The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Gavin Bonshor on July 9, 2019 8:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE X570 Aorus Ultra
The GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Ultra sits in between the X570 Aorus Master ($359) and the X570 Aorus Pro WIFI ($269) in its current product stack. The X570 Aorus Ultra is however more similar to the X570 Aorus Pro WIFI in terms of feature set with a Realtek ALC1220-VB audio codec, an Intel I211-AT Gigabit NIC, while it shares the same three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots as its more expensive brother in the X570 Aorus Ultra. This model essentially takes some features from both the board above and below in the product stack.
There are three full-length PCIe 4.0 slots which run at x16, x8/x8, and x8/x8/x4. This means the X570 Aorus Ultra has support for two-way NVIDIA SLI and up to three-way AMD CrossFire multi-graphics card configurations. Also present is two PCIe 4.0 x1 slots, while the board also benefits from three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots which each comes with its own individual heatsink. For users not adopting M.2, there are six SATA ports which have support for RAID 0, 1 and 10 arrays. The four memory slots include support for DDR4-4400 and with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB. The aesthetics aren't as overbearing as the X570 Aorus Xtreme, but the rear panel cover which extends down to cover the audio PCB does feature integrated RGB LEDs.
On the rear panel is two USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 G2 Type-C, three USB 3.1 G1 Type-A and four USB 2.0 ports. A set of antenna ports for the Intel AX200 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface are present, and the single Ethernet port is controlled by an Intel I211-AT Gigabit NIC. The five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are controlled by a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec, while a single HDMI output is featured for users to use Ryzen APUs with integrated graphics.
The GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Ultra as previously mentioned takes shades from both the model below and above with the three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots of the X570 Aorus Master while keeping the same 12+2 phase power delivery of the X570 Aorus Pro WIFI model. With an MSRP of $299, the GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Ultra doesn't include a premium NIC and for the extra $30, the X570 Aorus Master does seem to offer its worth. Users do however have the choice to run with two PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, and the GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Pro WIFI at $269 for $30 less is also an option.
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Tunnah - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
I really love how advanced motherboards are nowadays. I can pick up the most "basic" model and it'll cover everything I need, and even include stuff I won't. Gone are the days frantically trying to find a motherboard that ticks all the boxes for even the most basic of needs.Plus having such a competent board as my soon-to-be secondary system means I can leave all my drives in that and put it in a nice quiet place. I'm fairly certain the 8 HDDs in this one are what caused my tinnitus :/
Jansen - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
The ASUS Pro WS X570-Ace has officially validated ECC support. This is a really big deal, as Ryzen has usually only had unofficial ECC support. It opens up a whole other revenue steam for AMD that Intel has deliberately cut off in order to drive Xeon sales.Micron is ramping up its 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 ECC modules MTA18ADF2G72AZ-3G2 specifically for this market.
JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
I'd much sooner get a Ryzen platform for their value and unbuffered ECC support for an upgrade for my NAS box running FreeNAS, but it's well documented that FreeBSD still has teething issues with Ryzen chips, scheduling, and overall reliability... FreeBSD is what powers FreeNAS OS.So I'm kind of stuck with Intel workstations/server CPUs and ECC ram for a FreeBSD machine (assuming I don't want to do the legwork of trying to get it stable first, and even so, I may not always have the same stability that mature FreeBSD+Intel support...)
I'll very likely be moving to Ryzen for my main PC, though.
quorm - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
I agree with the general sentiment. Core i3 is another option if you don't need a lot of cpu power.teldar - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
I used a ryzen 1600 for my bad. Rock solid after updating board bios.danjw - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
I built a file server on Ubuntu Server. You might try that.BillC - Saturday, October 31, 2020 - link
You might want to check out Open Media Vault which uses Debian Linux for the OS, it can be installed as a NAS only installation or on top of the full Debian OS.spikebike - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Wow, pricey board. Sad that AMD handles ECC in such a half assed way. Intel's price premium for low end servers is approximately $0. Xeon E3's were priced very similarly or even cheaper to the similar desktop parts. In particular the cheapest hyperthreading E3 was often cheaper than the cheapest i3/i5/i7 with 4 cores/8 threads. Similar with the HEDT, the intel premium for a better socket/additional memory busses is much less than the low end Eypc/Threadripper.So you either have the luck of the draw trying to buy a reliable AMD with ECC (not just physically compatible, but actually corrects memory errors), or you pay a substantial price premium.
Aikouka - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
ASRock Rack has a Ryzen motherboard that officially supports ECC and also has IPMI support (X470D4U). They're also developing a Threadripper variant of their Epyc server board that has IPMI support, but it uses the X370 chipset.cascadehealthcare - Tuesday, August 13, 2019 - link
Authorized seller of thousands of top-quality medical products, supplies and equipment at a competitive price. We have online presence that serves the needs of Assisted Living Homes, Nursing Facilities, Hospitals, Government Agencies, Schools and Military Locations across the country. Cascade Healthcare Solutions was founded on the premise of helping our customers save money and making their buying experience as smooth as possible.Authorized seller of thousands of top-quality medical products, supplies and equipment at a competitive price. We have online presence that serves the needs of Assisted Living Homes, Nursing Facilities, Hospitals, Government Agencies, Schools and Military Locations across the country. Cascade Healthcare Solutions was founded on the premise of helping our customers save money and making their buying experience as smooth as possible.
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