Final Thoughts
Overview
The Aorus Z370 Ultra Gaming Motherboard is certainly appealing for a lot of system builders, and that’s pretty much what Aorus were going for, mass appeal. It’s not the most expensive motherboard in its class, it’s not the particularly the fastest either. However, when it comes down to it, it’s certainly competitive with anything else out there right now. While not the fastest Z370 board, it’s certainly giving previous generations a good run thanks to the new Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake CPU that’s powering it; the i7-8700K 6-Core 12-Thread. Overclocking was super easy on this motherboard, and the BIOS is what we’ve come to expect from Gigabyte, in that it’s easy to understand and operate.
Style
Another big tick for this motherboard is the aesthetics. It’s a great looking motherboard, and it’s sure to appeal to most gamers looking to build a sweet looking rig. The choice of using darker black and grey hardware means that it’ll easily blend into a chassis, no matter the colour scheme. The only standout colouring is the tiny red highlight on the rear I/O guard, and the audio hardware. Of course, the huge rear I/O guard plays a bit part in the style too, and it really keeps things looking neat and tidy.
Performance
There’s a lot on offer here with straight up CPU performance. Of course, there’s also the addition of two m.2 drive mounts with Optane support. This gives you a few more options when exploring the best way to squeeze more performance from your new build. Add to that, overclocking grade hardware, overclocking Dual-Channel DDR4 slots, and you’re well on your way to PC gaming heaven.
Connectivity
ASMedia 3142 USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-C and Type-A, Front USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Header, Intel GbE LAN, dual M.2, 6x SATA 6Gbps, and Thunderbolt 3 AIC Support certainly tick all the right boxes there. However, don’t forget the addition of those lovely PCIe slots, with Armour and Ultra Durable for multi-GPU goodness.
Audio gets the right kind of boost too, with ALC1220 120dB SNR HD Audio, Smart Headphone AMP and WIMA audio capacitors. USB DAC-UP 2 with Adjustable Voltage is another welcome addition and gives you plenty of options dependant on what kind of audio hardware you want to hook up.
Pros
- Good overall performance
- Competitively priced
- Trusted brand name
- Ultra Durable hardware
- Armoured components
- Huge rear I/O guard
- Excellent connectivity
- Powerful on-board audio
- Dual M.2 with Optane support
- Great aesthetics
- RGB lighting
Cons
- None
Neutral
Some synthetic benchmarks slightly underperformed, but we expect a BIOS update will soon fix that
“With just the right features, and just the right price and performance, the Gigabyte Aorus Ultra Gaming is set to be one of the more popular Z370 motherboards on the market. A great choice for anyone who wants a stylish and well-equipped motherboard.”
