The size of modern graphics card cooling systems is sometimes as impressive as their weight. Gigabyte has prepared for the heaviest NVIDIA RTX 5090s and offers a PCIe 5.0 connector and mount that can support up to 58 kg. I would not like to think that this is a hint of the size of future graphics cards.
Currently, Gigabyte only offers three B650E (Extreme) motherboards that fully support PCIe 5.0 SSDs and graphics cards. The company will soon demonstrate a new modern AM5 motherboard with this chipset.
It is likely that the next AMD AM5 motherboards will have a different naming scheme than expected. Instead of X770/B750, there will be X870 and X850. Unofficially, it is known that the B650E AORUS PRO motherboard received for testing should have the characteristics and features expected from the X870 board. This could be Gigabyte’s way of demonstrating new features without breaking AMD’s embargo.
The full name of the board is B650E AORUS PRO X USB4. It has WiFi 7 and some innovative features such as Sensor Panel Link, a connector that allows users to connect special panels to display real-time system information without a video card. Although Gigabyte is not currently selling these panels, there is a guide from the company that shows how to connect them. This connector is already available on Z790 AORUS PRO X motherboards.
There is a PCIe UD Slot X design that can support a lot of weight. The 5×16 PCIe slot features Ultra Durable PCIe Armor — a special backplane that can support loads of up to 58 kg. The board will be presented at Computex 2024 and will demonstrate the capabilities of the X870 series.
Sources: BenchLife, VideoCardz