Gigabyte Launches X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI TOP Motherboard With Built-In Display
Gigabyte says that the key feature of the new board is "X3D Turbo Mode 2.0", which it describes as "a dynamic AI overclocking model trained on big data." Gigabyte claims that by using AI to fine-tune frequency, power, and thermal behavior, X3D Turbo Mode 2.0 can improve gaming performance by as much as 25%. That's a humongous margin if it holds up in third-party testing. It also claims multi-threaded performance gains of 14%, which is a much more plausible number; you can probably achieve that value just by enabling PBO.
There's a whole lot more than dubious AI optimization features that set the X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI TOP apart from lesser motherboards for mere mortals, though. The VRM is hilarously overbuilt, featuring a 24+2+2 configuration (12 phases with doublers) that uses 110A Smart Power Stages to support a preposterous 3.7 kW of CPU power draw, assuming a very high 1.4v CPU Vcore value. Even LN2 cooling won't push a desktop Ryzen CPU to 2,000 watts, much less an X3D CPU, given that they're typically more sensitive to voltage and heat.
Beyond that, this motherboard features aggressive passive cooling on its voltage regulation and all five of its M.2 slots, and it also includes Gigabyte's "DDR WInd Blade XTREME" feature, which is, yes, an active cooler for the RAM. This is important when you start pushing DDR5 memory up into the 9 GT/s range—a feat that Gigabyte claims is possible with "one click" thanks to its "AI-powered D5 Bionic Corsa" feature. Of course, you'll have to buy some RAM that can actually run at 9 GT/s, first, and with the way RAM prices are trending that might hurt the ol' pocketbook. Not that you probably care about that if you're purchasing this motherboard.
Of course, the headliner is the LCD Edge View feature—not that Gigabyte talks much about it on the product page. LCD Edge View isn't strictly new; certain high-end Aorus Xtreme graphics cards have included a tiny LCD on the top edge since 2020. However, this does appear to be the first time it has found its way to the Xtreme motherboard series. The screen here is quite a bit larger, too; a full 5", Gigabyte says that it offers an "immersive Aorus Dynamic Experience for gamers" and that it "enhances your gaming setup's visual appeal." Sure.
What it can actually do, as far as we can tell, is display a variety of system information or custom graphics, configured through the Gigabyte Control Center software. That includes system monitoring functions like CPU and VRM temperatures, custom text, custom images, a custom animated GIF, or potentially, the "Chibi Time" digital pet feature that was included on some Aorus graphics cards previously. Gigabyte hasn't confirmed that all of these features will be coming to the X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI TOP, though.
If none of that strikes your fancy, how about some seriously stupendous connectivity? The new Aorus platter offers dual 10-Gigabit Ethernet, a high-end three-chip ESS audio solution, the latest Mediatek Wi-Fi 7 adapter, three PCI Express x16 slots (operable in x8/x8/x4 mode, or x16/x0/x4 mode), the aforementioned five M.2 slots, two SATA connectors, and a whopping 22 USB ports across all of its Type-A and Type-C connectors, for both rear I/O and front panel headers.
Of course, the pricing on this board is likely to be in "if you have to ask" territory. The original X870E Aorus Xtreme AI TOP is currently available at a variety of shops for $799.99, and it's not quite as fancy as this model. (You can pick it up on Amazon for $775 right now, though.) We expect this new board to come in north of that number, at $899 or possibly even $999. That's a hell of a lot of money for a motherboard, but if you've got to have the best, this might just be it. Make sure your case can fit an E-ATX mainboard, though.
