“Weaker PCB”, but still (Gigabyte Aorus X670 Elite AX) stands out

Motherboards for the AMD AM5 platform with chipsets without “E” in the designation have weaker connectivity derived from the processor, but if you do not require PCIe 5.0 for the graphics card, you do not really need to worry. And not at all with the Aorus X670 Elite AX board, which defends the “Elite” label without the slightest difficulty. For proper features, but also for the fact that Gigabyte has once again pushed the performance more than usual. Read more ““Weaker PCB”, but still (Gigabyte Aorus X670 Elite AX) stands out” »

Gigabyte M32UC: 4K at 160Hz on curved 32 inches

Monitors at the moment are probably dominated by 27-inch models, which is logical given their price and availability. The next step in the evolution are 32-inch models, which include the tested M32UC from Gigabyte. This one is very similar to the recently tested G32QC. However, appearance is the only thing they are similar in, as the M32UC is a bit of a “different animal”. 4K at 160Hz and KVM are just the tip of the iceberg of what the monitor offers. Read more “Gigabyte M32UC: 4K at 160Hz on curved 32 inches” »

Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX: “Optimized for gaming”

With motherboards, we don’t like to write about “gaming” hardware. They usually have virtually no effect on gaming performance. In this case, however, there is something to the marketing slogan, although not for free, and in some cases the higher performance is paid for by higher power draw in games. However, there are naturally more reasons to care about or, on the contrary, to avoid the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX. Read more “Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX: “Optimized for gaming”” »

Great value for money? Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4

Here we have a test of the latest motherboard, which is designed primarily for the needs of Intel Alder Lake processors. It is also compatible with Raptor Lakes, but most importantly we finally have a tough opponent for the MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4. That board has set the bar really high among the cheaper models. But Gigabyte also has one ace up its sleeve in the low-end segment. The Z690 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard is truly a class act! Read more “Great value for money? Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4” »

At last, a Mini-ITX board with Intel Jasper Lake SoCs. And it is fanless

One of the casualties of chip crisis were the low-power Celeron and Pentium processors of the “Atom” lineage. It’s a year and a half since Intel launched the 10nm Jasper Lake generation with Tremont cores but the supply has likely been insufficient till now, there are virtually no desktop boards for low-power builds. Things seem to be getting better finally and Mini-ITX boards with Jasper Lake are coming. Fanless ones, even. Read more “At last, a Mini-ITX board with Intel Jasper Lake SoCs. And it is fanless” »

Gigabyte Aorus 120 ARGB: Not just stylish, but a proper fan

Gigabyte’s new fan stands out from the crowd of flashy, inefficient PC components. The Aorus 120 ARGB may entice the user with its illuminated rotor, but the features that make a fan a fan don’t play second fiddle either. Although there is still room for tuning and improvement, the Aorus 120 ARGB excels in many ways and beats even competing models from traditional fan manufacturers in some areas of application. Read more “Gigabyte Aorus 120 ARGB: Not just stylish, but a proper fan” »

Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master DDR4: A board both efficient and flashy

Last time, we looked at a motherboard that is suitable for use with cheaper processors thanks to its lower price. Now we have the roughly 50 EUR more expensive Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master DDR4. The premium here has a clear justification and reflects on the better features. The power delivery is significantly more efficient, the heatsinks are more effective, and the features are richer overall, including illumination. Read more “Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master DDR4: A board both efficient and flashy” »

Gigabyte’s B350 and X370 boards get official support for Zen 3

It’s taken over a year, but first generation AM4 boards getting compatibility with B350 and X370 chipsets with AMD’s latest Zen 3 based processors is finally becoming a reality now. AMD hinted earlier this year (non-committally, however) that the previously forbidden ability to upgrade these boards to Ryzen 5000 might be allowed. And now support is indeed making its way to boards from yet another brand – Gigabyte. Read more “Gigabyte’s B350 and X370 boards get official support for Zen 3” »

Gigabyte and MSI B350 & X370 boards support Ryzen 4000/5000

One of the hot topics of last year was AMD not making Zen 3 processors compatible with the first generation of AM4 socket boards, so the 300 series chipsets are out of luck. However, this issue has seen an unexpected development. Last month, a number of 300-generation boards received new BIOSes, enabling official upgrades to newer processors – Ryzen 4000G APUs and, in some cases, even Ryzen 5000s. Read more “Gigabyte and MSI B350 & X370 boards support Ryzen 4000/5000” »

Specs of the first Aorus fans look more than good

Gigabyte will sell the Aorus fans as standalone products. News of this surfaced earlier this summer, at the launch of the new AIO coolers , but now it’s all in black and white. And admittedly, this may not be a “fancier” hardware category (Aorus). The motors have three-phase torque, a lubricant with supposedly superior durability, and finally, the rotor design looks sensible. Read more “Specs of the first Aorus fans look more than good” »

GPU Intel Arc graphic cards produced by Asus, MSI and Gigabyte

As you probably know, graphic cards come in reference editions with Nvidia or AMD-designed coolers, or in so-called non-reference versions with cooler and PCB designed by the producers (e.g. Evga or Sapphire) themselves. Such designs are often quieter and faster (overclocked). According to recent news you can look forward to the same with the upcoming Intel Arc, which will be produced by multiple well-known companies. Read more “GPU Intel Arc graphic cards produced by Asus, MSI and Gigabyte” »

Radeon RX 6600 leaked: still 8 GB, release in a month?

Last month, the cheapest Radeon graphics card with the RDNA 2 architecture, the RX 6600 XT was released with the Navi 23 GPU. But an even cheaper model could be joining it very soon: the vanilla Radeon RX 6600. Official images of the Eagle Edition graphics card have surfaced on the web, which means that presumably, the release date is getting closer. The leak also confirmed that the cards will still have 8 GB of memory. Read more “Radeon RX 6600 leaked: still 8 GB, release in a month?” »

The story of building the exclusive Metro Exodus EE-themed rig

Coincidentally, we’ve got our hands on one extremely interesting project with graphically improved Metro Exodus (Enhanced Edition), which was released relatively recently. Gigabyte and Nvidia have ordered a thematic setup for this game, which has been adopted by TichéPC. And the result? That’s on you to judge. I have admired Gabo’s work for years and now it was finally a good opportunity for a hardware interview. Read more “The story of building the exclusive Metro Exodus EE-themed rig” »

Gigabyte Aorus RTX 3080 Xtreme 10G: 4-slot monster

We have something special for you! We’ve tested the largest GeForce RTX 3080, which is even equipped with its own display. And at least as interesting are also the results with Resizable BAR, which are making their debut in our GeForce graphics card tests, so sit back and get ready for it. Those increases and decreases in performance compared to Radeon are worth it. Read more “Gigabyte Aorus RTX 3080 Xtreme 10G: 4-slot monster” »

Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G: Dual-slot entry-level

At the end of last month, the 60-series GeForce RTX finally came out, which has had high popularity every generation. The RTX 3060 is the cheapest Ampere graphics card so far, and the Gigabyte Eagle (OC) version is also relatively power-efficient. Both in terms of smaller dimensions and relatively lower power draw. However, a detailed analysis is required for the bigger picture, to which we’re inviting you. Read more “Gigabyte RTX 3060 Eagle OC 12G: Dual-slot entry-level” »