Launching the Ryzen 7000 from AMD brought a new collection of X670E motherboards. Today, we are discussing another notable offering from Gigabyte in our B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Review.
The new boards are excellent overall, but these also come at a hefty price. That means it is an expensive upgrade for most users.
Luckily, a solution to this problem is the B650E AORUS MASTER. The motherboard integrates notable next-generation performance and excellent features that pack a serious punch. It also promises a cheaper price making it an ideal go-to for everyone.
Here in our B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Review, we will discuss its features and how it performs. We will also look into its design, functions, and specifications.
But before anything else, let us check what is inside the box.
B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Packaging
Like every other AORUS package, the front shows a large image of its branding with the motherboard name.
The back of the box has all the necessary details about the motherboard. You will find images of the product with indications of what they are and their uses. There are also some highlighted features and numerous specifications for your reference.
Inside the box, the B650E AORUS MASTER ships with a few inclusions and these are two SATA cables. You can also find an antenna, a user manual, and one RGB LED strip extension cable.
Gigabyte also included two Thermistor cables, a G Connector, and an M.2 screw/standoff.
B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Review – Design and Functionality
The first thing we will discuss in this B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Review is its design and functions. Gigabyte continues to integrate a more neutral aesthetic, which first appeared on the earlier generation AORUS motherboards.
If you have come across Gigabyte motherboards in earlier years, you know about their signature vibrant orange accents. This aspect defined the company branding, though recently, toning down on gamer aesthetics became the trend. It is a necessary move to appeal to more consumers who are not gaming enthusiasts.
Technically, it is not a negative move from a sales perspective.
Its entire back is concealed by a backplate for relieving stress consistently. It also provides extra cooling with the help of thermal pads in between. The design is not just for show since it works as a protective element against hazards.
Using this chipset, the B650E AORUS MASTER has more room in the PCH area (Platform Controller Hub). It means that compared to most X670E boards, using the standard ATX form is more common for optimised case compatibility.
Together with a new chipset, physical changes happened to the CPU socket. Remember that aside from the design and firmware changes, it also prevents the installation of earlier Ryzen CPUs.
The B650E AORUS MASTER has a 16+2+2 phase VRM design with a teamed power stage configuration. This arrangement results in these receiving the same amount of PWM signal.
The company utilises a Renesas RAA229620 PWM controller for driving the power stages of the motherboard. Additionally, it opted for this PWM controller for the 16 Vcore phases.
The power stages support a total of 105A of continuous current. Then, Gigabyte utilises two Renesas ISL99390 90A power stages for the SoC phase power management.
You can find the VDD_MISC power on one end of the VRM configuration. Additionally, the B650E AORUS MASTER offers a total output of 2040A with 1680A for the Vcore.
The motherboard has three PCIe x16 slots, with the first one reinforced for additional stress support. It is also PCIe Gen5-certified with x16 from the CPU.
Its connection drops to x8 when the M.2 sockets get populated because of sharing the accessible PCIe lanes. PCIe slots two and three are slightly complicated since both are x16 but internally wired for Gen4 x4.
The second slot supports x4, while the third only has a PCIe x2 configuration.
The Ryzen 7000 series offers 24 PCIe Gen5 lanes divided as 16+4+4. Here, x16 is for PCIe slots, x4 for M.2 Gen5, and x4 for general purposes.
Most users expect at least one M.2 Gen5 socket for the B650 or X670. However, the company stepped up their game.
All four M.2 sockets on the motherboard are Gen5 x5, and Gigabyte accomplished it by utilising 4+4 lanes. Then, the company took a portion of the x16 PCIe Gen5 slot. When the third and fourth M.2 sockets are populated, the first PCIe slot curtails for the Gen 5 x8.
The company also removed the need for M.2 screws and used quick-release clips on the board. These are ideal to have when you usually lose M.2 screws.
The top right corner of the B650E AORUS MASTER houses the physical power and reset buttons. These are handy for supplying power to the motherboard before having everything connected, especially on a test bench.
This motherboard has a postcode debugger and startup LEDs that allow easy troubleshooting. They indicate the current stage of the boot process, allowing you to see if it functions seamlessly. Also, its LEDs are handy since the AM5 socket is new to everyone.
Note that the first boot after installing new memory or clearing the CMOS will take around two to six minutes. However, it all depends on the configuration of your system.
The bottom right corner of the motherboard shows the multi-key button (labelled RST_SW) next to the front panel header. It is not an actual switch, but you can configure it via the BIOS.
By default, it is a reset button, and you will also see this marked on the motherboard.
Above the front panel header, you will see the 2-pin jumper pad that clears the CMOS. You can use this in case the rear IO button stops working.
The B650E AORUS MASTER uses two 8-pin EPS. Its top right corner has three RGB headers, with two in the bottom left corner. You will see two 12V 4-pin headers, while below is a 5V 3-pin ARGB header.
The CPU RGB header is not necessarily for the CPU cooler, but this will be the label in the software.
On the bottom, you will find two more RGB headers: on the left is 12V, and 5V is on the right. Additionally, this motherboard has two USB 2.0 and one USB 3.2 Gen1 Header with 5 GB/s speed.
Its rear IO shows numerous USB ports with different colours. The B650E chipset does not offer the same bandwidth options as X670 and X670E for USB devices. As a result, only a few offer 10 Gb/s connections.
Gigabyte also added the Clear CMOS and Q-Flash Plus buttons for convenience. The latter only requires power for the motherboard and does not need a memory or processor.
Gigabyte used WiFi 6E, the latest and fastest wireless technology for network solutions. Moreover, the motherboard has an HDMI 2.1 for onboard graphics, SMA antenna connectors, and an RJ-45 port. There are also two audio jacks and a S/PDIF out connector.
For USB, it includes four USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A (red) and four USB 3.2 Gen1 (blue) ports. The board also has one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C and four USB 2.0/1.1 ports. These USB connectors offer faster data transfers than the previous generation.
Key Features of the B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard
While learning more about this product for our B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Review, we realised its plethora of notable features. These elements help make the motherboard stand out from its competition, but are these features enough for your needs? Let us find out.
Exceptional Performance of Gigabyte Motherboards
As technology improves and changes, Gigabyte ensures to follow the latest trends. Doing this allows them to provide users with the latest technologies and advanced features.
That is why Gigabyte boards sport upgraded power solutions, current storage standards and outstanding connectivity. All these elements will enable enhanced performance for an excellent gaming experience.
Double Digital VRM Design
AORUS series motherboards feature the best VRM design built with the highest quality components. It is necessary to ensure maximum turbo boost and overclocking performance of the new generation AMD CPUs.
Design-ready for PCIe 5.0 for Future-proofing
PCIe 5.0 Design supports twice the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0. Plus, it guarantees full compatibility with cutting-edge SSDs and GPUs released in the coming years.
New Generation Ultra Durable SMD PCIe 5.0 Armor
The exclusive stainless-steel PCI-e shielding from Gigabyte is 20% wider in the new generation. Including this feature was an excellent move from Gigabyte since it provides increased tensile strength.
Ultra Durable SMD PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 Connector
The first PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot supports the advanced M.2 25110 form factor. Also, there are reinforced PCIe 5.0 M.2 connectors with metal shielding for optimised and increased strength.
Excellent Thermal Design for Low Temperatures
Gigabyte motherboards guarantee excellent performance because of innovative and optimised thermal designs. It ensures the best CPU, chipset, SSD stability, and low temperatures under heavy load applications and gaming performance.
It has an enlarged surface area of up to four times that of traditional heatsinks. This feature enhances heat dissipation from MOSFETs.
TMOS Heatsink of the B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard
TMOS is a single-piece heatsink with a one-piece design and large surface area that outperforms the multi-piece designs of competitors. It is advantageous in terms of cooling performance.
TMOS has numerous inlets and channels on the heatsink. The design allows air to flow through and improves heat transfer performance significantly.
M.2 Thermal Guard III
M.2 Thermal Guard III comes with a 9X optimised heat dissipation surface. It helps prevent throttling and bottlenecking caused by high-speed/large-capacity PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSDs under a heavy workload.
The unique design of heatsink grooves in the direction of the CPU improves in-chassis airflow. It also optimises heat convection efficiency.
Smart Fan 6 for Superior Cooling Performance
Smart Fan 6 includes several unique cooling features to ensure the performance of your gaming PC. Together with these features, it retains low temperature and quietness.
PWM/DC fan and pump support are present because of multiple fan headers. These use different temperature sensors across the board with an intuitive user interface.
WiFi 6E – The Latest and Fastest WiFi Technology
Spectrum congestion is an issue in our WiFi environment. The reason is too many devices use the existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum. Thus, resulting in unreliable connections and slower speeds.
WiFi 6E is an extension standard to WiFi 6. It uses a 6GHz band which provides a new frequency for data transfers and a larger spectrum for future devices. WiFi 6E provides users with a faster connection and a stronger signal.
The latest 802.11ax WiFi 6E wireless solution, with a new dedicated 6GHz band, enables gigabit wireless performance. It also allows smooth video streaming, a better gaming experience, fewer dropped connections and speeds up to 2.4Gbps. Furthermore, Bluetooth 5 has 4X the range of Bluetooth 4.2 and faster transmission.
The Best VR Experience with the B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard
WiFi 6E provides faster WiFi speeds, lower latency, and longer battery life for VR devices. So, wireless streaming of VR games from a PC to your VR device is smoother and has higher video quality.
Hi-Fi Audio with the Latest Realtek Codec
The B650E AORUS MASTER uses the latest ALC1220 Codec from Realtek. This feature makes DSD-enabled music and surround-sound playback better than ever. It also has WIMA and Premium Grade Audio capacitors to deliver studio-quality sound by providing power to the overall system.
The motherboard uses the TXC Oscillator, which offers time triggers with precision to Digital Analogue converters. It also features the DTX:X, which recreates spatially accurate and authentic 3D audio for gaming. Plus, the product supports channel, object, and scene-based audio and calibrates sound to provide post-processing enhancements for highly improved sound.
With DTS Headphone:X, you can enjoy immersive audio. Stationary and moving sounds from all directions are audible, and these pass around the listener with impressive externalisation. It also delivers accurate audio localisation.
Ultra Durable and DIY Friendly
Gigabyte Ultra Durable design ensures product longevity and a high-quality manufacturing process. The company motherboards use the best components and reinforce each slot to make them solid, durable, and long-lasting.
With the Gigabyte EZ-Latch Plus, you can quickly and easily DIY your PC.
Specifications
Now, our B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Review will focus on the product specifications of the B650E AORUS MASTER. It is an ATX motherboard measuring 30.5 x 24.4cm with an AMD socket AM5. The socket supports the AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors and has an AMD B650 chipset.
It has DDR5 RAM, an ESS ES9118 DAC chip, a Realtek ALC1220-VB, and Intel 2.5GbE LAN chip.
Hands-on with the B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard
Upon launching the BIOS it displayed the Easy Mode menu for casual users. This part is ideal for those who dislike dealing with complex settings when overclocking.
The Easy Mode features drive boot priority, memory profile settings, and fan adjustment. Pressing F2 led us to the Advanced BIOS, where we saw the Favourites menu. This section is ideal for those who often enter BIOS to make similar changes and add commonly used functions.
Next is the Tweakers tab, which shows all the settings for the CPU and memory. Previous CPU functions are present, making it easy for those familiar with the AORUS BIOS. Additionally, the Tweakers tab also enables and disables the Resize Bar support.
Gigabyte added functions that are handy for troubleshooting. These include settings for Spread Spectrum and Load-Line Calibration. Gigabyte also added other operations for CPU overclocking.
The only drawback of this BIOS is the safety on some voltage rails that sets a limit on applying voltage. Memory controller, SOC, CPU, and other miscellaneous voltages link to these settings.
While the voltage limit is adequate for most enthusiasts, it may be unideal for others. BIOS can become inconvenient for those who want to try its cooling capacity during extreme overclocking.
Gigabyte did an excellent job with the BIOS and included all the necessary settings for most users. Moreover, it has most of the earlier set-ups, keeping it familiar and convenient for experienced users.
Aside from being comprehensive, it has a user-friendly menu which makes navigating and adjusting settings convenient.
Gigabyte Control Centre is a software interface that replaced the old Gigabyte App Centre. It is a one-stop shop for updates on the software, driver, fan control, CPU and RGB control, and other elements.
The CPU overclocking utility has basic settings for setting an all-core voltage and frequency. Since it is new, we expect the company to add more features to the Gigabyte Control Centre in the future.
This motherboard will not be a no-holds-barred overclocking monster, nor will it provide everything the AM5 platform has to offer. It can provide an excellent end-to-end user experience for most people.
The overall thermal results were excellent, and these did not get out of hand during long gaming sessions. Our CPU and GPU also remained cool, thanks to the notable cooling features of this motherboard.
Overall, the B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard performed ideally, and we did not experience any alarming issues. It is ideal for overclocking, can handle heavy loads, and is excellent for daily use.
B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Review Summary
The B650E AORUS MASTER from Gigabyte is another excellent motherboard from Gigabyte. This product is an impressive addition to the next-generation motherboards since it offers good value and only includes the necessary features. Plus, it does not have the bells and whistles of high-end motherboards.
Aside from having essential features, it has an appealing design that is easy to integrate into most builds. Its neutral aesthetic makes it ideal for open-windowed types.
During our tests B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard Review, this product performed excellently in all areas. Another thing we appreciate is the user-friendliness of its BIOS and new Gigabyte Control Centre.
Despite the increased costs of all components, this motherboard still packs good value. Gigabyte improved its features by using its previous boards without removing the essential ones. As a result, it delivers the performance you can see in the more expensive X670E motherboards.
With its superior performance and user-friendly BIOS, we highly recommend this motherboard. This product is ideal if you want to enjoy the next-generation system without spending a fortune.
Check out the official product page of Gigabyte for more information about the B650E AORUS MASTER Motherboard.