Intel has released its 14th Generation desktop processors. The "Raptor Lake Refresh" chips don't represent an all-new architecture but a refinement of their 13th Gen predecessors, with slightly higher boost clock speeds and support for DDR5-6000 versus DDR5-5600 memory. Motherboard manufacturers are ready, willing, and able to support the new CPUs—and throwing in the latest Wi-Fi 7 networking while they're at it. That brings us to the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite X Wi-Fi 7, an updated version of the Aorus Elite Wi-Fi for customers who don't want to fuss with the BIOS flashing process to upgrade older motherboards (it's easy, really). The new motherboard isn't cheap at $299.99—Gigabyte has more affordable alternatives such as the Aorus Elite X AX without Wi-Fi 7—but it's a full-featured and attractive platform for builders who crave the latest and greatest Intel silicon.
Intel's 14th Gen and Board Design
As I said, the new processors aren't radically different from the old—the flagship Core i9-14900K has the same number of cores and threads as the Core i9-13900K, with a max turbo clock of 6.0GHz versus 5.8GHz and a slightly bumped base clock. To get the most out of the new CPUs, you'll need adequate cooling, as many motherboards take some liberties with default power targets and raise them to get the upper hand over their rivals. A 360mm AIO works best for the high-end processors, while some of the less expensive CPUs in the product stack can get away with a smaller AIO or even air cooling.
(Credit: Joe Shields)Besides native support for 14th Gen chips, the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite X Wi-Fi 7 and other new motherboards boast integrated Wi-Fi 7, a notably faster protocol with additional channels in the 320MHz range, though you'll need a router and devices that support the new spec to see any benefit. Most new boards have also received a mid-gen facelift to set them apart from their predecessors. The Gigabyte's design changes are attractive but subtle, with a neutral black-on-black aesthetic that should fit most build themes.
Like the previous version, the motherboard sits on an 8-layer matte black PCB with black heatsinks. The VRMs are cooled by a large heatsink that covers the I/O portion of the board, decorated with the Aorus falcon logo and branding, like the chipset and M.2 heatsink covering the lower portion. The top M.2 socket features an EZ Latch (like the chipset/M.2 heatsink below) and looks large enough to keep PCIe 4.0 modules running without throttling. Hidden beneath the bottom heatsink is a small RGB LED strip.
CPU and Memory
The Z790 Aorus Elite X Wi-Fi 7 supports Intel's 12th, 13th, and 14th Generation LGA1700 processors out of the box. The VRMs are comprised of 16 phases dedicated to the Vcore (processor) and 90A SPS MOSFETs. The large heatsinks kept the VRM temperatures within spec, even during long-running multithreaded benchmarks with our flagship-class CPU. The default setting of Gigabyte's convenient Perf Drive one-click overclocking tool is "Optimization," setting all cores to the turbo max clock. In this (and most) settings, you're primarily limited by the processor cooling method, since Perf Drive lets it run at the 253W limit set by Intel. The better your cooling, the more these CPUs can stretch their legs.
(Credit: Joe Shields)Memory support improves even beyond the "Raptor Lake Refresh" bump to DDR5-6000, with Gigabyte listing speeds up to DDR5-8266 (OC), the highest for the platform so far. The price/performance sweet spot for this platform remains around the DDR5-6400 mark for users not made of money. The updated BIOS offers a plethora of options to tweak memory timings, suitable for those who want to squeeze every scrap from their hardware. Four unreinforced DRAM slots support up to 192GB of RAM; you probably want to look at workstation-class systems if you need more than that.
Our Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 and Team Group TForce DDR5-7200 kits worked by simply enabling their XMP profiles. This was the expected result, considering both kits are on Gigabyte's memory QVL list and well below the DDR5-8266 limit.
Layout and Internal Connectors
Looking at the top half of the motherboard, in the left corner we spot dual 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to power the processor. Surrounding these power leads is the VRM heatsink. The black ribbed look gives way to a dark grey with a "Team Up, Fight On" mantra below. Next, we see four DRAM slots with locking mechanisms on both sides.
Above these are the first two of six 4-pin fan/pump headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices and outputs up to 2A/24W, which should be plenty even when powering a custom water loop. Don't overload these headers, as it can cause permanent damage. Control over the attached devices comes from the BIOS or the Fan Control portion of the Gigabyte Control Center app.
Next is the first RGB header, in this case a 3-pin ARGB. You'll find the others, two 4-pin RGB and another 3-pin ARGB, along the bottom edge of the board. The RGB lighting is subtle compared to some other boards. Control over integrated and attached RGB devices is handled through Gigabyte Control Center's RGB Fusion app. It provides plenty of canned lighting patterns and allows you to customize modes as you like.
Traveling down the right edge, we first find the 24-pin ATX connector to power the board. This is followed by two USB headers: one 19-pin USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) and one USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), both for the front panel. Last in this area is the Status LED feature, four LEDs (CPU, DRAM, VGA, and Boot) that light up during the POST process. If there's a problem in one of these areas, the corresponding LED stays lit, giving you an idea of where the trouble is.
Audio, Expansion, Storage, and Rear I/O
In the bottom left-hand corner is the audio section. Gigabyte upgraded the codec from the previous version, going with the Realtek ALC1220. Below the chip are WIMA audio caps (red) and other capacitors (yellow) dedicated to audio section. While it doesn't have a fancy DAC or amplifiers, most users will be satisfied with the updated audio solution.
In the middle of the board are three full-length PCI Express slots and four M.2 sockets. Starting with the PCIe slots, the top slot uses Gigabyte's new PCIe S Slot X, a piece of metal that surrounds the slot and screws into the board, protecting the primary graphics slot. I'm not sure this is entirely necessary, but it's another feature that sets the Elite X apart from the original. That slot sources lanes from the CPU and runs at up to PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds. The bottom two PCIe slots connect through the chipset and run at PCIe 4.0 x4.
(Credit: Joe Shields)All four M.2 sockets on the board support up to 110mm modules and peak at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. The bottom socket, M2M_SB, also supports SATA-based modules. I would like to see a PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket, but the four PCIe 4.0 x4 sockets should be enough both in number and speed for almost all users. Another great feature that makes its way to all four sockets is EZ-Latch Click with EZ Latch Plus, making securing your SSDs much easier than using tiny screws.
Cruising past the chipset, along the right edge of the board are USB4/TB4 headers and the reset and clear CMOS buttons. Between the two buttons are six SATA ports supporting RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 modes. In other words, this board has every storage option could you want except PCIe 5.0.
Along the bottom edge of the board are several headers. From left to right, these are front-panel audio, three RGB headers (one 4-pin and two 3-pin), the TPM header, two USB 2.0 headers, the QFlash Plus button, four 4-pin system fan headers, and the front-panel header.
(Credit: Joe Shields)Our tour of the layout concludes with the rear I/O area. Gigabyte uses a preinstalled I/O plate with light gray labels on a black background. In total, there are 10 USB ports around back—four USB 2.0, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), and one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps). That should be plenty for most users. In the middle, you'll find the ultra-fast Wi-Fi 7 antenna connections, a 2.5GbE networking port, and DisplayPort and HDMI ports for integrated video. Finally, the audio stack contains two 3.5mm analog plugs and the SPDIF.
A Brief Look at the UEFI BIOS and Utilities
The UEFI BIOS of the new Z790 Aorus Elite X Wi-Fi 7 is laid out the same as other Z790 boards', but gets a nice facelift and change of color. You still start with a reconfigured Easy Mode that's primarily informational, listing the status of the CPU, RAM, fans, peripherals, and more. The color scheme has changed from Aorus orange to black with blue and purple highlights and white text. Along the bottom are several options you can enable including memory tweaks and QFlash. It's easy to read, logically laid out, and pleasing to the eye.
(Credit: Gigabyte)The advanced portion of the BIOS offers a standard configuration with major headings across the top, including Favorites (customizable), Tweaker, Settings, and System Info. You'll find all the advanced functionality in this much more comprehensive mode.
(Credit: Gigabyte)The Tweaker section contains all the options to fine-tune and overclock your system. Here you can adjust voltages, RAM speeds and timings, and overclocking options for the CPU.
(Credit: Gigabyte)Inside the Settings section are several sub-headings where you can adjust platform power, configure I/O ports, and PC Health, which shows system info including voltages and temperatures. Here you'll find options to enable or disable audio and integrated graphics, enable Resizable BAR, and configure USB, NVMe, SATA, audio, and network hardware.
(Credit: Gigabyte)Gigabyte's UEFI is laid out logically and easy to get around. The Z790 version, like the X670, provides a full array of tweaks including overclocking the CPU and RAM. Unlike other BIOSes, you can't play with the RGB lighting from here but must use Windows and the Gigabyte Control Center app. Overall, the BIOS provides all the options you need and our version (F4) proved stable in our time with the board.
On the software side, Gigabyte Control Center provides Windows-based monitoring and control over RGB lighting, fans, driver updates, and performance/overclocking. It's a lightweight app that matches the black and orange Aorus theme and is easy to work with. On startup, it polls the system for software and driver versions and updates or downloads as needed (with your approval). The screenshot below shows the landing page, all the hardware it can control on our test system, and the functions such as fan control and RGB below.
(Credit: Gigabyte)There are options to control any RGB lights, fans, and overclocking. The RGB Fusion software includes eight LED effects (Static, Pulse, Flash, DFlash, Cycle, Wave1, Wave2, and Off) and options to change effects' brightness and speed.
(Credit: Gigabyte)For fan control, you get three canned options (silent, normal, and full speed) plus the ability to make manual adjustments and custom curves. The software read all our test system fans, PWM, and DC and controlled them without issue.
(Credit: Gigabyte)Overclocking the processor and memory via the software is straightforward. There are drop-downs to select the CPU multiplier (for P and E cores; BCLK is not available), as well as memory speed (but not timings) and voltage.
(Credit: Gigabyte)Verdict: A Solid Option in the $300 Space
Over the next few weeks, we'll see several updated Z790 (and B760) boards reach store shelves. Gigabyte's updates, at least across this and the premium midrange Aorus Master board, are significant enough to warrant the slight price increase, especially if you're averse to BIOS flashing to support your fancy new 14th Gen CPU. Performance using Intel's new Core i9-14900K wasn't significantly different from that we've seen previously with the Core i9-13900K, as cooling is a more important limitation than turbo clock speed.
Regarding the competition, MSI offers the MAG Z790 Tomahawk MAX Wi-Fi (also $299.99) while ASRock counters with the Z790 Nova and Asus with the Z790-A Gaming Wi-Fi II. Each board has features or aesthetic reasons to buy or skip depending on personal preference, but I find myself gravitating toward this Gigabyte as it packs more differences from its predecessor at what's still a reasonable price point.
(Credit: Joe Shields)The Z790 motherboard market is frankly overpopulated, but the Gigabyte Aorus Elite X Wi-Fi 7 is a solid new option. Not only does it offer native 14th Gen support and ultra-fast Wi-Fi 7 (which, to be honest, most users won't be able to use), but you get an updated BIOS, improved audio, EZ Latches on all M.2 sockets, and even some heatsinks to make building easier. If you want to drop in a 14th Gen CPU without hassle, this board should be on your short list.
