Gigabyte X870E AERO X3D DARK Wood Motherboard Review – Supreme Aesthetics!

Gigabyte X870E AERO X3D DARK Wood - Unboxing & Close Up Inspection

The Gigabyte X870E AERO X3D DARK Wood motherboard comes in a standard cardboard package. The front features the AERO logo, and it is essentially a simple cardboard package; nothing fancy is going on over here, but the color scheme is updated to a black and wooden design versus the Non-DARK variant. The packaging also lists down a few features such as support for PCIe 5.0 (GPU/NVMe), DDR5 & Ryzen CPUs.

The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard, such as the X3D Turbo Mode 2 BIOS technologies, Driver BIOS, M.2 EZ Flex design, DIY-Friendly Design, & support for WIFI7.

Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories and is located right below the box holder for the board itself. You get a Quick Installation Guide, a WIFI EZ Plug Antenna, a few M.2 standoffs, the ever-useful G-connector, an AERO keychain, and two SATA Cables.

With all the accessories done, it's time to put that box aside and take the motherboard out of its package.

The Gigabyte X870E AERO X3D Wood motherboard is a standard ATX offering that measures 30.5 x 24.4 cm.

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Although Gigabyte's AERO series has been in the family for quite some time, the Wood series makes for a more elegant design with wood textures and leather materials used on the board itself. These premium elements make the AERO Wood stand out from the rest. With that said, this is a very high-end AERO AM5 offering, as we will detail in our close-up below.

The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen "AM5" processors. The socket works with Ryzen 7000, Ryzen 8000G, and Ryzen 9000 CPUs and will also support future generations of AM5 Ryzen chips that are supported by the platform.

Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 256 GB of dual-channel memory.

These slots are rated to support XMP profiles up to 9000 MT/s (OC Plus). Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position, so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage. Each slot is also combined with a reinforced design to make sure signal integrity remains good while keeping the slots durable for long-term usage. The memory slots feature a shielded memory routing surface for enhanced and clear memory signaling. The full QVL list can be found here.

The Gigabyte X870E AERO X3D DARK Wood motherboard features a 16+2+2 60A (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX) VRM design with the core VRMs being an 8+8 "parallel power phase" configuration. The motherboard makes use of a 2x copper PCB and embeds premium chokes & capacitors.

The VRMs and power delivery solution are scattered around the AM5 socket. The board uses an 8-layer NPG-170D server-grade PCB with 2oz thickened copper.

The VRMs receive ample cooling from a "Premium VRM Thermal Armor" solution. This includes a larger surface area per heatsink and more. The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8-pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 300 Watts of power. The AMD Ryzen 9000 CPUs are very power-hungry, with the maximum target power going above 220W for the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X CPU.

Coming to the heatsink solution, we first have the two VRM heatsinks with direct-touch heatpipes and a 10x larger surface area for enhanced heat dissipation.

Underneath the VRM heatsink are 7W/mK Thermal pads, which transfer heat from the VRMs to the heatsink.

Expansion slots include three PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16/8 / 1x Gen 5.0 x8 / 1x Gen 4.0x4) and four M.2 slots. The first and second Gen5 slots share bandwidth with the second M.2 slot, so keep that in mind when installing a Gen5 SSD into the slot.

• 1 x PCI Express x16 slot (PCIEX16), integrated in the CPU:
  AMD Ryzen 9000/7000 Series Processors support PCIe 5.0 x16 mode
  AMD Ryzen 8000 Series-Phoenix 1 Processors support PCIe 4.0 x8 mode
  AMD Ryzen 8000 Series-Phoenix 2 Processors support PCIe 4.0 x4 mode
  * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot operates at up to x8 mode.
  * The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots can only support a graphics card or an NVMe SSD. If only one graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot.
  
• 1 x PCI Express x16 slot (PCIEX8), integrated in the CPU:
  AMD Ryzen 9000/7000 Series Processors support PCIe 5.0 x8 mode
  * The PCIEX8 slot becomes unavailable when an AMD Ryzen 8000 Series-Phoenix 1/Phoenix 2 processor is used.
  
• Chipset:
  - 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 4.0 and running at x4 (PCIEX4)

The motherboard utilizes a full metallic slot called the PCIe UD Slot X, which is part of Gigabyte's long-running Ultra Durable features. This slot can sustain 10 times the load-bearing capacity, and comes with an inner lining rubber strip, and is made out of Zinc Alloy metal.

The motherboard also has a vast array of M.2 slots, all of which are featured under dedicated M.2 Thermal Guard heatsinks.

All of the heatsinks are easy to remove thanks to the EZ M.2 mechanism. The latching mechanism is easy to work with, and with the new M.2 EZ Flex baseplate, users can expect 12 °C lower temperatures versus a standard M.2 heatsink.

The primary M.2 Thermal Guard L heatsink is the bigger one and provides better cooling to a Gen5 M.2 SSD. You can simply pull the leather material to remove the heatsink, and it can be installed back easily too.

Following is the full list of M.2 ports and their details on the Gigabyte X870E AERO X3D Wood motherboard:

• 1 x M.2 connector (M2A_CPU), integrated in the CPU, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 2580/2280 SSDs:
  AMD Ryzen 9000/7000 Series Processors support PCIe 5.0 x4/x2 SSDs
  AMD Ryzen 8000 Series-Phoenix 1 Processors support PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSDs
  AMD Ryzen 8000 Series-Phoenix 2 Processors support PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSDs
• 1 x M.2 connector (M2B_CPU), integrated in the CPU, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 22110/2280 SSDs:
  AMD Ryzen 9000/7000 Series Processors support PCIe 5.0 x4/x2 SSDs
  * The M2B_CPU connector shares bandwidth with the ASMedia USB4 controller. When a device is installed in the M2B_CPU connector, both the M2B_CPU connector and the USB4 port supported by the ASMedia USB4® controller operate at up to x2 bandwidth. When using an AMD Ryzen 8000 Series-Phoenix 1 or Phoenix 2 processor, the USB4 port supported by the ASMedia USB4® controller operates at up to x2 bandwidth, and the M2B_CPU connector becomes unavailable.
• 2 x M.2 connectors (M2C_SB, M2D_SB), integrated in the Chipset, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 22110/2280 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSDs

The X870E PCH is housed beneath a large heatsink with the Gigabyte logo etched over it.

The motherboard has no RGB LEDs on its own but comes with 3 ARGB and 1 RGB LED connectors for users to personalize their PCs using Gigabyte's RGB Fusion software.

Storage options include four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 4 different storage devices at once. For the front IO, you get 1 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C header, 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 headers, and 2 USB 2.0/1.1 headers.

Gigabyte uses a 7.1 CH HD audio design with the latest Realtek ALC 1220 CODEC.

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There is a large selection of connectors on the motherboard. The full list of connectors on the motherboard is as follows.

• 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
• 2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors
• 1 x CPU fan header
• 1 x CPU fan/water cooling pump header
• 4 x system fan headers
• 2 x system fan/water cooling pump headers
• 3 x addressable RGB Gen2 LED strip headers
• 1 x RGB LED strip header
• 4 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
• 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
• 1 x front panel header
• 1 x front panel audio header
• 1 x USB Type-C header, with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 support
• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 headers
• 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
• 1 x noise detection header
• 1 x Trusted Platform Module header (For the GC-TPM2.0 SPI V2 module only)
• 1 x HDMI port (Note)
• 1 x reset jumper
• 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
• 2 x temperature sensor headers

Gigabyte is using the latest WIFI 7 Module to power wireless connectivity and Bluetooth 5.4. In terms of Ethernet, there are two Realtek 5GbE LAN ports.

The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:

• 1 x Q-Flash Plus button
• 1 x Clear CMOS button
• 1 x power button
• 1 x reset button
• 1 x HDMI port (Note)
• 2 x USB4® USB Type-C ports (DisplayPorts (Note))
• 1 x USB Type-C port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 support
• 5 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
• 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
• 2 x RJ-45 ports
• 2 x antenna connectors (2T2R)
• 2 x audio jacks
• 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector

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