Part of the wave of new motherboard releases sporting Intel's latest mid-range B760 chipset, the Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 is a mainstream ATX offering catered at end-users looking to build a mid-range Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake PC.

Editor's note (January 2024): The B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 now supports 14th Gen "Raptor Lake Refresh" processors with a BIOS update that is available for download from Gigabyte's official website.

On 3rd January 2023, Intel lifted the lid on the rest of its 13th generation Raptor Lake processor and chipset line-up, marking the official release of non-K 13th gen CPUs, as well as mid-range chipsets such as the H770 and B760. To get in on the launch excitement, we'll be checking out a mainstream Intel B760 motherboard that is targeted at the mid-range for this article: the Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4. Sporting support for DDR4 memory that should help to keep build costs low, read on to find out if this board can hold its own against boards powered by the previous-gen Intel B660 chipset, which also supports 13th generation CPUs.

Summary of Specifications

• Processor Support: Intel 13th Gen Core processors & 12th Gen Core, Pentium Gold and Celeron processors
• Chipset: Intel B760
• Memory: 4x DDR4 slots, max 128GB, up to DDR4 5333 (OC) support
• Audio: Realtek ALC897 audio codec
• LAN: Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
• WIFI: None
• Expansion Slots: 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 2x PCIe 3.0 x16 (both slots operate at x1 mode)
• Storage: 4x SATA III, 3x PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 (NVMe mode only)
• Form Factor: ATX

Packaging & Contents

The AORUS series of product offerings are targeted at gamers looking to build mid-to-high-end DIY PCs, placing above Gigabyte's GAMING X and Ultra Durable line-up of motherboard products. The B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 therefore, comes in a box that sports the usual AORUS colourway, with the AORUS falcon motif featuring prominently on the front of the box.

The board comes with the following accessories:

• 2x SATA III cables
• 2x M.2 drive screws
• G-Connector
• Quick start guide

G-Connector is a handy quality-of-life feature that makes connecting the front panel headers of your PC case to your motherboard a fuss-free affair.

Board Aesthetics

The B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 sports a black and silver colourway with line motifs on the heatsinks for added visual appeal, as well as an integrated I/O shield. All in all, the board looks relatively understated in terms of its appearance when compared to other flashier gamer-oriented motherboards on the market, especially when one considers the fact that this board does not come with built-in RGB LEDs. It does of course, come with a smattering of RGB headers - more on the locations of these headers later on in this article.

The board's Intel B760 chipset is cooled by a passive heatsink featuring the AORUS falcon motif...

...and Gigabyte has also included heatsinks for all three M.2 slots that this board comes with, with the second and third M.2 slots sharing a large common heatsink.

VRM & Memory Support

Gigabyte has included a 12+1+1 power delivery solution for the B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4, with 60A DrMOS power stages for the VCore and VCCGT power phases. The brand's fine print states that the 12 phases for the processor is actually a "6+6 phases parallel power design".

In terms of memory support, the board comes with four DDR4 slots that support a maximum of 128GBs of RAM, and the DDR4 5333 (OC) standard. The slots are made of plastic, and have a dual-tabbed design.

Front Panel USB Connectivity

Moving on to front panel USB 3.2 connectivity, Gigabyte has included a USB 3.2 Gen 1 front panel header that provides for two front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, as well as a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C front panel header.

At the bottom edge of the board are two front panel USB 2.0 headers. Each of these headers provide for up to two front panel USB 2.0 Type-A ports, for a total of four ports.

Expansion Slots & Storage Options

Included with the B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 are three PCIe x16 slots, of which the primary slot for a graphics card conforms to the PCIe 4.0 x16 standard, and features Gigabyte's Ultra Durable PCIe Armour that reinforces the slot against heavy graphics cards.

The primary PCIe 4.0 x16 slot also comes with the PCIe EZ-Latch feature, which is essentially an oversized retention tab on the PCIe slot that helps make removing a graphics card from the slot less of a painful affair in a completed PC build.

The remaining two slots are compliant to the PCIe 3.0 spec, and offer x1 transfer speeds, in spite of the slots being full-length x16 parts.

For internal storage, Gigabyte has included four SATA III ports, with all four of these ports in a right-angled configuration so as to aid with cable management.

Also included are three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots. Do note that these slots support NVMe SSDs only - SATA M.2 drives are not supported. The first M.2 slot features the M.2 EZ-Latch Plus feature, which facilitates the tool-less installation and removal of a M.2 drive from the slot. You will still need a screwdriver to remove and reattach the heatsink of the said M.2 slot, however.

Audio & Internet Connectivity

In spite of the B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 being more of a mid-range motherboard offering, the audio for this board is powered by Realtek's entry-level ALC897 audio codec.

Wired internet connectivity for this board is powered by Realtek's RTL8125BG chip that serves up 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet support. Do note that this particular board does not come with built-in WIFI - consumers looking for built-in WIFI will need to look at the B760 AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 variant of this board instead.

Fan & RGB Headers

Fan headers are in no short supply with this board, where it comes with six such headers:

• 1x CPU_FAN
• 1x CPU_OPT
• 3x SYS_FAN
• 1x SYS_FAN4_PUMP

Also included are two addressable RGB headers, and two 12V RGB headers.

Other Features

Near the bottom edge of the board is a Q-Flash Plus button that allows end-users to update the board's BIOS without needing to install a CPU, RAM or graphics card.

Gigabyte has also included a reset button pictured above - the reset button is what Gigabyte terms a multi-key button, which can be re-mapped within the BIOS to serve a variety of different functions, such as to serve as a switch that can enable and disable the board's on-board RGB devices, and so on.

Finally, to aid with troubleshooting PC boot-up issues, Gigabyte has included a set of Status LEDs found near the bottom right-hand corner of the board.

Rear I/O

As mentioned earlier in this article, the B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 goes for an integrated I/O shield design. The board also comes with the following rear I/O ports:

• 4x USB 2.0 Type-A
• 1x DisplayPort 1.2 connector (supports display output of up to 4096x2304@60 Hz)
• 1x HDMI 2.0 connector (supports display output of up to 4096x2160@60 Hz)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps)
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (5 Gbps)
• 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port
• Audio jack connectors

Conclusion & Pricing

In conclusion, the Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 packs an unsurprising set of features for a mid-range Intel B760 motherboard offering, where it serves up a decent-looking aesthetic and features such as three M.2 drive slots, 2,5 Gigabit Ethernet, and quality-of-life features such as EZ-Latch, a multi-key button and so on. 

One point going against this board though, is the value proposition that low-to-mid-range Intel B760 boards have against motherboards powered by Intel's previous-gen B660 chipset offering, that is, while such B660 boards are still available to purchase new on the market. If you’re able to find new B660 boards for cheap, I'd opine that the incremental improvements from the B760 chipset might not be worth the additional cost. Assuming that new B660 boards are indeed cheaper depending on where you're from, the money saved from getting a new B660 board instead could mean redeploying these cost savings towards the other components of your PC build instead.

As of this board's launch in January 2023, the B760 AORUS ELITE DDR4 can be had for a price of around $330 Singapore dollars from offline and online retailers in Singapore, which converts to roughly $245 US dollars for you international readers.

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The motherboard featured in this article was a review unit provided on loan from CDL Trading Pte Ltd, an authorised distributor for Gigabyte in Singapore.