Aorus GA -AX370 Gaming K5 Review
Review by: Jennifer Griffiths
Video & Testing by: Philip Griffiths
Introduction :
The world of gaming; you either have it or you don't. You either love it or hate it. It's either the best thing since sliced bread or the worst thing since Windows Vista. Gamers are some of the most picky and critical people of components and peripherals you will ever meet. Why? Because, we spend a lot of money on them and when we want to relax and play our game, we want it to do the job without flaw. We also spend a lot of time with our rigs, so we want them to look nice too. We treat our rigs well and expect the same in return. We kit them out to look great for us to enjoy the view and brag to our friends about them. It's a lot like having a relationship. So today, we will see if the Aorus GA -AX370 Gaming K5 is our happily ever after or if it gets the wall of shame. Judging by the review of the Gigabyte Aorus Z370 Gaming 3 that Tech For Techs did earlier, I would say we are in all rights to have high expectations for the AX370 K5. Will it be love at first Gigabyte or will it be byte me? Find out this and more as you read on.
Manufacturer statement:
Our GIGABYTE AORUS AX370-Gaming 5 only uses the best quality components, extra attention has been paid to the control and power stage side of the VRM to deliver unparalleled performance for all your PC needs. We have also added in extra power circuitry for the USB ports, AORUS motherboards also all boast the most advanced LED system in the market today. With more customizability than ever and a convenient and intuitive UI thanks to the RGB Fusion App, you’ll have a blast making your AORUS your own.
About :
About AORUS
AORUS, a premium gaming brand from GIGABYTE, delivering a full spectrum of the highest end gaming products. Ranging from the latest gaming motherboards, gaming laptops for VR, graphics cards, mechanical keyboards, to precision mice offering the most extreme gaming tools possible.
Packaging:
The AX370-Gaming K5 comes in really smart looking packaging. It is appealing to the eye and most things you need to know are clearly printed on the box...except that it is made by Gigabyte. It is only after searching for this that I found it in the lower right hand corner in grey print along side the socket information, etc. Better placement would have been the upper left as we read left to right and for those that are not familiar with Aorus this is important. However, the back of the box has crystal clear pictures and well written information about the important things that people want to know. It is written in grey on a black background and small font. So, a suggestion would be either to enlarge the font one more size or use white writing like they did with specifications. But, for what they have done, it looks pretty smart.
Unboxing:
Drum roll....Inside this well packed box we find our board nicely padded and protected and in an anti-static bag as per norm, the IO plate, paper work, manual, installation guide, DVD for drivers and SATA leads (4 of those). This is what we normally get in a motherboard box. However, there's more. Gigabyte have generously supplied us with RGB cable, and a G Connector. Impressive? There's a few more added bonuses as well. You will find an Aorus logo sticker, branded cable ties, and SATA cable labels. I am impressed with four SATA leads if I am honest. Most board manufacturers give you two and well, that's just not enough for builds like I am accustomed to doing. So, top marks for that. The G connector and RGB connector being in the box means that's less I have to source out, pay for and all around less stress. So on that, I thank them as well. Stickers are a nice touch if you are into things like that. I, personally do not like stickers but, that's still a nice add for those that do like to put them on their cases. I understand the purpose of the SATA labels. Will they get used though? If you are like me, you can blindly reach in and disconnect everything without looking. But, credit where it is due, for those that do not build every day or they can't remember what goes where, that's a brilliant idea. The branded cable ties are also a nice touch. So, all in all this unboxing was one I felt great about.
Basic Specifications:
MANUFACTURER
Gigabyte
PART #
GA-AX370-Gaming K5
(or) GA-AX370-Gaming K5 (rev. 1.0)
COLOR
Black / Gray
FORM FACTOR
ATX
CPU SOCKET
AM4
CHIPSET
AMD X370
MEMORY SLOTS
4 x 288-pin DIMM
MEMORY TYPE
DDR4-2133 / 2400 / 2666 / 2933 / 3200
MAXIMUM SUPPORTED MEMORY
64GB
RAID SUPPORT
Yes
ONBOARD VIDEO
Depends on CPU
CROSSFIRE SUPPORT
Yes
SLI SUPPORT
Yes
For full specifications go to https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/GA-AX370-Gaming-K5-rev-1x#sp
Installation:
This is pretty straight-forward. This is a typical build with not a lot of hassle when it comes to installing it. It is clear where things go. The board is laid out nicely and things are marked as they should be. If you get lost, there is a helpful guide included in the box. But, if I am honest, unless this is your first build, you will probably not even look at it. I built the board up and then put it in the case. This allowed me to make sure everything worked BEFORE I had it nice and neat in the case. You will want to use your driver disk or download the latest drivers, and note that you may need a graphics card to use the board depending on the CPU you pick.
More Depth:
This motherboard is a full ATX with four DDR4 DIMM slots, three metal-reinforced PCIe slots, four USB 3.1 ports, and support for AMD's latest Ryzen CPUs. Gigabyte offers the Aorus AX370 Gaming 5 and the K5 , both have different looks and some price and spec differences. The K5 actually is around £25 cheaper but has been scaled down a bit as you will get just one Gigabit ethernet jack, the K5 has less USB 3.1 ports and offers less tweaking options for RAM and processor opposed to the Gaming 5.
This board is a pretty full-featured package. The board supports all AMD AM4 CPUs including seventh-generation APUs and the entire Ryzen lineup. The Gaming K5 is compatible with two-card SLI and Crossfire setups. The single M.2 slot is ready to accept PCIe x4 NVMe storage devices, to go along with up to eight onboard SATA drives. When the zoned RGB lighting is disabled, the Gaming K5 has a black-and-gray finish. But once you power it on, the DIMM slots, PCIe slots, and other areas on the board light up in any of 16.8 million colors, controlled by Gigabyte's RGB Fusion software. It's the difference in night and day!
Testing:
The Test Rig:
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz Eight Core AM4
Aorus GA -AX370 Gaming K5
GTX 1080 Founders Edition (1060 Aorus used for most of the photos)
Corsair Vengeance RGB LED 16GB 2x8GB DDR4 2666MHz
Arctic Freezer 33 eSports Edition (to be reviewed)
Cooler Master MasterBox MB500 RGB
Gigabyte P650B 80+ Power supply. (to be reviewed)
All of our reviews are tested in real-world conditions. All parts are tested within a case (listed above) and run in an air conditioned 20°C room.
We compare the Ryzen 1700X Eight Core against Intel's high-end offerings, the I7 8700K (GF 1080) and an I5 8600K (GF 1060 6GB).
The Ryzen CPU has more cores, and as you would expect on tests where it would take advantage of the extra cores it would win, but not by as much as you would expect. It was only 4.5% faster in CPU-Z Multi-Thread then the higher priced 8700K. But, in single layer testing it was a staggering 18% slower than the 8700K and 12% slower than the cheaper 8600K and gets even worse when overclocked as the Intel CPU's can overclock a lot higher.
Gaming-wise we found the Razen 1700X did well, but did lag behind the 8700K by an average of 8%.
None of this issue is anything to do with the board, these are all limitations with the CPU itself, the board itself is an amazing board and having a look around and against other reference scores, I found the AX370 Gaming K5 performed around 2-5% better than the average board.
Overclocking, we found we could only Overclock the CPU by 0.4Ghz (upto 3.8Ghz). We did manage to get the CPU to 4.2Ghz but found it unstable above 3.8Ghz, this is common with this CPU.
View Charts Below
Pricing:
Acording to Gigabyte the RRP of this product should be around £135.
Suppliers:
The Gigabyte Aorus range can be found at the following distributors:
Target Components, VIP and Exertis
This model is available at:
Exertis
Conclusion:
This board has a lot of great things going for it. I don't know what more you would want from a board. It does everything but bring you a drink while gaming. As for marketing, I think Gigabyte would do well to rethink the packaging *branding made clearer* and also actually finding a place to buy the product easier. When I first got it out of the box I was not quite sure of it if I am honest. It looked basic black with a hint of grey. However, I kept in mind that this board supports all AMD AM4 CPUs *even 7th gen and Ryzen*. The fact that I can SLI or Crossfire, whichever I chose, also makes me happy. After I turned on the build, I was pleasantly surprised. It went from the sleeping child to the most hyper active kid on the playground. It wanted to play. The lights on the board beckoned to me "play games with me". After much playing with the lights to adjust them as I liked, my tests were done. *See above* I can honestly say the board is one of the cool kids.
Stand out point:
I have to say for me, it is the RGB fusion, and the ability to SLI or Crossfire. A good many boards miss the mark on SLI and Crossfire offerings and whilst there may not be as many that use it as there used to be, it is nice to offer it.
Pros:
-
Attractive colour scheme
-
RGB Lighting
-
Good amount of connections
-
Supports CrossFire and SLI
Cons:
-
Packaging could have used a tweak or two *Gigabyte should be in the upper left corner and clear to see*
Scores:
Packaging - 4
Value - 5
Looks - 5
Game Worthy/Testing - 5
They got a ........ Platinum Award
