GIGABYTE X570 Gaming X
7/10 (Expert Score)
Meta-review: Testers are satisfied with the performance of the Gaming X, but are less happy about its relative lack of ports and low-end audio chip.
Description
Gigabyte uses the Aorus brand for its high-end, premium products. In the case of motherboards based on the AMD X570 chipset, however, more Gigabyte boards use the Aorus name than those that don’t. Most likely this is due to the fact that X570 is a high-end and rather expensive platform in itself, with high minimum requirements. As a consequence, the Gigabyte X570 Gaming X is an entry-level product in this context, although it would normally qualify as an upper midrange motherboard.
X570 Gaming X: Key Features
Other than being the chipset of choice for AMD’s 3rd-generation Ryzen processors (both were launched in the summer of 2019), the primary highlight is its introduction of PCI Express (PCIe) Gen4 on the consumer market. This interface doubles the theoretical bandwidth for internal devices such as SSDs and graphics cards. As of 2019, this is mainly interesting for users who want the faster transfer rates from PCIe 4.0-enabled SSD storage. The Gigabyte X570 Gaming X offers two PCIe 4 M.2 slots in combination with 3rd-gen Ryzen CPUs (one is PCIe 3 when used with a 2nd-gen Ryzen). One Thermal Guard M.2 heatsink is also included.
Power delivery is handled by a 10+2-phase digital VRM, which is not as sophisticated as the ones used for the X570 Aorus Elite or Pro but it compares favorably to other affordable boards in the category, such as the MSI X570-A Pro or Gaming Plus.
RAM support on the Gaming X is similar to the vast majority of other X570 ATX motherboards, with four slots for up to 128 GB of DDR4. The motherboard allows for RAM clocks of up to 4000 MHz (OC Mode), which is a bit lower than the high-end alternatives.
To make things easier for system builders, the board has an integrated I/O shield and a BIOS flashback feature (Q-Flash). An RGB Fusion 2.0 header is included, but there are no onboard LED effects on the Gaming X. In terms of multi-GPU setups, AMD CrossfireX is supported, but not Nvidia SLI.
X570 Gaming X Vs. Aorus Elite Vs. MSI X570-A Pro
| Product | Gigabyte X570 Gaming X | Gigabyte Aorus X570 Elite | MSI X570 Gaming Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form Factor | ATX | ATX | ATX |
| Power Delivery | 10-2 phase Digital VRM | 12+2-phase Digital VRM | 8-phase VRM |
| CPU Support | 2nd/3rd-gen AMD Ryzen | 2nd/3rd-gen AMD Ryzen | 2nd/3rd-gen AMD Ryzen |
| RAM Support (up to) | 4000 MHz (OC) | 4000 MHz (OC) | 4400+ MHz (OC) |
| Memory Slots/Channels (Max.) | 4/2 (128 GB) | 4/2 (128 GB) | 4/2 (128 GB) |
| PCIe X16 Slots | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| PCI-E 4.0 X1 Slots | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| SATA III Ports | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| M.2 Slots | 2x PCIe 4.0 | 2x PCIe 4.0 | 2x PCIe 4.0 |
| RAID Support | 0/1/10 | 0/1/10 | 0/1/10 |
| LAN | 1x Gigabit LAN | 1x Intel Gigabit LAN | Realtek 8111H Gigabit LAN |
| USB Ports incl. header | 8x (3.2 Gen1, Type A), 6x USB 2.0/1.1 | 1x (Gen2, Type C), 2x (Gen2, Type A), 8x (Gen1, Type A), 8x USB 2.0/1.1 | 8x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 6x USB 2.0 |
| SLI/Crossfire | N/Y | N/Y | N/Y |
| Audio | Realtek ALC887, High Definition Audio, 2/4/5.1-channel | Realtek ALC1200, 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel, support for S/PDIF Out | Realtek ALC1220, 5+ Optical S/PDIF |
The difference compared to the more expensive Aorus Elite model – other than visual appearance – is primarily that the Gaming X comes with a more affordable VRM and fewer USB ports (no 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, for example). MSI’s X570-A Pro (and the nearly identical Gaming Plus) includes a Type-C port and uses a higher-end audio chip, but is otherwise quite similar.
Reviews
While the VRMs were within limits, we did spot that the all-core boost was often south of 4GHz at stock speed, which means that if multi-threaded performance is your goal, a sneaky manual overclock could well be worth doing.
TechteamGB:
Additional information
Specification: GIGABYTE X570 Gaming X
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