Gigabyte, three X299X motherboards ready for Intel Cascade Lake-X CPUs

Gigabyte has unveiled three new series motherboards X299X. Specifically, these are the models X299X Designate 10G, X299X Aorus Xtreme WaterForce and X299 Aorus Master, intended to host the new Cascade Lake-X processors expected in November of the Core X 10000 family. Compared to the previous generation, Intel has halved the prices of the HEDT processors and therefore we expect greater competitiveness of the offer, Ryzen Threadripper 3000 allowing.

Despite using it same X299 chipset which debuted about two years ago, the three motherboards are marked by the X299X nomenclature. The suffix “X” simply specifies who the cards are specially designed for newer CPUs. The Cascade Lake-X processors, in fact, are equipped with four more PCIe lines than the previous generation, which would not be usable with the old X299 motherboards (whose BIOS will still be updated with support for the new chips).

Among the features of the new motherboards stand out up to 16 power phases, with each phase capable of delivering 70 A, i server-class components, the eight DDR4 memory slots to accommodate up to 256 GB of RAM, the support for Nvidia NVLink or AMD CrossFire 4-way Multi-GPU configurations and the certification for Nvidia Quadro professional GPUs.

On the connectivity front we find an Intel WiFi 6 802.11AX chip for a network speed of up to 5 or 10 Gbps, two USB 3.2 Type-C ports with support for Intel Thunderbolt 3 technology for bandwidth up to 40 Gbps e NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 slot up to 32 Gbps where you can install an Intel Optane module or create a VROC array. The Designare X299X 10G model also features an Ehternet X550-AT2 controller Intel with two 10 Gigabit ports.

The Aorus Xtreme Waterforce and Designare X299X models are also equipped with a fourth generation AIC adapter offering up to four extra M.2 PCIe x4 slots. The audio component is entrusted to theALC 1220-VB and the DAC ESS 9218 Saber with Gigabyte's AMP-UP audio technology.

Gigabyte X299X motherboards boast a traditional heat dissipation system, while the X299X Aorus Xtreme WaterForce model sports an AIO liquid cooling that deals with processor, VRM, chipset and M.2 SSD. All three motherboards display Gigabyte's Smart Fan 5 technology, so you have complete control over all fans and temperature sensors.

Gigabyte X299X Designare 10G, X299X Aorus Xtreme WaterForce and X299X Aorus Master motherboards are expected to be available soon at a price not yet announced.