Gigabyte presents the Aorus X299 Gaming motherboard specifically designed for Kaby Lake-X CPUs
Intel released the Kaby Lake-X i7-7740X and i5-7640X CPUs back in July, and reviewers were quick to point out that they are not worth buying a new expensive X299 motherboard. The new processors lack the integrated GPU and would utilize only half of the available PCI-E lanes, plus only four of eight memory DIMM slots would be used. Gigabyte noticed these problems and now presents the first motherboard specifically designed for Kaby Lake-X processors – the Aorus X299 Gaming.
First apparent feature is the inclusion of only 4 DIMM modules that can support up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4-4133 RAM. The motherboard supports 3-way SLI or Crossfire configurations, integrates two M.2 storage slots and offers Intel Optane Memory compatibility. Other features include:
• ATX form factor
• 8 x SATA 6Gbps
• Intel GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
• Realtek ALC1220 HD Audio codec
• 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A
10 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports
4 x USB 2.0/1.1
• built-in temperature sensors
• hybrid fan headers and water pump connectors
• RGB LEDs controllable through the RGB Fusion software
• Smart Fan 5 software
Pricing and availability information is not yet available, but, considering the Kaby Lake-X CPUs are marketed as mid-range products, the Aorus X299 Gaming would probably fit in the US$150 price range.
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