AORUS X399 Xtreme Flagship $449.99 US Motherboard Review With AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32 Core CPU

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Sep 2, 2018 at 11:52am EDT

X399 AORUS Xtreme, A $450 US Beast For Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Gen - Conclusion

It was the beginning of 2017, Intel thought the year would go really smoothly for them in regards to their mainstream and high-end desktop launches. Intel launched their 7th generation core family, offering consumers the same architecture, slightly enhanced process and slightly higher CPU clock speeds, calling it a day. What they didn't know was that their rival, AMD, was going to make an epic return just a few months after and when they did, Intel's worst fears had come to life.

While Ryzen was anticipated to arrive on the mainstream consumer platform, offering IPC on par with Intel's latest generation processors, it was Threadripper that no one, even the press had not expected. A full-fledged lineup of high-end desktop processors designed to tackle Intel's Core X line up. AMD's Ryzen Threadripper and the accompanying X399 platform is designed for enthusiasts, it offered features that are not available otherwise at an incredible value while the new Zen cores delivered CPU performance on par with Intel's modern core architectures.

One year later, AMD is launching their 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper processors. In similar fashion, the 2nd Gen Ryzen Threadripper processors disrupt the market once again with a beastly performance at an unprecedented value which has yet to be seen.

Featuring the highest core count we have ever witnessed on a consumer platform. In a way, AMD's HEDT is now a more grand scheme of things and a platform which is the pinnacle of enthusiast and workstation grade performance. Some features of the new platform are listed below:

12 nm LP process technology
- 1st generation Ryzen and 1st generation Threadripper were manufactured using 14L LPP (Low Power Plus) process technology of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, whereas 2nd generation Ryzen Threadripper based on Zen + microarchitecture was manufactured by GLOBALFOUNDRIES 12 nm LP (Leading Performance) process technology adopted. If the same power consumption is higher than the first generation Threadripper, AMD is appealing that it can realize lower power consumption than the first generation Threadripper for the same clock.
Precision Boost 2
- The automatic clock-up technology "Precision Boost" adopted by the 1st generation Ryzen and the 1st generation Threadripper had the operation clock determined by the number of loaded cores, but this time the CPU voltage, current, core It has been redesigned to detect the temperature and select an appropriate operation clock. As a result, regardless of the number of cores under load, clock up according to the situation.
XFR 2 (Extended Frequency Range 2)
~ "If the CPU temperature condition permits," XFR "to operate with a higher clock beyond the maximum clock of Precision Boost becomes the 2nd generation, and as with Precision Boost 2, the number of cores is restricted lost. Depending on the performance of the CPU cooling system, the performance will improve up to 7%
Reduction of access delay of cache and main memory - Access delay to cache and main memory is smaller for first-generation Threadripper. Up to 13% improvement in L1, up to 34% in L2, up to 16% in L3, up to 11% in main memory, resulting in a 3% increase in instruction execution count (IPC, Instruction per Clock) per clock It is said that

While you'd expect to see a new generation of motherboards and chipsets to support the newly launched Threadripper processors, AMD and their partners are offering refreshed designs which feature the same socket and chipset. This means two things, first, all previous motherboards that are based on the X399 chipset can support the 2nd Generation Threadripper processors. Second, the new motherboards can allow for vastly better experience in terms of clocks and overclocking capabilities.

Gigabyte has worked hard on their refreshed X399 series and one of their creations is the new X399 AORUS Xtreme motherboard. The motherboard is an insane product which puts the rest of the X399 AORUS lineup to shame in terms of it sheer power design and feature set which will be setting the standard for many HEDT motherboards in the coming years.

For this review, I will be testing the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990X flagship processor on the AORUS flagship X399 Xtreme motherboard which is an insane beast that I was willing to get my hands on since the moment I saw it back at Computex 2018.

Buy Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Here!

AMD X399 HEDT Chipset - Continuing Support To 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs

X399 is the next generation and the first AMD high-end desktop platform designed for enthusiasts and power craving users. It is an entirely fresh platform which brings with itself a load of new tech and features that I haven't seen on high-end platforms for a while now. To start off with details, the X399 platform is very similar to AMD's server end EPYC platform.

It features support for AMD Ryzen Threadripper chips in which AMD is using the top 5% dies for HEDT consumers, the same monolithic SP3 socket, known as the TR4 and the many PCIe lanes that we should expect on server level platforms.

The platform is made in a way that it can cater not only to HEDT consumers but also to the workstation community. In terms of features, the X399 socket now supports up to 32 cores and 64 threads and there's no doubt that we will get more cores and threads on the same socket and platform in the future with future iterations of the Zen core.

It can support chips with up to 250W TDP and can deliver full 64 PCIe lanes to users. This means for the first time, we have a platform that can drive four graphics cards with full native x16 link speeds.

This marks a major revolution and a win-win for AMD. In addition to that, we get 8 PCH PCIe lanes, support for NVMe and NVMe RAID, quad channel memory, up to 12 SATA 3 ports and 14 USB interfaces. The only rival on the market for X399 is X299 and honestly speaking, the X399 takes the lead in terms of raw specifications and features.

A year later, we are looking at a slew of new refreshed designs, specifically built for the 2nd generation HEDT processors. For existing motherboards, partners have released new BIOS firmware that enables support on them (read more here).

AMD X399 PCH Features

WCCFTECH	Whitehaven (Ryzen Threadripper)	Intel Core X (Skylake-X)	Pinnacle Ridge (Ryzen)	Summit Ridge (Ryzen)
Target Platform	HEDT	HEDT	Mainstream	Mainstream
Socket	TR4	LGA 2066	AM4 (PGA)	AM4 (PGA)
Socket Pins	4094 Pins (LGA)	2066 Pins (LGA)	1331 Pins (PGA)	1331 Pins (PGA)
Max Cores	Up to 32	Up to 18	Up to 8	Up to 8
Max Threads	Up to 64	Up to 36	Up to 16	Up to 16
Max L3 Cache	64 MB	24.75 MB	16 MB	16 MB
TDP	Up To 250W	Up To 165W	Up To 105W	Up To 95W
CPU PCI-E Lanes	64	44	24	24
PCH PCI-E Lanes	8	24	8	8
PCI-E NVME Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
NVME RAID Support	Yes (Firmware Update from AMD webpage)	Yes (Locked, Key Required)	No	No
DDR4 Channels	4 Channel	4 Channel	2 Channel	2 Channel
SATA 6 Gbps	8+4	8	6+2	6+2
USB 3.1 Ports	2	2	2	2
USB 3.0 Ports	6	10	6	6
USB 2.0 Ports	6	14	6	6
Launch	Q3 2017	Q2 2017	Q1 2018	Q1 2017

The HEDT TR4 (LGA 4094) Socket - Supports All Ryzen Threadripper Processors

The AMD TR4 socket is the same as their server end SP3 socket which has been repurposed for the HEDT market. It is a monolithic design that features 4094 pins in the LGA (Land Grid Array) design and looks absolutely beast.

Cooler Compatibility With The TR4 Socket

Since the socket hasn't changed, all coolers that were previously compatible with Threadripper CPU would run fine with the 2nd Generation Threadripper chips. Despite that, new coolers are going to be available by various manufacturers since the WX series have TDPs of up to 250W. Those require better heat transfer and cooling solutions and I will be testing my sample chip with a range of air and water cooling solutions.

Initially, there were only 9 manufacturers who were offering support for TR4 socket with their coolers but now, the list has expanded and you can find many TR4 socket coolers with ease. Following is a list of cooler manufacturers who are offering TR4 socketed products:

(More details on the cooling solutions here):

Noctua
Enermax
Swiftech
BYSKI
Raijintek
BeQuiet!
Liqtech
DeepCool
Arctic
Cooler Master
Corsair
Cryorig
EVGA
Fractal Design
NZXT
Thermaltake

It took AMD several years to perfect their core design to rival Intel. The resultant Zen core delivered exceptionally great performance when it finally launched after five long years of development. The Ryzen mainstream processors were widely acclaimed and featured some of the most impressive performance, efficiency and pricing figures we have seen to date. But AMD didn't stop there, they went one step ahead and pitted their Zen core in a field where Intel had been dominant for years.

While Zen was a powerful and efficient new core from AMD, the optimized 12nm based Zen+ cores would further strengthen AMD processors a year later. Till now, AMD only had Zen+ cores inside of their Ryzen 2nd Generation processors but now, they are bringing those cores in Threadripper CPU lineup too. Today, AMD finally launches their 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper processors with advanced Zen+ cores.

With Zen+, AMD manages to bring their IPC on par with Intel's modern cores and use that CPU efficiency advantage to deliver a processor with multiple cores. 32 in fact on the flagship CPU and that's just the start of things we expect to see from AMD. Following is the entire CPU family under the 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper brand.

AMD 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper Processors

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2000 series processor lineup would feature a total of four new HEDT processors. These will include the flagship Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX, 2970WX, 2950X and 2920X. The ‘WX’ models are aimed at content creators and developers while the ‘X’ series processors are aimed at gamers and enthusiasts.

While AMD’s ‘X’ series Threadripper chips are said to be aimed at enthusiast and high-end gaming systems, they are still very capable of workstation and developer-grade content creation system environments. All 16, 24, 32 core models are designed for complex workflows which include a range of different tasks such as Media Editing, Visual Effects, Modeling, Rigging, Animation, Data Science, Code Compiling and Machine Learning/Rendering.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX 32 Core $1799 US Processor – The Undisputed and The Unmatched Flagship of the 2nd Gen AMD HEDT Family

The Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX will rock 32 cores and 64 threads that eclipses Intel’s halo product which will sport 28 cores and 56 threads. The chip is expected to feature a base frequency of 3.0 GHz (3.4 GHz all core precision boost) and a maximum boost frequency of 4.0 GHz while the precision boost overdrive frequency is rated at +200 MHz so expect up to 4.20 GHz in single core optimized workloads.

This shows that Zen+ cores can still achieve very high clock speeds even when they jumped to twice as many as their previous flagship, the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X.

Other details include 16 MB of L2 and 64 MB of L3 cache which rounds up to a total of 80 MB of available cache on a single chip. The TDP of the chip as stated before will be kept at 250W and all current generation TR4 socketed boards will be fully compatible with the 2nd generation Ryzen Threadripper processors.

When compared to the Core i9-7980XE, the Ryzen Threadripper 2990X at $1799 US offers a better architecture based on a 12nm process, 14 more cores, 28 more threads and for $200 less since the i9 costs a grand $2000 US. Comparing it to the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X, we get 16 more cores, 32 more threads, and faster clocks at $800 US more.

Even compared to the new Ryzen Threadripper 2950X, the 2990WX delivers up to 64% better performance in creation tasks which is absolutely killer performance. Given these prices, it will be another great product for the high-end market and put Intel’s HEDT in a lot of trouble which can cost in excess of $2000 US considering their new platform and Xeon Platinum prices.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX 24 Core $1299 US Processor – Insane Multi-Thread Performance at an Extreme Value

The second chip in the lineup is the Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX which features 24 cores and 48 threads for a price of just $1299 US. Intel’s 12 core chip in comparison costs $1200 US so we are looking at twice the number of cores at $100 US premium. The chip features clock speeds of 3.0 GHz base and 4.0 GHz boost (4.2 GHz XFR).

Keeping things in line and if the chip comes with the same die configuration as the 1950X, we will be looking at 64 MB of L3 cache and 12 MB of L2 cache which totals 76 MB total cache size. The chip will feature the same amount of PCIe lanes as the 2990WX and will have a TDP of 250W and would be supported by existing and upcoming X399 motherboards.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 16 Core For $899 US – 16 Zen+ Cores With Faster Clocks

The Ryzen Threadripper 2950X will feature the same core config as its predecessor, the 1950X. We are looking at the same 16 cores and 32 threads. At the same time, the chip will be enhanced by the new Zen+ cores and provide higher clock speeds of 3.5 GHz base and 4.4 GHz boost with a 180W TDP. The chip will also come at a $100 US lesser price tag than its predecessor, at just $899 USD.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X 12 Core For $649 US – 12 Zen+ Cores at $100 US Less Than Its Predecessor

The Ryzen Threadripper 2920X will feature the same core config as its predecessor, the 1920X. We are looking at the same 12 cores and 24 threads. At the same time, the chip will be enhanced by the new Zen+ cores and provide higher clock speeds of 3.5 GHz base and 4.3 GHz boost with a 180W TDP. The chip will also come at a $100 US lesser price tag than its predecessor, at just $699 USD.

On the X399 front, we will be looking at a slew of new refreshed designs, specifically built for the 2nd generation HEDT processors. We have already seen the MSI MEG X399 Creation and AORUS X399 Extreme designs so we can also expect other products from the remaining manufacturers. For existing motherboards, partners have released new BIOS firmware that enables support on them (read more here). Expect to see full performance reviews in a few days of the flagship CPU, the Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2000 Series CPU Specifications:

CPU Name	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2920X
CPU Family	AMD 2nd Gen Threadripper (COFLAX)	AMD 2nd Gen Threadripper (COFLAX)	AMD 2nd Gen Threadripper (COFLAX)	AMD 2nd Gen Threadripper (COFLAX)
CPU Architecture	12nm Zen+	12nm Zen+	12nm Zen+	12nm Zen+
Cores/Threads	32/64	24/48	16/32	12/24
Base Clock	3.0 GHz	3.0 GHz	3.5 GHz	3.5 GHz
Boost Clock	4.2 GHz	4.2 GHz	4.4 GHz	4.3 GHz
Cache (L3)	64 MB	64 MB	64 MB	64 MB
Cache (L2)	16 MB	12 MB	8 MB	6 MB
TDP	250W	250W	180W	180W
Platform	TR4 X399	TR4 X399	TR4 X399	TR4 X399
Price	$1799 US	$1299 US	$899 US	$649 US

AMD 1st/2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper Official Gaming Performance - Game Mode and Creator Mode Explained

AMD has also released the official gaming performance data of their Ryzen Threadripper CPUs against Intel's Core X parts and their own HEDT chips. The data shows that the Intel Core i9-7900X still goes ahead of the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 16 core and Ryzen Threadripper 1920X 12 core while featuring ten cores. AMD Threadripper trails the Intel Core X CPU but on the other hand, we are still looking towards decent performance figures in gaming at 1080p and the gap is lower when gaming on higher resolutions.

Once again, like 1st Gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs, the 2nd Gen series will feature support in Ryzen Master, allowing users to switch between Game Mode or Creator Mode. There will also be options to switch between legacy mode which will disable the extra threads on the processors to avoid incompatibility in legacy or older applications.

Both can be set through the Ryzen Master configuration utility which has now been updated to support 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper processors. The utility also provides other nifty features and configuration tool which can be used by overclockers to fine tune their chips.

Another thing worth noting is that in game mode, Ryzen Threadripper processors will optimize to run with 8 cores, 16 threads. That means only 2 CCX or 1 die would be enabled, reducing latency. This will allow the Ryzen Threadripper 2950X to operate at speeds of 4.4 GHz with Precision Boost 2.0, achieving the maximum 8 core default frequency on any Ryzen processor released to date.

With memory access modes, users can select between UMA (maximum memory bandwidth) and NUMA (lowest latency) modes. While on the topic of Ryzen Master, it should be pointed out that a new updated version will be released on launch day, 13th August, offering more fine tuning and control over the HEDT processors.

So what the Threadripper profiles do is that they optimize the chip for the specified workloads. For instance, the gaming mode will enable Local memory access mode and turn the compatibility mode to legacy. This will help reduce memory and core-to-core latency and overcome the thread count limitation in some of the legacy games which can endure bugs and issues with modern multi-core CPUs.

The creator mode, on the other hand, turns the memory access to the distributed mode and disables the legacy mode. This maximizes threads and total memory bandwidth for an unrestrained amount of CPU performance and will be the default profile for Threadripper processors.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2000 Series Packaging:

When AMD released their first generation Ryzen Threadripper processors, we got to see two new things. First was obviously the processor itself which was a disruptive product for the market, the second thing was the gorgeous packaging that the chip was shipped inside. It was a good relief from the box styled packages that CPUs had previously shipped in, but it looks like AMD is going all out with their 2nd generation Ryzen Threadripper processors.

Just like the 32 core behemoth which the new Threadripper flagship is going to be, the packaging of the processor is also going to be a grand scheme of things. It’s bigger, it looks epic and like the last package, it comes with a transparent window which reveals the CPU on the front. It seems to be made of a strong alloy material and has either a plastic or glass cover on the front which is engraved with the Ryzen Threadripper label and logo.

The chip can be seen through the mirror and just like the mainstream processors, each Ryzen TR CPU will have the naming printed in clear black on the IHS which looks amazing. This time, AMD has gone with a more polygonal look, which looks impressive.

The back of the box has the same layout with the orange tint showing where the processor is placed. Given the room inside the box, we can tell that aside from the processor, it will ship with manuals and tools that are necessary for installing the Ryzen Threadripper processor on TR4 motherboards.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper looks really amazing when looking from the eye of an enthusiast. It's the most powerful platform for HEDT users that we have seen to date and a worthy competitor to Intel's HEDT Core-X lineup.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper Series CPU Presentation:

The Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme is the flagship variant of the the AORUS X399 family. The board is literally a beast, featuring a stunning black and silver colored brushed aluminum frame. It comes in the E-ATX form factor and carries a price of $449.99 US which puts it in the leauge of the most costly X399 motherboards available in the market. That said, there are only two refershed X399 designs in the market with the AORUS Xtreme being one of. them. It has a design unlike any of the previous X399 motherboards so to say the price is justified would be correct for this specific board.

Gigabyte was the first to introduce proper aluminum fin-based heatsinks on their X470 AORUS Gaming 7 motherboards. They are going to deliver a much beefier solution on their AORUS Extreme motherboard. The board makes use of a 10+3 phase PWM supply which gets power through dual 8-Pin EPS connectors. The entire PWM area is covered by this huge set of heatsinks which are interconnected via a solid heat pipe.

The AMD TR4 socket is surrounded by eight DDR4 DIMM slots (4 on each side). In terms of storage, the motherboard has 6 SATA III ports. In terms of expansion options, the board has four PCI-e 3.0 x16 slots, a single PCI-e 3.0 x1 slot, and three M.2 slots, all of which are covered by Gigabyte’s M.2 heatsink solution. The Ryzen Threadripper processors are designed to offer 64 PCIe lanes but to power, so much expansion devices is another thing. Gigabyte takes care of that by adding a single 6-pin power connector just for that.

The I/O is covered by a large shroud which embeds Gigabyte’s RGB LEDs. The PCH also has a distinct heatsink cover which embeds the AORUS logo and displays RGB lighting. I/O options are very powerful and extensive on this motherboard which includes three LAN ports (10G), 8 USB 3.0 ports, two USB 3.1 ports (Type A and Type C), two Wireless antennas, Power and Reset switches, and a 7.1 channel HD audio jack powered by ESS Sabre HiFi solution.

Buy Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Here!

Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Motherboard Features:

Supports AMD 2nd Generation Ryzen Threadripper and 1st Generation Ryzen Threadripper Processors
Quad Channel ECC/ Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 8 DIMMs, Up to 3600MHz+(OC)/ 3466MHz+(OC)
Server-Class Digital Power PWM Design & Ultra Durable Solid Pin Power Connectors
Cutting-edge Thermal Design with Fins-Array Heatsink and Direct Touch Heatpipe
4-Way Graphics Support with Dual Armor and Ultra Durable Design
Triple Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 with Triple Thermal Guard
Dual Intel GbE LAN with cFosSpeed Internet Accelerator + AQUANTIA 10GbE BASE-T LAN
ALC1220-VB Enhance 114dB(Rear)/ 110dB(Front) SNR in Microphone with ESS 9118 SABRE HiFi DAC
Intel Dual Band 802.11ac WIFI + Bluetooth 4.2
RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone Digital LED Light Show Design, Supports Addressable LED & RGB LED Strips
Smart Fan 5 Features Multiple Temperature Sensors and Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP
Precise Digital USB Fuse Design for Stronger Protection
Ultra Durable NanoCarbon Base Plate & I/O Shield Armor
Rear Power/Reset/Clear CMOS Buttons
APP Center Including EasyTune and Cloud Station Utilities

Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Motherboard Product Gallery:

Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Motherboard Feature Slides:

The Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme comes inside a very large cardboard box. The front of it has the large X399 AORUS Xtreme label along with the AORUS branding and logo AORUS has been known to use orange and black colors on their products and this one is no exception. Labels include Ryzen Threadripper, ESS Sabre HiFi, 10+3 Digital Power, Intel 802.11ac, Smart Fan 5 and Gaming Vibes brands. There's also mention of AMD Socket TR4 and X399 chipset on the front.

The back of the package lists down several major features of the motherboard which mainly focuses on the 10+3 phase IR Digital power supply, Advanced Thermal Design, AMP-UP Audio, Intel's WiFi 802.11 ac capabilities, RGB Fusion and the entire specs sheet of board. There is a lot to go through which I will detail in the closer look section in a bit.

The package can be opened to reveal another black colored box which houses the motherboard and the accessories that come with it. AORUS is using a very tacky "Team Up. Fight On." line of the package since this is a gaming aimed motherboard.

On the top section of the container, the motherboard can be seen sitting beneath the plastic cover which offers protection against dust and harmful particles that can enter the motherboard and interfere with the electrical components.

Upon removing the plastic cover, you can take a good look at the motherboard which is just impressive to look at. There's a ton of components to go through on this motherboard so I will be dissecting them one by one.

Out of the box, the Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme is a massive motherboard featuring the E-ATX form factor. The refreshed design for the new X399 motherboards by AORUS is really well done and I can tell just by looking at it that it will deliver some outstanding performance on the Ryzen Threadripper flagship, the 2990WX.

There are three sections of the accessories. First up, we have the much useful sticker chart which can be used to tag various components or cables running to the motherboard. The second is the guidebook, manual and driver disks while the third section contains all the different cables and connector pieces that are shipped with the motherboard. All of these accessories are listed below.

Accessories for the motherboard include the following:

Quick Installation Guide
X399 AORUS Xtreme User's Manual
AORUS Sticker Chart
Driver Disk
2x Soft Ties
6x Black Colored SATA Cables
1x Wireless Antennas
2x Thermistors
2x Addressable RGB headers
1x CPU Socket Lever
1x SLI HB Bridge (2-Way)
1x Gigabyte G-Connector

With a lot to detail, let's head over to the next section and find out what this motherboard is really made of.

First things first, this is a gorgeous motherboard. The previous X399 motherboards were impressive in their own right but look aggressive. This one feels more futuristic and the design scheme is meant to impress everyone, even the non-HEDT users.

The motherboard comes with a futuristic design language that we kind of previously saw on the AORUS Z370 motherboards but this time, AORUS has taken it to the next level. AORUS has also chosen the silver and black color scheme with slightly brushed silver accents that give a good touch on this motherboard and it looks great.

The large TR4 socket can be seen at the top of the motherboard. This is the same SP4 design from the server EPYC motherboard, re-engineered for the HEDT masses. The socket has a plastic cover that slides in and out with ease. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors also slide in the socket with ease after removal of the protective cover. All X399 motherboards are shipped with this cover since we are talking about 4094 pins and one damaged pin can cause permanent damage to the board.

Talking about the socket, it is also the largest ever designed for a consumer grade motherboard and the number of pins inside the socket is mind-blowing. You can fit in almost four consumer Intel CPUs in the socket (although they won't work).

Around the socket are two DDR4 DIMM slots which can support quad channel memory with clock speeds up to 3600 MHz (OC+). The system is designed to operate both non-ECC and ECC (UDIMM) memory and up to 128 GB in capacity. The motherboard supports XMP memory modules like the ones I tested the board with.

Scattered around the CPU socket is 10+3 phase power delivery system that uses the IR Digital PWM unit for voltage and power regulation. The power delivery system is a combination of high-quality components that includes 50A IR3578 ICs for each vCore and SOC phase, an enhanced MOSFET design which helps with enabling higher current capacity, and server level chokes which reduces the power loses to the CPU VRMs, allowing for more stable operation and clean power being circulated to the processor.

The motherboard is supplied power through a 24 pin ATX connector while the CPU socket is running by a dual 8 pin connector configuration that is located right next to the I/O cover.

This is enough to feed juice to the high-end 32 core Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. Overclocking would be a breeze on high-end motherboards that feature these splendid refreshed designs for 2nd Gen Threadripper processors.

The motherboard uses premium two top of the line aluminum fin-based heatsinks which make direct contact with the power delivery unit through what AORUS calls their Direct Touch heat-pipe system. There are multiple high thermal conductivity pads on the motherboard and talking about the front, there are at least four which ensure effective heat transfer.

AORUS has been outfitting their recent motherboards with really good quality heatsinks as seen on the AORUS X470 Gaming 7 and now the AORUS X399 Xtreme. This effectively leads to better cooling on the motherboard which competitors should take note from.

AORUS is also featuring active cooling on their X399 Xtreme motherboard. While I have noted that some motherboard makers are going for single fan cooling solutions or offering kits for their old X399 motherboards, AORUS is offering a dual fan system which includes 30mm fans throwing air directly towards the MOSFET heatsink. You may not have to worry about the noise being output by these fans as they are temperature aware.

In idle mode, the fans will run at lower RPM or shut down completely and when the board is being pushed to the limits, the fans will automatically adjust based on the VRM temperatures. During my testing, I noted almost no noise from the fans while at overclocked speeds, the fans did get a bit RPM heavy but still, the noise levels were very under control.

The cooling system on the AORUS X399 Xtreme is some of the best I have seen on a high-end board and you will see the results in my tests below.

The AMD X399 chipset is hidden beneath a metallic heatsink which is etched with the AORUS logo. The PCH heatsink has much functionality outside of just offering to cool to the third party chipsets and PCH, it comes embedded with RGB LEDs which are stunning and also extends as an M.2 heatsink which is very useful.

Just right below the motherboard socket, I can spot a small BIOS chip which is actually a dual BIOS design which is a key feature of the motherboard. For those whose motherboard may go haywire after a certain settings within the BIOS, you can easily switch to the reserved BIOS and revert the settings for easy configuration and tweaking.

In terms of storage, we are looking at 6 SATA 3 6Gbps ports which support RAID (0,1,10) and has been free by AMD for a while now. Right next to the SATA ports is a 6-pin power connector that would come to use in PCIe heavy enivronments.

A single USB 3.1 (Type-C) Gen 2 connector is seen on the motherboard, underneath the EPS power connector. The front panel header is useful for connecting to modern chassis.

The motherboard has four PCIe 3.0 x16 slots which operate in x16/x8/x16/x8 configuration. In two way configuration, both cards would operate in x16 modes while in four-way configuration, two will operate in x16 and the rest of the two will operate in x8 mode. AORUS provides the expansion slot with up to 48 PCIe lanes, delivering a cumulative bandwidth of up to 384 Gb/s.

2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2)
2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1, PCIEX8_2)
(The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)
1 x PCI Express x1 slot
(The PCIEX1_1 slot conforms to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)

AORUS is using the latest Ultra Durable PCIe Armor on the PCI-express slots which adds more strength to the slots when using heavy graphics cards. The feature not only adds a stainless shielded cover to the PCIe slot but also provides more anchor points for extra strength against higher retention force.

The motherboard can house four-way SLI and Crossfire GPUs. Whether if those are practical or not is up for debate but considering the use case of this motherboard, we can see some workstation heavy enthusiasts going for quad way NVIDIA Quadro or AMD WX series graphics cards in a system designed with such a high-end CPU and motherboard.

A tripe PCIe Gen 3 x4 M.2 slot configuration can be found under three heatsinks which are part of the AORUS M.2 Thermal Guard design. M.2 Thermal Guards prevent throttling and bottlenecks on M.2 SSDs especially on high-end NVMe PCIe M.2 SSDs. Reduces and dissipates heat from M.2 SSDs to maintain high SSD performance.

Two of the M.2 slots are protected by Ultra Durable shield cover while one is left as it is.

2 x M.2 connectors (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2M) (M2Q)
1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P)

As you can see in the pictures below, all three M.2 Thermal Guards come with a large contact pad which are ideal for running a high-end M.2 storage solution. The contact pad is protected by paper so once removed and used, you might have to change it again to be as effective as the first time.

Within the motherboard, there are a large variety of connectors which include the following:

1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors
1 x OC PEG power connector
1 x CPU fan header
1 x water cooling CPU fan header
3 x system fan headers
2 x system fan/water cooling pump headers
2 x digital(addressable) LED strip headers
2 x digital(addressable) LED strip power select jumpers
2 x RGB (RGBW) LED strip headers
3 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
1 x front panel header
1 x front panel audio header
1 x S/PDIF Out header
1 x USB Type-C™ port, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers
2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header (2x6 pin, for the GC-TPM2.0_S module only)
1 x BIOS switch
1 x DualBIOS™ switch
2 x temperature sensor headers
1 x Clear CMOS jumper

AORUS is running the ALC1220-VB, Realtek's high-end HD audio codec, on this motherboard that comes with ALC1220 120dB(A) SNR HD Audio and Smart Headphone Amp automatically detect the impedance of your head-worn audio device, preventing issues such as low volume and distortion.
New VB series audio controller stream your voice to the world vibrantly with both front/rear microphone SNR up to 110/114dB(A).

AORUS AMP-UP Audio now offers ESS SABRE with a DAC that adopts the concept of a high-end audiophile sound system design into a microsystem within the motherboard. The 32-bit HyperStream architecture to deliver up to 125 dB SNR and -112 dB Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise (THD+N) ensuring audiophile quality sound all the way to the headphones. It also supports the most popular high resolution and lossless audio formats including FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, and WAV. The AORUS X399 motherboards use high end, Japanese branded Nichicon audio capacitors.

The I/O cover looks great with embedded RGB and hiding the active fan cooling underneath it. The AORUS logo and the fine lines look nicely designed. What's more interesting is the pre-mounted I/O shield which saves a lot of hassle when building PCs. It has been my point since last year that this should be a standard on all motherboards or at least the higher end ones.

I/O on the AORUS X399 Xtreme includes:

1 x power/reset button
1 x Clear CMOS button
1 x USB Type-C port, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port (red)
8 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports
3 x RJ-45 ports (1x Aquantia 10GbE Base-T, 2x Intel i210AT GbE LAN)
2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R / Intel Dual Band 802.11ac WIFI + BT 4.2)
1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
5 x audio jacks

Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Motherboard Unboxing/Closeup Gallery:

For this review, I had access to the Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX flagship processor. AMD did not provide us with any equipment or processors for this review. The motherboard was sent to us by AORUS and we will be using it with our Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX sample. My review is entirely based on facts and precision.

The full test setup configuration can be seen in the provided list below:

Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Test Bench:

Processors	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1900X
Motherboards	ASRock X399 Professional Gaming ASRock X399M Taichi ASRock X399 Taichi
Memory	Teamgroup Xcalibur RGB Series 32 GB (4 x 8GB) CL16 3200 MHz
Video Cards	ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti STRIX OC
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200i PSU
Cooling Solutions	Corsair H115i Pro AIO Liquid
Solid State Drive	Samsung SSD 960 EVO M.2 (512 GB)
BIOS Used	Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme F4C ASRock X399 Professional Gaming v3.20 ASRock X399 Taichi v3.20
OS	Windows 10 64-bit

For overclocking, the maximum clock speeds I was able to achieve on the AORUS X399 Xtreme were 4.2 GHz across all cores with a voltage supply of 1.385V.

Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Motherboard RGB Gallery:

3DMark Time Spy CPU Performance

3DMark Firestrike is the widely popular video card benchmark test for Windows that is designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance. While the overall benchmark is great, the utility also provides a good indication of the CPU performance.

3DMark Firestrike CPU Performance

3DMark Firestrike is the widely popular video card benchmark test for Windows that is designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance. While the overall benchmark is great, the utility also provides a good indication of the CPU performance.

Blender

Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation.

Cinebench R15

CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Life of Pi or Prometheus and many more.

HandBrake

HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.

PCMark 10

PCMark 10 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 10. It includes several tests that combine individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 10 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.

POV-Ray

The POV-Ray package includes detailed instructions on using the ray-tracer and creating scenes. Many stunning scenes are included with POV-Ray so you can start creating images immediately when you get the package.

SuperPI

Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.

WinRar

WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompresses RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from the Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.

X264 HD Encode Benchmark

This benchmark measures the encoding performance of the processor. It offers a standardized benchmark for the clip as well as the encoder used is uniform.

Ashes of The Singularity

Stardock's Ashes of the Singularity RTS title is a new take on the historical genre. The game incorporates several things that many pc gamers have been curious about and anxious to try for themselves such as Explicit Multi-Adapter Support and full Asynchronous Compute under DirectX 12 API. We tested the game at 1440P with 4x MSAA on Crazy Settings under DirectX 12.

Battlefield 1

Battlefield 1 is the kind of game that doesn’t need any real introduction. The latest installment of the Battlefield series is as beautiful as anyone would expect and comes right out of the gate with full DX11 and DX12. EA and DICE did a fantastic job with their AAA WW1 shooter this time by implementing some key gaming technologies. We tested the game at 1440P using Ultra settings and DirectX 11 API.

DOOM

In 2016, Id finally released Doom. My testing wouldn’t be complete without including this title. It's a hell fest featuring fast-paced FPS action and tons of demons to kill. The latest title is based on both Vulkan and OpenGL APIs that take advantage of the latest multi-core and multi-GPU upgrades.

GTA V

GTA V is one handsomely optimized title for the PC audience. It's scalable across various PC configurations and delivers an impressive frame rate. Rockstar did an amazing job with the PC build of GTA V and it comes with a large array of settings that can be configured by PC gamers. We tested the title at 1440P with everything set to Ultra and 4x MSAA.

Mass Effect Andromeda

Being a huge fan of the Mass Effect series, I was highly anticipating the arrival of Andromeda to store shelves. Now that it’s here, I put the fastest gaming card to the test. Using Frostbite, the latest Mass Effect title looks incredibly gorgeous and the open world settings on the different planets immerses you a lot.

The Rise of the Tomb Raider

The latest Rise of the Tomb Raider title gets lots of graphical enhancements added by Crystal Dynamics and Nixxes, including hardware tessellation, increased anisotropic filtering, additional dynamic foliage, increased LOD, additional PureHair strands, sun soft shadows, and improved bokeh DOF. We tested the game at 1440P under DirectX 12 API.

Sid Meir's Civilization VI

Civilization VI is the pinnacle of the series. It's featured huge, sweeping changes, and nothing was left out. Everything has found a purpose, they all work together in tandem but also have a reason to stand alone. It uses a more fleshed out engine that now supports DirectX 12 capabilities. We tested the game with every setting maxed out (4x MSAA, 4096x4096 shadow textures) at 1440P in DirectX 12.

Watch Dogs 2

Watch Dogs 2 once again takes us on a hacking tour, but this time in the city of San Francisco. Using a very evolved version of the OPUS engine the developers should have a better grasp on things this go around than they did with Watch Dogs. The new engine incorporates several NVIDIA Gameworks technologies and is seen as one of the most graphics intensive titles to launch this year. We tested the game on a mix of Ultra and high settings at 1440P (Temporal Filtering Disabled).

When it comes to power consumption, there are a few things we should take note of. First of all, Intel has focused on efficiency for several years but as we have seen, they are starting to loose rapidly at this front. The Intel Core-X processors are based on the new 14nm processors and we know this that Intel generally has a better fabrication process compared to their rivals. AMD, on the other hand, is using a refined 12nm process from Global Foundries on their Zen+ based Ryzen, and Ryzen Threadripper chips.

The Ryzen Threadripper chips are based on four dies rather than a single monolithic die. We have seen how that affects the temperatures but it is also crucial to see how power management is now handled on four separate dies. All four dies are connected through the infinity fabric interconnect and hence, it is used to thermally manage the load on different dies.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper WX processors feature a reference TDP of 250W and we pushed the voltage higher than stock when running the chips in overclock mode. The resultant power numbers at both stock and overclocked frequencies can be seen below:

For cooling, I used the Corsair H115i Pro AIO liquid cooler which is fully compatible with the Ryzen Threadripper processors and TR4 socket. These coolers come with a larger surface area that makes full contact with the huge IHS on the Threadripper chips. This huge contact allows for better heat transfer to help cool the processor effectively.

Following are the results of various Ryzen Threadripper CPUs in thermal benchmarking along with the VRM temps on each respective motherboard.

In general, the Ryzen Threadripper processors are based on the 12nm process from Glofo which offers slightly better temperatures and power efficiency numbers compared to Intel's 14nm based offerings. While Intel went with a solderless design, the Ryzen Threadripper chips come with liquid metal thermal paste on each of the four dies that are featured on the chip interposer.

This refined thermal interface offers much better heat transfer than Intel's TIM and the Indium based solder design means that all air gaps are removed and the chip itself is tightly packaged so that the IHS can fully unload the heat from the dies and pass it straight to the cooler itself.

Furthermore, the dies feature gold plating on the back to ensure proper thermal cycling which adds to the thermal qualities of this impressive chip. You can check out the full delidding of Ryzen Threadripper processors by renowned overclocker Der8auer over here.

With more 2nd Generation Ryzen Thredadripper options now becoming available in the market, I think to utilize their new features, PC builders would definitely want to go the all in with their X399 purchase. The new X399 refresh from AORUS is a grand one, it's feature heavy, it's literally heavy too, in terms of weight. It's fully capable of taking the 2nd Gen Threadripper CPUs to their limits in overclocking, it's also pretty cool, in terms of design and practically too, given the large and proper use of heatsinks and active cooling on the motherboard.

X399 AORUS Xtreme Design

When you take this motherboard out of the massive box, you would be warmly welcomed by a fresh take on next-generation high-end desktop motherboard designs. AMD X399 motherboards have made AIBs rethink their design methodologies for high-end motherboards and the AORUS Xtreme is just brilliant in this department.

The motherboard has a brushed aluminum design scheme in shades of black and silver on the front. A strong nano carbon backplate which looks stunning and while you'd never be able to showcase it (unless you own a dual glass panel chassis), there's also practical use of it as it offers cooling and durability to the electrical components on the other side of the PCB. On the front, I was a witness of one of the best RGB Lighting display I have seen on a motherboard, it's subtle, not overdone and looks amazing inside a PC.

All the components are greatly placed, with the only exception being the memory slots which were a bit too cumbersome when installing wider DDR4 DIMMs. The heatsinks and cooling design is also a 100% since the aluminum fin heatsink and heat pipe layout is the best one out there right now. It should also be pointed out that the active cooling system has a lot of potentials however under load, the system can be a bit noisy. The whole metallic shielding structure of the PCIe, M.2 slots and the power connectors is a plus point while the I/O cover with its futuristic design looks superb.

X399 AORUS Xtreme Features

There are a ton of features jam-packed in this motherboard. And by so many features, I mean that they are so many to mention that most users will hardly use most of them. I like the wireless WIFI and Bluetooth capabilities on these motherboards and a nice audio driver is a must and the AORUS ALC1220 system does a good job in delivering nice audio playback on all my headsets and Razer Leviathan 5.1 speaker system.

Then there's 10 GbE LAN which is a must for workstation and server heavy environments. The use case of such applications on this motherboard is a lot as the WX series processors are definitely aimed at those workloads. There are also two additional Intel GbE LAN ports which are a must for networking heavy users. There are lots of connectivity and PCIe storage options on the board but I'd love to have seen more SATA ports. Offering just 6 on a board of this caliber is a little weird. I'd have expected to see at least 8 as workstation environments can utilize that many for SATA based high-density HDDs or SSDs which obviously offer more value over their PCIe based counterparts.

X399 AORUS Xtreme Performance

Talking about performance which is a key aspect that the X399 refresh motherboards are focused towards, the first thing that comes to mind is the power delivery system. The board rocks a 10+3 phase IR Digital based PWM. I can go on and tell you the names of all the high-end components that it rocks but that won't matter to you since you want numbers since there's no use of high-end designs if you can't get more performance out of it over previous generation parts.

With the new PWM system, I managed a overclock of 4.2 GHz on my Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX processor, with a voltage of 1.35V. Previously, I managed 4.2 GHz on an older X399 motherboard but it didn't end up being stable hence I resorted to lowering volts and a clock speed of 4.1 GHz on all cores enabled. Not only was the 4.2 GHz stable on X399 AORUS Xtreme, but I also saw noticeably lower VRM temperatures. Cooling off the CPU was another thing as the AIO cooler was just on the edge of being pushed to the limits and the power numbers went off the chart with this overclock but it was stable which is a good thing.

Overall performance went up in various benchmarks which include productivity and rendering with the AORUS X399 Xtreme and its impressive overclocking capabilities. Plus in general, I saw applications become a little snappier since the processor was able to utilize faster DIMMs and also ran at slightly better clocks, even at stock configuration due to Precision Boost Overdrive in effect which wasn't the case on older X399 motherboards.

X399 AORUS Xtreme Pricing

In terms of pricing, the Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme motherboards cost $449.99 US which his a really high price for a motherboard if you ask me. Then again, the only other X399 refresh board that is available in the market right now is priced even higher at $500 US. So yeah, this is the only cheapest X399 refresh motherboard you can find and while being the cheapest X399 refresh board, it is also the most high-end motherboard I have tested in my life and the performance and design are just unprecedented. If you are going for this motherboard, then I can assure you that you are not making a wrong choice at all.

X399 AORUS Xtreme Overall Conclusion

Gigabyte is breaking the norms of high-end desktop motherboard designs and offering a product that falls in a class of its own. At a gigantic price tag of $449.99 US, the X399 AORUS Xtreme brings a new class of performance and design to motherboards which take things to the next level. For all builders who are buying a $1000+ Ryzen Threadripper processor, the AORUS X399 Xtreme is a perfect choice for you new enthusiast and workstation environment.

Buy Gigabyte X399 AORUS Xtreme Here!

Contents

About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.

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