Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 Motherboard Review

Gigabyte has given several of its AM4 X370 motherboards the Aorus treatment. We examine the Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 - a £205 motherboard that features Gigabyte's Smart Fan 5 system and RGB Fusion LED lighting. Storage geeks will be happy to see the inclusion of M.2 and U.2, as well as 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2, while users looking for a straightforward running process will appreciate Gigabyte's UEFI-based XMP memory support. Introduced with its Z270 product range, Aorus branding for Gigabyte's motherboards is similar to the approach that ASUS takes for Republic of Gamers products. The Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 features an eye-catching black and white colour scheme and includes a hefty set of onboard RGB LED lighting zones that fit into the vendor's RGB Fusion system. Another staple of the Aorus product range is Smart Fan 5. This is Gigabyte's fancy name for an enthusiast-grade fan control system that uses 4-pin 'Hybrid' PWM- and DC-capable headers throughout and provides granular control in the UEFI and OS software. The AMP-UP audio system is based around a pair of Realtek's popular ALC1220 codecs and their inbuilt amplifiers. Dual NICs, one from Killer and one from Intel, are provided in addition to a supplementary pair of USB 3.1 10Gbps ports powered by an ASMedia chipset. Maintaining the storage focus, 32Gbps PCIe 3.0 x4 connectivity for fast NVMe SSDs is provided by way of onboard M.2 as well as U.2. With a long list of functionality- and performance-based features, can Gigabyte's Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 prove itself a worthy contender at £205? Features (taken from the Gigabyte product page): Dual Channel ECC/ Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs Fast 4 USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-C™ and Type-A 2-Way CrossFire™/SLI™ Multi-Graphics Support with Dual Armor and Ultra Durable™ Design NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 U.2 Connector Ultra-Fast PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 with PCIe NVMe & SATA mode support Creative® Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5 support Dual ALC 1220 with Front & Rear 120dB SNR HD Audio with Dual Smart Headphone Amps Killer™ E2500 Gaming Network + Intel® Gigabit LAN USB DAC-UP 2 & 4 Front USB 3.0 Ports with Adjustable Voltage RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone LED Light Show design Swappable Overlay for Accent LED Smart Fan 5 features 9 Temperature Sensors and 8 Hybrid Fan Headers 2 External Thermistors Headers with 2 Included Thermistors GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOS™ The Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 ships in packaging that is typical for this product line. A black box is contrasted by orange highlights and the Aorus eagle proudly takes centre stage on the front side. Key features relating to the motherboard are shown on the rear of the box. Gigabyte includes a healthy accessory bundle that consists of: 4x SATA cables 2x thermistor cables 2x Aorus-branded Velcro cable ties 1x 5-pin RGBW extension cable 1x front panel header block The rear IO shield 1x black, 2-way High-Bandwidth SLI bridge The usual documentation is accompanied by an Aorus case sticker and a set of cable labels. The Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 motherboard uses a black and white colour scheme that has seen increasing popularity over the past few years. The motherboard is primarily black, with subtle touches of silver on slots, while the large rear IO cover and sections of heatsinks are coloured in white. Strengthened PCIe and DIMM slots are noticeable from the offset. Marketed as Ultra Durable and Armor by Gigabyte, the steel-reinforced PCIe slots should help to minimise GPU sag with large graphics cards. The strengthened DIMM slots will reduce PCB flex when installing memory modules. A look at the motherboard's rear PCB side shows that the lowest full-length expansion slot is hard-wired for PCIe x4 bandwidth. With its Gaming 5, Gigabyte offers six discrete LED lighting zones across the motherboard, in addition to two RGB LED strip headers (one 5-pin RGBW and one 4-pin RGB). The individual lighting zones are: DIMM slots Upper VRM section Middle PCIe x16 slot Near the chipset heatsink The audio section The plastic overlay near the 24-pin connector Multiple RGB LEDs are used for lighting in some of the zones, allowing Gigabyte's board to emit a visibly bright glow should you deem it necessary. Different operating modes, such as flashing and intelligent activation, are supported but the individual zones can only be controlled as a group, not separately. If you want the PCIe slot LEDs using a separate colour to the DIMM slots, Gigabyte will force you up to a higher-end Aorus SKU, as is the case with the Z270 offerings. Up to 64GB of DDR4 memory can be installed in the four DIMM slots. Gigabyte quotes out-of-the-box support for 3200MHz kits and this is backed up by the UEFI support for a 32x memory divider, as well as XMP. It is, however, worth checking Gigabyte's QVL to see if your kit is supported. Our G.SKILL Trident Z modules worked without hassle. Two internal 5Gbps USB 3.0 headers are situated next to a pair of 4-pin fan connectors. Both headers use ports delivered through the X370 chipset. Next to the 24-pin connector are onboard buttons that prove handy for troubleshooting. Gigabyte mounts a plastic overlay in this section of the board, beneath which reside RGB LEDs that light through the piece. This overlay is swappable, meaning that users could cut or 3D print their own design and mount it to the motherboard for a uniquely-lit section. This feature is not as flexible as ASUS' 3D printing mounts but it is a novel way of allowing users to customise their motherboard. The power delivery system is a 6+4-phase design, with the six phases being delivered to an AM4 CPU and four allocated for the SOC voltage rail. Gigabyte uses an International Rectifiers IR35201 PWM to control ten 40A-rated IR3553M PowIRstage MOSFET solutions, aided by two IR3599 PWM doublers mounted above the upper four phases (and presumably allocated to SOC duties). This makes sense given the IR35201 PWM's possible deployment as a 6+2-phase design and implies that the CPU voltage rail gets a dedicated six control phases. I am not particularly impressed by Gigabyte's MOSFET cooling solution. The two heatsinks are roughly standard size for an ATX motherboard of this calibre but they are individual heatsinks, rather than a single unit connect via a heatpipe. Linking the pair together by a heatpipe would have helped to balance thermal energy across both heatsinks to enhance and better balance cooling potential. As it stands, each unit acts on its own meaning that saturation of one of the heatsinks may occur even if the other has spare cooling capacity. All eight SATA 6Gbps ports are delivered by the X370 chipset. Gigabyte takes four of these ports and uses them to double-up as a pair of SATA-Express connections. This is now stupid because SATA-Express is practically dead and the internal USB 3.1 10Gbps connector (an area where SATA-E was previously useful) has been standardised. Gigabyte's logic here is that SATA-E is basically free to provide, other than the cost of plastic and a slight adjustment to PCIe lane routing. On the topic of that internal 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 connector, it is disappointing to see that Gigabyte has not included it on the AX370-Gaming 5. Instead, the pair of chipset-based 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports are mounted on the rear IO. Some form of internal USB 3.1 solution would have been preferable. That U.2 connector is good to see on a £205 motherboard, especially with Ryzen 7's capability as a prosumer CPU for video editors and other heavy users. The port is fed with 32Gbps of PCIe 3.0 x4 bandwidth directly from the AM4 CPU and is compatible with NVMe SSDs such as the Intel 750. Bandwidth limitations for AMD's AM4 platform mean that the U.2 connector shares its connection with the M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 lanes. This means that only one of those connectors can be used at a given time. The onboard M.2 slot is capable of housing PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe and SATA 6Gbps SSDs up to 110mm in length. As previously mentioned, its bandwidth is shared by the onboard U.2 connector, making only one usable at a given time. Gigabyte's positioning of the M.2 slot is both good and bad. The positive aspect of mounting it below a graphics card is that an ugly green M.2 SSD's PCB is hidden and incidental airflow will be received from an open-air graphics card cooler. However, if you are exporting a video file or rendering a project and the GPU is pumping out warm air, that will be blown directly onto an M.2 SSD and is likely to contribute to thermal throttling. Gigabyte should have implemented some form of cooling method for an SSD installed in its M.2 slot. Branching a heatpipe out from the large chipset heatsink would have been easy and would have allowed for heat to be removed from an M.2 SSD's controller. The first and second full-length PCIe slots are fed Gen 3 lanes directly from an AM4 CPU. Two-card CrossFire and SLI is supported as the bandwidth can be delivered as x16/x0 or x8/x8. Spacing is positive - Gigabyte leaves a 3-slot gap between the connectors, which is acceptable for retaining cooling space between a pair of 2- or 2.5-slot graphics cards. The lowest full-length PCIe slot runs at a maximum of Gen 2 x4 bandwidth delivered by the X370 chipset. Those four lanes are shared with the trio of PCIe x1 slots. The full-length connector drops to x2 bandwidth if you utilise the PCIE_X2 and PCIE_X3 slots and it is decreased to an x1 link if the PCIE_X1 slot is populated. Headers situated along the motherboard's bottom edge are the usual affair, in addition to a trio of 4-pin fan connections, a 2-digit debug LED, and the 5-pin RGBW LED output. Gigabyte also mounts a pair of BIOS switches that allows users to alternate between the primary and secondary BIOS in case of troubleshooting. A secondary BIOS for system recovery would have been useful on our ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero sample when it crashed and rendered the motherboard completely unusable. Gigabyte's AMP-UP audio solution is based around a pair of Realtek's popular ALC1220 audio codecs. The built-in amplifiers are used for headphone-driving duties and Gigabyte aims to clean up signals using Nichicon audio capacitors, dedicated PCB tracks, and a plastic cover. The rear IO is heavy on USB connections, thanks to the sizeable count included with AMD's X370 chipset. Two yellow 5Gbps USB 3.0 Type-A ports, mounted below the PS/2 connector, are given USB DAC-UP 2 duties. Gigabyte suggests that USB DACs should be connected to these ports as they are designed with re-drivers to deliver a continuous level of clean voltage. There are four more 5Gbps USB 3.0 ports, all of which are coloured blue. 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A connections (red-coloured) from the X370 chipset are mounted below an Ethernet port. Gigabyte's decision to make these ports available on the rear is the reason for the exclusion of an internal 10Gbps USB 3.1 header. ASMedia's ASM1143 chipset is used to provide 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A and Type-C ports. Gigabit Ethernet is provided by Intel's I211AT chipset and the Killer E2500 alternative. Dual GbE connections gives users an ability to choose their preferred networking vendor but it is also wasteful, aside from offering redundancy, as they cannot be teamed together in Windows. An HDMI 1.4 port, lending itself to compatibility with future AM4 APUs, and gold-plated audio jacks finish off the set of rear IO connections. Backing up the marketing claims for its Smart Fan 5 system, Gigabyte deploys a total of eight 4-pin 'Hybrid' fan headers on the AX370-Gaming 5. Distribution of the PWM- and DC-controllable headers is good, with three connections being close to the CPU socket and five mounted on the board's edges to serve chassis fans. The combination of ITE's IT8686E and IT8792E controllers are to thank for Gigabyte's fan control and monitoring abilities. The 4-pin headers' ability to manage PWM and DC fans is thanks to the ITE chipset detecting if a PWM pin is present and adjusting its operating parameters (the adjustable voltage pin) accordingly. An ITE IT7236AFN controller is also present and seems to manage the RGB LEDs. Gigabyte also provides headers to connect the two included thermistor cables. This is good if you want to manage fan speed based on a component or area that is not given onboard temperature sensor readings, such as memory modules or a GPU backplate. The 5-pin RGBW and 4-pin RGB LED headers are circled with blue. The 5-pin connection is mounted on the motherboard's bottom edge and can be used with the included extension cable. Gigabyte positions the secondary 4-pin header close to the CPU socket. This location is good for controlling the AMD Wraith Spire RGB cooler but it is otherwise inconvenient for connecting an RGB LED strip as a cable will have to sprawl across the motherboard. Gigabyte X370 UEFI The UEFI used for Gigabyte's X370 motherboard is almost identical to that found on the Z270 counterpart. As such, we have re-used the bulk of our analysis from the Z270 reviews and updated the text where there are subtle differences. Firstly, we are pleased to report that our generic wireless mouse worked in the Gigabyte X370 UEFI. Some mice can be troubling with UEFI support, so when a generic wireless unit functions correctly in the interface, that is usually a good sign for overall mouse support. Gigabyte’s Easy Mode page is a solid attempt at categorising a handful of simple settings into a single section. Users can alter the boot sequence, check fan speeds, monitor temperatures and voltages, enable XMP, and change the performance mode without jumping into the deeper (and scarier for less experienced users) UEFI sections. I don’t have any complaints about Gigabyte’s Easy Mode implementation. It is as good as the versions used by competing vendors. M.I.T. is the main section where parameters relating to voltages, frequencies, and power settings for the system’s main components are found. The Memory and Voltage sections are split from the Frequency subsection, which makes sense until one realises that an entire group of memory settings is replicated in both the Frequency and Memory subsections. The subsection splitting forces a user to jump back and forth between pages but it also helps to keep the individual subsections tidy and without an overwhelming amount of information on one page (I’m looking at you, ASUS and MSI). Judging whether this sectioned layout or one where most settings are on a single page is better is down to individual preferences, as my colleague Ryan is not particularly fond of jumping between subsections but I personally prefer the segregation. Auto, Normal, Standard, Low, Medium, High, Turbo, and Extreme LLC settings don’t make any sense because there’s no explanation (be it visual or written) as to how the voltage profile is adjusted with each mode. As it happens, our trial-and-error testing suggests that you should use the High LLC setting if you want CPU VCore to stay close to your applied numerical value without a significant overshoot or undershoot. Is this so hard for Gigabyte to write in the UEFI? There is a help section on the right side of UEFI pages but it must be manually selected to be displayed. Competing motherboard vendors’ approach of permanently displaying valuable information on the right side is better. Memory dividers up to 32x can be selected and enabling XMP is as easy as clicking the button. M.I.T. works fine overall but it feels very old fashioned and clunky compared to competing vendors' solutions. There are generally no drop-down lists for selecting frequencies and no colour indication is given to highlight a high voltage level. The Smart Fan 5 settings subsection can be accessed from the M.I.T. page. This superb fan control system is the crown jewel for Gigabyte’s UEFI. All fan headers can be individually selected and their speed profiles can be tweaked. Gigabyte includes several preset fan speed control settings and a choice of temperature monitoring points. The headers can also be set to PWM or Voltage (DC) mode at will, which is ideal for feeding continuous current to a watercooling pump or letting PWM fans adjust their own speed. It’s the manual fan speed tweaking mode where Smart Fan 5 really shows its worth. Six points on a graph can be used to create the fan speed curve. A level as low as 0% PWM speed down to 0°C is also supported, meaning that you can set the fan to switch off if the system is operating at ambient, or elevated, temperature (provided the fan is able to stop itself spinning). The temperature monitoring points for fan speed curves are: CPU System 1 System 2 Chipset PCIe x16 PCIe x8 VRM MOSFET External temperature sensor 1 External temperature sensor 2 Not all the fan headers can interact with all monitoring points (the CPU can only read CPU data, for example) but this range of sensors is superb. A user should be able to comfortably set fan speed adjustments based on relevant data from the CPU, MOSFET, and PCIe slots. If you want to monitor DDR4 and HDD/SSD temperatures, the pair of external thermistor cables can be utilised. The only noteworthy omission is a graphics card monitoring sensor. It would be good if Gigabyte fed data from its Aorus graphics cards, for example, through to the motherboard-controlled fan headers. PCIE readings in the UEFI relate to the actual slots, not the cards installed in them. The Peripherals tab contains settings and information relating to onboard devices such as the SATA controller and NVMe configuration. The USB DAC-UP 2 voltage can also be adjusted. Note: This image is pulled from our Z270 screenshots as the screenshot taken on this AM4 board was accidentally deleted. The RGB Fusion system is the same. RGB Fusion is Gigabyte’s basic UEFI-based LED colour control tool. Colours can be adjusted in real time and the LED activation mode can be set, but that’s about it. There is a limit to how complex the tool can be given its residence inside the UEFI. The OS version has greater functionality. With that said, I like to see at least some form of LED control available in the UEFI as it helps to maintain user-defined parameters in the case of an OS reinstall or system corruption that damages the OS-based LED profiles. Settings relating to IOMMU support, among others, can be tweaked in the Chipset page. Up to eight individual profiles can be saved to the board’s internal memory. Further profiles can be transferred using a storage medium. Gigabyte’s BIOS updating tool – Q-Flash – is accessed via a hidden tab on the bottom of the screen. I took a few minutes to find its location which was annoying as it would make more sense if there was some reference to it in one of the main pages, such as BIOS. We could enter different folders within our USB drive using Q-Flash and then update the BIOS with ease. There’s no internet-based BIOS update tool available through the Gigabyte UEFI, as we have seen some competing vendors offer. UEFI Summary: Good fan control options through Smart Fan 5 and an ability to control RGB LED settings, albeit in a basic manner, through RGB Fusion are positive points for Gigabyte’s UEFI. The interface was stable throughout our testing and we didn’t seem to be missing any glaring system tuning settings that limited our overclocking capabilities. That is, with the exception of LLC settings that make any sense or have an explanation tied to their operating mode. Overall styling of the UEFI is older, less interactive, and far less appealing than the solution by ASUS. I found myself relying upon the keyboard for parameter adjustments more than I do in competing UEFI implementations. There’s no ‘special‘ UEFI feature like SSD Secure Erase with ASUS and MSI or ASRock’s and MSI’s System Browser and Board Explorer tools, respectively. Gigabyte’s current UEFI is certainly a major improvement over the implementation seen on motherboards prior to LGA1151 offerings and the Easy Mode page is a nice addition that can help novices. The inclusion of XMP support is great and it worked in our testing. Fan control functionality is superb and that may be enough of a positive for users to overlook the other negatives. Software The software used for Gigabyte's X370 motherboard is almost identical to that available for the Z270 versions. As such, we have re-used the bulk of our analysis from those reviews and updated the text where there are subtle differences. Gigabyte makes a vast number of software utilities available for installation with its motherboards. Thankfully, not all the tools have to be installed and APP Center is a very good method of managing the selected software, as well as third-party apps and Windows settings. EasyTune is Gigabyte’s tool for managing system operating parameters. The performance profile of the system can be adjusted using EasyTune and there’s also the option to conduct automated system tuning. Other system settings such as voltages, speeds, and ratios can also be adjusted and saved into profiles. The Hardware Monitor break-out tab is a method for reading a wealth of system information while inside the OS. The quantity of information displayed is good and the readings look to be accurate. System Information Viewer (SIV) is a similar setup to EasyTune but it is geared towards fan control and system monitoring. We could not enter many of the section in the tool, possibly due to our use of a beta motherboard BIOS, but our analysis from using the software on a Z270 motherboard is as follows (which will be relevant when an update removes bugs). Four fan speed profiles can be selected and manual fan control ability is provided in great detail. An 8-point curve can be set for all the motherboard’s fan headers or, alternatively, an RPM-fixed mode can be applied (which custom liquid cooling enthusiasts may appreciate). System recordings relating to voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds can also be made. This is particularly useful for analysing stability in the form of checking how your system behaves during an extended gaming or video rendering session, for example. RGB Fusion is Gigabyte’s in-depth LED control application. The Basic tab can be used to activate different LED operation modes and tweak the RGB behaviour. I was particularly fond of the Intelligent mode which adjusts the LED colour profile based on statistics such as the CPU temperature or load, the LAN speed, or even a time schedule. The Advanced section gives more LED control, allowing users to adjust the lighting colour and behaviour for the board’s numerous individual zones (and RGB header). The Gaming 5 differs to higher-end Aorus offerings in its ability to only change the single colour applied to each of the board’s lighting zones, not individual colours for individual zones. The RGB strips can, however, be set as a different colour to the motherboard. A calibration tool is available for Gigabyte’s unique 5-pin RGB header, allowing greater compatibility on the fragmented RGB LED strip market. Three individual LED profiles can be saved and they can be exported/imported to share with friends or for backup purposes. RGB Fusion can control the LED profiles of partnering hardware such as an RGB-enabled Aorus graphics card. USB DAC-UP 2 can change the settings of certain USB ports to suit a user’s preference with their audio hardware. There are additional tools, such as 3D OSD, that we did not spend additional time looking at for this review as we have examined them in the past. OS Software Summary: Gigabyte’s variety of available software tools is strong and the system for managing them through APP Center is smart and efficient. EasyTune has good potential but seems to be a little buggy at the moment due to the infancy of the AM4 platform. SIV should be able to control fan speeds through an easy-to-use OS-based interface but our testing was limited due to a current software bug. RGB Fusion is excellent and gives users a sizeable amount of flexibility for tuning their system’s lighting conditions. The LED-adjusting tool is as good as ASUS’ AURA software in some respects and better in many respects (re-programmable RGB header pins and the Intelligent RGB modes). Some form of RAM drive software tool would have been a nice addition and we experienced some bugs that are likely tied to the new platform. Overall, though, it is difficult to find criticism for Gigabyte’s strong selection of OS-based software. We will be outlining the Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 motherboard’s performance with the Ryzen 7 1800X CPU and 16GB of 3200MHz G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 memory. Stock voltage hovered around 1.284V under Cinebench load. This was using the latest F5d BIOS. AM4 Motherboard Test System: Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 1800X (3.6-4.0GHz + 4.1GHz XFR). Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) G.Skill TridentZ 3200MHz 14-14-14-34 DDR4 @ 1.35V. Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX Titan X Pascal (custom fan curve to eliminate thermal throttling). System Drive: 525GB Crucial MX300 SATA 6Gbps SSD. Games Drive: 960GB SK Hynix SE3010 SATA 6Gbps SSD. CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15. Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 1000W. Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Anniversary Update). Comparison AM4 Motherboards: ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero. MSI X370 XPower Gaming Titanium. Software: Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 BIOS F5d (latest). GeForce 378.49 VGA drivers. Tests: Cinebench R15 – All-core CPU benchmark (CPU) HandBrake 0.10.5 – Convert 6.27GB 4K video recording using the Normal Profile setting and MP4 container (CPU) SiSoft Sandra 2016 SP1 - Processor Arithmetic Test (CPU) and Memory Bandwidth Test (Memory) 7-Zip 16.04 – Built-in 7-Zip benchmark test (CPU & Memory) 3DMark Fire Strike v1.1 – Fire Strike (1080p) test (Gaming) Ashes of the Singularity – Built-in benchmark tool CPU-Focused test, 1920 x 1080, Extreme quality preset, DX12 version (Gaming) Grand Theft Auto V - Built-in benchmark tool, 1920 x 1080, Maximum quality settings, Maximum Advanced Graphics (Gaming) Metro: Last Light Redux - Built-in benchmark tool, 1920 x 1080, Very High quality, SSAA, AF 16X, Tessellation: High (Gaming) ATTO - M.2, USB 3.1, and SATA 6Gbps transfer rates (Motherboard) RightMark Audio Analyzer - Record and playback test using a line-in to line-out loopback with a 3.5mm audio cable (Motherboard) Cinebench R15 Cinebench is an application which renders a photorealistic 3D scene to benchmark a computer’s rendering performance, on one CPU core, all CPU cores or using the GPU. We run the test using the all core CPU mode. Sandra Processor Arithmetic SiSoft Sandra 2016 is a multi-function utility program that supports remote analysis, benchmarking and diagnostic features for PCs, servers, mobile devices and networks. We run the application’s processor arithmetic test to gauge the CPU performance on each tested motherboard. Handbrake Conversion Handbrake is a free and open-source video transcoding tool that can be used to convert video files between different codecs, formats and resolutions. We measured the average frame rate achieved for a task of converting a 6.27GB 4K video using the Normal Profile setting and MP4 container. The test stresses all CPU cores to 100% and shows an affinity for memory bandwidth. Gigabyte's AX370-Gaming 5 has a tough time keeping up with more expensive MSI and ASUS offerings in CPU-heavy tests. The differences in performance are minor but they are indeed present. This is likely related to early BIOS revisions. Sandra Memory Bandwidth SiSoft Sandra 2016 is a multi-function utility program that supports remote analysis, benchmarking and diagnostic features for PCs, servers, mobile devices and networks. We use the SiSoft Sandra memory bandwidth test to provide a set of memory bandwidth results. 7-Zip 7-Zip is an open source Windows utility for manipulating archives. We measure the Total Rating performance using the built-in benchmark tool. The test stresses all CPU cores to 100% and shows an affinity for memory bandwidth. Almost 36GBps of memory bandwidth on the Gigabyte board is a good result. The 7-Zip score is placed just shy of 41,000 points whereas the ASUS and MSI higher-priced competitors pass 41K. 3DMark 3DMark is a multi-platform hardware benchmark designed to test varying resolutions and detail levels of 3D gaming performance. We run the Windows platform test and in particular the Fire Strike benchmark, which is indicative of high-end 1080p PC Gaming. Ashes of the Singularity Ashes of the Singularity is a Sci-Fi real-time strategy game built for the PC platform. The game includes a built-in benchmark tool and was one of the first available DirectX 12 benchmarks. We run the CPU-focused benchmark using DirectX 12, a 1080p resolution and the Extreme quality preset. Grand Theft Auto V Grand Theft Auto V remains an immensely popular game for PC gamers and as such retains its place in our test suite. The well-designed game engine is capable of providing heavy stress to a number of system components, including the GPU, CPU, and Memory, and can highlight performance differences between motherboards. We run the built-in benchmark using a 1080p resolution and generally Maximum quality settings (including Advanced Graphics). Metro: Last Light Redux Despite its age, Metro: Last Light Redux remains a punishing title for modern computer hardware. We use the game's built-in benchmark with quality set to Very High, SSAA enabled, AF 16X, and High tessellation. The Aorus board is still a small percentage off the performance pace set by MSI and ASUS with their flagship boards. To put it into perspective though, these minor performance deficits for Gigabyte's cheaper motherboard are unlikely to be noticeable in real world usage. Manual CPU Overclocking: To test the Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 motherboard’s CPU overclocking potential, we aim to set the CPU voltage close to 1.40V. CPU VCore is set to 1.40V, SOC voltage is set to 1.25V, and we applied the High LLC setting. We maintained the DRAM frequency at 3200MHz to take its stability out of the overclocking equation. Overclocking with the Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 is straightforward once you have figured out how the convoluted LLC settings work. Using a UEFI-set VCore of 1.400V and the High LLC mode, Gigabyte's motherboard delivered 1.404V to our 4.05GHz 1800X under Cinebench load. This is very good accuracy that is significantly better than ASUS' ROG Crosshair VI Hero and its awkward LLC levels. We could not push to 4.1GHz while still maintaining a sensible voltage level. This is the same CPU frequency limit that we have observed on other vendors' X370 motherboards. Overclocked Performance As a performance comparison, we have included the results from the ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero and MSI X370 XPower Gaming Titanium. The maximum overclocked configuration achieved with each board was a 4050MHz (40.5 x 100MHz) processor frequency whilst using 3200MHz CL14 memory. A solid boost to performance is unlocked by using Gigabyte's board to run the all eight of the 1800X CPU's cores at 4.05GHz. We were still able to use G.SKILL's 3200MHz XMP memory without hassle on the Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5. Power We leave the system to idle on the Windows 10 desktop for 5 minutes before taking a reading. For CPU load results we run Cinebench multi-core and take a reading. The power consumption of our entire test system (at the wall) is shown in the chart. Power draw for Gigabyte's motherboard was slightly higher than that of the ASUS and MSI comparisons under stock-clocked load. This is likely due to secondary voltage levels, rather than direct inefficiencies, as the AX370-Gaming 5 uses a well-built International Rectifiers-based 6+4-phase power delivery system. With that said, ASUS' board uses an 8+4-phase design, while MSI's 6+4-phase option runs a lower CPU VCore by default. The higher load power draw remained present when overclocked. There are slight differences in the CPU VCore of the overclocked motherboards due to accuracy limitations of their PWM controllers. However, Gigabyte's board was operating at a similar level to the alternative solutions (1.404V Cinebench load VCore versus 1.395V-1.417V for ASUS and 1.400V flat for MSI). ATTO Disk Benchmark The ATTO disk benchmark is a Windows-based utility for testing storage performance of any storage drive or controller. We use the default benchmark setup. M.2 PCIe Performance For M.2 testing we use a Toshiba OCZ RD400 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD. Performance from the CPU-fed PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot on Gigabyte's motherboard is without issue. During the relatively short ATTO run, we recorded a maximum operating temperature of 69°C for our Toshiba OCZ RD400 test SSD. This indicates that some form of M.2 SSD cooling solution would be worthwhile for sustained heavy write operations. However, Gigabyte does not offer such a solution. USB 3.0 5Gbps Performance We test USB 3.0 performance using a pair of Corsair Force LE 120GB SSDs in RAID 0 connected to an Icy Box RD2253-U31 2-bay USB 3.1 enclosure powered by an ASMedia ASM1352R controller. 5Gbps USB 3.0 performance is as we would expect, at around 450MBps. USB 3.1 10Gbps Performance We test USB 3.1 performance using a pair of Corsair Force LE 120GB SSDs in RAID 0 connected to an Icy Box RD2253-U31 2-bay USB 3.1 enclosure powered by an ASMedia ASM1352R controller. Transfer rates on the chipset-provided 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports are significantly stronger than on ASMedia's ageing ASM1143 controller. If you are transferring large files over USB 3.1 Gen 2, a performance improvement of 30-35% can be achieved by switching from the ASMedia ports to the ones provided by AMD's X370 chipset. SATA 6Gbps Performance For SATA 6Gbps testing we use a SK Hynix SE3010 960GB SSD. SATA 6Gbps performance does not present any cause for concern. All eight of the ports operate from AMD's X370 chipset and should offer identical speeds. Audio Rightmark Audio Analyser is a freeware benchmarking utility designed to objectively test the performance characteristics of audio solutions. We setup a line-in line-out loop and execute the record/playback test before generating the results report you see below. A sampling mode of 24-bit, 192 kHz was tested. RightMark Audio Analyser rates Gigabyte's dual-ALC1220 AMP-UP audio solution as 'Very Good', with it showing 'Excellent' performance in several categories. The Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 is a well-balanced motherboard that offers superb fan control capabilities, an excellent RGB LED system, and a strong variety of connectivity for its £205 asking price. Benchmark results on the Gaming 5 put it at slight performance deficit against higher-priced competitors from ASUS and MSI. The differences are minor but they are present and indicate that Gigabyte still needs to provide further BIOS revisions for this new platform. Bugs that we experienced when checking some of the OS-based software tools re-iterate that point. With that said, overall stability must be highlighted as a positive for Gigabyte. We had far less hassle simply getting things to work on the Gaming 5 compared to ASUS' ROG C6H that seemed to battle against us in a variety of scenarios. I don't recall clearing the CMOS throughout testing with Gigabyte's Gaming 5, which is more than can be said for what sometimes seemed to be my favourite button on ASUS' higher-priced offering. Minor early teething issues aside, a well-balanced feature set is where the Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 shows its worth. The motherboard is equipped with 32Gbps PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD capability in M.2 and U.2 form, though only one can be used at a time. There are also four 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports on the rear IO that can be used without the need for a chassis with compatibility for the new front panel USB 3.1 interface. With that said, the internal 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 header will be sorely missed when the chassis market catches up. Connectivity in the form of networking is bolstered by the addition of a Killer E2500 GbE NIC alongside the popular Intel I211AT chipset. While this may be a little wasteful to many users as teaming is not supported, it does provide networking redundancy and it gives buyers the opportunity to test their preferred solution for themselves. Onboard RGB lighting is a strength for the Gaming 5. While the six individual zones cannot be controlled individually, they are significantly brighter and clearer than the RGB LED solution for ASUS' more expensive ROG Crosshair VI Hero. The 5-pin RGBW and 4-pin RGB strip headers can be controlled separately from the motherboard. Gigabyte's RGB Fusion software offers a variety of operating modes and even has a UEFI-level control interface. The Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 motherboard's fan control and temperature sensing capabilities are clear positives. Smart Fan 5 sees the board equipped with eight 4-pin PWM- and DC-controllable headers that can read data from several temperature monitoring points, including two bundled thermistor cables. Overclocking results were perfectly fine once the meaning of the nonsensical LLC settings had been manually decrypted. Gigabyte's board seemed to draw a little more power than the comparisons but we'd happily take this compromise in return for the functional click-and-forget XMP capability. Superb RGB LED and fan control, decent connectivity options, and stable operation with our 3200MHz memory are all positives for the Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5. At £205, this well-balanced offering is worthy of a place on your X370 motherboard comparison list. The Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 is available at Overclockers UK for £204.95. Discuss on our Facebook page, over HERE. Pros: Superb fan control system with good monitoring capabilities. Strong customisability for the RGB LED lighting solution. Good brightness and colour accuracy for the onboard RGB LEDs. PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 and U.2 connectors. XMP setting worked well with our 3200MHz G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4. Current BIOS revision may have some issues but its general stability is strong. Dual BIOS chips give peace of mind with frequent updates for the new AM4 platform. Cons: No internal 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 header. No M.2 heatsink or cooling method provided. UEFI is functional but navigation, layout, and included features could be improved. KitGuru says: A well-balanced offering with superb RGB LED and fan control capabilities as well as solid stability throughout our testing.

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Gigabyte Aorus AX370-Gaming 5 Motherboard Review

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