Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME Motherboard Preview

Gigabyte is one of the biggest names around, so it's going to come as no surprise to learn they'll have a sizable range of motherboards available for the Z690 launch. While I can't confirm the whole range right now, it's obvious they'll vary from their more affordable series for standard consumer builds, up to their gaming focus mid-range boards, and right through to their flagships, which will likely cost well over £1000. So really, there should be something for everyone. However, when it comes to their AORUS series, things are strickly in the highest-end of the range. Of course, with a name like XTREME, it's obviously out to impress with its performance and features. Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME For starters, the new Intel CPUs are rumoured to be pretty power-hungry, which is not surprising given preview generations. However, with a 20+1+2 Power Phase design, which is able to push a staggering 105A, getting that power where it needs to be should be a breeze. This board is fully DDR5, and PCIe 5.0, in fact, it has two full-speed PCIe 5.0 slots, which could lead to some impressive builds! Add to that four M.2 drive mounts, dual super-fast LAN options, flagship WiFi hardware, impressive audio from the SABER DAC, and even a pair of Thunderbolt ports. Really, there isn't anything out there that this motherboard could handle. I dread to think what it'll cost to take advantage of everything it can do in a single build. Features 20 + 1 + 2 Digital (SPS 105A) PhasesDDR51 x PCIE 5 x16, 1 x PCIe x8 and z x PCIe 3.0 x44 x DDR5 4800-5600 4 x M.2E-ATX Form FactorAQUANTIA 10 GbE + Intel 2.5 GbEIntel WiFi 6E 2x2 802.11axESS9280 + 2 * ESS 9080 Audio2 * Thunderbolt Check out the official Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME product page here for more information. (Link may not be available at the time of writing). Packaging & Accessories The box is really nicely designed, with a matte black finish and that metallic AORUS eagle head right on the front. Around the back, there's a great breakdown of all the major features, letting you know what everything does at a glance. Open the box up (and remove the motherboard) and you'll find everything is beautifully packaged into their own compartments. AORUS RGB Memory Armor... Now that does sound interesting. You get all the usual documentation, but some more fun stuff such as a case badge, USB drive, and even a set of stickers. How about a powerful ESS USB DAC. Plus it into a USB port, plug your headphones in, and you're rocking! All of the cables you can imagine are neatly bundled, and so is that lovely RAM armor (sorry, but we're saving that for the full review). Braided SATA cables, screws, cable ties and more. WiFi antenna and RGB extension cables. Motherboard Overview This is one seriously hard-core looking motherboard. Just look at the size of those heatsinks! There's a heat pipe running between them that looks pretty industrial, and I love it. You'll find proper fins on those heatsinks too, not just solid blocks of metal, as well as an aluminium cover up top, and 9 W/mk thermal pads below. Gigabyte calls this their NanoCarbon Fins-Array III, with Direct-Touch Heatpipe II, which sounds great! The XTREME features a Direct Digital VRM Design, that's 20 VCORE Phases, 1 VCCGT Phase, and 2 VCCAUX Phases with a 105A Power Stage. Not sure what that means? Don't worry about it, but in short, this motherboard will be an absolute beast for overclocking the new CPUs. Getting power to the CPU is easy too, thanks to a pair of 8-pin power headsets, each shielded and armoured for both reliability and durability. Also, check that gorgeous powder coating on those heatsinks! The new LGA1700 socket from Intel, keep in mind, this socket isn't backwards compatible. There are found armoured DDR5 memory slots on the XTREME, offering XMP 3.0 Memory support, and there's an RGB shroud armor kit in the box, but we're waiting for our DDR5 to arrive before we can show you that. In the top right, you'll find a BIOS LED light, as well as onboard power controls, perfect for a test bench. The motherboard is extremely well armoured. Of course, this looks fantastic, but it adds to the overall shielding and durability too. You'll find three full-size PCIe lanes, running in a 1 x PCIe 5 x16, 1 x PCIe x8 and 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 configuration. There's a lot of cooling going too, with large heatsinks forming much of the armour. If you look closely, the top M.2 mount has a large heatsink with fins and dual heat pipes running into the armour. This all joins up to the NanoCarbon Backplate on the motherboard. The sheer volume of raw materials here is nuts, and this board is pretty damn heavy as a result. All of the ports are right-angled too, which will make for ultra-clean cable routing, and it just looks cool too, as the front of the board looks cleaner as a result. There's a good mixture of USB, SATA, and all the usual stuff, really, no big surprises. The rear I/O is excellent, and it has got a LOT going on. I like that the audio is trimmed down to Line Out and Mic, but remember you also get the USB C DAC in the box. There are ten USB ports, and they're ALL USB 3.2; there's absolutely no compromise here. If that's not enough, two ultrafast Thunderbolt ports are included, which is fantastic. Of course, not everyone will be able to max out the AQUANTIA 10 GbE LAN, but for high-speed home networking, it's perfect, and you still have the Intel 2.5 GbE LAN and WiFi 6 there too. Around the back of the motherboard, you'll find that NanoCarbon Backplate, it looks great, keeps everything rigid, and really just allows them to bold on those huge heatsinks without snapping its self in two. My guesstimated price for this motherboard is - EXTREMELY HIGH