Vegas, Nevada, and we’re reporting from the show floor and surrounding venues to bring you coverage of all the hot gear coming in 2025. Be sure to check out our Day 0 and Day 1 articles for even more news from the show.

Corsair Xeneon Edge secondary touch screen

The best portable monitors have burgeoned into an exciting category for computer users who need additional real estate to remain productive. However, Corsair has a slightly different take on this segment with its new Xeneon Edge, a 14.5-inch landscape touch display (2560 x 720) that can fit below your existing monitor. You can even magnetically mount it to the side of your PC case.

The primary purpose of the $249 Xeneon Edge is to provide quick, glanceable information like fan speeds and CPU/GPU temperatures. Even though Windows sees the Xeneon Edge as a standard monitor, you'll can use widgets to customize the display to your liking.

• This tiny Corsair touchscreen could change the way you view info on your PC

New MSI Project Zero motherboards arrive at CES

MSI’s Project Zero, along with similar initiatives like Back to Future and Project Stealth, is aimed at reducing clutter and improving airflow in your PC case by moving data, fan, power and RGB connections to the back of the motherboard. Now, MSI has introduced a trio of new motherboards.

The MAG Z890 Tomahawk WiFi PZ and Tomahawk WiFi PZ White are LGA 1851 boards with a bevy of PCIe 5.0 and 4.0 slots, Wi-Fi 7, 5 GbE, and support for overclocking to 9200 MHz. The Pro Z890-S WiFi PZ isn't as well equipped, as it have just one PCIe 5.0 slot (but two PCIe 4.0 slots), and only 2.5 GbE (although it retains Wi-Fi 7.

Pricing and availability isn't yet known for these new Project Zero motherboards.

• MSI reveals Project Zero motherboards featuring concealed connectors

Gigabyte unveils its 2025 product portfolio

Gigabyte was at CES with a gaggle of new products, ranging from new gaming monitors to new laptops. On the monitor side, we have the MO32U, which is a 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED display with a 165 Hz refresh rate. Also on-hand was the MO27Q2, featuring a 27-inch QHD QD-OLED panel with a 240 Hz refresh rate.

Five new laptops were also introduced, featuring a mixture of Intel HX or AMD Ryzen AI processors. In particular, the Gigabyte Elite G16 combines Intel's new Arrow Lake HX processors with Nvidia's new GeForce RTX 50-Series "Blackwell" GPUs.

• Gigabyte launches a new PC case, laptops, and monitors at CES 2025

Everything else…

We can't possibly go into extra detail on every single product that we saw at CES in this wrap-up article, so we'll direct you to our coverage from Day 2 with the following stories.

• Phison unveils PS5028-E28 PCIe 5.0 SSD controller
• InWin shows off two new cases and USB C cooling fans at CES
• Raspberry Pi upgrades Lego retro radio into the real thing
• Hyte shows off new PC cooling toys, including new Thicc Q80 AIO
• Adata gears up for 2025 with new PC cases, coolers, and PSUs at CES
• CES 2025 is the 40th anniversary of the Commodore 128 — the last 8-bit PC first appeared at CES 1985
• Cooler Master's V-Series air coolers feature car engine block styling

Gigabyte launched several new desktop and laptop parts, peripherals, and devices this year, giving gamers many options for building their ideal gaming rig. The company’s booth in Las Vegas showcased these new goodies. In addition to the 30 new Nvidia and AMD Gigabyte GPUs on display, we saw a new large desktop case, five laptops powered by Intel and AMD processors, and two new gaming monitors.

First, the company showcased the Aorus C601 Glass, which features an all-new aesthetic and has a modular design that allows it to fit your specifications precisely as needed. It’s large enough to fit eATX motherboards, meaning you likely won’t have any issues putting in even the largest GPUs inside this case. It also comes pre-installed with four 140mm ARGB fans and is specifically optimized for airflow, ensuring consistent cooling across all your components. It also has a hinged glass door, making servicing your desktop PC much more convenient.

The company also has two new monitors on display—the Gigabyte MO27Q2 and MO32U gaming monitors. These use a Samsung QD-OLED panel for the most accurate colors, with both screens featuring HDR TrueBlack 400 and a Delta E<2, ensuring you’ll get the most accurate and lifelike colors on your display. They also feature a 0.03 ms response time, helping you get the crispest, sharpest images no matter how fast the action is on your screen.

The MO23U is the largest of the two displays, featuring a 31.5-inch screen with a 165 Hz refresh rate, while the smaller MO27Q2, which has a 27-inch screen, could go higher at 240 Hz. Nevertheless, both monitors have a Tactical Switch, which allows you to switch resolutions and display sizes on the fly. This ensures that your monitor will deliver what you need, whatever you’re running—whether it’s maximum image quality or the best possible frame rate.

Finally, we saw five new Gigabyte laptops, ensuring that there’s something for gamers who need a portable PC. We have two variants for the Gigabyte Aero X16, the company’s portable offering. It is 16.75 mm (0.7 inch) thick and weighs just 1.9 kg (4.2 lbs.), meaning you won’t have trouble bringing this around.

You can pick between an Intel HX or AMD Ryzen AI CPU, both of which make the laptop eligible for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC features, and both lines come with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 50-series laptop GPU for the best possible graphics performance. Aside from that, it has a sandblasted chassis and a silent but tactile Golden C keyboard design. This gives the Aero X16 a sleeper vibe, meaning only those in the know would know the power underneath its hood.

We also saw the Gigabyte Elite 16, which features the same Intel HX CPU and RTX 50-series laptop GPU. However, this is different because it prioritizes cooling over sleekness, and its Windforce Infinity 2.0 design can deliver up to 230 watts of cooling. Its 16-inch screen can hit 240 Hz and features HDR True Black 500 for the best viewing experience.

For those who need the best possible performance on a gaming laptop, there are the Master 16 and Master 18 laptops. The Elite 16 and Master 16 laptops mostly have the same performance, but the latter provides more “gamer-y” vibes with its case design and external RGB. On the other hand, the Master 18 has an even larger screen. Its 18-inch MiniLED screen delivers a 240 Hz refresh rate and up to HDR 1000 for the best viewing experience on a laptop.

All these announcements at CES make for an exciting 2025. We can’t wait to get our hands on these gadgets and more to test them and see how they perform versus their peers and predecessors.

Gigabyte has just announced 30 new GPU models at CES 2025, comprised of 27 Nvidia GPUs, which should soon be available, and three AMD Radeon RX 9000-series cards expected to arrive later this year. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 50-series comprises seven RTX 5090 cards, eight RTX 5080 GPUs, six RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards, and six RTX 5070 GPUs. The company also listed the following AMD cards: Aorus Radeon RX 9070 XT Elite, RX 9070 XT Gaming OC, and RX 9070 Gaming OC.

If you’re building a PC with a custom water loop, Gigabyte makes it easy to add the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 to your system. They’re both available in the Xtreme Waterforce WB variant. These two GPUs are also available in AIO versions for those who don’t want to deal with the intricacies of custom liquid cooling.

Small form factor (SFF) PC fans can also celebrate, as you’re getting nine SFF GPUs in the Gigabyte lineup — from the RTX 5080 to the RTX 5070—giving you three options per performance level. There’s also at least one white or light-colored GPU per level so that you can build an all-white SFF PC with a Gigabyte GPU.

Gigabyte’s new GPUs, both from Nvidia and AMD (except for the water block-only models), come with three fans. The company says that all these graphics cards use its new Hawk Fan design, reducing air resistance, thus making it more efficient at cooling these more power-hungry cards. They also reduce noise levels, allowing you to better enjoy your games without hearing the whine of a turbo et under your desk or beside your monitor.

As usual, Gigabyte is introducing these cards under the following trims: Xtreme Waterforce, Master, Gaming, Aero, Eagle, and Windforce. The Xtreme Waterforce is only available for the RTX 5090 and 5080, while you can choose Master, Gaming, and Windforce variants across all of Gigabyte’s RTX 50-series models. On the other hand, you can get an Aero GPU from 5080 and below, while Gigabyte’s Eagle is only an option for the 5070 Ti and the 5070.

All these options mean you can get an Nvidia GPU from Gigabyte that will fit your exact performance, aesthetics, and budgetary needs. The company will also launch AMD’s next-gen GPUs, but since they’re yet to arrive on the market, with an expected arrival date of Q1 2025, you’ll have to wait a few more months to get your hands on one.

Budget gamers looking for a deal this Black Friday will be happy to see that the Nvidia RTX 4060 is currently at an all-time low. The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 Gaming OC 8G entry-level GPU is currently on sale at less than $285 on Amazon and Newegg, although it’s already out of stock in the latter, so you should hurry if you want one. The sale price is 11% off Gigabyte’s RRP of $319.99, giving you savings of over $35 on the discrete GPU.

Those who want to be on the cutting edge of tech might want to hold off from getting a new Nvidia GPU, especially as it’s rumored that Jensen Huang will announce the 50-series at CES 2025 early next year. Furthermore, the RTX 5060 is expected to arrive in April 2025, so you don’t have to wait long if you want the latest entry-level GPU. But if you can’t wait any longer for Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs, this RTX 4060 deal is one of the best we’ve seen so far.

The RTX 4060 made our list of the Best Graphics Cards for Gaming, where we crowned it as the best budget Nvidia GPU. And even though it’s an entry-level offering, it’s still more than enough for the gaming needs of most people, as evidenced by Tom’s Hardware’s GPU benchmarks hierarchy test, with the factory overclocked 4060 GPU hitting nearly 150 FPS at 1080p Medium and more than 80 FPS at 1080p Ultra settings.

One drawback the 4060 has against the previous-generation RTX 3060 is that it only has a 128-bit 8GB VRAM, compared to the latter’s 192-bit 12GB VRAM (for the 12G version). Nevertheless, our comparison of the two GPUs showed that the RTX 4060 consistently outperformed the 3060 in all aspects.

This makes the RTX 4060 an excellent value GPU, especially for those looking to upgrade from an RTX 2060 or even older card. It’s also a great option for those looking to build their own entry-level gaming PC, although we’ve also found this RTX 4060-powered desktop gaming PC with an Intel Core i5-13600KF, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for $699.

We are working hard to find the best deals for you this Black Friday. If you're looking for other products, check out our Black Friday Computer Hardware Deals Live blog for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals Live blog, Monitor Deals Live, Graphics Card Deals, or CPU Deals pages.

Intel Z890 chipset LGA1851 motherboards have gone up for pre-order at Newegg. These motherboards were announced only at the end of last week, so it is good to see big U.S. retailers exposing their stocks and pricing quickly. Newegg has a bountiful selection to pick over, with 36 boards from brands like MSI, Gigabyte, and ASRock available to order. As per our headline, you can jump on the Intel Arrow Lake-S and Z890 train for as little as $189. However, for those on the hunt for more features and premium frills it is possible to spend up to $799 right now. Thankfully, there are probably many perfectly Goldilocks choices between the extremes, in the $250 to $400 price bracket. All these products ship from Oct 24.

If your budget is tight but you are determined to be an early adopter of the new Arrow Lake-S / LGA1851 platform, your only sub-$200 options come from ASRock. Basically, you can get the ASRock Z890 Pro-A for $189, or the same board with bundled Wi-Fi adaptor for $199. These are full-sized ATX boards with 4x DDR5 DIMM slots, 1 PCIe 5.0 x16, 2 PCIe 4.0 x4, 1 PCIe 4.0 x1, and 1 M.2 Key E for WiFi. It also has HDMI, DP, and Thunderbolt 4 Type-C for integrated video-out. For storage, there are four M.2 slots, one Gen 5, and three can do Gen 4.

If your brand loyalty means you insist on a Gigabyte or MSI motherboard, your Arrow Lake platform entry prices will instead be $209 and $229 (after rebate), respectively. These sums can secure you a Gigabyte Z890 UD WIFI6E or an MSI PRO Z890-P WIFI, respectively. Compared to the entry-level ASRock contenders, you don’t get much more than a different brand and a few thermal armor / guard style extras for your VRMs and SSDs.

Just two Micro ATX options are available for pre-order at Newegg, if this form factor is your PC DIY preference. Gigabyte has the all-white Z890M Aorus Elite WIFI7 ICE listed at $239, and there is also the ASRock Z890M Riptide WiFi Micro ATX board at $259. They both still offer 4x DDR5 DIMM slots, but there are naturally fewer PCI slots and three M.2 storage slots per board.

OK, let’s see what Newegg has to tempt the big spenders who want the most fully featured motherboards. If you have wads of cash to invest in a platform that may only last one processor generation (there are rumors) then you may be drawn to the over $600 bracket. For $659 (after a $10 rebate) you can snag the MSI MEG Z890 ACE. MSI packs in lots of premium features here. We would highlight the stronger power solution and OC Engine, which could appeal to system tweakers. Access to five fast M.2 storage slots is also welcome. You will see the board design has abundant Frozr design touches for cool smooth running. The fastest connectivity features like WiFi 7, 10G LAN are also present.

The most expensive Z890 motherboard we see on Newegg at this time is the ASRock Z890 Taichi AQUA we highlighted yesterday. This futuristic alpine white EATX board offers 10 USB-C connectors on the back panel, completely eschewing Type-A (except for front panel options). If you can get past the back panel port decision, the Aqua has lots of great features for enthusiasts.

Asus Z890 boards are not listed on Newegg’s retail pages at the time of writing. Previously spilled U.S. pricing indicates that the biggest player in the PC DIY market will offer Z890 motherboards priced from $280 all the way up to $1,000 and beyond.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sent letters to three computer companies, namely ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac, over their warranty policies. According to the agency, these policies violate the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which prohibits companies from putting conditions on their warranties based on the use of a product or service, such as a repair service. Furthermore, the FTC said, “Warranty language that implies to a customer acting reasonably under the circumstances that warranty coverage requires the consumer to purchase an article or service identified by brand, trade, or corporate name is similarly deceptive and prohibited.”

The primary concern of the FTC with these companies is specific language within their warranty policies. For example, ASRock includes the following in their written warranty: “Manufacturer’s warrant will be null and void if products are modified, damaged, or otherwise tampered with, for example, the outer case is opened or additional option parts/components are installed/removed.”

Similar statements are also found on Gigabyte’s and Zotac’s warranties. The former says, “If the manufacturing sticker inside the product was removed or damaged, it would no longer be covered by the warranty.” While the latter indicates, “Warranty claims will be void if the user: … [t]ampers, defaces, or removes any stickers indicating void warranty if broken.”

These policies basically prevent users from opening their devices, as doing so will void the manufacturer’s warranty. Asus was hit with a similar issue earlier this year, when it quoted a $2,750 fee to replace a chipped GPU power connector. While the company released a statement vowing to improve its warranty communication practices, Gamers Nexus proceeded with an in-depth investigation which forced the company to revamp its warranty and service policies.

Today, the FTC is taking notice of issues like these in the tech world. While giant tech companies like Apple and Microsoft have been in the limelight for several years due to their anti-repair practices, these “smaller” but nonetheless important players in the consumer PC hardware industry should be taken into account, too.

The consumer protection agency gave the three companies 30 days to change and update their policies to comply with the warranty law. While the FTC sent the letters to the companies as a warning, they also included the following: " We do not waive the FTC’s right to take law enforcement action and seek appropriate injunctive and monetary remedies against [the companies involved] based on past or future violations.”

Without fanfare, Gigabyte has added a new Nvidia-powered graphics card to its lineup. The new GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Windforce Max OC not only comes with a massive cooling system and high clocks but also positions its 'hidden' 16-pin power connector in a rather curious way, reports VideoCardz. 

To a large degree, Gigabyte's GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Windforce Max OC — based on the AD103 GPU with 8,448 CUDA cores and 16GB of GDDR6X memory — is a revamped and larger variant of its predecessor, the RTX 4070 Ti Super Windforce OC that was released earlier this year (which is already one of the best graphics cards around). The notable design changes presented by the new entrant are aimed at improving performance, as well as overclocking potential, and they have succeeded in doing so. 

Gigabyte's GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Windforce Max OC features a GPU clock speed of up to 2,655 MHz, only a slight bump from the 2,625 MHz of the earlier Windforce OC model. Yet, with a larger cooler, the new add-in-board should have greater overclocking potential and will be able to work at enhanced frequencies for a longer period.

There are of course some tradeoffs. To maximize the capabilities of its GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Windforce Max OC, Gigabyte made the card's dimensions significantly larger compared to its predecessor. The new AIB measures 331 mm (length) × 136 mm (width), and 55.5 mm (height) compared to the non-Max card that measures 261 x 126 x 50 mm. This means that buyers of the new board should ensure that their chassis can house this giant before making the purchase. 

Another aspect of Gigabyte's latest custom engineered graphics board is its concealed power connector, at its back. This new placement may enable safer and more reliable cable management in larger chassis, though everything depends on actual PC case and its cable management. We have seen previous examples of AIBs doing similar things with power connectors, but it remains a welcome tweak.

For now, Gigabyte has not disclosed the pricing or availability time of the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Windforce Max OC, yet this is obviously a premium product set to be sold at an appropriate price.

Gigabyte launched its AI TOP 100E series of SSDs, aiming to rival the best SSDs around town. With an unparalleled endurance rating of up to 219,000 TBW on the 2TB model, the AI TOP 100E drives target very intensive workloads, such as AI training.

The AI TOP 100E SSD comes in a standard M.2 2280 form factor and utilizes the PCIe 4.0 interface. It's not going to win any pure performance races, especially if you pitch it against the more modern PCIe 5.0 drives. However, its durability ratings are the AI TOP 100E SSD's primary selling point. Sadly, Gigabyte doesn't reveal what kind of 3D NAND flash the company utilizes in the AI TOP 100E SSD or what type of magic it uses to achieve that level of durability. Perhaps it just has a lot of spare NAND, but even that on its own wouldn't be enough to hit the 60 drive writes per day (DWPD) rating.

The company only mentions an "AI TOP" utility that seemingly offloads the processing work of large datasets from the graphics card's VRAM or the system's RAM to the AI TOP 100E SSD. The approach intends to expand the memory pool size so the user can fine-tune large AI models. That's why Gigabyte made the AI TOP 100E SSD as durable as it is.

Gigabyte rates the 1TB and 2TB models for an eye-popping 109,500 TBW and 219,500 TBW, respectively. That's equal to nearly 17 hours per day of continuous 2 TB/s writes for five years on the larger drive — an imposing figure that rivals enterprise and data center-grade SSDs. Comparing the AI TOP 100E SSD to the Samsung 990 Pro, one of the top PCIe 4.0 SSDs, Gigabyte's drives offer up to 183X more endurance at the same 1TB and 2TB capacities. The math isn't far from Gigabyte's claims that the AI TOP 100E SSD has a 150X higher TBW rating than a conventional PCIe 4.0 SSD (1,400 TBW).

Gigabyte AI TOP 100E SSD Specifications

The AI TOP 100E comes in two variants, 1TB and 2TB, with the latter doubling the endurance rating. If we look past the endurance, the AI TOP 100E SSD performs similarly to other PCIe 4.0 SSDs. The 1TB has the higher performance of the duo, with sequential read and write speeds up to 7,200 MB/s and 6,500 MB/s, respectively. The 2TB model has slightly slower specs, with the same 7,200 MB/s sequential reads but only 5,900 MB/s for sequential writes. The 1TB and 2TB models have 1GB and 2GB of LPDDR4 memory, respectively.

Gigabyte didn't reveal the random performance for the AI TOP 100E SSD, so we'll have to work with the sequential numbers to make a comparison. The AI TOP 100E SSD's performance is in the same alley as the Samsung 990 Pro — at least on paper. The Samsung 990 Pro offers sequential read and write speeds up to 7,450 MB/s and 6,900 MB/s, respectively, so it's only around 3.5% and 6.2% faster than the AI TOP 100E SSD.

Gigabyte doesn't market the AI TOP 100E SSD as an enterprise SSD or anything else. The company simply highlights the drive's strong endurance as being great for AI workloads, with the features page stating that "the AI TOP 100E SSD is designed exclusively for intensive AI workloads." Like many consumer drives, Gigabyte backs the AI TOP 100E SSD with a limited five-year warranty or until the TBW is up. The company only recently listed the SSD, so pricing and availability are unknown.

The U.S. government has extended the tariff exemptions on graphics cards, motherboards, and even SSDs imported from China for another year, now lasting until May 31, 2025, reports PCMag citing representatives from the U.S. Trade Representative and a new document. This extension contradicts previous indications that Trump-era tariffs on these components would be reinstated.

In 2018, the U.S. government under former president Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on certain products made in China. This included graphics cards, motherboards, SSDs, and other products that rely on printed circuit boards. The Trump administration then suspended tariffs on products such as 'graphics processing modules' and 'unfinished logic boards' in September 2019 till January 2021. The Biden administration did not remove the import rule altogether, but continued to temporarily suspend it using a temporary exclusion process.  

As a result, when the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) initially suggested that tariffs would continue, it said nothing new as the Biden administration did not charge the law itself, just suspended it for a while for select items using exemptions. Therefore, a closer examination revealed that the administration is re-enabling these exemptions to support efforts to find alternative sources outside of China, where availability remains limited.

"Based on evaluation of the factors set out in the December 29 notice, and pursuant to sections 301(b), 301(c), and 307(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined to further modify the action to extend the exclusions listed in Annex C to this notice through May 31, 2025," a statement by the U.S. government reads. "The U.S. Trade Representative has found that extending these exclusions will support efforts to shift sourcing out of China, or provide additional time where, despite efforts to source products from alternative sources, availability of the product outside of China remains limited." 

ASRock confirmed that the exclusion has been imposed in a conversation with PCMag, emphasizing its importance for its business. The decision is also advantageous for consumers and PC vendors. In fact, numerous companies reportedly tried to lobby for these exemptions due to scarcity of electronics manufacturing outside China. The Biden administration initially lifted tariffs on these components in 2022 through a temporary exclusion process, which has now been extended.

Other products, such as air fryers, certain video cameras, and specific bicycle models, will continue to face Trump-era tariffs. Additionally, the administration has increased import fees on Chinese steel, aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, EV batteries, and solar panels.

Gigabyte has four new Aorus Elite series power supplies available, supporting the ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 standards, with 80 Plus Platinum efficiency certification. The new fully modular power supplies are 850W and 1000W, clearly intending to compete with the best power supplies currently available. The two capacities come in either white or black trim for the casing and matching flat cables, so users can match the color scheme of their PC builds (provided the color is one of those two options).

These power supplies include all the standard power protection circuits like OCP, OTP, OVP, UVP, and SCP — protecting the hardware from over current, over and under voltage, over temperature, over power, and short circuit. The power supplies are designed to be compact for the power output, and are only 140mm deep ATX form factor PSUs. Cooled comes via a 120mm fluid dynamic bearing fan.

Aorus also includes a magnetic plate that can be swapped to either side of the power supply, depending on the unit's orientation. That can be helpful if you want to be able to see the name and specs, as not all cases are the same.

Perhaps more importantly, Gigabyte provides a 10-year warranty on these new PSUs, at least for the U.S. and many other regions — some areas may have an adjusted warranty length. But that's an area where warranty on paper and actual support may differ.

In the past year, Gigabyte PSUs were in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, and public perception took a big hit due to the Gigabyte GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM exploding units. Our power supply reviewer tested the 750W variant, and was able to cause a catastrophic failure. Gigabyte did partially address the issue by adjusting the OPP protection threshold, but initially didn't acknowledge or address issues relating to Dead-On-Arrival and failing units that customers were experiencing.

Now, Gigabyte and by extension Aorus power supplies face an uphill battle. Even though the failures were limited to certain models, the handling of reported problems should have been much better. When issues are not handled properly, users tend to avoid products from the company in the future, even if they're good options.

Other power supply companies have provided better responses, like EVGA, FSP, Cooler Master, Corsair and Seasonic who provided a stop-gap solution for the controversial 12VHPWR standard. No company is invulnerable from producing the occasional lemon, but providing bad service after the fact can truly damage a reputation that took decades to build.

While these new PSUs look good on paper, with an 80 Plus Platinum efficiency rating, that's not the deepest standard and doesn't inherently guarantee any specific level of quality. We'll have to see how the new units are priced and how they perform once independent reviews start showing up.

According to a Gigabyte Vietnam Facebook posting, the Gigabyte Xtreme Ice Aorus Xtreme RTX 4080 Super photos with "Bionic shark fans" spotted yesterday are in fact legitimate, and point to an imminent-but-unspecified limited-run release. The white take on the previously black-and-gold Aorus Xtreme design looks pretty grandiose in its own right, and the GPU is one of the best graphics cards.

Similar to Gigabyte's other Aorus Ice GPUs, the Xtreme Ice is a white, air-cooled GPU. However, this is actually a break away from the Aorus Xtreme tradition of WaterForce GPU coolers. That could be why these will apparently be limited to only 300 GPUs, according to VideoCardz — sold in bundles that include everything you'd need, except for a case, CPU, and SSD.

We reached out to Gigabyte for comment, who told us: "The XTREME ICE is a limited-edition series that will be launching in the near future. Availability is expected to be very tight. The MB and GPUs will include an exclusive gold serial plaque."

Compared to the stock RTX 4080 Super, the Gigabyte Aorus Xtreme Ice differences include a 150 MHz overclock to 2.7 GHz, RGB lighting, and a built-in screen. The massive triple-fan, triple-slot cooler design will appeal to users who have plenty of room in their cases, and who value cooler temperatures.

Gigabyte boasts in its announcement slides that its 2.7 GHz clock is an unprecedented factory OC of the 4080 Super. Additionally, they estimate 885 AI TOPs performance compared to the 836 AI TOPs of the stock 4080 Super, which is a nice bonus for those who wish to leverage AI workloads. The cards will feature dual BIOS functionality and come with a 4-year warranty period.

The Gigabyte Aorus Xtreme Ice RTX 4080 Super will be available in a limited-run bundle, with an unknown launch date. The GPUs will come bundled with other white Aorus PC components, specifically a 1000W power supply, an Intel Z790 motherboard, and a 360mm liquid cooler. Curiously, Gigabyte isn't including one of its Aorus Gen5 SSDs.

The total bundle will likely cost quite a bit, considering its components. The GPU on its own starts at $999, and overclocked variants can go for $1,300 or more. We'll have to wait and see, but $2,000 (give or take) for the entire bundle wouldn't be shocking. Rumors suggest the bundle could go on sale within the next few weeks.

OLED panels are becoming more commonplace in the gaming monitor field, and Gigabyte is flexing its muscle with the debut of three new offerings to expand its lineup. We’ve already discussed the Aorus FO32U2P, but the FO32U2 and the FO27Q3 will also join it. According to product listings on Newegg, all three monitors will go on sale on April 30.

The Aorus FO32U2P is a 32-inch QD-OLED monitor with a 4K resolution and 240 Hz refresh rate. It supports HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity (UHBR 20), VESA ClearMR 13000 and DisplayHDR True Black 400 certifications, along with 99 percent coverage of DCI-P3. Also included are AMD FreeSync Premium Pro support, an integrated KVM switch, and a height-adjustable stand.

The Aorus FO32U2P is shadowed by the Aorus FO32U2, which initially seems like a carbon copy regarding specs. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that the FO32U2 doesn’t support DisplayPort 2.1. Instead, it falls back to the tried-and-true DisplayPort 1.4 standard. As far as we can tell, this is the only spec difference between the two monitors.

The final slice from Gigabyte’s QD-OLED Aorus pie is the Aorus FO27Q3, which has a smaller 27-inch panel. The smaller panel also means that resolution takes a step back, dropping to 2560 x 1440. However, that resolution reduction also allowed Gigabyte to crank the refresh rate to 360 Hz versus 240 Hz for its 4K siblings. VESA ClearMR 13000 and DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification remain, and you still get FreeSync Premium Pro support. A KVM switch is included, and like the FO32U2, it only supports DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1.

Newegg lists the 32-inch Aorus FO32U2P for $1,199 and the FO32U2 at $1,099, respectively. The 27-inch Aorus FO27Q3 retails for $799.99. The monitors are scheduled to ship by April 30.

All three monitors are covered by Gigabyte’s new enhanced three-year warranty covering burn-in. While many manufacturers employ hardware and software mitigations to reduce the occurrence of screen burn-in, offering a lofty warranty is definitely a pro-consumer move. Gigabyte’s new warranty policy now matches coverage provided by rivals Asus and MSI. However, new technology on the horizon could potentially eliminate screen burn-in.

According to a press release cited by TechPowerUp, Gigabyte is now offering an 'enhanced three-year warranty' for its entire range of QD-OLED monitors. Like Asus and MSI's burn-in warranty policy, Gigabyte will honor a three-year warranty for its entire lineup of QD-OLED monitors. We've yet to feature a Gigabyte monitor in our list of the Best 4K Gaming Monitors, but who knows, this may change in 2024.

At the time of writing, Gigabyte has a few QD-OLED monitors in different sizes and resolutions. The new warranty includes the CO49DQ, FO32U2P, FO32U2, FO27Q3, MO34WQC, and MO34WQC2 models. The Aorus FO27Q3 is the smallest at 27 inches and features a 1440p resolution with a 360 Hz refresh rate. At the top end is the Aorus FO32U2P 32-inch monitor with a 4K resolution and 240Hz refresh rate with DisplayPort 2.1. 

It's hardly surprising that we see more companies honoring warranties for burn-in issues, as many OLED monitors are susceptible to this form of damage. Now that Gigabyte has followed Asus and MSI, we may soon see other monitor brands follow suit. 

Other countermeasures for Burn-In issues

Apart from extended warranty support, respective companies have provided firmware updates and OSD features to prevent burn-in. Gigabyte claimed it uses AI to prevent burn-in. The AI-based algorithms provide a series of OLED protection technologies, dubbed "OLED Care," to reduce the likelihood of static images damaging your expensive OLED screen.

OLED panels are being implemented in many devices, including portable gaming systems, smartphones, notebooks, TVs, and desktop monitors. Specialized warranty coverage is always appreciated but prevention is better than cure. 

Like many companies, Gigabyte showed off its upcoming monitors during CES 2024, ready to release anything this year. The company showcased five monitors, but the Aorus FO32UP is its first monitor to use DisplayPort 2.1 and UHBR (Ulta High Bitrate) 20 standard for its QD-OLED monitor.

This standard means that this monitor will have a transfer speed of 20 Gbit/s with each of its four lanes, giving you up to 80 Gbit/s without Display Stream Compression. Theoretically, it should provide enough bandwidth for a better gaming visual experience than the UHBR1.3-certified monitors. The DP 2.1 standard can also support daisy chaining between multiple displays, reducing the clutter between the system and various monitors. AMD Radeon RX 7000 series already supports DP 2.1 with UHBR 13.5, and the next generation Nvidia RTX Blackwell 50 series is rumored to support DisplayPort 2.1. We'll have to see if Blackwell GPUs will support UHBR20.

The FO32U2P is a 32-inch QD-OLED monitor with 4K resolution and 240 Hz refresh rate. The panel is rated for VESA ClearMR 13000, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, and 99% DCI-P3 ultrawide color gamut.

2024 is the Year for HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1 and Dual Resolution Toggle Monitors

All this sounds good on paper, but Aorus, like everybody else, will have to show it takes advantage of this increased bandwidth to provide the best possible display performance. We'll only know that once the monitor is released and if we can test it. Many monitors were down during CES 2024 with DisplayPort 2.1, such as the ROG Swift PG32UQXR monitor, with 4K resolution on a 32-inch display and DisplayPort2.1 and HDMI 2.1 output.

Like the Asus PG32UCDP monitor, this monitor will let you toggle with a 1080p resolution, which Gigabyte calls 'Resolution Switch,' letting you play games on your preferred resolution. It is not known what the accompanying refresh rate for the 1080p mode will be. The Asus PG32UCDP switches to 1080p with a 480 Hz refresh rate. This Asus monitor offers DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1, just like the Aorus FO32U2 showcased during CES 2024.

It is no surprise that monitors are adopting newer standards. As said before, it will be a while since we see DisplayPort 1.2a being adopted by both display and GPU vendors. Gigabyte did not reveal its pricing, but it is expected to be out within 1st Half of 2024, perhaps along with the Aorus FO32U2.

Prolific repair professional and YouTuber NorthridgeFix received 19 GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards from a single customer. In the ensuing video, he outlines that most of the graphics cards have cracked PCBs near the PCIe card's retention finger. Although the source of the damage with these specific cards isn't readily apparent, the issue with PCB cracking on new, heavy GPUs has become more widespread.

This multitude of cracked graphics card PCBs is puzzling. NorthridgeFix has seen this kind of issue in this area before, but getting so many in a batch raised questions. Who was to blame? NorthridgeFix said it could be the user, manufacturer, designer, or materials. He also pondered whether this batch of faulty Asus and Gigabyte cards (cracks present on Asus boards only) could be from a system maker who didn't include a GPU support. Another possibility was that PC systems shipped with installed RTX 4090 graphics cards and were treated roughly in transit.

The GeForce RTX 4090 is a beefy and complicated graphics card. Typically, its PCB is made with 12-15 layers, each hosting a complex array of electrical traces. As Alex went through the 19 boxes one by one, as soon as he spotted a crack in the PCB, he referred to it as a "no fix" and put it to one side. Cracked PCBs with so many layers are possible to repair, but doing so isn't practical in terms of cost. Customers submitting these cards will be charged a bench fee (for handling) plus postage and packing.

Naturally, Alex wondered about the source of these 19 GPUs and how a single customer had acquired them. NorthridgeFix assumed the buyer may have bought them on eBay, hoping for an easy repair, and then to sell on at profit. 

To the credit of the owner of the 19 broken GPUs, none had other visible damage or burn marks, which can be a regular issue with RTX 4090's 12VHPWR connectors across brands.

There isn't anything wrong with selling graphics cards that have damaged PCBs, like those tossed into the 'no fix' pile by NorthridgeFix, as long as the description of the problem is clear to the potential buyer. These 'dead cards'  can still be used as donor boards for various parts: shrouds, fans, VRAM, GPUs, and more. It is good to recycle where possible.

Can These PCB Cracks Be Fixed?

The time and effort (and thus expense) needed to repair the cracked traces in multiple PCB layers is not worthwhile. However, in another NorthridgeFix video from earlier this year, you see the arduous task of fixing an Asus GeForce graphics card that had broken near the retention finger.

Fiberglass is typically used as a filling and tends to be stronger than copper. However, any subsequent use, installation, and removal of this repaired card will need to be done with extreme care.

Has this problem been going on for long?

We have reported on this type of GPU PCB cracking, usually affecting big and heavy graphics cards, previously. Professional repair technicians like Louis Rossman, NorthridgeFix, and others have featured these faults and repairs for months. Another example in the news this year seemed to center on PCB design issues with Gigabyte cards.

Gigabyte has launched the Aorus CO49DQ Gaming Monitor. Highlights of this new super ultra-wide display include its 49-inch QD-OLED panel, with a DQHD 5120 x 1440 pixels resolution, and an 1800R curvature. Gamers may also appreciate its 144 Hz refresh rate, 0.03 ms g2g response time, and gaming 'tactical features'.

As well as the gaming-friendly features, the Aorus CO49DQ is pitched as a good fit for multi-tasking and content creation tasks. Productivity use cases mentioned by Gigabyte include film editing and music editing. For some of those tasks, a monitor may need good color specs and this QD-OLED screen has 10-bit color, a 99% DCI-P3 gamut, and is certified for VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400. Some will also appreciate the eye-comfort of the non-glare panel. Multi-tasking is embraced by the monitor providing both picture-in-picture (PiP) and picture-by-picture (PbP) modes. 

AI for Burn-In Prevention?

The word 'AI' is a new buzzword and we'll see a lot of it used either as a genuine innovation and expansion, or just a marketing term for functions that have little to do with machine learning. Aorus claims to use an AI-based algorithm to minimize the risk of burn-in issues by using a series of OLED protection technologies described as 'OLED Care' functionality. In the manual, the OSD shows options like Care+, usage time, pixel clean, static control, pixel shift, APL stabilize, and sub-logo Dim.

I am intrigued to know if it uses an AI algorithm to minimize this lingering issue with OLED panels - and how it functions irrespective of the fact. One might be more optimistic about its real-world performance, once it has been put through third-party burn-in torture tests with these functions enabled.

It is nice to have burn-in protection features that work, AI or otherwise. It is also good to see companies mentioning the warranty period and assuring burn-in issue is covered, like how LG and Corsair do on their respective websites. I am sure many would agree this is a piece of necessary information, especially with OLED monitors. I couldn't get any information about this monitor's warranty period- either on the website, the specs, or the manual and there's no downloadable warranty card. Here's hoping Gigabyte will be clear about its warranty period shortly. 

I/O and Other Features

For input, the Aorus CO49DQ has two HDMI 2.1 ports with CEC support and a DisplayPort 1.4 with HBR3 for video input. Meanwhile, a DP-Alt with 18w PD USB Type-C and two Type-A USB 3.2 pass-throughs is enabled through the USB 3.2 Type-B upstream connector. There is a headphone jack, and two 5W speakers are present. 

For ergonomics it has swivel and tilt adjustment, but no height adjustment. There is an option to get a third-party arm or desk mount as this monitor provides a 100 x 100 VESA mounting.

Gigabyte regularly provides KVM features in many of its monitors by default and the CO49DQ is no different. This is a useful feature that justifies a certain premium since people like to swap between their desktop, mobile phone, and laptop if and when needed using the aforementioned PiP and PbP modes. The power supply is built-in, unlike many monitors that usually come with a power brick. It is rated to consume a maximum of 72 watts.

The rest of the features are typical of modern Aorus gaming monitors - OSD Sidekick, Black Equalizer, Dashboard, Crosshair, Timer, Counter, firmware auto-update, and others.

The State of DQHD QD-OLED Monitors

It seems that we'll see plenty of 49-inch QD-OLED monitors with 1800R with DHQD 5120 x 1440 resolution, and a 144Hz refresh rate in 2024. The Aorus CO49DQ, MSI MPG 491CQP, and the RedMagic Realm seem to all be based on the same (Samsung) panel, and we could see more.

Gigabyte has quietly launched a new GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card with a low profile (LP) design. We first caught a glimpse of this sleek and compact RTX 4060 in early July. Now we have the full details and specifications and can be quite confident this product will be on shelves soon. HTPC and compact PC upgraders and DIYers may be particularly interested in this card.

From Nvidia’s existing range of Ada Lovelace GPU-based products, the RTX 4060 is the best suited to cramped form factors due to its thrifty 115 W TDP, the lowest power consumption in the family until some RTX 4050 cards come along. Mini-ITX RTX 4060 designs from Nvidia AIBs are quite common already, but LP cards are much thinner on the ground. This is actually Gigabyte’s first Ada Lovelace LP product.

We have seen Gigabyte’s previous generations feature LP designs, but this Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile 8G (GV-N4060OC-8GL) is the first outing for what seems like a new triple fan cooler. Gigabyte says this new custom design is 182mm long, 40mm thick, and 69mm tall (LP bracket) and features “pure copper heat pipes that make direct contact with the GPU.” The heat pipes are threaded through a heat sink, and cooled by the trio of fans.

In nearly all the gallery and promotional images of this graphics card, the full-height bracket is affixed to the card, but Gigabyte says there is an LP bracket in the box. We didn’t really doubt it, but it is good to see it confirmed. As per the previous leak, the connectivity provided allows for up to four simultaneous displays via two DP and two HDMI ports.

From the name of this graphics card model, you will be expecting a factory overclock, but you aren't going to be thrilled by the speed. According to Gigabyte, this LP card’s GPU runs up to 2,475 MHz out of the box, which is a mere 15 MHz better than the reference card. All other technical specifications of this 3,072 CUDA core and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory graphics card follow the reference. Check out our GeForce RTX 4060 review for the performance levels this LP card should be capable of delivering.

So, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile 8G is very much a ‘known quantity’ as it launches. However, potential buyers should wait for third-party reviews to hear about the triple fan cooler’s noise profile (smaller fans can be more irritating). Also, there might be a price premium for this compact design.

If your PC has Gigabyte components, you may be able to use a specialized version of HWInfo to monitor your components. The hardware and software companies announced a collaboration today that adds special skins and features to HWInfo on PCs with Gigabyte's motherboards.

One of the results of this partnership is that people will be able to check out the more advanced memory sub-timings to see how their RAM is performing, and there's also what appears to be a new breakout box specifically for monitoring those values. "This empowers users to make informed decisions when optimizing their memory configurations, ultimately enhancing system performance and stability," Gigabyte wrote in a press release.

There's also a new exclusive feature to see settings from your Gigabyte Aorus BIOS. While it doesn't appear that you'll be able to change BIOS settings from the app (that would be pretty wild!), you can check which settings you have enabled.

The new skins are pretty simple, with options for light mode and dark mode featuring orange highlights and an Aorus logo.

Both Intel and AMD motherboards will be supported. Here's the BIOS you'll need to get started on each one, per Gigabyte's release:

• Intel Z790/B760/Z690/B660/H610 motherboard, release BIOS date Jul 28, 2023.
• AMD X670/B650/A620 motherboards, beta BIOS date Jul 21, 2023.

The company suggests that more features will gain support in "the future," but hasn't laid out a timetable.

It's unclear how long these features will be exclusive to Gigabyte motherboards, and when or if HWInfo may bring them to PCs with boards from other companies.

This would hardly be the first piece of diagnostic software with hardware partners on board. CPU-Z, another popular diagnostic utility, has versions in partnership with Cooler Master, Asus ROG, MSI, ASRock and for both Gigabyte and Aorus.

HWInfo is a free download for all Windows PCs and is free for non-commercial use. (HWInfo 32-bit is freeware for everyone. HWInfo 64 v 7.00 and later requires a license if you're a commercial operator).

Just days after AMD released its new memory-enhancing AGESA 1.0.0.7b update, HiCookie, one of the world's best-known overclockers, has managed to hit over 9000 MHz on one of his DDR5 memory kits operating on a Ryzen 7 7800X3D system. 

This is one of the fastest DDR5 overclocks we've seen to date on any DDR5-supported platform, demonstrating that AM5 has a lot more DDR5 overclocking potential than initially expected. At this rate, we could see 10,000 MHz overclocks in no time — and we might even see Ryzen 7000 systems actively beating Intel's best Alder Lake/Raptor Lake CPUs in memory overclocking for the first time ever.

The overclock was achieved with Gigabyte DDR5-8400 modules on a B650E Aorus Tacyon motherboard with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU. The DDR5 modules were overclocked to 9058 MHz with slightly tighter 54-56-56-126 timings compared to the module's default XMP configuration.

The new AGESA 1.0.0.7b update is arguably the most impactful AMD microcode update we've seen on the AM5 platform to date. The new patch substantially increases memory support (and memory stability, by the looks of it), allowing most Ryzen 7000 CPUs to hit 7000 - 8000 MHz regularly and 6400 MHz in a 1:1 UCLK:MEMCLK ratio, which is optimal for gaming and other latency-sensitive tasks. This is a substantial change from previous patches, where 6000 MHz was the peak most Ryzen 7000 chips could hit stably. Anything beyond 6000 MHz was completely unpredictable.

The new update has a lot of new features that enhance memory stability and boost frequency support, but the primary change that improves higher-frequency DDR5 functionality is a new set of previously-hidden timing parameters that control the Ryzen 7000 memory controller. These settings were hidden from the user in the past — and possibly motherboard manufacturers as well — but now they have opened them up to users and BIOS developers to alleviate any bottlenecks the memory controller might be responsible for.

If overclockers continue to push memory overclocks like this with AMD's new AGESA microcode update, this may be the first real competition we've seen from AMD regarding memory overclocking. Past AMD Ryzen architectures have always had inferior memory overclocking performance, due to the hardware limitations of their memory controllers, compared to Intel. But now it seems like the tables may be turning, and AMD may even have the better-performing memory controller. We'll know this soon enough if memory overclockers start breaking DDR5 frequency world records on AMD hardware.

Some of the best SSDs, specifically the PCIe 5.0 drives based on the Phison PS5026-E26 controller, have been crashing instead of thermal throttling when operating without a cooler. However, it is worth noting that all of the impacted drives are designed and marketed to specifically be used with a heatsink, so the conditions that expose the thermal shutdown will not present themselves if the drives are used correctly (in accordance with manufacturer specifications).

Initially, only the Corsair MP700 exhibited this behavior; however, it's now become apparent that the issue is more widespread and affects other Phison E26-based SSDs that are designed for heatsinks when they are used without heatsinks attached.

German news outlet Computerbase discovered that the Seagate FireCuda 540, Gigabyte Aorus Gen5 10000, and Adata Legend 970 also suffer from the shutdown issue. It was to be expected since the PCIe 5.0 SSDs utilize the same Phison E26 controller. The FireCuda 540, Aorus Gen5 10000, and Leged 970 are still on firmware 22. Seagate hasn't gotten back to Computerbase when the new firmware will be available, whereas Gigabyte promised that it'll arrive "soon."

To recap: the issue only occurs when you use a PCIe 5.0 SSD without cooling. When the drive gets too hot, it shuts down to protect the SSD controller, NAND, and data. This shouldn't be an issue if the PCIe 5.0 drive is adequately cooled by the included heatsink or the M.2 heatsink from the motherboard. Regardless, Phison has released a new firmware (version 22.1) that ensures the PCIe 5.0 SSDs throttle — instead of just crashing, which can lead to data loss. 

Firmware 22.1 introduces link-state thermal throttling that essentially reduces the PCIe interface speed — for example, dropping from PCIe 5.0 to PCIe 4.0 or even PCIe 3.0 to lower the temperature of the physical layer (PHY) without throttling the processor clock. This will obviously impact the PCIe 5.0 SSD's performance, but it should also keep it from engaging a shutdown to protect the integrity of the SSD controller. According to Computerbase, the thermal threshold on the new firmware 22.1 is 85 degrees Celsius.

In the beginning, the Crucial T700 didn't have the issue. The PCIe 5.0 would throttle until the drive operated at hard drive speeds but didn't shut down thermally. Computerbase performed more tests on the Crucial T700, and it showed similar failures, so the drive may also need the firmware 22.1 update.

Under the new firmware 22.1, Phison E26-powered SSDs should still provide an acceptable level of performance at high temperatures. Without a cooler, the Corsair MP700 delivered sequential read and write speeds over 10 GB/s and 2 GB/s, respectively. Remember that it's a safety measure in case temperatures get out of hand, and you should always use a cooler with your PCIe 5.0 SSD.

Edit: 7/21/2023 3:45pm PT: Clarified that these SSDs are specifically designed to be used with a heatsink. 

According to several Reddit, Twitter, and TechPowerUp reports, AMD has massively improved DDR5 memory support on the AM5 platform with a new microcode update known as AGESA 1.0.0.7b. The update allows some boards to push DDR5 frequencies as high as 8000MHz without issue and boosts the optimal 1:1 (UCLK:MEMCLK) ratio to 6400MHz. Gigabyte and ASRock have already published stability runs with the new BIOS update, showing off 8000MHz and 7200MHz working perfectly on the Aorus X670E Master and X670E Taichi.

Only a few AM5 motherboards have the new microcode update for now. Still, we suspect the update will become more readily available over the next couple of weeks, depending on the launch schedule of each motherboard manufacturer.

ASRock X670E taichi new bios has support for 7200 xmp/expo memory link inside... from r/Amd

An ASRock engineer on Reddit shared many of the changes AMD has made to the 1.0.0.7b microcode update that significantly increases memory support. One of the biggest is a new setting called DDR5 nitro mode that alters some of the timing parameters inside the memory controller of Ryzen 7000 CPUs to enable higher frequencies. Memory training has also received some significant changes, allowing users to run the initial memory training algorithm for much longer if needed, which can improve the likely hood of a problematic DDR5 memory kit working on an AM5 motherboard.

According to the engineer, the new update will now allow most Ryzen 7000 CPUs to run at 6400MHz comfortably in a 1:1 ratio without failing and allow some motherboards and CPUs to hit 7600-7800MHz depending on silicon lottery when running at a higher ratio. This is a large change from the past, where anything past 6000MHz was unpredictable from a reliability standpoint.

Of course, these changes come from an ASRock engineer specifically, so we can't be sure if some of these changes are board specific or if all these changes come from the AGESA microcode update itself. Regardless, the new update appears to fix a lot of the memory problems AMD's new AM5 platform has been dealing with since the very beginning, as well as improving support for ultra-fast memory kits in the 7000-8000MHz range (whether stock or manually overclocked).

Gigabyte looks set to be the first Nvidia AIB to give the GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card the low profile (LP) treatment. Today, VideoCardz showed some exclusive images of this diminutive but thoroughly modern desktop GPU. We don’t have the model name yet, but Gigabyte’s GeForce RTX 4060 LP model looks unique with its squat triple fans design and dual-slot thickness.

The GeForce RTX 4060 is the lowest TDP Ada Lovelace desktop graphics card currently available. Its thrifty 115 W means it is an ideal candidate for mini ITX and low-profile graphics cards. We couldn’t say this with the RTX 3060 at a 170 W TDP. However, many AIBs seem intent on selling big, bulky RTX 4060 models; triple fan models are common. Perhaps they think physically bigger products will translate to better prices at retail.

At the time of writing, we don’t have any official product pages from Gigabyte. The source publication doesn’t spill any tech specs specific to this model but appears to have written about features gleaned from the images.

Previous Gigabyte LP models have typically gone with a dual-fan design, perhaps indicating that the RTX 4060 (with three fans) is at the edge of the thermal design limit for such a compact cooler. However, plenty of laptops with higher-wattage GPUs run in tighter spaces.

Elsewhere in the images, we can see this Gigabyte graphic card features: a full-height double slot bracket, an 8-pin power connector, two HDMI 2.1, and two DisplayPort 1.4 ports. We don’t see the low-profile bracket, which we assume will be included in the retail box. The images don’t reveal the back of the card either, but it looks like there is no backplate, just a bare PCB.

Low-profile cards like this are often prevalent in smaller / older systems with physically constrained expansion options. Therefore, living room PC and HTPC makers may be drawn to this design because of its size, 3D acceleration and strong video codec support.   

We don’t have pricing or availability details for the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 low-profile model(s).

The Gigabyte B760 Aorus Elite AX on our test bench hails from the budget side of Intel’s motherboard tracks. It's priced at $179.99 at Newegg and reasonably priced overall and among its peers. For the money, you get a full-featured device with DDR5 support, three M.2 sockets and four SATA ports, integrated Wi-Fi 6E, and the familiar Aorus black-and-grey appearance that fits most build themes. It’s a capable, performant (in most tests) motherboard at an affordable price.

Gigabyte has a total of an incredible 48 SKUs on the B760 platform. From the high-end Aorus Master to the base Ultra Durable (UD) line, there must be a configuration and price option suitable for almost any user. The sheer number of options confuses even this seasoned reviewer; the average consumer would almost certainly be overwhelmed trying to decide which is best. Perhaps two of each size motherboard would be sufficient.

The B760 Aorus Elite AX’s performance was hit or miss based on our testing. With the first boot, the board asks you to select your cooling, which sets the power limits. The 3x120mm AIO setting removes the Intel power limits, and the processor runs free up to the thermal throttling point, or whatever the Perfdrive limits you to. To that end, many of our heavily multi-threaded tests were a bit limited due to the default Perfdrive setting, but still competitive versus other B760 boards. If you’re looking to use this system for gaming primarily, it excelled in those tests and is one of the faster overall out of the box. 

Priced around $180, the Elite AX is a good value on paper, making it a contender for our best motherboards list if you’re after a budget-conscious Intel option. Before we get into all the details and testing, here is a complete list of the B760 Aorus Elite AX’s specifications direct from Gigabyte. 

Specifications: Gigabyte B760 Aorus Elite AX 

Inside the Box of the Gigabyte B760 Aorus Elite AX

In addition to the motherboard, Gigabyte includes a few accessories designed to get you going without another trip to the store. Being a budget-oriented motherboard, don’t expect a plethora of extras. Below is a list of everything included in the box with the board.

• (2) SATA cables
• Wi-fi Antenna
• (2) M.2 standoff screws
• Q-Connector

Design of the B760 Aorus Elite AX

The B760 Aorus Elite AX is made from a 6-layer PCB with 2x Copper, with a matte black appearance. The heatsinks for the power delivery and the M.2 and chipset area have a brushed aluminum finish, along with Aorus branding in gray. The black-on-gray look is neutral, and it should fit in with most build themes.

If you want RGB LEDs, you’ll have to purchase and add your own as the Elite AX does not come with any integrated into the board. You can connect lights to the onboard headers (two RGB and two ARGB), and download the Gigabyte Control Center software to control them through the RGB Fusion application.

Our tour of the board starts in the upper-left corner, where we run into two EPS connectors (4-pin and 8-pin,  the latter required) to power the processor. Also spotted in the same area are the first (of six) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices, with each able to output 2A/24W. You control these devices through the Gigabyte Control Center software or the BIOS. There are enough headers with plenty of power to connect your fans or water cooling system.

Moving right past the socket area, we next run into four unreinforced DRAM slots with locking mechanisms on both sides. Gigabyte lists support for up to 192GB (4x48GB) and speeds are listed up to DDR5-7600+(OC). The latter is around the median of listed support for the platform. All three of our test kits, up to DDR5-7200, worked without issue by simply enabling the XMP profiles.

Above teh RAM slots are a couple more fan/pump headers and the first two RGB headers, in this case, one 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB. Moving down the right edge, we run into the 24-pin ATX connector that powers the board, as well as front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) and USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C connectors.

Power delivery on the B760 Aorus Elite AX consists of 14 total phases, with 12 dedicated to Vcore. The Parallel configuration sources power from the 8-pin EPS connector, feeding it to the 8+2 channel OnSemi NCP81530 controller and finally onto the 55A OnSemi MOSFETs before it heads to the CPU. The 660A available isn’t a lot, but it’s enough to handle the flagship Intel i9-13900K we test with, without getting in the way.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the left, we spy a fully exposed audio section with a few capacitors dedicated solely to sound. The Elite AX, or any board at this price point, doesn’t have a fancy DAC or amplifier, but you can see the fully exposed, budget-oriented Realtek ALC897 chip. While not the latest and greatest, many users will find this acceptable. If not, you can use one of the free PCIe slots (or USB for an external DAC) to add a better solution.

Three PCIe slots and three M.2 sockets are in the middle of the board. Starting with PCIe slots, the top slot, with Ultra Durable Armor and PCIe EZ-Latch, connects through the CPU and runs at a maximum of PCIe 5.0 x16. The bottom slots connect through the chipset and run up to PCIe 3.0 x4.

Mixed in around the PCIe slots are the three M.2 sockets. The top socket hides underneath its own heatsink, connects through the CPU, and runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds, supporting up to 110mm drives. The bottom two sockets share a heatsink, connect through the chipset, and run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps). Along the right edge of the board are the four SATA ports (supporting RAID0/1/5/10), reset button, and status LEDs that show problems during POST.

Across the bottom of the board are several more exposed headers. The typical connections include additional USB ports, RGB headers, and 4-pin fan headers. Below is a complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• SPI TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (3) 4-pin fan/pump headers
• Clear CMOS jumper
• Front Panel

Swinging around back the rear IO, a lot is going on for budget-priced board. There are 10 total USB ports, including a 10 Gbps Type-C port. Part of that count includes four USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) Type-A ports. The Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections are on the left, while the 2.5 GbE port is on the right next to the 2-plug plus SPDIF audio stack. The only thing we’d like to see here is a 20 Gbps USB port, though we wouldn’t exactly expect that at this price.

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Firmware

The Aorus-themed black-on-white/orange/yellow firmware is a good contrast and easy to read in both BIOS modes. The Easy Mode presents high-level information about the system, switch the boot sequence, and enables XMP memory profiles. Advanced mode gives you access to all the options you need to tweak the processor and memory. Most major overclocking/tweaking options are on the same page, with some power options in a different section. Otherwise, everything is laid out in a logical order and readily accessible.

Software

On the software side, Gigabyte’s primary tool is the Gigabyte Control Center (GCC). GCC is a one-stop shop for many board-centric functions, including RGB lighting control (RGB Fusion), Fan Control, and performance/overclocking. You can also update and install drivers from within the application too. It’s not as comprehensive as the App Center and some of its applications, but I doubt many will miss those features.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver. Additionally, we updated to F1 22 in our games suite and kept Far Cry 6. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public. The hardware we used is as follows: 

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the 1.2KW monster we used previously) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for testing. 

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

Results from our synthetic benchmarks vary, but overall they were average. Nothing stood out as too slow or fast with Gigabyte’s PerfDrive set to the default (Spec Enhance).

 Timed Applications 

In our timed applications, the B760 Aorus Elite AX was also a tale of each benchmark. LAME results were slightly above average, as was the Handbrake .264 test. However, the x265 test was a bit slower than our average, as was the Corona benchmark time.

 3D Games and 3DMark 

Starting with the launch of Zen 4, we’ve updated one of our games, F1 21, to the latest version, F1 22. We're keeping Far Cry 6. We run the games at 1920 x 1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most differences falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, affecting your gameplay and immersion experience.

The results in our game tests were some of the best we’ve seen. 3DMark Fire Strike was around average, while Timespy was the highest scoring thus far. In Far Cry and F1 22, its average frames per second matched the highest we’ve seen with the minimum up there as well. Clearly, it’s a competent gamer in this configuration.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, Cache and Memory enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC (minus the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same.

Power use on the B760 Aorus Elite averaged out to use the least among this generation we’ve tested so far. The 358W reading at load was one of the lower values, while idle was average or slightly better. Power use isn’t a worry on this system out of the box. However, when you change the Perfdrive settings, things can go up depending on what setting you use.

VRM temperatures were well within order on this motherboard. The processor throttles back considerably at the default settings with this Perfdrive option. Temperatures of the VRMs peak at almost 50 degrees Celsius, which is easily within the specification of the MOSFETs. Since you can’t overclock on this board/platform past turbo, the cooling solution proved to work great for this board. 

Overclocking

The B760 chipset for Intel doesn’t allow users to overclock the processor (although there are rare exceptions), but you can overclock the memory.

That said, all three of our memory kits worked without any tweaking, by enabling the XMP profile. Our base DDR5-5600 kit worked great across testing, and our fastest kit, the Teamgroup DDR5-7200, was stable during our stress test. This board won’t break any memory speed records, but it’s easy to get well past the sweet spot where price and performance meet.

 Bottom Line  

The Gigabyte B760 Aorus Elite AX is designed to be a less expensive way into the latest Intel platform, and it achieves as much. At the time of this writing at Newegg, it was priced at $179.99. For the money, you get the Aorus design theme, capable power delivery, 10 USB ports on the rear IO, three M.2 sockets and four SATA ports, and of course, 2.5 GbE and integrated Wi-Fi 6E. Although you will pay a premium to use DDR5, this board is one of the better values around the price point.

That said, each board partner offers a competitive SKU in this price realm. The least expensive is the ASRock B760 Pro RS ($139.99), followed by our Gigabyte, MSI MAG B760 Tomahawk Wi-Fi ($199.99), and finally, the Asus TUF Gaming B760-Plus Wi-Fi ($209.99). The biggest difference between these boards is looks, price, and USB count. Otherwise, they all have the same budget audio codec, M.2 socket and similar SATA port counts (three or four). Our Gigabyte has the most USB ports on the rear IO, but only the Asus and MSI come with a 20 Gbps port. So it just depends on your needs.

In the end, the $180 ($170 after the rebate card) for this board is a fair price among its competitors. So long as you do not need a 20 Gbps USB port, it’s the best option of the group from our perspective. For the money, you get Gigabyte’s Aorus styling, well-rounded specifications, and a price that doesn’t break the bank. 

If you’re looking to get into the latest Intel processors without spending a ton of money, the B760 Aorus Elite AX should be on the shortlist. Just note that DDR4-based boards tend to cost about $20 less, with DDR4 RAM costing significantly less than DDR5, with little in the way of real-world performance differences between the two. So if you want to build an affordable system with the best performance for your money, a DDR4-based motherboard is still a smart choice, even though DDR5 prices have fallen significantly in recent months.

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Gigabyte has launched a new range of Brix mini PCs, which feature AMD's recently released Ryzen 7030 series processors. The Taiwanese PC and components maker highlights what users of Intel-based Brix systems have been missing, with charts demonstrating that the new systems are up to 140% faster than previous gen Brix PCs (with Intel CPUs).

Gigabyte says "minimalism meets power" with its new ultra-compact mainstream mini-PCs. Indeed, the design is about as simple as you can get (without doing away with useful ports and venting). These systems are small, too — measuring 124 x 120 x 49.7 mm, or 4.8 x 4.7 x 2 inches.

Inside the new Gigabyte Brix are AMD Ryzen 7030 series processors: from the AMD 7730U (8C / 16T) to the AMD 7530U (6C / 12T), to the AMD 7330U (4C / 8T). If you remember back to the launch of these 'Barcelo-R' chips at CES 2023, these mobile APUs are aimed at mainstream thin and light laptop designs. Their 15-28 W TDPs will also be a good fit for a mini-PC with modest active cooling. There are more advanced and exciting Ryzen 7000 APUs though, as these Ryzen 7030 chips mix older Zen 3 CPU cores and Vega graphics.

There are five new Brix models in all, as you can see from the product specs table above.

These aren't the best AMD Ryzen 7000 mobile chips in terms of technology, but Gigabyte is pleased with the uplift they provide compared to previous gen Intel devices. It conducted some Cinebench R23 CPU testing and 3DMark GPU testing to put the new AMD Ryzen 7030U Series Brix into context.

The new AMD-powered Brix pulled 140% ahead in Cinebench R23 multi-core tests. The Ryzen 7730U in these tests has an 8C / 16T CPU core configuration running at up to 4.5 GHz with benefit of a 20 MB cache. GPU performance tests by way of 3DMark also show the AMD-powered Brix in a good light, appearing to be 130% faster than the previous Intel generation. What was the previous best-case Intel generation Brix processor? Those were 10th gen parts, specifically the Core i7-10710U, with 6C / 12T, a max turbo of 4.7 GHz, 12 MB of cache, Intel UHD graphics, and TDP of 15 W.

The new devices can connect up to four 4K displays simultaneously, via a quartet of rear-mounted ports.

Gigabyte has yet to release pricing or availability for the new Brix mini PCs.