https://www.fjoddes.net/index.php/gigabyte-unveils-three-new-x299-motherboards-at-computex-2019/ Intel announced that in Q3 2019, the company is launching new Core X series HEDT processor models "for creators." When combined with the handful new LGA2066 motherboard models we've spotted, it becomes highly likely that the processors Intel is launching this Fall could be LGA2066-compatible. Without further ado, the X299G Aorus Master, the X299G Aorus Xtreme Waterforce, and the X299G Designare 10G.
The X299G Aorus Master is different from the X299 Aorus Master launched last November, and the X299G Designare 10G is different from the X299 Designare EX launched way back in 2017. The X299G Aorus Xtreme Waterforce is the first "Xtreme" sub-branded LGA2066 product. What's common to these three boards is out-of-the-box support for the upcoming HEDT processor models, besides 9th generation "Skylake-X" Refresh processors, and the original "Skylake-X" chips.
he X299G Aorus Master differs from the original in featuring a revamped 12-phase CPU VRM with IR PowIRstage driver MOSFETs; an optimized board layout with the two 8-pin EPS inputs pushed to the right corner and placed in the same row as the 24-pin ATX input, which is now angled 90°. GIGABYTE bolstered the thermals, by interconnecting all heatsinks by heat-pipes.
The main CPU VRM heatsink sheds some of its heat onto a secondary heatsink near the rear I/O, which also soaks heat from half of the memory VRM FETs. The chipset heatsink is interconnected to the main VRM heatsink, as well as another small heatsink at the right side of the board, which pulls heat from the other half of the memory VRM. The enlarged chipset heatsink extends as one of the board's three M.2 SSD heatsinks. The rear I/O shroud that runs the length of the left side is practically unchanged, as is the ESS Sabre-powered onboard audio solution underneath it.
GIGABYTE made some changes to the connectivity of the new X299G Aorus Master compared to last year's model. We see the introduction of 2.4 Gbps 802.11ax WLAN using an Intel "Cyclone Peak" controller, a 5 GbE wired networking interface from an unknown manufacturer (best guess Aquantia AQC107), in addition to a 1 GbE pulled by an Intel i219-V.
The X299G Designare 10G is based on a slightly different PCB from the X299G Aorus Master, and is positioned a notch higher in GIGABYTE's product-stack. The CPU VRM is the same 12-phase IR PowIRstage-based solution. The interconnected heatsink design is also similar, with the exception of an additional heatsink near the onboard audio area.
Leading the pack, though, is the X299G Aorus Xtreme Waterforce. This is the new flagship of GIGABYTE's LGA2066 lineup. It may have just one 10 GbE connection, and just one 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 port compared to the Designare 10G, but tops out with a massive 16-phase VRM with the choicest high-current components in the market today. A massive liquid monoblock cools the CPU VRM, the CPU itself, the X299 PCH, and two of the board's three M.2-22110 slots. The main coolant channel passes directly over your SSDs. A secondary heatsink transfers some of the heat from the board's third M.2 slot and certain other hot components onto the monoblock.
