GIGABYTE X870 & B850 "STEALTH" Mainboard Models Spotted in ECC Filing, Featuring Backside I/O

[T0@st]

GIGABYTE introduced its STEALTH series motherboard design at last summer's Computex event; where TechPowerUp staffers inspected a B650E AORUS STEALTH ICE sample model. The Taiwanese manufacturer was readying new board SKUs with backside connectors (power and I/O); destined to take on similar products from rival companies. GIGABYTE's debut wave of STEALTH did not include any AMD X670 chipset-based options, but a recent ECC filing points to possible forthcoming X870-based models. A weekend sleuthing session—performed by harukaze5719—unearthed multiple registrations of X870 and B850 boards. Two unannounced STEALTH ICE models were highlighted in the regional registry.

The X870 and B850 AORUS STEALTH ICE models are expected to arrive within the coming months, reportedly sporting familiar white designs—as seen on GIGABYTE's current-gen option. Insiders believe that a high-end X870E-based offering will not emerge, due to STEALTH occupying a very niche market segment. According to a Chinese leaker, B850 models could arrive in ATX and microATX form factors. Further up in product hierarchies, they reckon that the X870 AORUS STEALTH series: "comes standard with PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 overclocking support. The flagship model comes with dual Thunderbolt 4 interfaces." GIGABYTE's back-connected X870 and B850 board designs could demand high asking prices; their current B650E AORUS STEALTH ICE is not readily available, but in some regions it is selling for $320+.



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[Daven]

That’s a nice lookin’ backside! —smack—

 

[_roman_]

The Last Pin Bender. Have fun bending those pins straight.

That backplate needs improvements. Is it such hard to make a protective housing over those unprotected pins? That area is "unused" anyway.

Changing the CMOS battery or making a CMOS Reset will be a challenge on that mainboard.

 

[Mack4285]

I prefer black color on my PC stuff so this immediately becomes uninteresting, unfortunately. MSI had their Project Zero motherboards only in white so far also...

There were rumors last year about X870 (BTF and Project Zero) from both MSI and Asus. None came to light at CES. Makes these companies look rather stupid when they offer more options for Intel than AMD, when the consumers prefer AMD.

 

[PixelTech]

Looks nice, I'd buy it.

 

[csendesmark]

I like the idea, but we need new cases in every possible variations so we can adapt these boards!

 

[Ruru]

I like the idea, but we need new cases in every possible variations so we can adapt these boards!

I have a strong feeling that there will be more and more cases coming with support for these boards. It's a pretty new thing so totally understable that it's not been catching up yet as much as traditional ATX.