Veteran motherboard maker Gigabyte has announced a new lineup of motherboards to coincide with the forthcoming Intel 14th gen CPU launch later this year. The latest models have an ‘X’ at the end of their model names, and come equipped with Intel’s top-end Z790 motherboard chipset, as well as its cheaper B760 chipset.
Gigabyte has also been careful to avoid the words ’14th gen’ in any of its marketing, instead describing the motherboards as supporting ‘next-gen processors.’ Intel has previously announced that it won’t be using ‘generational messaging’ in the future, at the same time that it confirmed plans to drop the ‘i’ from its future Intel CPU branding, and the CPUs also haven’t officially been announced by Intel yet either.
As these boards are refreshes of previous Intel Raptor Lake motherboards, and are based on the same chipsets, there isn’t much in the way of new features, but Gigabyte has announced a focus on DDR 5 memory performance. The new Aorus Z790 X motherboards have a feature called DDR5 XMP Auto Booster, which Gigabyte says will ‘effortlessly boost native DDR5-5600 to 6000 with a single click.’ The company also says the boards will support DDR5 memory profiles of 8266MHz and higher.
Other features on all the Z790 models include Gigabyte’s M.2 EZ-Latch system, which enables you to install an M.2 SSD without using a screwdriver. The Aorus Master X and Xtreme X models also feature Gigabyte’s PCIe EZ-Latch Plus system, which enables you to easily release a graphics card from its 16x PCIe slot.
The full list of Gigabyte 14th gen motherboards is:
- Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Xtreme X
- Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Master X
- Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite X
- Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite X AX
- Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite X WIFI7
- Gigabyte B760M Aorus Elite X
While there’s nothing majorly new with these motherboards, one key advantage of them is that they will support Intel’s next-gen CPUs out of the box, without you needing to flash the BIOS of an older motherboard.
If you already own an LGA1700 motherboard, however, you can follow our full guide on how to flash your BIOS to enable it to accept one of Intel’s 14th-gen CPUs when they launch. In the meantime, you can also check out our full guide to the best Z790 motherboard, where we take you through the best options for Intel LGA1700 CPUs. One great option is the Asus ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi D4, which has loads of features for a good price, and will also support DDR4 memory from your old system if you have one.
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