GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Elite AX (LGA 1700/ Intel Z790/ ATX/ DDR5/ Quad M.2/ PCIe 5.0/ USB 3.2 Gen2X2 Type-C/Intel WiFi 6E/ 2.5GbE LAN/Q-Flash Plus/PCIe EZ-Latch/Gaming Motherboard)

So far so good, blistering fast, almost too fast for basic functions like web browsing; I'll get used to it. GB Z890 AE Wifi 7 MB, Ultra i9 285K, DDR5-64GB 6400 MHz (4800MT/s), PCIE 5 M.2 SSD 1T, Intel Graphics (for now), direct CPU access to SSD bypassing the chipset. Installation and set up was nothing abnormal, typical driver type obstacles during Win 11 installation but I've encountered much more problematic builds/start-ups. Wifi was not recognized, had to plug in an older alternative Wifi USB with preloaded Win 11 driver to establish a Wifi connection to download drivers for the WiFi 7. Another option would be hardwire EN. Not all drivers are available in the OS install package, common problem with newly released components. Tried using the AI DDR analysis/boost function to boost/max out DDR performance, stopped booting on first attempt. Was 100% my fault, there's more to the numbers, memory clock speed AND latency must match, lesson learned. Again, no big deal, simple CMOS reset (super easy, see manual) to factory and I was up and running in about 5-10 minutes. I like the MB, arrived new in the box with factory seal, would recommend. Have built several PCs over the years using GB MBs, not due to brand loyalty but that's how things worked out. Never an issue, many GB MBs are still in use well over a decade later.

I bought the aorus wifi 7 z890 board most costly I think. Anyway I went from a i7 3770kf 3rd gen build windows 7 to this with an ultra 265kf. It was a pain adjusting to the new bios type but once I figured it out and the mess that is installing windows 11 its hands down easier to work with then older bios I’ve used and I been building pcs since 1991/2 whenever intel 486 dx/2 66mhz was top end. So that’s saying a lot since I normally prefer older style stuff to most newer tech when it comes to control. Also I went to build a i7 14700kf last year using a asus tuf mb and I couldn’t even get it to boot. Whatever is up with the mess that is 14th gen they can keep it. I left asus cause I know whatever the cause was it was motherboard side and something to do with newest i7 gen’s. So I suggest if building a newer pc go with the ultra series processor and not the I series. I had no issues with this build other then don’t install any extra ssd/hdd until windows is done installing completely.i highly recamend this mb

Great motherboard! I use this for my Unraid server. First one arrived with bent pins. Customer support hooked me up with a replacement and this one sings. It was very easy to connect everything and the wifi works as expected. Can't wait to fill the M 2 slots!

I have 11 PC builds under my belt, never have I encountered more issues than I have with this MOBO.Motherboard BIOS has a really nasty habit of failing to restart after tweaking BIOS settings, even when just loading the default configs.I hate to say but the BIOS also has very unintuitive post beep codes which makes troubleshooting needlessly difficult. For example, the motherboard uses the exact same post beep code to indicate both a CPU failure and also a "monitor not recognized" error. If you're not savvy or dont google the error codes and just go off of what the MOBO manual says you could very easily assume your CPU is DOA when in actuality it's just an incompatible monitor.Another thing, its very picky about peripherals. If you don't have a very new monitor or keyboard, expect to have issues. I found the onboard display port to be more reliable than the HDMI. I have a Gigabyte brand 1440p monitor from 2020 that it still wont recognize despite my other PCs using it fine. A 2024 Samsung monitor hooked up via DP was much more cooperative.Next to address are the network interface drivers. This MOBO is equipped with a very fancy 2.5Gbs Ethernet port and it uses the Intel Ethernet Controller (3) I225-V driver. This driver is notorious for having problems and mine was no different. I thought a discrete network card would do the trick but it did nothing to rectify the stuttering and intermittent toggling between 1000Mbs mode and 100Mbs mode. I tested the cables, modem, router, WIFI drivers, different versions of windows, even bought two new Cat8 cables, everything I could think of and nothing has helped this issue. There are quite a few others on forums that have this issue too so it's not unique to me and I had a control PC to test against so I'm very confident the issue is here on the MOBO.I could go on, but everything except the actual physical install has been a migraine.To add insult to injury they dont include a physical manual, MOBO speaker or driver CD so you better have all those things prepared before attempting a build with this MOBO. I know other manufacturers are moving toward this practice as well but Its such a minor thing that helps so much with builds that I can't help but feel very disappointed with what you get in the box, especially at this price point.In conclusion, I really cant recommend this motherboard.If it were just bad components then that could be solved with a RMA, but a lot of my frustrations came from deliberate design decisions and I would be lying to say I wasn't let down.

New rig put together with this as the base for everything. It has plenty of M.2 slots and connections for RGB and other devices/parts. Solidly made and stable with no issues with the DDR5 ram and everything booted up just fine.Gotta spend some time playing around with the BIOS and settings but doing good so far and things are plenty fast enough with default settings.

The tradeoff between all the m.2 ssd slots is that you have fewer PCI's. Think ahead before buying. I can't use one of the PCI slots because of space issues, and so I ended up with a bunch of m.2's that I don't need and probably won't use.