Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master, Intel X299 motherboard - socket 2066 [X299X Aorus Master]

This chipset, code-named "Lewisburg", proves to be a true all-rounder thanks to its up to 30 HSIO lanes (high-speed input / output) and the maximum of 24 PCI Express 3.0 lanes to be used, which allows the simultaneous use of several internal Connections allowed.

The features of the Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master at a glance:
- 4x PCIe (3.0) x16 (2x x16 / 2x x8)
- 3x USB 3.1, 10x USB 3.0, 8x USB 2.0 (type A and C, internal and external)
- 3x M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4 & SATA) and 8x SATA 6G
- 8x DIMM slots for DDR4 RAM (max. 256 GB with 48-lane CPU)
- Including WLAN-AX module including Bluetooth 5.0
- Two LAN ports (1x Aquantia 5GbE & 1x Intel GbE)
- Digitally addressable RGB Fusion 2.0 lighting with 3 zones

The Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master in detail
The Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master is a high-quality enthusiast mainboard in E-ATX format, which is suitable for power users and hardware enthusiasts who are interested in an X299 & Skylake-X, Coffee Lake-X, Coffee Lake-S -Refresh-X- or Cascade-Lake-X team. The extremely stylish black board has four PCIe-x16 slots, two of which are connected to the chipset with full 16 lanes, while the other two are electrically connected with eight data lines.

Equipped with a total of eight DIMM slots for DDR4 memory, a CPU with 28 to 44 data lines allows all slots to be used in quad-channel mode and up to a maximum capacity of 128 GB. When using an Intel CPU of the Cascade Lake X generation (10xxx) with 48 lanes, even 256 GB RAM can be used. Officially, DDR4 modules can then be used with up to 2,933 MHz, but after overclocking, much higher clock rates are also possible: 4,333 MHz!

Connections for drives
The Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master has extensive equipment with three M.2 slots for particularly fast NVMe M.2 SSDs and eight SATA 6G connections for 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard drives and SSDs (including RAID support). The M.2 ports are connected to the chipset via four PCIe lanes in the 3.0 standard and, in combination with the NVMe protocol, enable a data transfer rate of just under 4 GB / s for PCIe SSDs. A slot is also compatible with M.2 SATA SSDs. In addition, the M.2 slots are equipped with heat sinks that fit into the cooler design of the mainboard and dissipate the heat of the flash memory.

External connections
The I / O panel of this performance mainboard is equipped with numerous useful connections. There are one USB 3.1 type C and one type A connection as well as six USB 3.0 connections. There are also two connections for SMA antennas.

With the Aquantia 5GbE and Intel GbE LAN ports, two network connections ensure maximum data transmission rates in wired local networks. For wireless networks, the Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master is equipped with the Intel AX200 chipset, which supports the 802.11ax standard with a maximum bandwidth of 2.4 Gbit / s and works in the 2.4 or 5 GHz range. Bluetooth 5.0 is also on board. The Realtek ALC1220-VB codec provides rich sound and provides a total of five audio ports with gold-plated connectors and an optical S / PDIF-Out connector.

Internal connections
For power consumption, the Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master has one 24-pin and two 8-pin power connectors. A total of eight 4-pin fan connections with PWM signal are distributed on the board. The VROC header allows the use of Intel's Virtual RAID on CPU technology, with which flash memory can be connected directly to the CPU.

The Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master offers an internal USB Type-C connection with USB 3.1 (USB 3.2 Gen 2) to meet the variety of connections of modern housings. In addition, four USB 3.0 ports can be provided via two headers and six USB 2.0 ports via three headers. With a motherboard of this quality class, the TPM header for the separately available TPM module for hardware encryption must of course not be missing.

Modding and overclocking features
Overclockers are happy about the numerous small favors that the Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master has to offer: The 12-phase power supply with 70-ampere output stage is equipped with extensive heat pipe cooling. Both the PCIe slots and the memory banks are reinforced and can withstand frequent new configurations.

The PCB is equipped with two copper layers and the solid aluminum backplate prevents the main board from bending. Thanks to Gigabyte's solid-pin design, all power connections are solid, which makes bending difficult. The mainboard has power and reset buttons and a clear CMOS button for quickly resetting the BIOS settings.

Modders will appreciate the monochrome design of the Gigabyte X299X Aorus Master. The combination of black PCB and black-silver covers allows you to freely choose the accent colors of cable sleeves, coolants and lighting. The pre-installed I / O-Shield is equipped with integrated RGB lighting. There are a total of four RGB LED headers on the board. The lighting can be configured and synchronized via Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0.

Technical details:
format
E-ATX form factor (30.5 x 27.7 cm)
chipset
Intel X299 ("Lewisburg")
Base:
2066 (for Intel CPUs of the Cascade Lake-X and Skylake-X generation)
R.A.M:
8x DDR4 (from Cascade-Lake-X: DDR4-2.933; up to 256 GB with a CPU with 48 lanes)
8x DDR4 (from Skylake-X to Coffee-Lake-S-Refresh-X: DDR4-2.666; up to 128 GB with a CPU with 28 to 44 lanes)
4x DDR4 (Kaby Lake-X: DDR4-2.666; up to 64 GB with a CPU with 16 lanes)
Quad-channel (from Skylake-X; supported for CPUs with 28 to 48 lanes)
Dual-Channel (Kaby Lake-X; supported for CPUs with 16 lanes)
Slots (physical):
48-lane CPU:
2x PCIe 3.0 x16
2x PCIe 3.0 x16 (electrical x8)
44-lane CPU:
2x PCIe 3.0 x16
1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (electrical x8)
1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (electrical x4)
28-lane CPU:
1x PCIe 3.0 x16
1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (electrical x8)
1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (electrical x4)
Compatible multi-VGA configurations: 2-way SLI (quad-GPU), 2-way CrossFireX (quad-GPU)
Internal connections:
1x M.2 (M-Key, PCIe 3.0 x4, 22110/2280/2260)
1x M.2 (M-Key, PCIe 3.0 x4, 22110/2280/2260/2242)
1x M.2 (M-Key, PCIe 3.0 x4 / SATA, 22110/2280/2260/2242)
8x SATA 6G
1x Intel VROC Upgrade Key Header
1x front panel header
1x front panel audio header
1x USB 3.1 Type C (one header, USB 3.2 Gen 2)
4x USB 3.0 (two headers, USB 3.2 Gen 1)
6x USB 2.0 / 1.1 (three headers)
1x Noise Detection Header
1x Thunderbolt Add-In Card connection
1x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header (2x 6-pin, for GC-TPM2.0_S module)
1x power button
1x reset button
2x temperature sensor header
1x Clear CMOS jumper
2x BIOS switches

Fan header:
1x CPU fan (4-pin)
1x water cooling / CPU fan (4-pin)
4x system fan (4-pin)
2x system fan / water cooling / pump (4-pin)
RGB header:
2x 4-pin RGB (12V)
2x 3-pin A-RGB (5V)
External connections:
1x Q-Flash Plus button
1x Clear CMOS button
1x USB Type C, with USB 3.1 (USB 3.2 Gen 2) compatibility
1x USB 3.1 Type A (USB 3.2 Gen 2)
6x USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen 1)
2x USB 2.0 / 1.1
2x RJ-45 LAN
2x SMA antenna (2T2R)
1x Optical S / PDIF Out
5x 3.5 mm jack socket
Power supply:
1x 24-pin ATX
2x 8-pin ATX 12V