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Rectangular ATX board, dark grey VRM heatsinks, silver M.2 shields, black PCB

GIGABYTE

GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE X AX Intel motherboard

SKU CH-XS81-612CB

ATX board for 13th and 14th gen Intel CPUs with DDR5 up to 192 GB, four PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, 2.5 GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6E and BLUETOOTH 5.3

  • ProcessorIntel LGA 1700 Socket: Supports 13th and next-gen processors
  • ChipsetIntel Z790 Express Chipset
  • Form factorATX
  • CPU socketLGA 1700
  • Memory slot count4 × 288pin (DDR5)
  • Supported memorySupport for DDR5 8266(O.C) / 8200(O.C) / 8000(O.C) / 7950(O.
  • Supports 13th and 14th gen Intel CPUs on LGA 1700 socket
  • Four DDR5 DIMM slots deliver up to 192 GB with XMP 3.0
  • Twin 16+1+2 phase digital VRM with advanced thermal armor
  • Four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots plus one PCIe 5.0 x16 slot
  • 5 GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 with front and rear USB-C 20 Gb/s

Intel LGA 1700 platform board

This ATX motherboard pairs the Intel Z790 Express chipset with an LGA 1700 socket that supports 13th and 14th generation processors. Four DDR5 DIMM slots accept up to 192 GB of memory with XMP 3.0 profiles. It targets builders who need high core counts, fast storage lanes and modern wireless connectivity in a single chassis.

VRM Thermal Armor Advanced and M.2 Thermal Guard

A twin 16+1+2 phase digital VRM solution feeds the CPU while heatsinks cover the power stages and M.2 slots. Smart Fan 6 controls curve points based on onboard sensors to keep component temperatures in check during sustained loads. The 2.5 GbE LAN and Wi-Fi 6E controllers run without active cooling.

Four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots

One CPU-attached slot and three chipset-attached slots each deliver four lanes of PCIe 4.0 bandwidth for 2280 or 22110 solid-state drives. This density lets the platform serve as a primary workstation drive array or a compact gaming library without sacrificing the PCIe 5.0 x16 graphics slot.

How it compares

Measured against everything we stock in Motherboards for Intel CPUs, at today’s prices. Recalculated every night.

Price $178.99
Pricier than about 78% of the 2,965 comparable items (median $97.99).

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Specifications

Product
Brand nameGIGABYTE
Model nameZ790 AORUS ELITE X AX
Processor
ProcessorIntel LGA 1700 Socket: Supports 13th and next-gen processors
CPU socketLGA 1700
ChipsetIntel Z790 Express Chipset
Memory
Memory slot count4 × 288pin (DDR5)
Supported memorySupport for DDR5 8266(O.C) / 8200(O.C) / 8000(O.C) / 7950(O.C) / 7900(O.C) / 7800(O.C) / 7600(O.C.) / 7400(O.C.) / 7200(O.C.) / 7000(O.C.) / 6800(O.C.) / 6600(O.C.) / 6400(O.C.) / 6200(O.C.) / 6000(O.C.) / 5800(O.C.) / 5600(O.C.) / 5400(O.C.) / 5200(O.C.) / 4800 / 4000 MT/s memory modules
Max supported RAM192 GB
Memory channelsDual Channel
Storage
SATA ports6 x SATA 6Gb/s
M.2 slotsCPU:
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 22110/2280 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2A_CPU)
Chipset:
- 2 x M.2 connectors (Socket 3, M key, type 22110/2280 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P_SB, M2Q_SB)
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 22110/2280 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD support) (M2M_SB)
SATA and RAID supportRAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 support for NVMe SSD storage devices
RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 support for SATA storage devices
Audio & video
Sound channels7.1 Channels
Connectivity
Ethernet controllerIntel 2.5GbE LAN chip (2.5 Gbit/s/1 Gbit/s/100 Mbit/s)
Maximum network speed2.5 Gbit/s
Wi-Fi standardWi-Fi 6E
- WIFI a, b, g, n, ac, ax, supporting 2.4/5/6 GHz carrier frequency bands
- BLUETOOTH 5.3
- Support for 11ax 160 MHz wireless standard
(Actual data rate may vary depending on environment and equipment.)
Bluetooth supportYes
Ports & slots
PCIe 5.0 x16 slotsCPU:
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 5.0 and running at x16 (PCIEX16)
* For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot.
PCIe 4.0 x16 slotsChipset:
- 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, supporting PCIe 4.0 and running at x4 (PCIEX4_1/PCIEX4_2)
Rear panel ports1 x USB Type-C port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 2 support
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R)
1 x HDMI port
1 x DisplayPort
1 x RJ-45 port
1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
2 x audio jacks
Onboard USB headers1 x USB Type-C header, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header
2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
Power
Power connectors1 × 24-pin ATX main power connector
2 × 8-pin ATX 12 V power connectors
Size & build
Form factorATX
Width and length30.5 cm × 24.4 cm
Compatibility
Windows 11 supportSupported

Questions about this item

How do I use the Q-Flash Plus button to update the BIOS without a CPU installed?

With the 24-pin and 8-pin power cables connected, insert a USB drive containing the renamed BIOS file into the dedicated Q-Flash Plus USB port, then press the Q-Flash Plus button; the LED will flash during the update and stay solid when finished.

Which thermal pads on the M.2 Thermal Guard need replacing if SSD temperatures rise after a year?

The pre-applied pads on the M.2 heatsinks covering the four PCIe 4.0 x4 slots (M2A_CPU, M2P_SB, M2Q_SB and the fourth slot) can be peeled off and replaced with 1 mm pads of similar conductivity.

At what memory speed does the DDR5 voltage regulator hit its thermal limit first during a long stress test?

The 16+1+2 phase digital VRM is rated for the full supported range up to DDR5 8266 (O.C.), so the CPU or memory ICs typically throttle before the VRM reaches its thermal ceiling.

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