New 2023 Gigabyte Z790 Motherboard Line-up - 14th Gen Ready
### Article: A Comprehensive Review of Gigabyte's Z790 Motherboards for Intel's 14th Generation CPUs
#### Introduction
In this video, we take a detailed look at four different Z790 motherboards from Gigabyte, designed for Intel's latest 14th generation CPUs. While the 14th gen processors are essentially a refresh of the 13th gen lineup, they bring some new features and improvements that make upgrading tempting. If you already own a compatible 1700 socket motherboard, there’s no urgent need to upgrade, especially since Intel's newer CPUs aren’t significantly better than their predecessors for most users. However, if you’re considering an upgrade from an older system, the new motherboards from Gigabyte offer some compelling features that might pique your interest. We’ll compare these boards against Asus models covered in a previous video.
#### The Elite X Wi-Fi 7: A Solid Foundation
We start with the **Gigabyte Z790 Orus Elite X Wi-Fi 7**, the most basic model in the lineup. This motherboard features four M.2 slots, all of which are covered by heat sinks. Unlike Asus, who introduced small M.2 latches to simplify SSD installation, Gigabyte took this a step further by making their heat sinks tool-free, a feature that enhances user convenience.
The Elite X Wi-Fi 7 includes one Gen 5 expansion slot with reinforced construction and an enlarged latch for easier GPU removal, along with two additional Gen 4 slots connected to the chipset. The motherboard offers six fan headers, three addressable RGB headers, two internal USB 2.0 headers, one internal USB 3.0 header, and a 10 GB USB-C header for front panel connectivity. The integrated I/O shield provides 10 USB ports, including a 20 GB port, a 2.5 GB LAN connection, and Wi-Fi 7 support.
Despite its robust features, the Elite X misses some enthusiast-focused elements like a hex display or physical buttons. All M.2 slots are Gen 4, meaning you can’t take full advantage of Gen 5 SSDs. The power delivery is impressive for everyday use, with 1690 amp power stages capable of handling an Intel i9-4900K with some overclocking headroom.
#### Pro X: Enhancing the Basics
Next up is the **Gigabyte Z790 Orus Pro X**, which introduces a sleek silver-white design with a matching PCB, perfect for light-themed builds. This model builds on the Elite X's foundation, adding features like five M.2 slots (two more than the Elite X), all heat-synced and supporting Gen 5 SSDs for the top slot.
The Pro X offers eight fan headers, an internal Type-C header upgraded to 20 Gbps, and an internal USB Type-C connector with DisplayPort support, catering to users of taller cases like the Height y60. The rear I/O remains unchanged from the Elite X but includes faster USB ports and a 5 GB Ethernet connection.
Compared to Asus' Z790-A WiFi, the Pro X holds its own with similar features but offers better VRMs and slightly more competitive pricing for enthusiasts looking for a white PCB option.
#### Master X: A High-End Offering
The **Gigabyte Z790 Orus Master X** represents Gigabyte's high-end offering without going overboard. This extended ATX board boasts five M.2 slots, including Gen 5 support, all heat-synced, and a premium build with a backplate for daily handling.
Power delivery is top-tier with 20+105 AMP power stages, supported by a robust heatsink and fan setup. The Master X includes a hex display, physical buttons, and voltage measuring points, making it an excellent choice for enthusiasts. The rear I/O offers 14 USB ports, two 20 GB connectors, and dual Gigabit LAN with a 10 Gbps option.
While pricing is steep at around $1300 (about $1000 without taxes in the US), the Master X delivers on features and aesthetics, though it may not justify its price for most users looking for a future-proof investment.
#### Extreme X: A Showcase of Excess
Finally, the **Gigabyte Z790 Orus Extreme X** pushes boundaries with an eye-catching design. Hiding all cables neatly under the board, it features a massive display and dual Thunderbolt ports. However, its $11,000 price tag makes it impractical for most users, especially since Z790 boards won’t support future CPU generations.
#### Conclusion
Gigabyte has done an excellent job enhancing their Z790 lineup, offering boards that cater to various user needs and budgets. The **Elite X Wi-Fi 7** is a great choice for budget-conscious buyers with plenty of features, while the **Pro X** offers more value for those seeking a white PCB option. The **Master X** provides top-tier performance but at a high cost, and the **Extreme X** serves as a showcase piece rather than a practical purchase.
For most users, the Elite X should suffice unless you require specific features like 10 Gbps connectivity or Thunderbolt support. As always, ensure your case can accommodate the size and layout of the chosen motherboard before making a purchase.
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*This video was brought to you by Corsair and their Virtuoso Pro gaming headset, offering excellent sound quality and comfort.*
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enin this video I'm going to look at four different z790 motherboards from gigabyte uh that are made for Intel's brand new 14th generation of CPUs now 14th gen is just a refresh of the 13 generation of processors so uh if you already own a 1700 socket motherboard you don't really need to get a new one and to be honest you probably shouldn't be buying a new CPU anyways but new motherboards do get some nice new features and improvements that might be very interesting to some of you and then especially so if you're upgrading from something that is a bit older so let's see what gigabyte came out with in this generation and how these motherboards compared to the Asus models that I covered in a previous video let's begin I have four different models right here so I'm going to start with the most basic one uh which is the z790 orus elite X Wi-Fi 7 and then I'm going to work my way down the stack to the most expensive one because just like every other brand uh gigabyte just adds on features with every step up in price price they make the z790 orus elite X wifi 7 comes with four m.2 slots and all of them are covered with a heat sink and while isus was the first brand to add little m.2 latches to save you from having to bother with those tiny SSD screws gigabyte here went a step further and made all the heat sinks tool us as well it is such a simple little thing but it makes a big difference when you need to add or replace an SSD you get one Gen 5 expansion slot that is reinforced first and it comes with a larger latch for easier GPU removal and you get two more Gen 4 expansion slots that are connected to the chipset it comes with six fan headers which is a bit lower than on some other boards uh you get three addressable RGB headers two internal USB 2.0 headers an internal USB 3.0 header and a 10 GB USBC header for the front panel of your case the io Shield is integrated and there you get 10 USB ports including it 20 GB one 2.5 GB Lan and Wi-Fi 7 the audio solution is also fine with an ALC 1220 chip and an optical out as well now this board does Miss some of the proper Enthusiast features like a hex display and physical buttons and the m.2 slots are all Gen 4 so you cannot really benefit from Gen 5 ssds on the vrm side gigabyte upgraded to 1690 amp power stages for the VOR with large heat sinks on top of them so this is going to be more than enough if you want to go for an i 94900 k and then even with a bit of an overclock on it though if you want to do some extreme overclocking I would still wait for some proper vrm testing but realistically uh very few people will actually need more than this and this motherboard should be enough for pretty much any gaming rig you have in mind price-wise this should cost less than the Asus Stu gaming z790 Pro and for for the most part they are pretty comparable but there are also some differences that I want to mention so this Elite X gets you one more m.2 slot it has heat sinks on all ssds uh the SSD mounting is completely tool-free it gets you six instead of four SATA ports and Wi-Fi 7 instead of 6E and you get 10 USB ports instead of eight on the rear I/O the tough on the other hand has one more fan header and it has 20 GB internal type-c connector if your case supports that but that is pretty much it so I really do think that gigabyte is doing a better job at offering more features in this lower tier of motherboards next in line is the z790 orus Pro X and with this model we're finally seeing a proper silver white motherboard so it's not just white covers on a black PCB it has a matching PCB as well now this will go great with lighter builds as well as gigabytes own AO graphics card uh which is what I use in my Cooler Master Cube 500 build for example the Pro X pretty much Builds on the elite X in terms of features and the only exception is the number of SATA ports which goes from six to four on this port but the rest is either the same or better you get five m.2 nbme slots with all of them being uh two less and heat synced and this time around the top slot does support gen five ssds if you want to go that way there are eight fan headers and the internal type-c header is upgraded to 20 gbit you also get an internal USB type-c connector with display port support which is meant to make it easier to connect those extra displays that are used in some cases like the height y60 for example you still get 10 USB ports on the rear iio including a 20 GB one but you get more faster ones than on the elite X and the ethernet is now 5 GB instead of 2.5 the power delivery gets a little upgrade as well going up to $189 90 AMP power stages for the V cor which is again more than enough but you're still missing the hex display and physical buttons this board nicely competes with the Asus Stak z790 a uh they Shoulda the same they both have white heat sinks but Asus doesn't have a white PCB they're very similar in terms of features like SSD support fan headers other internal headers and even the rear I/O now Asus offers a slightly better audio chip and two more USB two ports on the back while gigabyte offers slightly better vrms and 5 gbit ethernet but the rest is basically the same so it will either come down to Brand preference or just visuals and I do think that if you're going for a white build having that matching PCB helps the Pro X Stand Out just a bit more in my opinion now next up is the z790 orus master X and this is gigabytes proper high-end board without going too extreme it is a large extended ATX board so do keep that in mind with your case choice and it has pretty much everything that you would expect it does come with a hex display physical buttons ridiculously Overkill vrms with 20 105 amp power stages supported by a heat pipe and a proper F heat sink it has a back plate on the back for anyone handling their board on a daily basis it has a proper GPU removal button and voltage measuring point so this is a proper hobby motherboard you get five m.2 slots including a Gen 5 option uh they're all heat synced it has three addressable RGB headers and two USB 2.0 headers but here you get 10 fan headers and two internal USB 3. o headers for cases that come with four USB 3 ports on the front the rear I/O is also very impressive uh 14 USB ports total including two 20 GB ones and 7 10 GB ones and here we get a proper 10 GB ethernet as well now it is a bit harder to compare this motherboard directly to the competition the strict z790 is a bit cheaper but it really doesn't compare in terms of vrms rear IO and so on the dark hero feels a bit closer to this board but uh even though it adds a thunderbolt a second internal type-c and some headers for custom Loops it also costs a lot more now dark hero has fewer USB ports and it doesn't have 10 GB land so seeing a motherboard as complete as the master X that costs a lot less than the dark hero does make it look way more attractive in my opinion which isn't something that I can say for the z790 orus extreme X I mean it looks absolutely fantastic but before you get too excited it is important to remember that this motherboard costs $1300 which is about $1,000 without taxes in the US and spending a small small fortune on a z790 motherboard uh which will probably not support the next generation of CPUs doesn't make any sense whatsoever but this was also never meant to be sensible and the main reason this board exists is that gigabytes can show off what they can do without having to worry about cost or having to worry about reason for that matter and most of that effort has gone into making it look much cleaner than your average motherboard most connectors are are completely hidden to the side and accessible through adapter cabl so there are no visible cables at the bottom at all and the top cables have a cover over them plus they added a really large display to make it stand out even more in terms of features it does add a few things on top of the master so a power delivery goes even more extreme with 24 power stages for the VC cor alone there's a second USB type-c connector for the front panel and the rear I/O now includes a dual dual ethernet including a 10 gbit one as well as two Thunderbolt ports and to be honest uh those features might justify another $100 is premium overd Master X but they definitely don't justify doubling its price so this clearly is just a showcase board but uh even if you had way too much money to spend you probably shouldn't spend it on an over $11,000 z790 motherboard nevertheless every brand needs to have a flagship model to show off what they can do and uh we will probably see some of the more interesting features that are experimental now uh make their way to the mainstream boards in the future because personally I would definitely like to see other uh more reasonable models with a focus on hiding cables completely anyway like I said in my previous motherboard video uh most of these boards do look great in terms of what they can offer but they're also very very expensive so Street pricing might end up looking a bit better eventually but for now a gigabyte only has one new board that is under $400 or dollars and that is a lot of money I really do wish we got some new motherboards that are just fine instead of being more or less an overkill for most users so if you want a cheaper motherboard today you will have to look at cheaper chipsets like the b660 or the b760 for example but if you want a z790 board anyway the elite X should be more than enough for most users it has become so feature complete that unless you really need some specific thing for your specific use case you really don't need to spend more than what this one costs it might be the lowest option of these four right here but it really is a solid board with decent vrms and plenty of connections for most of you out there I also think the orus Pro X is making a very good case for itself as well it does cost a bit more but but it gets you that unique PCB color scheme plus it adds some features that some of you might find compelling like another m.2 slots faster USB ports 5 gbit ethernet 20 GB USB for your front panel or that internal type-c display port header again most of you don't really need to spend another €90 just for those features if you're not going to use them but at least it doesn't feel like they're trying to overcharge you just for a different color scheme on the high-end side I would say that the master X is very expensive but so are the high-end motherboards from other brands as well and as I said before I really do feel like gigabyte did a good job at adding a lot of features to make sure that you basically get everything you might ever want while making a sue seem a bit cheap for not having 10 GB options in this generation and this isn't a board that most of you will really need uh but if you decide that you want all the bells and whistles it does get you a whole lot so while being expensive I would say gigabyte is doing very well when it comes to actually offering you a good amount of features for your money and I think I made my opinion on the orus extreme X pretty clear so I'm not going to repeat myself now that is all I had for today but before I go let's hear it from the sponsor of this video this video is brought to you by Corsair and their virtuoso Pro gaming headset with its open back design and 50 mm graphic drivers it offers an excellent sound quality in Games movies as well as music it is very light and extremely comfortable and you can easily adjust it to very small as well as very large heads you can also easily replace the cables uh ear pads headband and covers making repairs and maintenance easier than ever check them out using the links in the description below that's it for today uh please let me know if you have any questions about these motherboards and if you like this sort of content please do consider clicking that subscribe button so you never miss my future uploads thank you all for watching and I will see you in the next one byein this video I'm going to look at four different z790 motherboards from gigabyte uh that are made for Intel's brand new 14th generation of CPUs now 14th gen is just a refresh of the 13 generation of processors so uh if you already own a 1700 socket motherboard you don't really need to get a new one and to be honest you probably shouldn't be buying a new CPU anyways but new motherboards do get some nice new features and improvements that might be very interesting to some of you and then especially so if you're upgrading from something that is a bit older so let's see what gigabyte came out with in this generation and how these motherboards compared to the Asus models that I covered in a previous video let's begin I have four different models right here so I'm going to start with the most basic one uh which is the z790 orus elite X Wi-Fi 7 and then I'm going to work my way down the stack to the most expensive one because just like every other brand uh gigabyte just adds on features with every step up in price price they make the z790 orus elite X wifi 7 comes with four m.2 slots and all of them are covered with a heat sink and while isus was the first brand to add little m.2 latches to save you from having to bother with those tiny SSD screws gigabyte here went a step further and made all the heat sinks tool us as well it is such a simple little thing but it makes a big difference when you need to add or replace an SSD you get one Gen 5 expansion slot that is reinforced first and it comes with a larger latch for easier GPU removal and you get two more Gen 4 expansion slots that are connected to the chipset it comes with six fan headers which is a bit lower than on some other boards uh you get three addressable RGB headers two internal USB 2.0 headers an internal USB 3.0 header and a 10 GB USBC header for the front panel of your case the io Shield is integrated and there you get 10 USB ports including it 20 GB one 2.5 GB Lan and Wi-Fi 7 the audio solution is also fine with an ALC 1220 chip and an optical out as well now this board does Miss some of the proper Enthusiast features like a hex display and physical buttons and the m.2 slots are all Gen 4 so you cannot really benefit from Gen 5 ssds on the vrm side gigabyte upgraded to 1690 amp power stages for the VOR with large heat sinks on top of them so this is going to be more than enough if you want to go for an i 94900 k and then even with a bit of an overclock on it though if you want to do some extreme overclocking I would still wait for some proper vrm testing but realistically uh very few people will actually need more than this and this motherboard should be enough for pretty much any gaming rig you have in mind price-wise this should cost less than the Asus Stu gaming z790 Pro and for for the most part they are pretty comparable but there are also some differences that I want to mention so this Elite X gets you one more m.2 slot it has heat sinks on all ssds uh the SSD mounting is completely tool-free it gets you six instead of four SATA ports and Wi-Fi 7 instead of 6E and you get 10 USB ports instead of eight on the rear I/O the tough on the other hand has one more fan header and it has 20 GB internal type-c connector if your case supports that but that is pretty much it so I really do think that gigabyte is doing a better job at offering more features in this lower tier of motherboards next in line is the z790 orus Pro X and with this model we're finally seeing a proper silver white motherboard so it's not just white covers on a black PCB it has a matching PCB as well now this will go great with lighter builds as well as gigabytes own AO graphics card uh which is what I use in my Cooler Master Cube 500 build for example the Pro X pretty much Builds on the elite X in terms of features and the only exception is the number of SATA ports which goes from six to four on this port but the rest is either the same or better you get five m.2 nbme slots with all of them being uh two less and heat synced and this time around the top slot does support gen five ssds if you want to go that way there are eight fan headers and the internal type-c header is upgraded to 20 gbit you also get an internal USB type-c connector with display port support which is meant to make it easier to connect those extra displays that are used in some cases like the height y60 for example you still get 10 USB ports on the rear iio including a 20 GB one but you get more faster ones than on the elite X and the ethernet is now 5 GB instead of 2.5 the power delivery gets a little upgrade as well going up to $189 90 AMP power stages for the V cor which is again more than enough but you're still missing the hex display and physical buttons this board nicely competes with the Asus Stak z790 a uh they Shoulda the same they both have white heat sinks but Asus doesn't have a white PCB they're very similar in terms of features like SSD support fan headers other internal headers and even the rear I/O now Asus offers a slightly better audio chip and two more USB two ports on the back while gigabyte offers slightly better vrms and 5 gbit ethernet but the rest is basically the same so it will either come down to Brand preference or just visuals and I do think that if you're going for a white build having that matching PCB helps the Pro X Stand Out just a bit more in my opinion now next up is the z790 orus master X and this is gigabytes proper high-end board without going too extreme it is a large extended ATX board so do keep that in mind with your case choice and it has pretty much everything that you would expect it does come with a hex display physical buttons ridiculously Overkill vrms with 20 105 amp power stages supported by a heat pipe and a proper F heat sink it has a back plate on the back for anyone handling their board on a daily basis it has a proper GPU removal button and voltage measuring point so this is a proper hobby motherboard you get five m.2 slots including a Gen 5 option uh they're all heat synced it has three addressable RGB headers and two USB 2.0 headers but here you get 10 fan headers and two internal USB 3. o headers for cases that come with four USB 3 ports on the front the rear I/O is also very impressive uh 14 USB ports total including two 20 GB ones and 7 10 GB ones and here we get a proper 10 GB ethernet as well now it is a bit harder to compare this motherboard directly to the competition the strict z790 is a bit cheaper but it really doesn't compare in terms of vrms rear IO and so on the dark hero feels a bit closer to this board but uh even though it adds a thunderbolt a second internal type-c and some headers for custom Loops it also costs a lot more now dark hero has fewer USB ports and it doesn't have 10 GB land so seeing a motherboard as complete as the master X that costs a lot less than the dark hero does make it look way more attractive in my opinion which isn't something that I can say for the z790 orus extreme X I mean it looks absolutely fantastic but before you get too excited it is important to remember that this motherboard costs $1300 which is about $1,000 without taxes in the US and spending a small small fortune on a z790 motherboard uh which will probably not support the next generation of CPUs doesn't make any sense whatsoever but this was also never meant to be sensible and the main reason this board exists is that gigabytes can show off what they can do without having to worry about cost or having to worry about reason for that matter and most of that effort has gone into making it look much cleaner than your average motherboard most connectors are are completely hidden to the side and accessible through adapter cabl so there are no visible cables at the bottom at all and the top cables have a cover over them plus they added a really large display to make it stand out even more in terms of features it does add a few things on top of the master so a power delivery goes even more extreme with 24 power stages for the VC cor alone there's a second USB type-c connector for the front panel and the rear I/O now includes a dual dual ethernet including a 10 gbit one as well as two Thunderbolt ports and to be honest uh those features might justify another $100 is premium overd Master X but they definitely don't justify doubling its price so this clearly is just a showcase board but uh even if you had way too much money to spend you probably shouldn't spend it on an over $11,000 z790 motherboard nevertheless every brand needs to have a flagship model to show off what they can do and uh we will probably see some of the more interesting features that are experimental now uh make their way to the mainstream boards in the future because personally I would definitely like to see other uh more reasonable models with a focus on hiding cables completely anyway like I said in my previous motherboard video uh most of these boards do look great in terms of what they can offer but they're also very very expensive so Street pricing might end up looking a bit better eventually but for now a gigabyte only has one new board that is under $400 or dollars and that is a lot of money I really do wish we got some new motherboards that are just fine instead of being more or less an overkill for most users so if you want a cheaper motherboard today you will have to look at cheaper chipsets like the b660 or the b760 for example but if you want a z790 board anyway the elite X should be more than enough for most users it has become so feature complete that unless you really need some specific thing for your specific use case you really don't need to spend more than what this one costs it might be the lowest option of these four right here but it really is a solid board with decent vrms and plenty of connections for most of you out there I also think the orus Pro X is making a very good case for itself as well it does cost a bit more but but it gets you that unique PCB color scheme plus it adds some features that some of you might find compelling like another m.2 slots faster USB ports 5 gbit ethernet 20 GB USB for your front panel or that internal type-c display port header again most of you don't really need to spend another €90 just for those features if you're not going to use them but at least it doesn't feel like they're trying to overcharge you just for a different color scheme on the high-end side I would say that the master X is very expensive but so are the high-end motherboards from other brands as well and as I said before I really do feel like gigabyte did a good job at adding a lot of features to make sure that you basically get everything you might ever want while making a sue seem a bit cheap for not having 10 GB options in this generation and this isn't a board that most of you will really need uh but if you decide that you want all the bells and whistles it does get you a whole lot so while being expensive I would say gigabyte is doing very well when it comes to actually offering you a good amount of features for your money and I think I made my opinion on the orus extreme X pretty clear so I'm not going to repeat myself now that is all I had for today but before I go let's hear it from the sponsor of this video this video is brought to you by Corsair and their virtuoso Pro gaming headset with its open back design and 50 mm graphic drivers it offers an excellent sound quality in Games movies as well as music it is very light and extremely comfortable and you can easily adjust it to very small as well as very large heads you can also easily replace the cables uh ear pads headband and covers making repairs and maintenance easier than ever check them out using the links in the description below that's it for today uh please let me know if you have any questions about these motherboards and if you like this sort of content please do consider clicking that subscribe button so you never miss my future uploads thank you all for watching and I will see you in the next one bye\n"