AORUS XTREME Z390 Gaming Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

As with all premium and flagship motherboards, this one comes with a hefty price tag. However, you have to consider the extras that come included; albeit they don’t come for free. The overclocking controller and the fan/RGB lighting hub alone could easily cost north of £100 on their own, not that you could get that OC controller elsewhere for other motherboards, it’s fully custom. We don’t have a 100% accurate price right now, but expect something in the region of £500, putting it on par with the flagship motherboards from the likes of ASUS and others.

Overview

The AORUS XTREME isn’t the typical motherboard one would go out and buy just to play Fortnite or Minecraft. This is way up in the clouds when it comes to extreme hardware performance. For most users, a standard Gigabyte Z390 motherboard would suit all your gaming needs. However, if you only want the best of the best in regards to both build quality and performance, then you have to pay a big premium. AORUS has done a fine job of crafting one of the best looking and performing motherboards that money can buy.

Performance

I would have been shocked if this motherboard didn’t break a few records today. Of course, it set a few of them without breaking a sweat. It’s easily one of the fastest gaming motherboards on the market today. However, it helped push our i9-9900K to perform great in every task we set it to. It set some of the best single and multi-core performance figures we’ve seen from this CPU, which is no easy feat. For those building an extreme gaming PC, workstation, rendering rig, or anything, it’ll tick all the right boxes.

Overclocking and Connectivity

From the BIOs to the onboard features, the XTREME ticks all the right boxes. There are simple things like onboard power controls, voltage points, and a DEBUG LED to make life easier. However, it’s the OC board that really takes things to the next level. It’s obviously not something for anyone but the enthusiast overclocker. However, being able to tinker with the BCKL, CPU speed and more, WITHOUT going into the BIOS is a game changer. Put simply, you can overclock in real-time while you’re stress testing, giving you much more flexibility.

The inclusion of a fan hub that can also control both LED and addressable LED lighting components is a winner too. For those who want loads of custom lighting, the motherboard is covered in the stuff. With the included hub, you’ll need not worry about available connections on even the most extreme builds. Furthermore, the fan control feature means you can take full control of your cooling performance from a single software suite.

Added Value

The raw performance of this motherboard is superb. However, it’s the extra features that push it over the top. The inclusion of the superb ALC1220 chipset, with Saber DAC and quality capacitors, means you get a first-class audio experience. Then there are two LAN ports, with both 1GbE and 10GbE at your disposal, as well as super fast built-in WiFi. You can hook up all of your M.2 drives or Optane drives with three mounts, all fitted with M.2 cooling shields. The power connectors, DIMM slots, PCIe Slots, and all major motherboard components are all reinforced and armoured. Then you’ve got the huge heat sinks, heat pipes, backplate, pre-installed backplate, and more, the list just keeps on going.

Should I Buy One?

If you like your motherboards like I like your ice cream, one with everything on it, then there’s nothing else to worry about. Yes, it is expensive, but with this level of build quality, features, the stunning design, class-leading performance, and the included extras; it’s worth every penny.