The Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Pro AX positions itself as a mid-range SKU with a modest price (for recent motherboard generations) of $289.99. For that price, you’ll get most of the USB ports – thirteen, including USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port – that we’ve seen on any motherboard for a while. In addition, the board is equipped with the latest audio codec, extremely overclockable power supply and four M.2 connections. This, coupled with a reasonable price tag, makes for a great option for new Intel-based builds.
Gigabyte’s current Z590 product stack consists of 13 models. There are known SKUs and a few new ones. Starting with the Aorus line we have the Aorus Xtreme (and possibly a Waterforce version), Aorus Master, Aorus Ultra and the Aorus Elite. Gigabyte is bringing back the Vision boards (for makers) and their familiar white veils. The Z590 Gaming X and a number of boards from the budget Ultra Durable (UD) series are also mentioned. New to Z590 is the Pro AX board, which seems to fit somewhere in the middle. Gigabyte also released the Z590 Aorus Tachyon (review coming soon), an overbuilt motherboard designed for extreme overclocking.
Overall, performance on the Aorus Pro AX was inconsistent in our testing. Some results were below average, while others were right there or faster than the pack. For example, the 3D/game tests showed above-average results, while some synthetic tests were slower than others. This board performs out-of-the-box, with settings beyond Intel’s specs.
The mid-priced Aorus Pro AX offers users premium features including 90A MOSFETs, Realtek 4000 series audio, a whopping four M.2 jacks and a slew of USB ports. Gigabyte has also revamped the look of the last generation. So between the modern look and the updated hardware comes a lot. We’ll discuss these and other features in more detail below. But right out of the gate this looks like a strong contender for our best motherboards list. First, let’s take a look at Gigabyte’s full list of specs.
Specifications – Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Pro AX
| Wall outlet | LGA 1200 |
| chipset | Z590 |
| form factor | ATX |
| Voltage regulator | 12 phases (12+1+1+2, 90A MOSFETs) |
| Video ports | (1) DisplayPort |
| USB ports | (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, Type-C (20 Gbps) |
| (4) USB 3.2 Gen 2, Type-A (10 Gbps) | |
| (4) USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A (5Gbps) | |
| (4) USB 2.0 (480Mbps) | |
| Network connections | (1) 2.5 GbE |
| Audio connections | (5) Analog + SPDIF |
| Old ports/connections | |
| Other ports/jack | |
| PCIe x16 | (1) v4.0 x16 |
| (2) v3.0 x4 | |
| PCIe x8 | |
| PCIe x4 | |
| PCIe x1 | |
| CrossFire/SLIE | AMD Quad-GPU Crossfire and 2-Way AMD Crossfire |
| DIMM slots | (4) DDR4 5400(OC), 128GB capacity |
| M.2 slots | (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 80mm) |
| (2) PCIe 4.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 110mm) | |
| (1) PCIe 3.0 x4 / PCIe and SATA (up to 110mm) | |
| U.2 ports | |
| SATA ports | (6) SATA3 6Gbps (RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10) |
| USB headers | (1) USB v3.2 Gen 2 (Front Panel Type-C) |
| (1) USB v3.2 Gen 1 | |
| (2) USB v2.0 | |
| (2) Thunderbolt AIC headers | |
| Fan/Pump Heads | (8) 4-pin |
| RGB headers | (2) aRGB Gen 2 (3-pin) |
| (2) Aura RGB (4 pin) | |
| Old interfaces | |
| Other interfaces | FP-Audio, TPM |
| Diagnostic panel | 4-LED ‘Status LED’ display |
| Internal Button/Switch | |
| SATA controllers | |
| Ethernet controller(s) | (1) Intel I225-V (2.5GbE) |
| Wi-Fi / Bluetooth | Intel WiFi AX200 (802.11ax, 160Hz, BT5.1) |
| USB controllers | Realtek RTS5411E |
| HD audio codec | SupremeFX ALC4080 |
| TTL/DTS connection | I |
| Guarantee | 3 years |
Inside the box, along with the motherboard, are a whole host of accessories. While certainly not the most comprehensive we’ve seen, the SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna, screws, and more are enough to get your system moving. Here’s everything Gigabyte includes in the box.
- User Manual / Installation Guide
- Q connector
- Aorus sticker
- Graphics Card Holder
- Wi-Fi antenna
- (4) SATA cables
- (3) Screw packs for M.2 bushings
- (1) RGB extension cable
After taking the Pro AX out of the box, we noticed a few design changes over the Z490 version. The first, the direction of the lines and brushed aluminum finish on the M.2 and the chipset heatsinks go the other way. Furthermore, the rear IO cover with its single RGB LED strip, VRM heatsinks, matte black PCB and reinforced slots are known transfers. The audio shroud illuminates the “Amp Up Audio” branding on the bottom with RGB LED. Those looking for an RGB light show will have to add their own headers to the internal headers, but what’s here gives off a nice saturated glow even if it’s not disco.
Overall this board looks good for the price and should go with most build themes. The brushed aluminum accents give this sign a more premium look than others at the same price.
Starting in the top left corner, we take a look at the shroud with the Aorus branding, along with the motto “Team Up, Fight On”. In between is a plastic diffuser to thin out the light from the RGB LEDs below. If that shroud looks familiar, it’s because it’s a carryover from the Z490 Pro AX. Moving to the right, we see an 8-pin EPS connector (mandatory) with an optional 4-pin next to it. Oddly enough, this area also houses the first of eight 4-pin fan headers.
The VRM heatsink is the same as the Z490, with a large metal sink on the top bank and a finned heatsink on the left bank. As you will see later, this solution cools the chips below well. Just to the right, above the DRAM slots, are two more fan headers (CPU_OPT and CPU_FAN). All fan headers on this board support both 3-pin and 4-pin fans. Each header supplies up to 2A/24W, which should be enough to carry a few fans and support most water pumps.
Just below these headers are the four DRAM slots. Gigabyte bolsters the slots with its Ultra Durable Memory Armor, which improves the look, but is generally not that useful – on any motherboard. The board supports up to 128GB of RAM with speeds up to DDR4 5400, some of the fastest we’ve seen. As always, your mileage may vary as you need the right CPU and memory kit to achieve those speeds.
To the right of the DRAM slots are the first set of 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB headers. Slightly higher on the board than usual is the 24-pin ATX connector for primary power. Below that is a system fan header, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 header, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C header.
The Pro AX uses a 12+1(+1+2) configuration for the Vcore and System Agent. The EPS connector sends power to a Renesas ISL69269 12-channel (X+Y+Z=12) controller. It is then powered directly (no phase doublers or teaming here!) to 12 Renesas ISL99390 90A Smart Power Stages. This setup provides 1080A available to the CPU. Basically, you’re limited by the CPU cooling well before the power delivery lets you down here.
Moving to the bottom half of the board, we are greeted by plastic shrouds and heat sinks covering most of the PCB. On the left is a plastic shell that covers most of the audio bits. At the top is the second and final RGB LED location that illuminates the Amp Up Audio branding. Hidden below is the latest generation Realtek ALC4080 codec, along with WIMA audio capacitors for the rear outputs (Gigabyte says 120dB SNR for that output). Also visible are several yellow Nichicon audio capacitors and the audio divider from the rest of the board. Most users will find this audio solution satisfactory.
In the center of the board are the four M.2 sockets and three PCIe slots. To avoid shear and EMI protection (for what it’s worth), Gigabyte has beefed up the top PCIe slot. The top slot is directly connected to the CPU and runs on PCIe 4.0 x16. The other two slots come from the chipset and run at PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds. This configuration supports AMD Quad-GPU Crossfire and 2-Way AMD Crossfire. Since no other slot works at x8 speeds, NVIDIA SLI is not possible. I would have liked an extra x1 slot for extra peripherals, but the two full length slots should be enough for most people.
All four M.2 sockets are stretched between and above the PCIe slots. The top three M.2 sockets are connected through the CPU. The top, M2A_CPU, supports PCIe devices up to 80mm at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. The next two sockets, M2B_CPU and M2C_CPU, support PCIe modules up to 110mm at PCIe x4 speeds. The bottom M.2 socket, M2P_SB, connects to the chipset and runs on both SATA and PCIe (PCIe 3.0 x4) modules. This board disables SATA port 1 when a SATA-based M.2 drive is installed. You don’t have to worry too much about that. In the worst case scenario, you may have four M.2 modules and five or six SATA ports available (depending on the type of module installed in M2P_SB). That’s a lot of storage space without a lot of lane sharing.
To the right of the PCIe/M.2 area is the chipset heatsink with the Aorus falcon on it. To its right are six horizontally mounted SATA ports. This board supports RAID0, 1, 5 and 10 modes. Last but not least, just below that next to the CMOS battery are the Thunderbolt 4 AIC headers.
At the bottom of the board are several headers, including fan and USB, a QFlash button, and more. The Aorus Pro AX also has a temperature header on the bottom and includes a sensor for it. This is a good value for users who want to increase/decrease fan speeds based on the internal temperature of the chassis. In addition, the Dr.Debug display is in the right corner. This area with 4 LEDs lights up during the POST process and shows the current stage (Boot, CPU, DRAM and VGA). If there is a problem during this process, the corresponding LED will remain lit. Below is the full list of headings and buttons, from left to right:
- Front panel audio
- RGB and ARGB headers
- TPM header
- (2) USB 2.0 headers
- 2-pin temperature header
- Q-Flash Button
- (3) System Fan Heads
- Clear CMOS jumper
- Front Panel Header
The rear IO area is dominated by a menagerie of USB ports. From USB 2.0 to USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C, you’ll find it on any of the 13 ports here. The IO board itself comes pre-installed and the black background and Aorus branding match the rest of the board. There are a total of four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, and finally the 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port. If you’ve run out of USB ports on this board, you may want to re-evaluate your life/peripheral choices — or you could just plug into one of the two USB-C headers mentioned above on the front panel. Video output (when using the integrated graphics card on the CPU) comes from a single DisplayPort port. In addition to the 2.5 GbE port, there are Wi-Fi antenna connections and finally the 5-plug plus SPDIF audio stack.
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