Gigabyte TRX40 Aorus Master review - Introduction

Aorus TRX40 Master review
≥ Gigabyte

We check out the TRX40 Aorus Master with that mega-core Threadripper 3990X processor. This is Gigabyte's more affordable T-Rex, aka TRX40 solution. It is still jam-packed with features though. Gigabyte offers a very interesting TRX40 motherboard loaded with all the PCIe 4 goodness the Threadripper processors and chipset brings and started connecting all kinds of devices to it. A 5 GigE ethernet jack, for example, audio based on ESS SABRE 9218 DAC, ALC1220-VB and WIMA Audio Capacitors, WIFI 6 802.11ax Wireless yeah it is all there. The year is 2020, and it's becoming a little common already, I mean CPUs with 24, 32 and now even 64 processor cores. AMD unleashed their 3rd generation of Threadripper processors based on the ZEN2 architecture accompanied by that now familiar TRX40 chipset design. And where these mega-core processors really make little sense for your avid PC gamer, these can be very compelling products to developers, content creators and video editors. AMD overhauled the Threadripper and motherboard chipset design, PCIe Gen 4.0 anywhere and everywhere and new memory configurations make the UMA/NUMA discussion a thing of the past, heck, you can even game on these procs as if it was a Ryzen 3000 processor. Based on 7nm ZEN2 dies and the Castle Peak codename, that 32-core 3970X processor with its staggering 64 threads is just unprecedented in this desktop-class. As you can judge from this review, drop-in compatibility with X399 is, unfortunately, not an option ergo the new TRX40 chipset that will be complemented on many motherboards from all big brands. Threadripper 3000 processors are different from their predecessors mainly for reasons including PCI-Express 4.0 and further future-proofing the platform for upcoming generations - forcing AMD to introduce a new motherboard platform and chipset. The new Socket sTRX4 / TRX40 looks identical to the Socket TR4 of the first two generations of Threadrippers, but is not compatible; cooling solutions for existing Threadripper CPUs, however, are suitable for these new models. 

Aorus TRX40 Master

The master follows an impressive 16+3 phase digital power design already is a good indication of that, that's would be 16x 70amp phases. This board offers a 5 Gbe LAN jack as well as a single Gigabit one and also has been fitted with WIFI 6 (802.11ax) for Gigabit wireless performance that would offer 5.5x higher throughput compared to the 802.11ac 1×1 standard. The board comes with four dual wide PCI Express 4.0 slots, 8 SATA ports, 3x M.2 drive sockets and wherever you place a focus you'll end up in a multitude of something. The board comes in an E-ATX form factor, meaning you'll need a chassis that can actually hold this bigger sized motherboard. Let's look at the specifications that placed in a table as well as a block diagram of the motherboards connectivity, as really it's a lot to take in.

Form factor	XL-ATX
Chipset	AMD TRX40
VRM	16 real phases (16+3)
RAM	8x DDR4 DIMM, quad PC4-35200U/DDR4-4400 (OC), max. 256GB (UDIMM)
Audio	7.1 (Realtek ALC1220/Realtek ALC4050H), DTS:X Ultra, DAC (ESS ES9218)
USB	Integrated in the CPU: 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) on the back panel Integrated in the Chipset: 1 x USB Type-C™ port on the back panel, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port (red) on the back panel 1 x USB Type-C™ port with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support, available through the internal USB header 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports available through the internal USB headers Chipset+2 USB 2.0 Hubs: 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers)
PCIe	2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2) 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1, PCIEX8_2) 1 x PCI Express x1 slot (All of the PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 4.0 standard.)
Power connections	1x 24-Pin ATX, 2x 8-Pin EPS12V
Graphics	NA
Lighting	RGB, 2 zones
LAN/WAN	1x Aquantia 5GbE LAN chip (5 Gbit/2.5 Gbit/1 Gbit/100 Mbit) (5GLAN) 1 x Intel® GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit) (LAN) Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, supporting 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band BLUETOOTH 5.0 Support for 11ax 160MHz wireless standard and up to 2.4 Gbps data rate
Storage	Integrated in the CPU:1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2M) 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2280 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2Q) Integrated in the Chipset: 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2280 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P) 8 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10