Introduction and Technical Specifications
The AX370-Gaming 5 is among GIGABYTE’s performance offerings for the AMD Ryzen CPU with a plethora of integrated offerings making for a compelling solution…
Introduction
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
The GIGABYTE AX370-Gaming 5 board features a matte black PCB with with a white armor overlay protecting the rear panel and audio components. In line with their AORUS Intel boards, GIGABYTE spread RGB LEDs throughout the board's surface, configurable via the UEFI or the windows app. The board supports the AMD Ryzen processor line and Dual Channel DDR4 memory via the AMD X370 chipset. The AX370-Gaming 5 motherboard can be found at most retailers with an MRSP of $194.99
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
The following features have been integrated into the board: four SATA III 6Gbps ports; two SATA-Express ports; an M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 32Gbps capable port; a U.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 32Gbps capable port; dual RJ-45 ports featuring an Intel I211-AT Gigabit NIC and a Rivet Networks Killer E2500 NIC; three PCI-Express x16 slots; three PCI-Express x1 slots; dual Realtek audio CODECs; an integrated HDMI video port; and USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 Type-A and Type-C port support.
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
To power the board, GIGABYTE integrated integrated a 10-phase (6+4) digital power delivery system into the AX370-Gaming 5 board's design. The digital power system was designed with IR digital power controllers and PowIRstage ICs, Server Level Chokes, and Durable Black capacitors. The power components used are the same as those used to great effect on their AORUS Intel boards.
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
GIGABYTE integrated a variety of fan headers and temperature sensors into the board They integrated temperature sensors into the CPU socket, VRMs, and chipset. Additionally, there are monitored fan headers spread throughout the board's surface, all supporting high current devices (fans or water pumps), rated for up to 24W (2A at 12V).
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
GIGABYTE integrated multiple zones of RGB LEDs into the board's surface, including the audio chipset PCB line, around the primary and secondary PCIe x16 slots, around the Chokes, in between the memory slots, and underneath the chipset cooler. The LEDs can be configured in up to six pre-configured operation modes or configured for independent operation using the Advanced mode. GIGABYTE supports LED configuration via the UEFI or the RGB Fusion Windows applet.
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
The board's rear panel contains the following integrated ports: a hybrid PS/2 port, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and 3.1 ports, an Intel I211-AT RJ-45 GigE port, a Rivet Networks Killer E2500 RJ-45 GigE port, an HDMI video port, and both digital and analogue audio ports.
Technical Specifications (taken from the GIGABYTE website)
CPU | AMD Ryzen™ processor AMD 7th Generation A-series / Athlon™ processor (Please refer "CPU Support List" for more information.) |
Chipset | AMD X370 |
Memory | 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory * Due to a Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than the size of the physical memory installed. Dual channel memory architecture Support for DDR4 3200(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2667* / 2400 / 2133 MHz memory modules * Support for higher than DDR4 2667 MHz may vary by CPU. Support for ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8 / 2Rx8 memory modules Support for non-ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8 / 2Rx8 / 1Rx16 memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules (Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.) |
Onboard Graphics | Integrated Graphics Processor: 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160@24 Hz * Support for HDMI 1.4 version. Maximum shared memory of 2 GB * Actual support may vary by CPU. |
Audio | 2 x Realtek® ALC1220 codecs Support for Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5 High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out |
LAN | 1 x Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) (LAN1) 1 x Rivet Networks Killer™ E2500 LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) (LAN2) * Teaming is not supported. |
Expansion Slots | 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. * Actual support may vary by CPU. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot operates at up to x8 mode. * Actual support may vary by CPU. (The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) * The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with all of the PCI Express x1 slots. The PCIEX4 slot operates at up to x4 mode when all of the PCI Express x1 slots are empty. 3 x PCI Express x1 slots * All of the PCI Express x1 slots share bandwidth with the PCIEX4 slot. The PCIEX4/PCIEX1_2/PCIEX1_3 slot operates at up to x1 mode when the PCIEX1_1 slot is populated; the PCIEX4 slot operates at up to x2 mode when the PCIEX1_2/PCIEX1_3 slot is populated. (The PCIEX4 and PCI Express x1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.) |
Storage Interface | 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242 / 2260 / 2280 / 22110 SATA and PCIe x4* / x2 SSD support) * Actual support may vary by CPU. 1 x U.2 connector * When the U.2 connector is populated, the M.2 connector becomes unavailable. 2 x SATA Express connectors 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10 * Refer to "1-8 Internal Connectors," for the installation notices for the M.2 and SATA connectors. |
Multi-Graphics Technology | Support for NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ and 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ technologies Support for AMD Quad-GPU CrossFire™ and 3-Way AMD CrossFire™ technologies * Actual support may vary by CPU. |
USB | Chipset+ASMedia® USB 3.1 Gen 2 Controller: 1 x USB Type-C™ port on the back panel, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A port (red) on the back panel Chipset: 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) on the back panel 6 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers) 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (available through the internal USB headers) CPU: 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports on the back panel |
Internal I/O Connectors | 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector 1 x U.2 connector 1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector 2 x SATA Express connectors 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x CPU fan header 1 x water cooling CPU fan header 4 x system fan headers 2 x system fan/water cooling pump headers 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x S/PDIF Out header 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header 1 x CPU cooler LED strip/RGB LED strip extension cable header 1 x RGB (RGBW) LED strip extension cable header 2 x temperature sensor headers 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 1 x power button 1 x reset button 1 x Clear CMOS button 1 x OC button 2 x BIOS switches |
Back Panel Connectors | 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port 1 x HDMI port 1 x USB Type-C™ port, with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) 6 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports 2 x RJ-45 ports 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5 x audio jacks (Center / Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In) |
I/O Controller | iTE® I/O Controller Chip |
H/W Monitoring | Voltage detection Temperature detection Fan speed detection Overheating warning Fan fail warning Fan speed control * Whether the fan (pump) speed control function is supported will depend on the fan (pump) you install. |
BIOS | 2 x 128 Mbit flash Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS Support for DualBIOS™ PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0 |
Unique Features | Support for APP Center * Available applications in APP Center may vary by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also vary depending on motherboard specifications.
Support for Xpress Install |
Bundle Software | Norton® Internet Security (OEM version) |
Operating System | Support for Windows 10 64-bit Support for Windows 7 64-bit * Please download the "Windows USB Installation Tool" from GIGABYTE's website and install it before installing Windows 7. |
Form Factor | ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm |
This motherboard is lacking
This motherboard is lacking the clock generator found on both K5 and K7 which would limit some memory overclocking. If possible test either of those motherboards for memory overclocking on ryzen.
Yeah it lacks the bclk but I
Yeah it lacks the bclk but I have no problem with my r5 1600 to run at 3.95 and the memory to run 3200 ( enabled the XMP and it works , no problems what so ever ) and this is the top in the spec sheet so I consider it a win 🙂
Great review thank you.
This
Great review thank you.
This looks like a very nice board for those looking to get into the Ryzen platform and it seems to overclock very good as well.
Finally, I saw a Handbrake
Finally, I saw a Handbrake v1.0.7. I’m not a Gigabyte fan, but this motherboard is not too shabby at all.
Weaknesses;
M.2 placement below the PCIe x16 which can build up heat.
Lousy UEFIs bios.
https://www.win-raid.com/t2739f44-OFFER-Gigabyte-GA-AX-Aorus-Gaming-BIOS-mod.html
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?293203-Gigabyte-Aorus-X370-Gaming-5-Review