GIGABYTE Z490I AORUS ULTRA

January 11, 2021 by Stephen

The AORUS line from Gigabyte spans a broad range of products—laptops, peripherals, and core components. Across the enthusiast spectrum, the AORUS name denotes Gigabyte’s gaming-focused products. The AORUS motherboard range features a consistent naming scheme that includes the Pro, Elite, Ultra, Master, and Extreme motherboards. Within this line up, the Master serves as the high-end mainstream option offering prime features at a high, but attainable price point.
The Gigabyte Z490I AORUS Ultra features a robust VRM utilizing 90 A power stages, along with Q-Flash for a redundant safety net for ambitious overclocking. The Gigabyte Z490I AORUS Ultra also offers a full-coverage aluminium backplate for added rigidity and additional VRM cooling. This little board should pack a punch, so let’s see how the Gigabyte Z490I AORUS Ultra stacks up against the competition.

The Z490I Ultra is an overall fantastic board with no major issues to speak of. I would like to see some refinements in UEFI to add secure erase functionality, removing the need for specialized software in Windows. Additionally, EasyTune will need some work as I could not load it despite several attempts to reinstall, etc. That said, for those wanting a software solution for tuning, XTU is freely available from Intel.

Z490 ITX Roundup, ASUS STRIX vs MSI UNIFY vs GIGABYTE AORUS ULTRA

September 14, 2020August 16, 2020 by Stephen

That’s where today’s three ITX motherboards come in to play. All three are the peak of their respective ranges in the ITX format, and we’re going to put them head to head. We have the ASUS ROG Strix Z490-I Gaming, the MSI MEG Z490I Unify, and the Gigabyte Z490-I Aorus Ultra. Let’s see how they stack up.

GIGABYTE Z490I AORUS ULTRA vs. MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY

September 11, 2020August 4, 2020 by Stephen

There is only a handful of Z490 mini-ITX boards currently available, with a couple of entry-level models, as well as some mid to high-end models like the pair we have for review today. Overall, the six mini-ITX Z490 boards that are on the market today range in price from $160 to $300, with both the GIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra and MSI MEG Z490I Unify coming with an MSRP of $270.

GIGABYTE Z490I AORUS ULTRA

September 17, 2020August 1, 2020 by Stephen

The Gigabyte Z490I AORUS ULTRA was released together with a series of new Intel Z490 chipset based AORUS motherboards and it’s currently the only mini-ITX form factor available in the series. As Gigabyte has shown us quite a number of very well built mini-ITX boards in recent years, we’re having our hopes high for the Z490I AORUS ULTRA when Gigabyte announced its new Intel Z490 chipset motherboards lineup.

GIGABYTE Z490I AORUS ULTRA

September 14, 2020June 24, 2020 by Stephen

Gigabyte has pushed the limits with the Mini-ITX Z490I Aorus Ultra as they are powering the LGA1200 socket with no less than eight VRM phases that are each rated at 90A. That is a mighty level of power and in addition they have constructed the output filters from an array of Surface Mounted Tantalum Polymer Capacitors.

GIGABYTE Z490I AORUS ULTRA

September 16, 2020May 20, 2020 by Stephen

It seems with every generation we see fewer and fewer mini-ITX motherboards, which is a real shame, as I absolutely love them. Then again we see even fewer mATX motherboards now, which is also a real shame. Thankfully, AORUS has a heck of an answer with their Z490I Ultra motherboard, which comes packed with incredible features for such a compact motherboard.

GIGABYTE Z490I AORUS ULTRA

September 18, 2020May 19, 2020 by Stephen

The Aorus Z490i Ultra is under Aorus’ lineup of board which carries the most variations – from specially themed boards to bringing the ITX offering of Aorus. There’s just something that Aorus does that makes their ITX boards shine even from other generations and platforms.