Page 46 - Computer Power User - February 2017

Thunderbolt 3 controller onboard that
you can tap into via the USB Type-C port
for up to 40Gbps bandwidth, support for
daisy-chaining up to six devices, and a 4K
resolution display at 60fps.

Tough Enough For Anything
All the amazing technology in the
world isn’t worth bupkis if your system
can’t even survive a trip to a LAN party.
That’s why the AORUS Gaming 9
features a series of steel-reinforced PCIe
Armor slots and Ultra Durable Memory
Armor slots. These keep the board from
flexing during install, and heavy graphics
cards from coming loose or shearing-off
during transport. The motherboard’s
many resistors also feature an Anti-
Sulfur protective coating, which keeps
the Nickel layer pristine and highly
conductive for the life of the board. Add
this to the Durable Black solid capacitors,
Yep, the kitchen sink’s in there too. Probably.
Nichicon fine gold and WIMA audio
capacitors, 2x copper core PCB, the
gold-plated CPU socket pins, and you
graphics cards available today running on the top-right corner of the board that, know the AORUS Gaming 9 can handle
PCIe 3.0 slots hamstrung at x8 speeds during the boot process, light up as the whatever you put it through without
won’t be perceptibly slower than those two component (CPU, memory, GPU, and missing a beat.
graphics cards running on slots with access storage drive) is checked. When the
to 16 lanes each. But GIGABYTE isn’t device passes the check, the light goes A Sound Choice
thinking about the graphics cards you’ll out. If there is a problem, however, We’ve written at length about
plug in today, they’ve got their sights on the culprit’s LED remains lit, giving GIGABYTE’s upgradable OP-AMPs, but
the card you’ll plug in next year, or the you a quick place to check first, so you the AORUS takes it a step further, letting
year after that. “Future proofing is relative, can get back up and running quickly. you swap out and upgrade three different
but yes, the PLX chip at 16/16 is the Additionally, there’s a 4-digit POST code chips, one each for the left and right
closest to ‘future proof’ as you can get!” display that provides even more clues to channels that correspond to the rear I/O,
We’re also happy to report that a help you troubleshoot. Once the OS has and a third that corresponds to the front
system built with the AORUS Gaming booted, you can configure it to display audio jack. Creative Sound Blaster ZxRi
9 can detect the currently populated system voltages or temperatures. relies on a quad-core audio processor and
PEG slot(s), so you’re not stuck using the a 127dB Burr-Brown DAC to deliver
topmost slot if something goes wrong or Super Speedy Storage discreet-quality sound, in movies, games,
if you just want to move the card to an As we wait for Intel’s Optane and a variety of steaming video options.
expansion slot further down the board. Technology to deliver products we can
actually buy, there’s are still tons of ways The Complete Package
The Ultimate DIY Troubleshooter to supercharge the storage devices on the The AORUS Gaming 9 represents
If you’re reading the pages of CPU, AORUS Gaming 9 motherboard. There a winning combination of the latest
chances are good that you’re the kind of are two native U.2 (Gen 3 x4) connectors technologies, fastest protocols, and
person who likes to build your own PC, onboard, and you can use an M.2 to limitless potential that make building
and that DIY mentality almost always U.2 converter to plug in a third NVMe you own PC such a fun and rewarding
extends to fixing any problems that device, and run all three 32Gbps devices experience. This is one of the rare
crop up. To help you in those inevitable in RAID 0 for insanely fast 3,525MBps motherboards that truly won’t hold you
endeavors, the AORUS Gaming 9 sequential read and 2,841MBps back. ■
features a series of debug LEDs on sequential write speeds. There’s also a

46 February2017 / www.computerpoweruser.com