GIGABYTE X299X Aorus Master DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The GIGABYTE X299X Aorus Master is a high-end E-ATX motherboard built on the Intel X299 Express Chipset and designed for Intel Core X-series processors in the LGA2066 socket, supporting models from the Core i7-7800X through the Core i9 X-series family. Its E-ATX form factor measures 30.5 cm x 26.9 cm, making it suited to full-tower chassis with ample clearance. At the heart of the power delivery is a 12-phase IR Digital VRM solution with 70 A power stages, designed to provide stable and clean power to demanding high-core-count processors during sustained workloads. Memory support is extensive. With 48-lane processors the board accepts up to 256 GB of DDR4 across eight DIMM slots in quad-channel configuration, with speeds up to DDR4 2933 MHz. With 44- or 28-lane processors the cap is 128 GB at up to DDR4 2666 MHz. XMP profiles are supported; only non-ECC unbuffered DIMMs are compatible. Storage is handled by three M.2 Socket 3 connectors with thermal guards, supporting PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 NVMe drives, supplemented by eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports and RAID 0/1/5/10 capability. Intel Optane Memory is supported on 48-lane platforms, and an Intel VROC Upgrade Key header enables NVMe RAID on CPU-connected M.2 slots. Networking combines an Aquantia 5GbE LAN controller (5G/2.5G/1G/100M) with an Intel Gigabit LAN port, plus onboard Intel Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax, 2T2R, 2.4/5 GHz dual-band, up to 2.4 Gbps theoretical) and Bluetooth 5.0 via the included AORUS antenna. Audio is delivered through a Realtek ALC1220-VB codec paired with an ESS SABRE9218 DAC chip, rated at 130 dB SNR, supporting 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel output and S/PDIF optical out. Expansion on a 48-lane CPU consists of two PCIe x16 slots running at x16, two PCIe x16 slots running at x8, supporting NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI and AMD Quad-GPU CrossFire. All PCIe x16 slots conform to PCIe 3.0. USB connectivity includes USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C on both the back panel and as an internal header, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, six USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports on the rear, and additional USB 2.0 ports internally and on the rear panel. Additional features include RGB Fusion 2.0 with addressable LED headers, Smart Fan 5 with noise detection, DualBIOS with Q-Flash Plus (BIOS update without CPU or memory installed), dual BIOS switches, onboard power and reset buttons, and a Thunderbolt add-in card connector. Verified Specifications: - Socket: LGA2066 - Chipset: Intel X299 Express - Form Factor: E-ATX, 30.5 cm x 26.9 cm - Memory: 8x DDR4 DIMM, up to 256 GB (48-lane CPU), quad-channel, non-ECC unbuffered, XMP - VRM: 12-phase IR Digital, 70 A power stages - Storage: 3x M.2 (PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4), 8x SATA 6 Gb/s, RAID 0/1/5/10 - LAN: Aquantia 5GbE + Intel GbE - Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) + Bluetooth 5.0 - Audio: Realtek ALC1220-VB + ESS SABRE9218 DAC, 130 dB SNR, 7.1-channel - USB (rear): 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 6x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 2x USB 2.0 - BIOS: Dual AMI UEFI, DualBIOS, Q-Flash Plus - PCIe: 4x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (48-lane config: 2x x16, 2x x8) - OS: Windows 10 64-bit