Gigabyte Z890 AORUS Elite DUO X Motherboard Review – CQDIMM-Ready!

Gigabyte Z890 AORUS ELITE DUO X Unboxing & Close Up Inspection

The Gigabyte Z890 AORUS ELITE DUO X motherboard comes in a standard cardboard package. The front features the large AORUS "EAGLE" logo along with a very robotic design. The packaging also lists support for PCIe 5.0 (GPU/NVMe), DDR5, and Ultra Turbo mode.

The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard, such as the VRM Thermal Armor Advanced heatsink solution, a 16+1+2 Phase Digital VRM, DIY-Friendly design, 5GbE LAN, WIFI7 & WIFI EZ Plug.

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, an AORUS case badge, 2 SATA cables, a G-Connector for easy front-panel cable installation, and a few RGB cables.

With all the accessories done, it's time to put that box aside and take the motherboard out of its package. The Gigabyte Z890 AORUS Elite DUO X motherboard is a standard ATX offering that measures 305x244 mm.

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Being part of the Elite series, the motherboard carries an all-black color scheme with a few white hints. Despite being an Elite series motherboard, the DUO X is designed as a high-end option with extreme OC capabilities for the memory side.

The board uses the LGA 1851 socket to support Intel Core Ultra 200S "Arrow Lake" processors. So far, the LGA 1851 socket will only support the Arrow Lake CPUs and the Core Ultra 200S Plus lineup.

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

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These slots are rated to support EXPO/XMP profiles up to 10,266 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. The full QVL list can be found here.

The motherboard offers full support of the next-gen JEDEC memory standard called CQDIMM, which enables 4-Rank memory compatibility. This allows the motherboard to support up to 128 GB DIMMs per slot, enabling 256 GB capacities on a 2-DIMM design, while supporting super-fast speeds. And if you do not have CQDIMM, the motherboard is backwards compatible with CUDIMM memory.

The Gigabyte Z890 AORUS ELITE DUO X motherboard features a 16+1+2 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX)  phase (8+8) power delivery that utilizes the Richtek RT3678BE "GOW" PWM controller and Onsemi NCP 30215 PWM controller (Dr.MOS 60A) stages for the VCore. The VRMs and power delivery solution are scattered around the AM5 socket. The board uses a 6-layer PCB with 2x copper and a 56% lower dissipation factor, which helps improve signal integrity.

The VRMs receive ample cooling from the VRM Thermal Armor Advanced solution. These include the primary VRM heatsinks and small cooling vents on the IO bracket, which the company claims to offer up to 7 °C lower temperatures. Gigabyte uses 5 W/mk thermal pads, and the use of an RL-ILM socket further helps drop temperatures by 4 °C.

The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8-pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 600 Watts of power. Intel's Arrow Lake "Core Ultra 200S & 200S Plus" Desktop CPUs can sip up to 250W of power running at maximum turbo power.

Expansion slots include three PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16 / 2 x Gen 4.0 x4) and five M.2 slots.

• CPU:
  - 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, supporting PCIe 5.0 and running at x16 (PCIEX16)
• Chipset:
  - 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, supporting PCIe 4.0 and running at x4 (PCIEX4_1, PCIEX4_2)

The motherboard utilizes a full metallic slot and comes with an ultra-durable PCIe armor on the back side to enhance the durability of the PCIe slot. The M.2 slot features an EZ-Latch design that makes it easy to remove graphics cards.

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There are a total of five M.2 slots on the motherboard, which include one PCIe Gen5 x4 M.2 slot and four PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 slots. Two of these slots are cooled by M.2 heatsinks. All M.2 slots on the motherboard are cooled by dedicated heatsinks featuring an easy-to-access toolless design. The primary slot features an M.2 EZ-Flex mechanism for up to 12C lower temperatures, while the Thermal Guard Ext. and M.2 Thermal Guard L heatsinks provide optimized heat dissipation.

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Following is the full list of M.2 ports and their details on the Gigabyte Z890 AORUS ELITE DUO X motherboard:

CPU:

• 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 25110/22110/2580/2280 PCIe 5.0x4/x2 SSD support) (M2A_CPU)
• 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 22110/2280 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2B_CPU)

Chipset:

• 2 x M.2 connectors (Socket 3, M key, type 22110/2280 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2Q_SB) (M2L_SB)
• 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 22110/2280 SATA and PCIe 4.0x4/x2 SSD support) (M2M_SB)
• 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors

The motherboard offers two RGB LED zones, one on the IO plate and one under the PCH heatsink. You also get three Gen2 ARGB headers and a single RGB header.

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 a total of 17 ports, which include 1 USB4 Type-C, 1 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 2 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 5 USB 3.2 Gen1, and 8 USB 2.0 ports.

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
• 3 x system fan headers
• 1 x system fan/water cooling pump header
• 3 x addressable RGB Gen2 LED strip headers
• 1 x RGB LED strip header
• 5 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 2 support
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header
• 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
• 1 x Trusted Platform Module header (For the GC-TPM2.0 SPI V2 module only)
• 2 x Thunderbolt add-in card connectors (For GIGABYTE Thunderbolt 5 add-in card only)
• 1 x reset jumper
• 1 x Clear CMOS jumper

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AORUS is using the latest WIFI 7 "BE200NGW" Module with a full 320MHz wireless channel to power wireless connectivity and Bluetooth 5.4. In terms of Ethernet, there is a single LAN port powered by a 5GbE Realtek LAN controller. Audio comes in the form of a Realtek ALC1220 CODEC with audiophile-grade capacitors.

The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:

• 1 x reset button
• 1 x power button
• 1 x Clear CMOS button
• 1 x Q-Flash Plus button
• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
• 1 x DisplayPort (Note)
• 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
• 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
• 1 x USB4 USB Type-C port (DisplayPort (Note))
• 2 x antenna connectors (2T2R)
• 1 x RJ-45 port
• 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
• 2 x audio jacks

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