GIGABYTE Intros X870 AORUS Elite WIFI7 Motherboard

[btarunr]

GIGABYTE just released its second AMD 800-series chipset motherboard following last week's debut of the X870E AORUS Master, the more affordable X870 AORUS Elite WIFI7. This board is based on the slightly more affordable AMD X870 (non-E) chipset, which offers connectivity nearly identical to that of the previous-generation AMD B650E, but with the addition of USB4. The board is built in the ATX form-factor, and features a 6-layer PCB. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin EPS power connectors. The CPU VRM solution consists of a 16+2+2 phase setup, with the vCore side of it being 8-phase with phase doubling. The Socket AM5 is wired to four DDR5 DIMM slots for up to 256 GB of memory.

Expansion slots include a PCI-Express 5.0 x16 wired to the CPU, a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 (electrical Gen 4 x4), and a third PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical Gen 3 x2). The main Gen 5 x16 PEG slot gets a quick-release lever. You press a button, and it ejects the graphics card. Storage connectivity includes three M.2 Gen 5 x4 slots, two of these are wired to the CPU's dedicated Gen 5 x4 NVMe lanes, while the third slot subtracts 8 lanes from the Gen 5 x16 PEG slot. There is a fourth M.2 slot, which is Gen 4 x4, and wired to the X870 FCH. All four slots get heatsinks. Four SATA 6 Gbps ports make for the rest of the storage connectivity.



Networking options, as the name of this board suggests, includes a Wi-Fi 7 WLAN card that's either a MediaTek MT7925, or a Realtek RTL8922AE, depending on the PCB revision. Besides Wi-Fi 7, both WLAN solutions put out Bluetooth 5.4. The wired networking side of things see a 2.5 GbE interface driven by a Realtek controller. USB connectivity includes two 40 Gbps USB4 ports that each include DisplayPort passthrough, a 20 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 via a header, two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 type-A, four 5 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1, and two additional 5 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports by header.

The onboard audio solution features a premium Realtek ALC1220 HD audio CODEC with 120 dB SNR, with ground-layer isolation, and audio-grade capacitors. There are no additional AMPs over the CODEC, but GIGABYTE tuned the solution to automatically support high-impedance headphones. There are many DIY-friendly features on offer, including a POST code read-out, LEDs that indicate a point of failure, SMD power and reset buttons, USB BIOS Flashback, PCIe x16 ejection mechanism, a quick-connect Wi-Fi antenna module, a tool-free M.2 SSD mounting mechanism, and three addressable RGB 2.0 headers. The company didn't reveal pricing.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Ruru]

That PCIe release mechanism is one of the best innovations in years. Wonder why it's a recent thing and no manufacturer thought about that years ago (as we've had PCIe 20 years already).

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

That PCIe release mechanism is one of the best innovations in years. Wonder why it's a recent thing and no manufacturer thought about that years ago (as we've had PCIe 20 years already).

You mean the push down tabs? I had those on my PC a decade ago.

 

[HBSound]

Will Gigabyte jump into the ITX game and have an ITX version of this motherboard? To compare to the Asus ROG STRIX X870-I GAMING WIFI???

 

[Berzerker]

while the third slot subtracts 8 lanes from the Gen 5 x16 PEG slot

Absolutely maddening. Why can't motherboard manufacturers ever get this right? Hang it off the extra 3.0 or 4.0 lanes on the chipset. Why cripple the GPU x16 slot with half of the M.2 slots? This is a huge regression from X670(E)

 

[LabRat 891]

Yet another AM5 board w/ less expansion than AM4...

Feature Regression, is a B-

 

[Chaitanya]

Will Gigabyte jump into the ITX game and have an ITX version of this motherboard? To compare to the Asus ROG STRIX X870-I GAMING WIFI???

From the current X870 stack that they have listed on their website no ITX board there.

GIGABYTE Intros X870E AORUS Master Motherboard

Those two CPU M.2 slots are fully independent without the lane-sharing tomfoolery that is its successor. Some would argue that X870E is a downgrade from X670E because of the mandated diversion of four CPU lanes towards USB4 which could have been used for a second CPU M.2. No need to argue...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[A Computer Guy]

It would be great if vendors could come up with an AM5 workstation oriented board that supported expansion with the following flexibility and somewhat intelligent lane splitting...
cpu
x16 Slot 1: x16 ( or x8/x8 or x4/x4/x4/x4 )
x16 Slot 2: x8 ( or x4 for slot + x4 for NVMe_2)
chipset
x16 Slot 3: x8 ( or x4 for slot + x4 for NVMe_3)
x16 Slot 4: x8 ( or x4 for slot + x4 for NVMe_4)

With my current X570 I can manage x8 GPU, x8 dual Optane, x4 10Gbps NIC, x1 USB3 card, and x1 dial-up modum which is a pretty balanced expansion capability for $220-$250 motherboard.
Just to get an AM5 motherboard that can do x8/x8 it's approaching $400 makes me sad and I would still have to choose either GPU+Optane or Optaine+10Gbps NIC. (using iGPU) - major bummer in tradeoffs in consideration of a 9950x upgrade.

Yet another AM5 board w/ less expansion than AM4...

Feature Regression, is a B-

You read my mind

 

[efikkan]

It would be great if vendors could come up with an AM5 workstation oriented board that supported expansion with the following flexibility and somewhat intelligent lane splitting...
cpu
x16 Slot 1: x16 ( or x8/x8 or x4/x4/x4/x4 )
x16 Slot 2: x8 ( or x4 for slot + x4 for NVMe_2)
chipset
x16 Slot 3: x8 ( or x4 for slot + x4 for NVMe_3)
x16 Slot 4: x8 ( or x4 for slot + x4 for NVMe_4)

With my current X570 I can manage x8 GPU, x8 dual Optane, x4 10Gbps NIC, x1 USB3 card, and x1 dial-up modum which is a pretty balanced expansion capability for $220-$250 motherboard.
Just to get an AM5 motherboard that can do x8/x8 it's approaching $400 makes me sad and I would still have to choose either GPU+Optane or Optaine+10Gbps NIC. (using iGPU) - major bummer in tradeoffs in consideration of a 9950x upgrade.

I've been wondering myself, what is up with all these boards, they have terrible connectivity. While it's no issue for pure gamers, "prosumers"/power users will quickly run into issues. I've not yet seen any board come close to what I thought X870/X870E were capable of.

Even though this Gigabyte board has the X870, higher models like the X870E AORUS PRO doesn't seem convincing either:
CPU:
1x x16 (x16 or x8/x8 mode)
3x M.2 (the two latter will share bandwidth with the x16 slot, so in reality this counts as a single M.2 slot if you want a decent GPU for gaming or video editing.)
Chipset:
1x PCIe 4.0 x4
1x PCIE 3.0 x4
1x M.2
4x SATA

For comparison, the closest I've found from Asus is ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi which have;
CPU:
2x x16 (x16 or x8/x8 mode)
2x M.2 (but one of them shares bandwidth with x16_2, so once again if you use more of them it seems like your GPU will suffer)
Chipset:
1x PCIe 4.0 x4
2x M.2
4x SATA
So if I read the specs correctly, this could theoretically in total have a GPU, ~3 SSDs and a 10G NIC and 4 SATA devices, with seemingly some compromises i speed. But this is barely usable as a very basic workstation, with no further room for expansion.

And if you thought these were bad, look at the PRIME X870-P, which you might expect to be a high-end board. I'm not going to list it all, but it's even worse. Only 2 SATA ports, and if you use them, you'll loose an M.2 slot. No slot at all for a 10G NIC.

Unless I'm missing something, this is extremely disappointing.
It's becoming increasingly obvious to me that Threadripper and Xeon-W should be considered for anyone who's needs exceed pure gaming or very basic desktop usage. And I'm not advocating to add more lanes to mainstream CPUs, no rather lower the entry for the proper workstation platforms.

Yet another AM5 board w/ less expansion than AM4...

Feature Regression, is a B-

How about an F?

 

[btarunr]

Absolutely maddening. Why can't motherboard manufacturers ever get this right? Hang it off the extra 3.0 or 4.0 lanes on the chipset. Why cripple the GPU x16 slot with half of the M.2 slots? This is a huge regression from X670(E)

It's not a regression. There are three Gen 5 M.2 slots. Two of them do not subtract lanes form the x16 slot (they have dedicated paths). It's just that Gigabyte wanted to provide an extra Gen 5 slot if you needed, by subtracting lanes from the PEG slot. The fourth M.2 slot is Gen 4 and comes from the chipset.

 

[Blurpy]

i mean at least there bringing the 7 segment display back to mid range boards

 

[ymdhis]

The most maddening part is that two of the four m.2 slots become unusable if you use a Phoenix APU.

 

[s3thra]

You mean the push down tabs? I had those on my PC a decade ago.

I think he means this thing, which I had to look up. Gotta say, it would make things very convenient:

 

[TheLostSwede]

It's not a regression. There are three Gen 5 M.2 slots. Two of them do not subtract lanes form the x16 slot (they have dedicated paths). It's just that Gigabyte wanted to provide an extra Gen 5 slot if you needed, by subtracting lanes from the PEG slot. The fourth M.2 slot is Gen 4 and comes from the chipset.

Actually, only one doesn't subtract from the x16 slot, since the other four PCIe 5.0 lanes from the CPU are used for the ASM4242 on the 800-series boards.
Even the one from the chipset is shared with the x4 PCIe slot, with the second one only being x2.

i mean at least there bringing the 7 segment display back to mid range boards

This board has one...

The most maddening part is that two of the four m.2 slots become unusable if you use a Phoenix APU.

Well, that's AMD's design choice though. Not much the board makers can do when the CPU doesn't have enough PCIe lanes.

 

[TomWeng]

SSD users will like this motherbord hahahaha

 

[Sarajiel]

It's not a regression. There are three Gen 5 M.2 slots. Two of them do not subtract lanes form the x16 slot (they have dedicated paths). It's just that Gigabyte wanted to provide an extra Gen 5 slot if you needed, by subtracting lanes from the PEG slot. The fourth M.2 slot is Gen 4 and comes from the chipset.

That's actually wrong, as @TheLostSwede pointed out by posting the block diagram. It's a little embarrassing for a site called "Tech"-PowerUp that the news editor can't figure out how the tech actually works and repeatedly gets it wrong. So far, all Gigabyte motherboards of the X870E line that have been publicly announced have the same splitting of the PCIe x16 Gen5 slot into x8+x4+x4 to provide two additional Gen5 M.2 slots. Even the B650E AORUS Pro X USB4 does it that way.
It's more complicated with Asus boards, because, some are more crippled and split only into x8+x4+0 and others that offer x8+x8 use additional switches to bifurcate the 2nd PCIe Gen5 x8 further into x4+x4 like the ProArt or Hero.
I don't know if it's mandated by AMD or of it's the only feasible option, but so far every board that offers USB4 via the new ASMedia controller uses the four general purpose lanes of the CPU instead the chipset which was previously done on boards that used Intel's Maple Ridge controller to provide USB4/Thunderbolt, like the Crosshair X670E Gene or Hero.

chipset
x16 Slot 3: x8 ( or x4 for slot + x4 for NVMe_3)
x16 Slot 4: x8 ( or x4 for slot + x4 for NVMe_4)

Offering a x8 slot would be pointless, because the chipsets on all AM5 CPUs are only connected via PCIe Gen4 x4. Unless we get to a new socket for AMD, we won't see many more PCIe lanes from the CPU. The best you can hope for is a new chipset for AM5 in the future that is actually connected via Gen5 x4, but this will probably increase the cost of the boards massively due to the required trace length.

SSD users will like this motherbord hahahaha

Not really. Unless you actually need USB4, you are better off with the B650E Aorus Master or the X670E Aorus Xtreme that offer four Gen5 x4 M.2 slots connected to the CPU.

 

[A Computer Guy]

Offering a x8 slot would be pointless, because the chipsets on all AM5 CPUs are only connected via PCIe Gen4 x4. Unless we get to a new socket for AMD, we won't see many more PCIe lanes from the CPU. The best you can hope for is a new chipset for AM5 in the future that is actually connected via Gen5 x4, but this will probably increase the cost of the boards massively due to the required trace length.

I get it. I would like to dream for a little while and maybe a sales manager will see my dream and make it so at an affordable price point.

 

[_roman_]

Gigabyte should hire a proper photograph. These pictures loos like artifically painted or computer generated

thanks that is the Summary. Its a downgrade and B Chipset.

This board is based on the slightly more affordable AMD X870 (non-E) chipset, which offers connectivity nearly identical to that of the previous-generation AMD B650E, but with the addition of USB4.

To make matters worse, 4 SATA connectors, 2.5Gbit Ethernet and USB 4.0.
USB4.0, Ethernet, wifi and sound belongs to expansion cards.


--

And if you thought these were bad, look at the PRIME X870-P, which you might expect to be a high-end board. I'm not going to list it all, but it's even worse. Only 2 SATA ports, and if you use them, you'll loose an M.2 slot. No slot at all for a 10G NIC.

Regarding that mainboard - that is even worse. https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/prime-x870-p/techspec/

2 x USB4® (40Gbps) ports (2 x USB Type-C®)
1 x USB 10Gbps port (1 x Type-A)
3 x USB 5Gbps ports (3 x Type-A)
4 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x Type-A)
[/quote ]

copy paste from the pdf manual from my ASUS X670-P Prime

Rear USB (Total 10 ports)
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port (1 x USB Type-C®)
3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (3 x Type-A)
4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (4 x Type-A)
USB
2 x USB 2.0 ports (2 x Type-A)

Just a warning - I would not recommend getting an ASUS Prime mainboard. It is a low end board with lots of firmware issues so far for myself.

In my point of view as an ASUS X670-P Prime Mainboard owner. (which is basically the same with the wifi option. I added the wifi later myself That board exists in at least 3 options so far.)

The Prime does not really get early or any UEFI updates. It's always the latest mainbaord to get updates or no updates. That means security holes which implies the boot sequence was not fixed in time. Other ASUS Mainboards had 3 weeks earlier that fix.

My mainboard also loses a PICE slot when one or two SATA ports are beeing used. That is nothing unusual. I read a lot of mainboard online manuals. Many boards have that drawback. Just read before the online handbook when you intend to buy a mainboard.

--

For comparison, the closest I've found from Asus is ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi which have;

--

Proart Mainboard in my point of view, regarding AM4 and AM5, are the luxuary, most expensive mainboards. Nice boards usually about the online specifications and online product webpage.

 

[MangoX]

What a regression alright! My x670 Aorus Elite AX has 4 M2s! Now we're regressing to three? What the hell?

 

[TheLostSwede]

What a regression alright! My x670 Aorus Elite AX has 4 M2s! Now we're regressing to three? What the hell?

In favour of USB4 support.

 

[efikkan]

Gigabyte should hire a proper photograph. These pictures loos like artifically painted or computer generated

These are renderings, which means they either didn't bother photographing the final product, or more likely they rushed it so much that the final boards weren't in hand ahead of the product launch. For the companies who does this, it tells us a lot about their dedication and priorities (rushing out a bunch of gimmicky products vs. making quality products that are properly tested).

Just a warning - I would not recommend getting an ASUS Prime mainboard. It is a low end board with lots of firmware issues so far for myself.

In my point of view as an ASUS X670-P Prime Mainboard owner. (which is basically the same with the wifi option. I added the wifi later myself That board exists in at least 3 options so far.)

The Prime does not really get early or any UEFI updates. It's always the latest mainbaord to get updates or no updates. That means security holes which implies the boot sequence was not fixed in time. Other ASUS Mainboards had 3 weeks earlier that fix.

Noted.
The Prime models (especially with the higher chipsets) are often marketed for office use, and are most certainly not priced to give the impression of "low end". I've used and observed them in PCs at work, and never had any issues with them, but these have been Intel systems so I don't know if that is comparable.

My mainboard also loses a PICE slot when one or two SATA ports are beeing used. That is nothing unusual. I read a lot of mainboard online manuals. Many boards have that drawback. Just read before the online handbook when you intend to buy a mainboard.

My point was that this pretty pricey motherboard have only two SATA ports, and using them sacrifises other desired functionality. Keep in mind we are talking about the highest tier of chipsets for the platform here X870/X870E, we should expect them to be pretty much fully featured. It would be completely different for the lower tier chipsets.

Such boards are pretty much a no-go for any "prosumer". Let's say I wanted to replace my secondary desktop, bring over the HDDs, replace the SSDs, run dual-boot, game SSD and one for scratch space for projects, and one ODD, it will already be out of ports before it has replaced my old PC, and then there is no more room to grow.

As for online specs and manuals, they may not be 100% accurate at all times, and manuals don't always even list the limitations.

But I did do this mistake with my now primary build; when I bought it back in 2021, it was intended as a secondary machine along with a proper WS, so I didn't think too much of it, and got a ASUS ProArt B550-CREATOR. Now plans change, WS build postponed, and new needs show up, and I want to add a couple more HDDs, a SSD, an ODD and a 10G NIC - not possible. So it will probably be replaced soon primarily due to IO limitations, not performance or stability issues. Prosumers learn from my mistakes; make sure you have at least some flexibility.
The vast majority of motherboards for the mainstream platforms are becoming suited only for gaming and light office use, despite having "HEDT level" pricing.

Proart Mainboard in my point of view, regarding AM4 and AM5, are the luxuary, most expensive mainboards. Nice boards usually about the online specifications and online product webpage.

So, which ones are non-artys and offer more or less the same for a lower price?

 

[A Computer Guy]

In favour of USB4 support.

I'm kind of excited at the idea of being able to use USBC with daisy chaining to connect and power monitors. Less cables, less hassle, I'm ready for it. Now if they could do that for Fans and RGB too that would be great.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I'm kind of excited at the idea of being able to use USBC with daisy chaining to connect and power monitors. Less cables, less hassle, I'm ready for it. Now if they could do that for Fans and RGB too that would be great.

Why does everyone here seem to think that you can power monitors from USB-C? It's 7.5 Watts of power that's the base spec, 15 W for Thunderbolt 3+.
What monitor are you going to power with that?
USB PD is NOT part of the USB4 or Thunderbolt specs.

It's more likely that you'll have a USB PD enabled monitor (there are tons of them on the market) that will power your laptop.

 

[zo0lykas]

3000 years later, at least one manufacturer managed to move battery to accessible place

board looks sick ! i mean really nice

 

[starfals]

You mean the push down tabs? I had those on my PC a decade ago.

Huh? I got these on my brand new 500 dollar motherboard with 7800X3D CPU. All motherboards i have seen has that... so this new thing is amazing. The way u said it.. its like we had this new thing for ages, we did not. Tell me if im miss reading ur comment ;p