ThePCEnthusiast is supported by its readers. Our articles usually contain affiliate links.
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases. See our site disclosure here.

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming Motherboard Released – See Features and Specs

Gigabyte recently released an X299 motherboard exclusive for Kaby Lake-X processors only (i7-7740X and i5-7640X) – the Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming motherboard. If you have been following the launch of the X299 and Core X processors, you may have encountered that some motherboard manufacturers where having problems providing support for both Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X processors on a single X299 motherboard. While the first batch of X299 motherboards do support all Core X processors, newer motherboards (like this X299 Aorus Gaming) has become specialized or support a particular set of CPUs only. There’s also a new X299 motherboard that only supports Skylake X processors and doesn’t support the Kaby Lake-X. I’m not sure if the X299 Aorus Gaming + a Kaby Lake-X CPU combination would make sense, considering that the cost is higher than a mainstream Z270 + Core i7-7700K setup and offers just a tad improvement from the latter. Not to mention, you won’t be able to upgrade to Skylake X using this same motherboard. Anyway, more details about the Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming motherboard below.

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming Motherboard – Features and Specs

The Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming motherboard support Intel’s latest Kaby Lake-X CPUs – the Core i7-7740X and Core i5-7640X (only). It only supports dual channel non-ECC DDR4 memory, that’s why there are only 4 DIMM slots, instead of 8 slots on the higher end X299 motherboards. If you look at the motherboard, it looks like a Z270 motherboard with a large CPU socket. It does support Intel Optane memory like most new Z200 and X299 motherboards and features 3-way graphics card support; though you’ll be (severely) limited by the number of PCI lanes that the Kaby Lake-X can offer.

Other than that, you get the usual set of features and specifications: like ALC1220 audio, RGB Fusion with support for Digital LED and RGBW light strips, dual M.2 with PCIe Gen3 x4 interface, NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 U.2 support, Intel Gigabit LAN, a number of USB connectivity options and even Thunderbolt 3 support. It also features Gigabyte’s UEFI DualBIOS, Smart Fan 5 and several hybrid fan pin headers and temperature sensors.

I find the Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming a unique product, not necessarily special. But this is definitely a niche product since not many would consider shifting to an X299 motherboard that is simply limited to Kaby Lake-X processors only. I’m positive that an X299 Aorus Gaming + an i7-7740X would cost more compared to a Z270 motherboard + an i7-7700K setup. Probably the only reason why folks would get this kind of setup is they want that (tiny bit) extra performance they can achieve from an i7-7740X (vs the i7-7700K).
On the flip side of the coin, Asus has released their flagship X299 motherboard – the Asus ROG Rampage VI Extreme; and this motherboard supports Skylake-X processors only.

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming Motherboard

Processor- Supports Intel® Core™ i7-7740X and i5-7640X (4 Cores) processors in the LGA2066 package only
- L3 cache varies with CPU
ChipsetIntel® X299 Express Chipset
Memory- 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory
- Dual channel memory architecture
- Support for DDR4 4133(O.C.) / 4000(O.C.) / 3866(O.C.) / 3800(O.C.) / 3733(O.C.) / 3666(O.C.) / 3600(O.C.) / 3466(O.C.) / 3400(O.C.) / 3333(O.C.) / 3300(O.C.) / 3200(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2400 / 2133 MHz memory modules
- Support for non-ECC Un-buffered DIMM memory modules
- Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
Audio- Realtek® ALC1220 codec
- High Definition Audio
- 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
- Support for S/PDIF Out
LANIntel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Expansion Slots- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8)
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
- 2 x PCI Express x1 slots
Storage Interface Chipset:
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2Q_32G)
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P_32G)
- 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
- Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10

Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
Multi-Graphics Technology- Support for NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ and 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ technologies
- Support for AMD Quad-GPU CrossFire™ and 3-Way/2-Way AMD CrossFire™ technologies
USBChipset+ASMedia® USB 3.1 Gen 2 Controller:
- 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) on the back panel

Chipset:
- 10 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (6 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)
- 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports available through the internal USB headers
Internal I/O Connectors- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
- 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
- 1 x CPU fan header
- 1 x water cooling CPU fan header
- 2 x system fan headers
- 1 x 3 Amp fan/water cooling pump header
- 1 x digital LED strip header
- 1 x digital LED strip power select jumper
- 2 x RGB (RGBW) LED strip extension cable headers
- 2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
- 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
- 1 x front panel header
- 1 x front panel audio header
- 1 x S/PDIF Out header
- 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 1 x Thunderbolt™ add-in card connector
- 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header (2x6 pin, for the GC-TPM2.0_S module only)
- 1 x temperature sensor header
- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
Back Panel Connectors- 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
- 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
- 6 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports
- 1 x RJ-45 port
- 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Side Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In)
I/O ControlleriTE® I/O Controller Chip
H/W Monitoring- Voltage detection
- Temperature detection
- Fan speed detection
- Water cooling flow rate detection
- Overheating warning
- Fan fail warning
- Fan speed control
BIOS- 2 x 128 Mbit flash
- Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS
- Support for DualBIOS™
- PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0
Operating SystemSupport for Windows 10 64-bit
Form FactorATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm
Photo of author
Author
Peter Paul
Peter is a PC enthusiast and avid gamer with several years of hands-on experience in testing and reviewing PC components, audio equipment, and various tech devices. He offers a genuine, no-nonsense perspective, helping consumers make informed choices in the ever-changing world of technology.

Leave a Comment