This budget-friendly LGA 1700 motherboard is great for mid-range Intel PC builds
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If you’re planning a new build with an Intel 13th or 14th Gen CPU in mind, or even a 12th Gen, this GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Elite AX deal could save you some cash. The motherboard is currently discounted from $239.99 to $189.99, a solid $50 saving from its list price. That’s a great value for a Raptor Lake-compatible board packed with features.
This motherboard is designed for Intel 14th Gen and 13th Gen CPUs, and it truly shines in mid-range to high-end builds. You’ll be able to pair your PC with the latest components, save for PCIe 5.0 SSDs, which seriously drive up the price of your build and aren’t always always nessariliy for everyone anyway.
GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Elite AX
What we like about the GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Elite AX
Positioned squarely in the mid-range, this motherboard offers a solid foundation for a powerful, yet wallet-friendly build. While it scales back on premium features like PCIe 5.0 SSD support, everything else you need for a killer PC is here. That includes DDR5 RAM, PCIe 5.0 for the latest GPUs, and capable VRMs.
Put simply, unless your build absolutely demands the bleeding-edge speeds of Gen 5 NVMe SSDs, this motherboard is a smart way to save money on your build. You still get four sockets for faster NVMe Gen 4 SSDs like the Samsung 990 Pro, plus Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G Ethernet, and plenty of USB ports, including a 20 Gbps Type-C port.
- Broad CPU Compatibility (LGA 1700): This board is designed to work seamlessly with a wide range of Intel processors, from the 12th to the current 14th generation, offering versatile upgrade paths.
- Next-Gen RAM & GPU Support: Dive into the latest in performance with full DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 compatibility for your graphics card. Just note that true bleeding-edge NVMe Gen 5 SSDs aren’t supported here.
- Plenty of Connectivity: You’ve got Wi-Fi 6E support, HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.2, and plenty of USB ports in the rear I/O, including a 20 Gbps USB-C port.
- Excellent thermals: Covered in beefy heatsinks, this board keeps your CPU and SSD cool, preventing throttling during intense gaming sessions or heavy workloads.
- Q-Flash Plus: Easily upgrade your BIOS without needing a compatible CPU installed.
Who is this deal for?
This is an excellent deal for anyone planning a high-end build around Raptor Lake CPU, like the Intel Core i7-14700K for example, but doesn’t need cutting-edge NVMe Gen 5 support. It offers all the features you need at a price that’s affordable to most people. In fact, it’s currently at one of its best prices this year, as you can see from the camelcamelcamel graph above.
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*Prices and savings subject to change. Click through to get the current prices.
If you’re looking for NVMe Gen 5 support and don’t mind spending a little bit more, the GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS PRO X is an excellent upgrade. This alternative also comes with faster Wi-Fi 7 and upgraded 5G LAN for a discounted price of $299.99 at the time of writing.
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