The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master Motherboard Review: Solid, But Not Special (2024)

The mainstream motherboard market is still predominantly focused on gamers and gaming features. From the useful to the inane, saying a device is 'gaming' is clearly bringing in the sales, and it becomes an all out marketing war. Each company is clearly trying to build a gaming brand beyond the company name, even if it means always being confused at how to pronounce it (Ay-orus, or Or-us?). Nonetheless, it is clear that each motherboard company is piling on the R&D dollars, as well as the design dollars, to ensure that it can convince users to part with some hard earned money in their next build. GIGABYTE's latest attempt is the Z390 Aorus Master, a motherboard that on paper sets its sights on features, aesthetics, and capability.

The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master looks to offer one of the most comprehensive blends of features, aesthetics and highly competitive controller set in its price bracket. The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master advertises a strong 12-phase power delivery for enthusiasts and overclockers, a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec withan ESS Sabre 9118 DAC to assist and an Intel 9560 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter.

The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master is a full-sized ATX motherboard and is advertised to havea large 12-phase power delivery. The board has a trio of PCIe 3.0 full-length slots with the top two slots operating at x16/x0 and x8/x8 from the CPU and the third slot wired directly to the Z390 chipset which runs at x4; all three full-length slots feature metal slot reinforcement and offers support for three-way CrossFire and two-way SLI multi-graphics configurations. In addition to this is are three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots which sit above each full-length slot. Along the bottom side of the motherboard is an LED debug and the Z390 Aorus Master benefits from dual BIOS with the selector switches located along the bottom full-length PCIe slot.

Design wise the Z390 Aorus Master looks rather familiar and resembles the previous Z370 Gaming 7 which this model directly replaces. The most notable aspect is the steel PCB brace on the rear of the board which is also present on its much more expensive Z390 Aorus Xtreme boards. The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master also has a full rear IO cover which extends across the power delivery with an L shaped heat sink. Another useful element to the rear panel comes from a pre-installed rear IO shield. Style wisethe board offers multi-zone integrated RGB LEDs into the rear panel cover, the chipset heatsink and across the cover which sits across over audio PCB section with further room for expansion due to headers, including two for addressable RGB. Touching more on the rear panel, the Z390 Aorus Master is using three USB 3.1 G2 Type-A ports and a single USB 3.1 G2 Type-C port. In addition to this is two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports with GIGABYTE's DAC-UP audio technology and is rounded off with four USB 2.0 ports.

Changing to GIGABYTEs naming schemes aside, the Z390 Aorus Master looks to offer users a high-quality offering with a premium set of controllers with a lot of emphasis on audio quality with a pairing consisting of a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec and ESS Sabre 9118 DAC. Also included is an Intel 9560 802.11ac CNVi offering compatibility with wireless networks with speeds of up to 1.73 Gbps with an Intel I219-V 1 GbE network port for connection to wired networks. The Z390 Aorus Master also offers users triple M.2 with each slot having its own dedicated heatshield; there are also six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays.

In our test suite, the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master showed good system performance overall with some very efficient power consumption numbers in idle and load states. The time in our POST time testing also proved fruitful, but the DPC latency performance out of the box gave one of the highest latencies from an LGA 1151 board we have tested so far. In our general testing, the Z390 Aorus Master is competitive, but we unfortunately experienced an anomaly in our game testing with slightly off the mark performance than was expected. This was just outside a margin of error and I will be revisiting the game testing if a new BIOS revision becomes available before the release of the next Intel desktop chipset.

During the overclock testing on the Z390 Aorus Master, we had to take a slightly different approach due to some instability as we went through the multipliers with default power settings. To do the testing we had to make a wave of changes in the firmware which isn’t out of the ordinary and would be beneficial, but it should be noted that it’s the first time I’ve had to do this in a mainboard review. On the actual performance itself, the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master is highly competitive with its power delivery design (doubled six-phase) and managed to run our Intel Core i7-8700K at 5.0 GHz with 1.3 V. Users looking to take accurate CPU VCore readings from the Z390 Aorus Master will need to either download the HWINFO utility and monitor the CPU VOUT sensor under the IR35201 section, or use a digital multimeter with the available voltage check points. It should also be noted that while using the AutoTuning profile which lets the firmware determine which overclock is stable after a test cycle of between 10 and 15 minutes, wasn’t stable and crashed instantly. More is expected from GIGABYTE with this profile, but it’s something other vendors have integrated.

It's clear that the Z390 Aorus Master is targeted towards gamers and enthusiasts looking to harnessthe quality and performance of the Intel 9th generation Core i7-9700K and i9-9900K processors. The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master looks to have the tools capable of overclocking with an advertised 12-phase power delivery and has its own OC button and header located at the top corner of the PCB. With a Thunderbolt 3 GPIO header onboard, the Z390 Aorus Master is one of only a select few to have one and that adds to the overall uniqueness; it's hard in a large segment to stand out from the crowd, which the Z390 Aorus Master is looking to do. With a price tag of $290 at both Amazon and Newegg, it is pitted directly against models such as the ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 ($270), the ROG Maximus Hero ($290) and the MSI Z390 ACE ($290) models.

The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master is a direct replacement to its last generation Z370 Aorus Gaming 7 model which was the captain and commander of the GIGABYTE’s arsenal. With a price tag of $290, it’s in direct competition with the MSI MEG Z390 Ace ($290) and the ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero ($290). The only boards above this in the GIGABYTE Z390 product are the GIGABYTE Aorus Z390 Master Xtreme and Aorus Z390 Xtreme WaterForce models which represent some of the most extravagant and expensive models on the market.

Across the entirety of the board is a wide host of visually pleasingPCB covering elements. These include a sophisticated looking rear panel cover, a chipset heatsink, and a audio PCB cover which all include integrated RGB LEDs supported by GIGABYTE’s RGB Fusion 2.0. A large and robust L shaped finned aluminum power delivery heatsink and three M.2 heatshields not only vital cooling functionality but contrast nicely against the black PCB backdrop with their shimmery silver stylings. The same stylings can be found across the rear panel cover and chipset heatsinks. Users can add to the style of their system through two 5050 RGB headers and two addressable RGB headers; each addressable header has its own power select jumper. Also featured is the capability to install a Thunderbolt adapter due to an add-in card connector and a 2 x 6-pin TPM header.

Touching on the PCIe layout of the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master, there arethree full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which feature metal slot reinforcement to protect against physical damage. The top two full-length slots take their bandwidth from the CPU and operate at x8/x8, with the third slot directly wired into the chipset and operates at just x4. This means users can use up to two-way NVIDIA SLI and three-way AMD Crossfire multi-graphics card configurations. Also included is three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots.

The power delivery on the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master is quite simple to dissect with a robust looking 12+2 layout which technically runs with a 6+2 controller equipped with doublers. An International Rectifier IR35201 PWM 8-channel controller takes care of both the CPU VCore and SoC. A total of twelve International Rectifier IR3553 40 A IR power stages make up the CPU VCore with a total of six IR3599 doublers. On the SoC, GIGABYTE is using two 4C10N high-side and two 4C06N low-side MOSFETs. One noteworthy element is the power delivery heatsink itself which with its L shaped design looks and feels well equipped to allow it to run cool under full load; something a lot of manufacturers in the past have neglected to focus adequate attention on. Providing power to the CPU is a pair of 8-pin 12 V ATX power inputs which are slowing becoming a normal inclusion on mid to high-end desktop motherboards.

Following on tracks of cooling, the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master has a combined total of seven 4-pin headers which are split into three segments; one for a CPU fan, one for a water cooling CPU fan, two for water cooling/AIO pumps and four system fan headers. Located along the bottom of the board is two BIOS dip switches, two external temperature sensor headers, two USB 2.0 headers, a front panel connections header and a two-digit LED debugger.

Over on the rearis a large steel brace which stretches across the majority of the PCB. This not only looks good and strengthens the boards overall rigidity. It's black in color and as expected, adds a large amount of weight to the board overall.

In the top right corner are a one-click GIGABYTE OC button and a set of voltage check points for users looking to monitor voltage accurately. These include points for CPU VCore, VCCIO, VSA, PCHIO, VPP_25 V, VDIMM and VAXG. Also located towards the top of the board is eight memory slots offering up to a maximum of 128 GB. The Z390 Aorus Master has official support for up to DDR4-4400 with support for ECC and non-ECC kits.

Removing the audio PCB cover reveals an interesting selection of components. GIGABYTE is well-known for focusing on audio performance and is using a premium Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec to power its onboard audio. This is complemented by an ESS Sabre 9118 DAC which includes an integrated headphone amplifier and a total of five gold and four WIMA audio capacitors. There is some physical PCB audio separation which splits the analog signalsfrom the rest of the board, but the Realtek ALC1220 itself doesn’t feature any EMI shielding.

Storage options on the Z390 Aorus Master are comprised of six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays. A total of three M.2 slots are present each with its own heatsink designed to keep those hot running NVMe based storage drives from throttling. The top two M.2 slots support up to M.2 22110 PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA drives, while the third slot has support for up to M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 drives. The Z390 Aorus Master also supports Intel’s Optane memory.

Looking closely at the rear panel, GIGABYTE has opted to utilize the space with plenty of USB connectors and benefits from a pre-installed rear panel shield. There are three USB 3.1 G2 Type-A ports and a USB 3.1 G2 Type-C, with a further two USB 3.1 G2 Type-A ports that double up as USB DAC-UP 2 ports with adjustable voltage. Finishing off rear panel USB is four USB 2.0 ports. Users looking for more USB connectivity can use the USB 3.1 G2 Type-A (two ports) header and two USB 2.0 headers (four ports). A single USB 3.1 G2 Type-C front panel header is inconveniently located below one of the RAM slots clasps which could cause issues with users filling all the RAM slots up (see the final page for more info). Featured is a single RJ45 port controlled by an Intel I219-V 1 GbE PHY and two antenna slots for the integrated Intel 9560 802.11 1.73 Gbps capable Wi-Fi; this also offers users Bluetooth V5 connectivity and is backwards compatible with other Bluetooth standards.

Also located on the rear panel is a clear CMOS button and a power/reset switch which are located next to the Wi-Fi antenna adapters. Users looking to integrated graphics can do so with a single HDMI 1.4 output. The five 3.5 mm gold plated audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are powered by a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec and unfortunately don’t feature color-coded connectors.

Accompanying the Z390 Aorus Master in the box is a varied selection of accessories. The most notable include four SATA cables, two thermal probes for the external temperature headers, a sticker sheet, two RGB LED extensions, two Aorus branded velcro straps and the antenna for the Intel 9560 802.11ac Wi-Fi CNVi. Also included is a driver installation disc, manual and NVIDIA SLI HB bridge.

• Four SATA cables (two right-angled, two straight angled)
• NVIDIA HB SLI bridge
• Four RGB LED extension cables (two 5050, two addressable)
• TwoM.2mounting kits with screws
• Two Aorus velcro strips
• Instruction manual
• Driver/Utility installation disk
• Sticker sheet
• Quick install guide
• Aorus case badge
• G connector

The latest GIGABYTE UEFI firmware (F4) on the Z390 Aorus Master appears quite rustic, but has been improved since our last GIGABYTE review.

The firmware on the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master has two primary modes for users to work with. These include the Easy Mode which is the initial splash screen and the classic mode which can be entered by pressing F2. With the Easy Mode, everything is displayed in a block system with eight different four-sided panels. These panels include basic information about different aspects of the mainboard and its installed components such as RAM, storage booting sequence, frequency and voltage monitoring, EZ OC and fan speed information. Users can quickly access functions such as Q-Flash by pressing F8, a handy favorites menu by pressing F11 or access the Smart Fan 5 utility by highlighting the options and physically selecting it with a mouse click or the enter key when highlighted.

Upon pressing the F2 key, users can switch between the Easy and Classic modes. Within the Classic mode is a much more extensive list of options with a list of main menus displayed horizontally across the top. These include M.I.T, System, BIOS, Peripherals, Chipset, Power and Save & Exit. Within each menu is a sub-menu listed vertically and in the case of the M.I.T, this section contains all the tools needed to do overclocking and change frequency and voltage variables. Each of the primary sections such as frequency, memory and voltage setting are all located within their own sub-section, but users can add relevant and commonly changed settings to their favorite menu for easy access.

Despite being a noticeable improvement in terms of GUI from the F4 launch firmware to F7, the layout is still a little basic and doesn’t feature much pizazz from a visual point of view. This isn’t necessarily a negative as each setting and option is clear with white text on a black background; as contrasting as it gets. Present are settings for changing the CPU base clock, integrated graphics ratios CPU clock ratio and a one-click setting to enable X.M.P 2.0 profiles on compatible and supported DDR4 memory.

All the relative power settings such as Turbo Boost Technology ratios, package power limits and C States can be altered within the Advanced CPU Core Settings sub-menu within the Advanced Frequency Settings menu. Users can even enable or disable Intel EIST, Intel Speed Shift and enable or disable CPU cores; users however can only select the number of enabled cores and not select between individual ones.

The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master comes equipped with an integrated fan control utility called Smart Fan 5. With a theme that looks more with the times than some other vendors output, Smart Fan 5 allows users to control each of the seven 4-pin headers individually. There are options to enable an alarm with certain variables including temperature on each of the different sensors and below this is a set of Realtime temperature values on all the different onboard thermal sensors. Users can make their own profiles through a five-point fan curve, or select a predefined one such as normal, quiet, performance and full-speed.

Solid and reliable firmware can make or break the user experience on a motherboard and GIGABYTE’s UEFI firmware does work very well. Much like ASRock does on its premium models, GIGABYTE has separated key overclocking controls into their own subsections which makes it easy to find settings, although there are too many clicks for my liking to get through to the LLC options (four in total). Users can alleviate this by putting their most frequently used options in the favorites panel for quick and easy access. The firmware is very responsive, there are extensive options for power settings and even though in our overclocking section I’ve highlighted some noteworthy points, the GIGABYTE firmware when updated past F5 on the Z390 Aorus Master is good.

Accompanying the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master is an enthusiastic software bundle that caters towards gamers, enthusiasts and audiophiles. All the software surrounds the Aorus App Center which acts as the hub with the most notable software coming via the EasyTune which is an overclocking and tweaking utility, the RGB Fusion 2.0 software for customizing the boards RGB LEDs and USB DAC-UP 2 utilities which allows users to alter the power of two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports on the rear panel.

The GIGABYTE Aorus App Center acts as its software’s plexus and all other applications cannot be installed without first installing the App Center. This is a positive for users looking to keep software in one easy to use panel, which also offers users access to primary Windows settings from the Control Panel and from third-party applications too. The negative is that users must do something that they may not wish to do; no-one likes applications and software to be forced upon them, even if it’s intuitive and purposeful.

With the Aorus EasyTune software, it allows users to select between four different overclocking modes; ECO, Default, OC and AutoTuning. Eco applies an overclock of 4.7 GHz on a single core, while Default looks to do the same, but with a little more headroom in power draw. The OC mode applies an overclock of 4.7 GHz across all the cores, whereas the AutoTuning profile goes through a 10-15-minute process of rebooting, automatic overclock tweaking and outputs a profile based on what it thinks the overall system can handle.

Users looking to do overclocking outside of the firmware can do so with the EasyTune utility. Within the software is an extensive list of overclocking settings for the CPU, memory and boards power delivery. Options for changing the frequency of external base clock generator, the CPU core ratio per core or all core, primary voltage settings and even memory frequency are assessable via EasyTune. Unlike some overclocking utilities from other vendors, the Aorus EasyTune offers real-time changing without the need to constantly reboot.

The GIGABYTE Aorus Game Boost software allows users to essentially free up system resources such as applications that hog RAM and CPU power. Users can press Ctrl + Alt + B to allow the software to ‘optimize’ the systemprocesses or users can select through the hungriest of programs and close them down manually. The benefit is more likely to be noticed on a lower end system or if users are running highly intensive applications such as Adobe Photoshop in the background without realizing; I certainly notice if Photoshop is open and the software doesn’t offer much more than common sense would dictate.

When it comes to customizing the integrated RGB LEDs on the Z390 Aorus Master, GIGABYTE has equipped the software bundle with the RGB Fusion 2.0 software. Users can select between eight different lighting effects or turn the LEDs off completely. Each of the individual lighting zones and headers can be customized to have their own separate effect/color combination or sync across the board.

For the audiophiles using good quality USB headsets, GIGABYTE has doubled up the two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports with the USB DAC-UP 2 technology. What this does is allow users to apply voltage compensation to the ports with up to 0.3 V more through the ports. The voltage compensation defaults at normal variables with the software allowing users to disabled USB bus power completely from both ports. Users can also control and apply voltage compensation through the front panel USB 3.0 header; the software displays two headers, but the board only has a single USB 3.1 G1 header.

While the core software bundle accompanying the Z390 Aorus Master is useful, I don't feel GIGABYTE hasn't utilized all of that focus on onboard audio as they should. Usually with models that incorporate good quality audio options including DACs and amplifiers come with a software package that makes users feel like they are getting a premium product, as well as offering functionality for users to customize sound profiles. Even though the Realtek Audio Console does do this to a degree, a third party software suite downloadable from the official product page and the installation CD would make the bundle more complete.

The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master is a high-end ATX motherboard targeted at gamers and enthusiasts with a variety of features and controllers. Highly notable features include triple M.2 with all of them supporting NVMe drives and each coming equipped with its own M.2 heatshield. The single LAN port is controlled by an Intel I219-V 1 Gbe PHY and GIGABYTE utilizes the CNVi on the Z390 chipset with an Intel 9560 802.11ac 1.73 Gbps capable Wi-Fi adapter. Users looking for a solid onboard audio solution will appreciate the Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec with an assisting ESS Sabre 9118 digital to analogue converter. Up to two-way NVIDIA SLI and three-way AMD CrossFire multi-graphics cards configurations can be used on the Z390 Aorus Master due to three full-length PCIe 3.0 ports (x8/x8/ or x8/x8/x4).

On the rear panel, GIGABYTE has equipped the Z390 Aorus Master with four USB 3.1 G2 ports; three Type-A and one Type-C. Also present is two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports which double up with GIGABYTE’s DAC-UP 2 technology for audio enthusiasts, as well as four USB 2.0 ports. Users can add an additional USB 3.1 G2 Type-C port, two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports and four USB 2.0 ports due to internal headers. GIGABYTE also has support for fast DDR4-4400 memory and supports the 32 GB UDIMMs which means the Z390 Aorus Master can house up to 128 GB of system memory.

As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch, and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.

While we have been able to measure audio performance from previous Z370 motherboards, the task has been made even harder with the roll-out of the Z390 chipset and none of the boards tested so far has played ball. It seems all USB support for Windows 7 is now extinct so until we can find a reliable way of measuring audio performance on Windows 10 or until a workaround can be found, audio testing will have to be done at a later date.

Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives, in essence, an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.

New Test Suite: Spectre and Meltdown Hardened

Since the start of our Z390 reviews, we are using an updated OS, updated drivers, and updated software. This is in line with our CPU testing updates, which includes Spectre and Meltdown patches. As we are in the process of testing more Z390 boards, that data will be added in future reviews however at this point we only have Z370 on the old testing as a reference.

Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however, this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.

For Z390 we are running an updated version of our test suite, including OS and CPU cooler. This has some effect on our results.

Power Consumption

Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single ASUS GTX 980 GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Thermaltake 1200W power supply. This power supply has ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.

While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.

Looking at the power charts above, the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master performs superbly in comparison to other boards in the same price bracket such as the MSI MEG Z390 ACE. The power consumption performance in both long idle and idle states are middle of the road, but at full load is where the Z390 Aorus Master really shows us its efficiency in our testing.

Non-UEFI POST Time

Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.)

In our non-UEFI POST time test, the Z390 Aorus Master actually performs a little better than the above graph shows. In our testing, we usually discount the Windows loading time during POST. The Z390 Aorus Master completely bypassed this procedure and went straight from POST into Windows. For fair testing, the result as normal was taken, but in reality, it's a little quicker than the graph suggests which would shoot it further up the table. The crux is, the Z390 Aorus Master has a fast POST.

DPC Latency

Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.

If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.

None of the boards tested so far has had optimizations for DPC latency out of the box and while some boards do appear to perform better than others at default, the Z390 Aorus Master misses the mark from a lot of other models on test.

For our motherboard reviews, we use our short form testing method. These tests usually focus on if a motherboard is usingMultiCore Turbo(the feature used to have maximum turbo on at all times, giving a frequency advantage), or if there are slight gains to be had from tweaking the firmware. We put the memory settings at the CPU manufacturers suggested frequency, making it very easy to see which motherboards have MCT enabled by default.

For Z390 we are running an updated version of our test suite, including OS and CPU cooler. This has some effect on our results.

Rendering - Blender 2.78: link

For a render that has been around for what seems like ages, Blender is still a highly popular tool. We managed to wrap up a standard workload into the February 5 nightly build of Blender and measure the time it takes to render the first frame of the scene. Being one of the bigger open source tools out there, it means both AMD and Intel work actively to help improve the codebase, for better or for worse on their own/each other's microarchitecture.

Streaming and Archival Video Transcoding -Handbrake 1.1.0

A popular open source tool, Handbrake is the anything-to-anything video conversion software that a number of people use as a reference point. The danger is always on version numbers and optimization, for example the latest versions of the software can take advantage of AVX-512 and OpenCL to accelerate certain types of transcoding and algorithms. The version we use here is a pure CPU play, with common transcoding variations.

We have split Handbrake up into several tests, using a Logitech C920 1080p60 native webcam recording (essentially a streamer recording), and convert them into two types of streaming formats and one for archival. The output settings used are:

• 720p60 at 6000 kbps constant bit rate, fast setting, high profile
• 1080p60 at 3500 kbps constant bit rate, faster setting, main profile
• 1080p60 HEVC at 3500 kbps variable bit rate, fast setting, main profile

Rendering – POV-Ray 3.7: link

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 1-2 minutes on high-end platforms.

Compression – WinRAR 5.4: link

Our WinRAR test from 2013 is updated to the latest version of WinRAR at the start of 2014. We compress a set of 2867 files across 320 folders totaling 1.52 GB in size – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30-second 720p videos.

Synthetic – 7-Zip 9.2: link

As an open source compression tool, 7-Zip is a popular tool for making sets of files easier to handle and transfer. The software offers up its own benchmark, to which we report the result.

Point Calculations – 3D Movement Algorithm Test: link

3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz, and IPC win in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores. For a brief explanation of the platform agnostic coding behind this benchmark, see my forum post here.

Neuron Simulation - DigiCortex v1.20: link

The newest benchmark in our suite is DigiCortex, a simulation of biologically plausible neural network circuits, and simulates activity of neurons and synapses. DigiCortex relies heavily on a mix of DRAM speed and computational throughput, indicating that systems which apply memory profiles properly should benefit and those that play fast and loose with overclocking settings might get some extra speed up. Results are taken during the steady-state period in a 32k neuron simulation and represented as a function of the ability to simulate in real time (1.000x equals real-time).

AoTS Escalation

Ashes of the Singularity is a Real-Time Strategy game developed by Oxide Games and Stardock Entertainment. The original AoTS was released back in March of 2016 while the standalone expansion pack, Escalation, was released in November of 2016 adding more structures, maps, and units. We use this specific benchmark as it relies on both a good GPU as well as on the CPU in order to get the mostframes per second.This balance is able to better display any systematic differences in gaming as opposed to a more GPU heavy title where the CPU and system don't matter quite as much. We use the default "Crazy" in-game settings using the DX11 rendering path in both 1080p and 4K UHD resolutions. The benchmark is run four times and the results averaged then plugged into the graph.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a third-person action-adventure game that features similar gameplay found in 2013's Tomb Raider. Players control Lara Croft through various environments, battling enemies, and completing puzzle platforming sections, while using improvised weapons and gadgets in order to progress through the story.

One of the unique aspects of this benchmark is that it’s actually the average of 3 sub-benchmarks that fly through different environments, which keeps the benchmark from being too weighted towards a GPU’s performance characteristics under any one scene.

Experience with the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master

GIGABYTE's UEFI firmware uses a basic, yet simple and intuitive layout.All of the relevant overclocking settings such as those for frequency, memory, and voltage all have their own individual sections.All of the power-related settings can be found under the advanced power settings subsection.This can make the adjustment of different settings a little bit challenging as once you’ve been through four or five different menus and changed settings, it could be quite easy to forget a couple of settings that’s been applied; for what it’s worth, I write mine down as I go.

We know that the limitations when using ambient cooling withour testbed Intel Core i7-8700K. Thisis around 5.1 GHz at 1.45 V; thermal throttling kicks in around 1.4 V and does have a negative impact on performance. Changing the CPU Core Frequency can bedone through the multiplier in increments of 100 MHz e.g. x45, x46. The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master has a hardwired OC button in the top right corner of the PCB which allows users to instantly enable a pre-defined CPU overclocking profile with just one click. Users looking to overclock their memory can adjust their settings manually, or simply enable the X.M.P profile within the memory settings subsection of the firmware.

Before we diveinto the overclock testing, we did experience the following issues when overclocking using this board:

How to Find the Correct CPU VCore Voltage on the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master

To find the sensor with the most accurate CPU Vcore voltage readouts, first users will need to download HWINFO. The HWINFO utility provides very extensive information on various readouts including thetemperature from various sensors including thermal monitoring points, chipsets and controllers, and voltages. To find the correct voltages for the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master, the CPU VCore can be located under the VR VOUT value under the IR35201 section.

The IR35201 is the 8-channel PWM controller of choice on the power delivery of the Z390 Aorus Master and aside from being the most accurate for monitoring the CPU VCore voltage, is also the most obvious one as the IR35201 handles the current going directly from the power inputs into the CPU itself. Users can download HWINFO at thislink.

Overclocking Methodology

Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with POV-Ray and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.

For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from the previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (90ºC+). Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.

Overclocking Results

For the purpose of overclocking our i7-8700K on the Z390 Aorus Master, we changed the following settings which generally on other boards we've tested, have beenleft completely untouched. It's not unusual todisable the C-states and alter power settings when overclocking.

• CPUVCoreLoadline Calibration - High
• VAXG Loadline Calibration - High
• PWM Phase Control - Perf
• VAXG Phase Control - High Perf
• All C-States - Disabled
• EIST (Intel SpeedStep Technology) - Disabled
• Race to Halt - Disabled
• Voltage Optimization - Disabled
• Intel Speed Shift - Disabled
• Enhanced Multi-Core Performance - Disabled

The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master has three different predefined overclocks and modes to choose from; Eco, OC mode and AutoTuning. The Eco mode ran our i7-8700K with 4.7 GHz on one core and achieved a max VCore of 1.115 V with an average of 1.137 V, with a slightly lower power draw overall than stock settings, and a with a little less performance in POV-Ray. The OC mode was slightly different with all cores set to 4.7 GHz which meant a higher overall power draw with a maximum figure of 218 W at the wall. This was due to the maximum CPU VCore at a load of 1.361 V, with an average of 1.351 V. With the AutoTuning mode, the firmware of the Z390 Aorus Master automatically determines which the best settings are suitable for the components and cooling selected. Once activated through the EasyTune software, it cycled through system resets and ran automatic stress tests are different frequencies to find the most stable. Our system managed to achieve 5.0 GHz with AutoTuning, but upon running POV-Ray, it crashed immediately. This means that the overclock the firmware spent 5-10 minutes preparing for us, wasn't actually stable and shows that the Z390 Aorus Master could do with a little work on that front.

Performing manual overclocks on the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master with our i7-8700K once we changed a plethora of settings was actually quite pleasing. We managed to achieve a maximum stable overclock of 5.0 GHz at 1.30 V on the VCore with the CPU LLC set to the high setting. Even with up to 1.475 V on the CPU VCore, 5.1 GHz was unstable, but one thing we did note was a consistent increase in POV-Ray performance from 4.3 GHz up to 5.0 GHz. Total power draw was consistent with what is expected compared to previous models tested and 1.30 V on the VCore for our test-bed i7-8700K is pretty impressive.

It's clear that the GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Master has plenty of potential with the 6+2 power delivery and after the curfuffle and rigmarole with the default power settings, overclocking performance is good. As long as users remember that the VR VOUT sensor under the IR35201 section in the HWINFO monitoring utility is the most accurate sensor, overclocking can be made a lot easier and it would be nice to see GIGABYTE take note andrectify this for the future, especially on a model with a price tag of $290.

The $250 to $300 motherboard competition stack is highly contested for Z390, with GIGABYTE, ASRock, MSI, and ASUS all having at least two models each in this segment. Some manufacturers add in 2.5 or 10 GbE NICs into its models in this price range, orextensive USB 3.1 G2 offerings, and itforces the manufacturers to step up. GIGABYTE brings the ATX sized Z390 Aorus Master to the table and while it is an attractive model with plenty of features such as triple M.2 with three individual M.2 heatsinks to use and a pre-attached rear IO shield, GIGABYTE could have equipped the Z390 Aorus Master with a little more.

The performance in our test suite as far as system and CPU testing went proved that the Z390 Aorus Master can hang with the competition in most instances, however there were a few slips, perhaps due to its memory training not being as tight as the competition at stock settings. There were some slightly disappointing results with a mediocre showing in our DPC Latency testing and the results in our game testing seemed to be a couple of percent off the expected mark. For computational tasks, however, the Z390 Aorus Master did well and in our power consumption tests, it seemed quite efficient given our power hungry i7-8700K testbed sample. The performance in our non-UEFI POST time test was also good and competes well against some of the best performers. In our overclocking tests, we did hit a few snags along the way which we generally don't experience. We managed a maximum stable overclock of 5.0 GHz at 1.3 V on the CPU VCore which is good for our Core i7-8700K, but it couldn't go beyond this. To achieve it we had to change a whole host of power related settings as we got crashes at what are usually successful combinations of CPU frequency and CPU Core Voltage. To alleviate the unreliable CPU VCore readings from the CPU-Z utility and GIGABYTE's own EasyTune software, users can download HWINFO and use the VR VOUT reading under the IR35201 section of the utility.

On the rear panel, GIGABYTE does include a total of four USB 3.1 G2 ports (three Type-A, one Type-C), two USB 3.1 G1 compatible with its USB DAC-UP 2 technology and four USB 2.0 ports. Users looking for more can use the front panel headers which include one USB 3.1 G1 Type-A header (two ports), two USB 2.0 headers (four ports) and a single USB 3.1 G2 Type-C header. While the additional Type-C header is welcomed, its placement does seem a little lacklustre given it’s so close to the clasp of the second RAM slot. With the header populated, it would need to be unplugged to remove an installed stick in that slot. Something slightly more disappointing is the Intel I219-V 1 GbE PHY and considering the $290 price tag, I would expect to see a little more in this area; perhaps a 2.5 or 5 GbE NIC to help cement the Z390 Aorus Master as a premium model. There is an Intel 9560 802.11ac MU-MIMO Wi-Fi adapter present which uses the CNVi within the Z390 chipset and it offers users Bluetooth V5 connectivity. Also featured on the rear panel is a handily located clear CMOS button and users can power and reset their system by using the dedicated power switch on the rear.

The clasp of RAM slot two obstructing front panel USB 3.1 G2 Type-C Header

GIGABYTE in previous years has opted to focus a lot of its attention on the audio and the Z390 Aorus Master is no exception to this. The board utilizes the premium Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec and even includes an ESS Sabre 9118 DAC which features its own integrated headphone amplifier. Users with USB headsets can also use the two USB DAC-UP 2 ports on the rear with the supplied software. This allows users to apply voltage compensation to pump a bit more juice through the cable, although this shouldn’t be too much an issue unless the headset cable is extensively long. Covering the audio PCB is a fancy looking plastic cover, but it doesn’t double up as an EMI shield. On the PCB is five gold audio capacitors and four WIMA capacitors. The only issue is the lack of a dedicated third-party software suite which we’ve seen over the years. Even though the Realtek Audio Console is decent, even giving users some extra software such as the Creative or another alternative would go a long way to giving the user a more premium feel to bolster their overall experience.

With a price tag of $290 its extravagant looks, its solid feature set with a Realtek ALC1220 audio codec, Intel 9560 802.11ac MU-MIMO Wi-Fi and solid power delivery with one of the heatsinks on the Z390 chipset make it attractive. There could be some more focus put on the premium components, but GIGABYTE seemingly put its focus on the onboard audio which they are well known for doing and everything else seems to be on par with the competition. The metal rear PCB brace is a nice touch and expands somewhat upon the premium feature set on offer, but it's not defining aspect to make it the defining board of its price point.

Ultimately, the Z390 Aorus Master is a solidly product, and when overclocked should make a user very happy when going above stock performance, particularly in memory. However,GIGABYTE should trying to stand out from the competition with at least one super feature.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7orrAp5utnZOde6S7zGiqoaenZH51fJNwZq2glWK0qrPAm7CtnV2vgHp8jJqmq62jYrqiv9OeqWaln6m1pr7BqJirnF2nsre1xLBmbA%3D%3D