GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS Pro Motherboard Review

CPU Cooler Fit and Included Accessories

CPU Cooler Fit

To test the amount of space surrounding the CPU socket, we mounted the Noctua NH-D15 cooler to the CPU socket. This behemoth CPU air cooler sports a dual fan construction and two huge vertical cooling towers.

When oriented in its default configuration with air blown towards the rear panel of the case, the Noctua cooler fits into the CPU socket area of the Z390 AORUS Pro without issue. Further, the spacing between the CPU socket area and the primary PCIe x16 slot are sufficient to seat a video card with the cooler mounted.

The Noctua hold down mechanism is large enough to qualify the socket space for use with the majority of mount methods included with a CPU cooler. The Noctua mount fits well to the CPU socket with no tight areas or contact points evident between it and the on-board capacitors, chokes, or VRM heat sinks.

The cooler's backplate rests on top of the socket backplate, minimizing the risk of direct board contact. Further, there is no circuitry in close proximity to the socket to alleviate risks of crushing board mounted components.

Included Accessories

The Z390 AORUS Pro motherboard comes with all the necessary components to get the board up and running as well as some accessories to make building the system easier.

GIGABYTE did a good job with the Z390 AORUS Pro's motherboard manual, describing all of its integrated components and board functions in clear and concise language. Also included is a driver DVD with all necessary hardware drivers and Windows utilities along with an AORUS-branded case badge.

GIGABYTE includes four black 6Gb/s-rated SATA cables for use with the integrated ports. The cables have port locks and a mix of straight and 90 degree connectors.

For use with the on-board front panel header, GIGABYTE included G Connector device. You simply plug the front panel case leads into the G Connector, locking the plugs in place, and then plug the G Connector into the front panel board header. It makes the installation of the front panel plugs much easier. The G Connector housing has notched arms that lock the case header plugs in place within the housing.

For use with the integrated RGB LED headers, GIGABYTE included a four wire and a three wire RGB cable for syncing your case RGB or digit-addressable RGB cable with the motherboard lighting configuration. Attached LED cable can be controlled via the included RGB Fusion Windows applet.

GIGABYTE also included two temperature diodes for temperature monitoring via the integrated board headers.