BIOS

GIGABYTE's firmware features two primary modes, basic and advanced. Even from the GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Xtreme model which is its flagship X570 board, the firmware throughout the range seems consistent. The GUI of the firmware consists of a black background, orange highlights and white text.

Along the top of the advanced mode is five primary menus including Tweaker, Settings, System Info, Boot, and Save & Exit. The GIGABYTE Aorus BIOS also includes the Smart Fan 5 utility which allows users to create custom fan profiles for the two 4-pin headers onboard, with a Q-Flash utility to allow users to update the board's firmware.

The GIGABYTE Aorus firmware is easy to navigate, with a very basic array of menus and options for users to select from. The firmware itself is responsive and we didn't experience any instability or input lag. Users looking to overclock will find plenty of settings available for tweaking including CPU, power, voltage and memory-related settings. There aren't quite as many overclocking settings as models such as the MSI MEG X570 Godlike, especially in terms of memory latency settings, but the GIGABYTE Aorus firmware looks good and works well.

Software

With many vendors starting to switch from including bundles of software utilities to condensing them into one primary package, GIGABYTE has opted to stick with its usual range of applications for the X570 series. All of the software applications operate around its GIGABYTE App Center utility, with this acting as a general hub not only for GIGABYTE applications but Windows and third-party applications too.

The stand-out applications available on the driver and software installation disc bundled with the X570 I Aorus Pro WIFI include the RGB Fusion 2.0 software, the EasyTune overclocking utility, and the @BIOS software.

GIGABYTE offers users plenty of avenues to update the board's firmware with the @BIOS software, as well as the Q-Flash button which allows users to update the BIOS without a CPU or memory installed in the box. This is a huge plus point for users offering multiple avenues to make system critical firmware updates. The RGB Fusion software gives users the ability to customize RGB LED lighting via a range of different lighting effects, while the EasyTune utility allows users to monitor the system and do overclocking within the software. It's not as extensive as AMD's Ryzen Master utility and doesn't offer as many options as the latter. For those looking to enhance the auditory experience with the integrated Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec, users will need to download the Realtek Audio Control Center direct from the Microsoft store as only the core audio drivers are supplied on disc.

Visual Inspection Board Features, Test Bed and Setup
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  • InTheMidstOfTheInBeforeCrowd - Friday, March 20, 2020 - link

    Oh, i don't doubt that. Even el cheapo fans can stay silent. For the first dozen months or so....
  • ijozic - Friday, March 20, 2020 - link

    IIRC, Asus X570-E doesn't have a chipset heatsink fan. I'd presume there are others, but that's one I've noticed.
  • InTheMidstOfTheInBeforeCrowd - Friday, March 20, 2020 - link

    Now, unfortunately that is neither mATX nor mITX. Also -- and this is obviously totally subjective -- does it feel normal to pay more for a motherboard than, say, for example a Ryzen 7 3700X?
  • evernessince - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link

    Sure, assuming the fan isn't turned off completely. Passive mode exists and what many boards use when you aren't utilizing PCIe 4.0 bandwidth. I also have an old Z78 Sabertooth with an even smaller fan that's still perfectly functioning. Now that is a board built to last. In the end the quality of the fan really matters.
  • InTheMidstOfTheInBeforeCrowd - Friday, March 20, 2020 - link

    Yeah, this can work for people that build an entirely new system, thus being able to select components such CPU cooler and or GPU and a mobo with an acceptable layout (with regard to the placement of the chipset hub) so that they don't spatially interfere with each other.
    Unfortunately, i am intending to do an upgrade of an existing system instead of building a completely new one from scratch, and i intend to keep my GPU and CPU cooler. Both are too fat (wide/long) and are not leaving enough room for any passive chipset heatsink of any meaningful size :( (Form factor in my case is mATX or smaller. ATX and E(-peen)-ATX are not under consideration.)
  • PeachNCream - Friday, March 20, 2020 - link

    I have to agree with you, moreso on the chipset fan than anything else. It feels like a significant step backwards to see them on motherboards and speaks of immature technology behind PCIe 4.0 to be in a state that the higher bandwidth bus requires active cooling.
  • evernessince - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link

    It's in all the next gen consoles. I wouldn't call that immature.
  • PeachNCream - Sunday, March 22, 2020 - link

    And what sort of cooling do they have inside of them?
  • Cashmoney995 - Thursday, March 19, 2020 - link

    I currently cannot find an x570 Micro board with SP/DIF...still rocking my Z5500's from over a decade ago...Plenty of B450 board with this port, so wonder if this is a concious decision to segment the purchasers.
  • supdawgwtfd - Thursday, March 19, 2020 - link

    That interface is basically dead.

    Anything better than DVD provides better sound than it is capable of.

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