Gigabyte X570 AORUS Pro WiFi Motherboard Review

With the arrival of 3000 series boards Gigabyte delivered a multitude of options for consumers to consider.  From their “Elite” no feature left behind boards to the “Pro” series.  Today we’re taking a look at the Pro WiFi board and how it stacks up against a more premium X570 series motherboard.  If this sounds up your alley take a quick glance at the laundry list of specifications and dive into the meat and potatoes below.

Specifications

• MSRP: $269.99
• Form Factor: ATX, 30.5 x 24.4 cm
• CPU: Ryzen 2000 and 3000 series processors - AM4 Socket
• Chipset: AMD X570
• Memory:
  • 3000 Series: DDR4 2133 - 4200 Mhz DDR4
  • 2000 Series: DDR4 2133 - 3600 Mhz DDR4
  • 4x DDR4 DIMM sockets up to 128GB (4x 32GB)
  • Dual Channel
  • Support for Un-buffered ECC and non-ECC memory modules
  • XMP Memory Profiles supported
• 1x HDMI port for CPUs that support Integrated Graphics
• Audio: ALC1220-VB codec, 2/4/5.1/7.1 Channel and S/PDIF Out
• LAN: Intel GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
• Wireless: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax @ 2.4 / 5 Ghz Dual Band
• Bluetooth 5.0
• Expansion Slots
  • 3000 Series:
    • 1x PCIe x16, supporting PCIe 4.0 running at x16
    • 1x PCIe Express slot, supporting PCIe 4.0 running at x8
  • 2000 Series:
    • 1x PCIe x16, supporting PCIe 3.0 running at x16
    • 1x PCIe Express slot, supporting PCIe 3.0 running at x8
  • 2000 Series w/ Vega
    • 1x PCIe x16, supporting PCIe 3.0 running at x8
  • From Chipset:
    • 1x PCIe x16, supporting PCIe 4.0/3.0 running at x4 (PCIe 4.0 3000 series only)
    • 2x PCIe x1, supporting PCIe 4.0/3.0 (PCIe 4.0 3000 series only)
• SLI/Crossfire: Both, Quad and 2-way
• Storage Interface:
  • 3000 Series:
    • 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4
  • 2000 Series:
    • 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4
  • From Chipset:
    • 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 (PCIe 4.0 3000 Series Only)
    • 6x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
    • Support for RAID 0/1/10
• USB:
  • 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 port on back panel
  • 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2/Gen 1 Type-A port on back panel (Gen 2 3000 Series Only)
  • 1x USB Type-C port w/ USB 3.2 Gen 2 support via internal USB header
  • 1x USB Type-C port on back panel, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support
  • 4x USB 2.0/1.1 port on back panel
  • 4x USB ports available via internal USB headers
• Fan Connectors:
  • 1x CPU fan header
  • 1x water cooling CPU fan header
  • 3x system fan headers
  • 2x system fan/water cooling pump headers
• Built in Hardware Monitoring for Voltage, Temperature, Fan Speed, and Water cooling flow rate control.  Overheating warning, fan failure warning and fan speed control

Design and Features

The X570 AORUS WiFi is a good looking board all around.  With minor RGB accents by the PCIe slots and on the heat sink the overall monochromatic look makes for a sleek and tight look that is very appealing to look at. On the flip side with there not being tons of RGB and features that are purely meant to be looked at, you won’t feel bad hiding it in a closed case without a window.  Like on the ASRock Taichi we have a chipset fan, though Gigabyte opted for an exposed view rather than covering it up with a giant motherboard shroud.  While you expect the whirling whining of an old early days GPU running Quake, the fan is virtually silent - I could only perceive the fan noise with the side off my case and my ear as close to the motherboard as I felt like getting.

When it comes to powering your CPU and overclocks, the X570 AORUS Pro WiFi comes with an addition 8+4 solid-pin CPU power connector to run juice through the 12+2 Phase IR Digital Power Design.  Each phase is capable of delivering 40A of power, for a total of 480A. Being 100% digitally controlled, Gigabyte’s claim is that they can deliver incredible precision to the motherboards most power hungry components and get the most out of your new 3000 series Ryzen CPU.

Like other X570 boards, we have the arrival of PCI Express 4.0.  The motherboard’s PCIe area utilizes a Mid-Loss PCB to ensure speedy delivery and minimal signal loss with PCIe 4.0 communications.  In addition to two reinforced PCIe 4.0 capable slots, Gigabyte delivers two M.2 connectors running at x4 and capable of holding up to the giant Type 22110 M.2 drives.  Both are compatible with PCIe 3.0 if you don’t have a 3000 series CPU or don’t have a PCIe 4.0 drive yet.  If you like looking at ridiculously high transfer speeds, Gigabyte’s PCIe 4.0 capable M.2 slots are going to deliver.  I have a PCIe 4.0 NVMe review already released and the claim of 5GB/s transfer rates is an entirely accurate statement.

Like the ASRock Taichi X570 I reviewed a few weeks ago, Ryzen 3000 series boards are coming with a massive improvement in memory compatibility and overclock speeds.  With just the built in XMP profile on the AORUS X570 I was able to achieve 3600Mhz on my 3200Mhz rated memory and with small adjustments to timings and voltage pushed it to 3733 - more than I was able to get on ASRock’s Taichi.  While on the subject of XMP profiles I want to segue into the BIOS for a second.

After you’ve interacted with BIOS after BIOS after BIOS you start to realize that, even between manufacturers, they aren’t all that different from each other.  Gigabyte features an ‘Easy Mode’ with a great, user friendly design and the standard ‘Advanced Mode’ that looks like every other BIOS in existence.  While I didn’t see any automatic fan curve adjustments like the ASRock Taichi, I do like that the X570 AORUS has a plethora of temperature sensors placed on the board.  With this comes the ability to adjust individual fans to response to specific temperatures - from the chipset or PCIe slots, to the 12+2 phase system and CPU.

Finishing up, Gigabyte has really upped the game on the “non-enthusiast” motherboard builds with the inclusion of Q-Flash Plus.  Coming as a small button on the back panel or on the board itself, Q-Flash allows you to flash the BIOS without the need for installing a CPU, memory or graphics card.  All you need is a power supply and a 24+8 cable and you’re good to go.  In this way you’ll be able to flash your board in the future to be compatible with newer generations, even if you don’t have the old CPU available anymore.  A final quality of life inclusion is the front-panel… adapter.  I’m not sure what the actual name is but it’s a small adapter that you plug your front panel cables into and then can just plug the front I/O into the board as a single unit.  No more leaning as close as possible to your board to make sure you’re plopping the RESET SWITCH where it’s supposed to be.

Overclocking and Benchmarks

Test System: Motherboard: Variable, CPU: AMD Ryzen 3700x, Cooler: Cooler Master ML240p, RAM: 32GB HyperX Predator DDR4-3200 RGB, GPU: MSI RTX 2080 Duke 8GB, Boot Drive: Kingston KC2000 1TB NVMe, Power Supply: ThermalTake 800W Gold PSU

For benchmarking, I decided to stick with the same data points as I did for the ASRock Taichi so I could do direct comparisons between the two.  Like the Taichi, I want to note that I did not include gaming benchmarks.  My reasoning being that when comparing two boards with the exact same CPU, differences in performance are within the margin of error.  I could run the same benchmark on the same exact system multiple times and would fail to see the same FPS each go around.  With the exception of testing the maximum stable overclock I’m able to achieve, tests are conducted with a stock, self-boosting CPU.

When testing my MAX stable overclock I was surprised to be able to squeeze just slightly more frequency out on the AORUS X570.  I was honestly expecting the same results and even retested the ASRock Taichi but still wasn’t stable at 4225.  The only thing I can really attribute is to this is slightly better power delivery and stability on the AORUS.  The overclock was stressed with Prime 95, as is standard for loading the CPU.

Self boosting saw no difference in performance between the two X570 boards, with both boosting to a respectable 4.1Ghz during stress testing using Prime 95 with small FFTs.  In addition, the CPU would consistently clock to a non-fluctuating 4.1Ghz during gaming sessions across multiple modern games, even though it wasn't fully utilized or reaching thermal peaks.  Last up is 7-zip to test compression and decompression, the performance of which is an indication of how well the motherboard is feeding the CPU power.  Both the X570 Taichi and AORUS X570 achieved the same results, with margin of error fluctuations between the two.

Final Thoughts

Gigabyte is one of the best when it comes to PC hardware and they don’t fail to meet expectations with the AORUS X570 Pro WiFi.  Even with the board being in the “3rd tier” down when it comes to Gigabyte’s naming and feature conventions, the Pro WiFi delivers enthusiast features at a price that doesn’t pound the bank account too hard. (It’s important to note that the X570 board are more expensive across the market in general).  Coming from the more expensive X570 Taichi, I don’t find myself wanting for features (or the 3rd M.2) and while the USB 3.2 port is positioned awfully close to the GPU (when in the top slot) it’s still accessible (unlike the ASRock Taichi).  All in all, the X570 AORUS Pro WiFi is a solid choice if you’re looking to upgrade to a 3000 series and utilize PCIe 4.0.

Pros

• Great mono-chromatic aesthetics
• Two reinforced PCIe 4.0 slots
• Exceptional Power Delivery
• Built-in real I/O shield.

Cons

• X570 chipset is expensive
• Only includes ‘on-desk’ WiFi antenna

The product discussed in this article was provided by the manufacturer for the purposes of review.