GIGABYTE X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood Review - A woody goody

TweakTown Rating: 95%

Our Verdict

The GIGABYTE X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood is stunning, yet it adds strong performance, great connectivity, and good cooling too. Not bad at all for $449.

Pros

• Dark wood aesthetic
• Strong performance and DIY-friendly
• Excellent connectivity options
• Very good cooling
• 64MB BIOS with a unique theme

Cons

• Lacks USB PD
• X3D Turbo Mode 2.0 is not all that impressive
• Dated audio codec

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

We really loved the GIGABYTE X870E Aero X3D Wood when we reviewed it a few months back. It's one of the best-looking motherboards I've ever seen. And GIGABYTE is certainly proud of it. However, its light wood color and silver theme make it better suited to builds with lighter color schemes. The solution to that? Release a more traditional black version. This one comes with darker wooden highlights. The GIGABYTE X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood looks just as fabulous as its sibling, and the rest of the board is just as impressive.

The X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood is one of several GIGABYTE boards to come with the X3D nomenclature. But I won't dwell on that too much, since we covered it in our review of the X870E AORUS Elite X3D. Suffice to say, it's not a killer feature.

Classy looks aside, the X870E Aero Dark Wood is a feature-rich board with strong connectivity, networking and a fast USB complement. These include 5G LAN, 320MHz WiFi 7 and dual USB4. Additionally, its cooling combines both form and function. Like all of GIGABYTE's refreshed 800 series motherboards, it's got a 64MB ROM, which means it won't have any problem accepting future Zen 6 CPUs.

The Aero X3D Wood supports AMD AM5 Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 series CPUs. It supports up to 256GB of memory at 9000 MT/s+. It comes with a range of ease-of-use features, including toolless M.2 heatsinks, a PCIe quick-release mechanism, and a Wi-Fi EZ-plug.

The X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood is currently available for $449. It can't be called cheap, but it's very competitively priced for what it offers.

Packaging, Accessories, and Overview

Packaging and Accessories

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The Aero X3D Wood comes in a plain cardboard box. It's nice to see a minimalist box that's not covered in snarling beasts or manga characters.

Normally, I'd include a picture of the rear of the box, but this sample was quite scuffed. It shows a spec rundown and a shot of the rear I/O.

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The board's accessory list is identical to that of the X870E Aero X3D Wood. It includes setup and installation guides, some M.2 spacer pads, two SATA cables, a front-panel header connector, and a WiFi antenna. This antenna features GIGABYTE's WiFi EZ-Plug, which is a single plug-in connector that doesn't require any screwing in. Finally, there's a small Aero keychain.

Frequently Asked Questions

TweakBot answers common questions about this review using TweakTown's own coverage from this page and related content from our archive. Tap a question to reveal the answer, or type your own below.

Question #1

How does populating the PCIe 5.0 M.2 (M2B_CPU) slot affect USB4 performance and what configuration options exist to prioritize one over the other?

Populating the PCIe 5.0 M.2 (M2B_CPU) slot forces the Asmedia USB4 controller to drop to x2 electrical speeds, and the M.2 slot itself also drops to x2 speeds, reducing bandwidth for both the SSD and USB4. The behavior is configurable in the UEFI, so you can choose to prioritize either the SSD or USB4 by changing that lane allocation setting.

Answered

Question #2

Are there any known compatibility caveats or recommended BIOS settings when using DDR5 kits above 6000 MT/s with the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood?

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Question #3

What are the recommended PCIe slot configurations (x16/x8/x8) for dual-GPU or multi-card setups to ensure optimal spacing and cooling?

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Question #4

How easy is it to install and remove M.2 drives with the toolless heatsinks, and are any thermal pads or spacers included for different drive thicknesses?

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Motherboard Overview

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In my opinion, the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood is one of the best-looking motherboards I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot! Of course, the wooden accents are not made of real wood. That would present safety risks, and it has poor thermal conductivity. With a board like this, you just have to show it off inside a windowed case. GIGABYTE agrees, and it sent over a Lian Li Lancool 217 case that has wooden accents that match perfectly with the board. With appropriate lighting and compatible components, this case-and-board combination has incredible potential.

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Having said that, the Aero X3D Dark Wood is aimed at creators more than gamers. There's no onboard RGB, though you do get three ARGB headers and a single RGB header for showcase builds.

The onboard USB header complement is strong, but the lack of USB PD is a notable omission. There are headers providing up to four USB 2.0 ports, four USB 5Gbps ports, and a single Type-C 20Gbps port.

Other key headers and connectors include eight fan headers, two thermistor headers, and an HDMI 1.4 port for use with case-mounted LCD screens. It supports up to 1080p at 30Hz, so it's not really suitable for regular monitors. There are reset and CMOS clear jumpers, but they are superfluous given there are buttons on the back that perform the same functions.

Many boards at this price include PCB-mounted power and reset buttons, but in a smart move, GIGABYTE placed them on the rear panel, which makes a lot of sense. Traditional buttons are harder to access in a closed case, but putting them on the rear makes them accessible without opening the case. Some might argue they're just as difficult to access at the rear, though it depends on where you place your PC.

The X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood includes a 64MB BIOS ROM. This ensures complete support for Zen 6 and maybe even Zen 7 CPUs. The larger chip provides enough space to integrate a WiFi driver directly into the BIOS, enabling instant WiFi access after Windows installation is complete.

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The rear of the board is covered by a robust backplate. It helps to cool the rear of the VRM area and adds a bit of rigidity to the board. It also stops those random little cuts that PC builders all too often get from electrical pins.

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Four DIMM slots support up to DDR5-9000+ speeds. Some boards promote higher speeds than that, but buying fast RAM makes little sense with an AM5 setup, and it's ridiculously overpriced anyway. AMD recommends memory in the 6000-6400 MT/s range in 1:1 mode for the best balance of speed, latency, and compatibility.

Also seen here is the aforementioned HDMI port.

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The board offers three PCIe x16 slots. slot. The upper pair run at x16 and x8, respectively, or x8/x8 if used together. The bottom x16 slot supports PCIe 4.0 x4 electrically. It's a good layout for a triple slot board, as it gives a large graphics card plenty of room to breathe.

The Aero X3D Dark Wood supports up to four M.2 SSDs. The primary slot supports PCIe 5.0 x4 drives and is cooled by a dedicated heatsink with upper and lower thermal pads. The second PCIe 5.0 x4 slot is the bottom-most slot. I think this is a smart location, as it keeps it as far as possible from the heat a GPU pumps out. The other two slots are connected to the chipset and support PCIe 4.0 x4. The bottom three slots are cooled by a single large plate. Both feature toolless mechanisms for easy access.

Four SATA ports join the four M.2 slots.

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There's a little bit of faux-leather on the right side of both heatsinks. The wavy design of the primary heatsink looks good, and it's functional too. It kept our test SSD to 51 degrees, which is very competitive.

PCIe lane limitations force the PCIe 5.0 M.2 (M2B_CPU) slot to share bandwidth with the Asmedia USB4 controller. If it's populated, both the slot and USB4 controller drop to x2 speeds. It's configurable, so it's up to you if you want to prioritize SSD or USB speeds.

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The X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood features a solid 16+2+2-phase VRM with 80A stages. It's not the most powerful VRM we've come across, but this is not a board that is likely to be used for extreme overclocking. It won't have any problem with more worldly overclocks, though. Even if future CPUs take a big step up in TDP, the board will handle them. I'd be much more worried about the hundreds of cheaper A and B series boards if that ends up being the case.

GIGABYTE's VRM cooling designs usually impress on its mid-range and high-end boards. Though the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood doesn't include GIGABYTE's particularly impressive finned heatsinks, it does feature a large surface area, direct-touch heatpipes, and 7W/mK thermal pads. It performed very effectively in our test. A peak recorded temperature of 54 degrees is just two degrees behind the mighty MSI X870E Godlike X Edition, which costs three times as much and includes finned heatsinks.

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The rear I/O of the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood is very impressive. It includes dual USB4 Type-C ports, both of which support DP 1.4a. There's also an HDMI 2.1 port, which gives you triple-monitor support without a GPU. The USB4 ports are joined by a 20Gbps Type-C port, five 10Gbps ports, and three 5Gbps ports. That's 11 ports in total. I do wish GIGABYTE labeled the USB ports more clearly.

GIGABYTE chose a pair of Realtek RTL8126 controllers for the dual 5G LAN ports. A second port is useful for creative types with network-attached storage. The MediaTek MT7927 controller supports 320MHz connections and delivers up to 5.8Gbps of bandwidth.

Next are the audio ports, which consist of 3.5mm line-in and line-out ports and S/PDIF. These are driven by a Realtek ALC1220 codec. This codec has mostly been superseded by the ALC4080 family. ALC1220 still does the job, but it's a bit middling for a 2026 premium motherboard.

Finally, there are CMOS clear, BIOS flashback, power, and reset buttons. The latter pair is placed away from the USB ports, so you should not accidentally press them when accessing them.

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Finally, a few words on the Lian Li Lancool 217. It's available for an amazingly low $120 price. It's got five fans, matching wooden accents, lots of customization options, and very good build quality. The position of the front ports just happens to suit my desk too! A build with this case is in my future.

UEFI, Software and Test System

The X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood features a UEFI design with some attractive tweaks that match the board's aesthetic. It's one of the better-looking implementations I've seen, complete with wood buttons. The fonts have a nice contrast, and the layout will be familiar to anyone who's used a GIGABYTE board in recent years.

The easy mode page includes many important settings, and many users will never need to navigate to the advanced section. You can also toggle the X3D Turbo Mode on or off. I did not test X3D Turbo Mode on this board, but my impressions using other X3D boards left me underwhelmed.

The board's primary control app is the GIGABYTE Control Center. It comes with loads of functionality. RGB Fusion is a particularly useful component, as is fan control and monitoring. Another separate app is the GIGABYTE OnFly X3D app, which allows users to switch Turbo X3D modes on or off. Of course, it only works with X3D processors.

Test System

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X - Buy from Amazon
• GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super Ventus 3X - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: G.Skill Trident Z Neo RGB 2x16GB DDR5-6000 CL30 - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Cooler Master MasterLiquid PL360 Flux - Buy from Amazon
• OS Storage: Teamgroup T-Force Z540 2TB - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex Titanium 850W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro - Buy from Amazon

Benchmarks - Rendering and Encoding

Cinebench 2024

Cinebench 2024 is a reliable, widely used benchmark that measures both single- and multi-threaded performance. Note that all our benchmark testing used the latest available Windows updates.

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The X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood achieved 2,299 in the nT test and 140 in the 1T test. That's right on what we expect from our test configuration.

Blender

A rendering application like Blender is just one of many reasons a user might consider a high-core-count CPU, such as the Ryzen 9 9950X. We use the Whitelands demo file and record how long it takes to render the image.

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Ditto in our Blender test. Though the entire field is covered by a difference of only 9 seconds, it's better to be near the top rather than the bottom.

Handbrake

Handbrake is a simple-to-use video encoding and transcoding application. Here, we convert a 4K movie trailer to 1080p. The results below show the average FPS, where a higher value indicates the task will take less time to complete.

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161.4 FPS puts the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood at the top of the chart. It's a strong board for heavily threaded workloads.

Benchmarks - File Compression and Memory Latency

7Zip

7Zip is a commonly used free file compression and decompression app. It's very sensitive to changes in memory speed and latency, and scales with the number of CPU threads.

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Top of the pops again! Though it has to be said, the margins are small.

AIDA64 Memory Latency

Memory latency has been an area where Intel has traditionally held an advantage. Chiplet architectures inevitably add some latency compared to monolithic chips. The real-world benefits aren't that important, though.

Benchmarks - 3DMark

3DMark Storage

UL's newest 3DMark SSD Gaming Test is the most comprehensive SSD gaming test ever devised. It is superior to testing against games themselves because, as a trace, it is much more consistent than variations that will occur between runs of the actual game.

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It's another strong result for the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood.

3DMark Time Spy Extreme

Time Spy Extreme has lost favor as a graphics benchmark to Speed Way and Steel Nomad, but its CPU test is still a good measure of multi-core performance.

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GIGABYTE is definitely doing something right with the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood! To be fair to the other boards, the differences are minor, with only a few hundred points separating them when measured by CPU score.

Benchmarks - Gaming

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is brutal on graphics cards, but when things like ray tracing are removed, it becomes more sensitive to CPU and memory performance differences.

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The GIGABYTE performs well in games too, though it's no surprise that the motherboard makes little difference in graphically limited scenarios.

Horizon Zero Dawn

When using the 'favor performance' preset, Horizon Zero Dawn can achieve high frame rates with powerful graphics cards.

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The differences here are negligible in percentage terms. If you're lucky enough to own an RTX 5090, the margins would be a little larger.

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition

Metro Exodus received an update that added improved DLSS support, enhanced ray tracing features, and variable rate shading, among other things. Still, with a powerful graphics card, it is affected by CPU and memory performance at 1080p, though less so with a card like the RTX 4070 Ti Super.

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Just four frames per second cover the entire field in this test.

VRM and SSD Temperatures

These tests are performed to show off the differences between each motherboard's cooling assemblies. Each board is subjected to a 20-minute Cinebench loop, while the SSD test records the peak temperature during the lengthy 3DMark Storage test.

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A peak temperature of 55 degrees is a strong result. I expected the plastic cover over the VRM heatsink to adversely affect temperatures a little here, but that concern was unfounded. The Dark Wood produced a very competitive result of 55 degrees. Only the finned heatsink designs of the MSI Godlike and ASRock Taichi OCF beat it by a couple of degrees.

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The Dark Wood's primary SSD heatsink doesn't have the large surface area of some of its competitors, though it still produces an excellent temperature reading of just 51 degrees with our Teamgroup SSD.

Final Thoughts

The GIGABYTE X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood is a particularly impressive motherboard that justifies its $449 price. That's something that's not always easy to say once you cross the $400 mark and into the realm of diminishing returns. And its stunning design elevates it to a level few boards can match, and I think none can beat.

Sometimes we need to take a step back and remember we're talking about a circuit board. Aesthetics are important, but usually they come in behind value for money, functionality, specifications, layout, ease of use, and performance. But the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood is an exception. Thanks to the Lian Li Lancool 217, I really want to build a wooden-themed system. I don't usually go much for RGB splendor, but in this case, I'll simply have to.

Looks alone don't make the board. Thankfully, the X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood does very well across all the other criteria mentioned above.

The board's build quality is very good, assisted by the robust backplate. It's quite heavy. The VRM heatsinks combine form and function. The SSD heatsinks are also top-notch, with well-made retention mechanisms and easy reattachment.

As AM5 is now a very mature platform with years of AGESA updates under its belt, motherboards tend not to differ by more than a few percentage points in performance. However, the GIGABYTE performed well. An extra few FPS here, or a second or two quicker there, is nothing major, but every little bit helps in the quest for performance. The X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood does a fine job.

I don't have much to complain about. The biggest exception is the lack of USB PD. I've become accustomed to plugging my phone into a front USB port as it's so easily accessible. Sure, it's easy to buy a charger or power board with USB ports, but plugging directly into the PC to transfer data while fast charging is becoming a desirable feature. ALC1220 audio is getting a bit dated in 2026.

For $449, you get a high-performing, well-built, beautiful-looking, feature-rich board. It's got dual PCIe 5.0 SSD support, very good cooling, dual 5G LAN, fast memory support, great DIY features, very good connectivity, and excellent performance. The GIGABYTE X870E Aero X3D Dark Wood earns a TweakTown Editor's Choice Award.