GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS Pro Motherboard Launch Day Preview

Preview and Technical Specifications

The Z390 AORUS Pro is part of GIGABYTE’s Z390 line of boards, offering support for Intel’s 9th generation of processors and touting support for 5GHz over all cores…

Introduction

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

With the release of Intel's lastest consumer-oriented chipset, the Z390, GIGABYTE released the details of their Z390 board line. GIGABYTE's initial sampling to PC Perspective was their Z390 AORUS Pro motherboard, featuring a matte black PCB and an armored rear panel assembly and an integrated rear panel shield. In keeping with their previous AORUS series board designs, GIGABYTE spread RGB LEDs throughout the board's surface, configurable via the Windows applet. The board offers support for the latest Intel 9th genation processors (as well as maintaining support for the 8th generation processors) and Dual Channel DDR4 memory via the Intel Z390 chipset.

Board Features

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

• Supports 9th and 8th Intel® Core™ Processors
• Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
• Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
• 12+1 Phase Digital VRM Solution with DrMOS
• Advanced Thermal Design with Screw mounted Heatsinks and Heatpipe
• ALC1220-VB Enhance 114dB(Rear)/ 110dB(Front) SNR in Microphone with WIMA Audio Capacitors
• Intel® Gigabit LAN with cFos Speed
• RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone LED Light Show design, support Addressable LED & RGB LED strips
• Smart Fan 5 features Multiple Temperature Sensors and Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP
• Front USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C™ Header
• Dual Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 with Thermal Guards
• CEC 2019 Ready, Save the Power as Easy as One Click

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

The following features have been integrated into the board: six SATA III 6Gbps ports; two M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 32Gbps capable ports; an RJ-45 port featuring an Intel I219-V Gigabit NIC; three PCI-Express x16 slots; three PCI-Express x1 slots; a Realtek ALC1220-VB Audio CODEC; an integrated HDMI video port; and USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 Type-A and Type-C port support.

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

To power the board, GIGABYTE integrated integrated a 13-phase (12+1) digital power delivery system into the Z390 AORUS Pro board's design. The digital power system was designed with an IR Digital PWM Controller and DrMOS ICs, high grade choke, and all-metal long-life capacitors. The power circuitry and board trace design works together to give the board its excellent overclockability when used in combination with the Intel 9th generation processors.

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

From the GIGABYTE provided PCI-Express lane and assignment breakdown, you can clearly see some of the refinements that went into the board design as well as the power enhancements offered through the Intel Z390 chipset. The CPU provides the PCIe lanes for the primary and secondary PCIE X16 slots, while all other devices and ports are support through the Z390 chipset. This includes the tertiary PCIE X16 slot, all PCIE X1 slots, the two M.2 ports, the SATA ports, the Intel GigE controller, and all USB ports and headers (including the USB 3.1 ports).

Courtesy of GIGABYTE

The board's rear panel contains the following integrated ports: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and 3.1 Type-A and Type-C ports, an Intel I219-V RJ-45 GigE port, an HDMI video port, and both digital and analogue audio ports. All ports are clearly labels for easy identification via the integrated rear panel sheild. Also notice the armor enclosing the rear panel assembly giving is a sleek look, as well as protecting the sensitive ports.

UEFI Preview

GIGABYTE bundled the latest version of their UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) implementation with the Z390 AORUS Pro motherboard, offering full keyboard and mouse support while using the UEFI pages. By default, the user sees the Easy mode interface when entering the UEFI. The Classic mode screens accessible via the Classic button at the upper right corner of the screen or by hitting the F2 function key. Classic mode screens can be set for the default user interface via the UEFI BIOS tab as well.

Below are a few shots of the Easy and Advanced Mode screens to give you a feel for GIGABYTE Z390 line UEFI design.

Easy Mode interface

The Easy Mode interface organizes system data and settings into tiles across the page in an easy-to-read manner for those users who do not want to be bothered with the labyrinth of the Classic mode tabbed interface. Most commonly used settings, including boot sequence, EZ OC, and smart fan, are readily accessible from within the Easy Mode page.

Classic mode interface, M.I.T. tab

Classic mode interface, Peripherals tab

The Classic mode interface offers advanced users access to the more traditional tabbed interface with its logically grouped system settings and configuration features. GIGABYTE enhanced this interface with a popout side menu. The right side popout menu displays real-time system statistics, including CPU, memory, and voltage settings.

Technical Specifications (Courtesy of GIGABYTE)