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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