Asus’ B850-Creator Wifi Neo motherboard is designed to serve the creator community (think 3D modeling and rendering, animation, and other media production). This community tends to use a lot of bandwidth, particularly for storage when you’re dealing with large files, either via physical connections to external drives (think USB-C) or via a NAS over Ethernet. With that, Creator boards tend to focus on faster networking, storage, and USB ports to speed up workflows.

The B850-Creator Neo is a ProArt-class board for creators that tries to serve that niche, offering dual 5 GbE ports and two PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 sockets, neither of which is often found on a $299.99 motherboard. However, it doesn’t have any USB4/40 Gbps ports for connecting external storage (unlike the more expensive X870E-Creator Wifi), so any work that requires speed from your storage will have to come from the internal connections.

Outside of that, the X850-Creator Wifi Neo has enough ports and sockets to keep most budget users happy. On top of the 160 MHz Wi-Fi 7 and dual 5 GbE ports, you get eight total USB ports, though only six Type-A ports will leave some wanting. You also get three M.2 sockets (two PCIe 5.0) and a solid last-gen flagship-class audio codec. If you need more USB ports, you can use one of the two extra PCIe expansion slots for more, and even faster ports. Aside from the hardware specifications, the ProArt uses a clean, professional design with a black PCB and black heatsinks, along with metallic gold accents that spell out the ProArt branding on the VRM heatsinks.

Performance testing went as expected and was quite similar to most other boards we tested. Overall, it performed well across most of our benchmark suite. It was competent at gaming and also above average at most tests, including rendering (as we’ll see in detail later), so there's nothing to worry about in terms of performance, no matter how you want to use this motherboard.

Below, we’ll examine the B850-Creator Neo’s performance and other features, although as you have probably guessed from the score above, it won't make it to our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Asus’ website:

Specifications of the Creator Wifi Neo

Inside the Box

Asus includes a few accessories to get you started, including the typical collection of cables, antennas, and guides, but not much else, as is typical for this class of motherboard. We’ve listed the accessories inside the box below:

• (4) SATA 6Gb/s cables
• Thermal pad for M.2 22110
• ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna
• Q-connector
• (3) M.2 Q-Slide package
• (5) M.2 backplate rubber packages
• ROG stickers
• ROG screwdriver
• Quick start guide

Design of the Creator Neo

The B850-Creator Wifi Neo is decidedly a ProArt board. With its all-black, 8-layer server-grade PCB design, gold accents on the heatsinks spelling out Pro Art in some form (Pro on the chipset heatsinks and Art on the left VRM heatsink. The M.2 heatsinks cover the PCIe 5.0-capable sockets, but I wouldn't call them sufficient for extended use of hot-running 5.0 drives without throttling. Outside of that, there isn’t much bling, like RGB lighting. So if that’s a part of your vision, it would need to come from the case and fans through the onboard headers.

Overall, I like the professional appearance. And what you see, a lot of motherboard showing, is typical for the price point. I just wish at least one of the PCIe 5.0 x4 sockets included a heavier heatsink.

Starting with the top-left corner, we get a better look at the two 8-pin ProCool EPS connectors (one required) to feed the processor. Next, we get a better look at the gold-accented ProArt design on the matte-finish VRM heatsinks. Moving past the socket area, the next feature we encounter is the four DRAM slots, with the locking mechanism located only on the top. Asus lists support for DDR5-8400 with 9000-series processors and higher, and DDR5-8600 for 8000-series APUs. We didn’t have any issues running our DDR5-6000 and DDR5-7200 kits with the 9900X. But, as is typical with our test hardware, we needed to break out the APU for our DDR5-8000 kit to work. If you want to get the most out of your RAM, you can use Asus’ AEMP (Asus Enhanced Memory Profile) functionality, which detects the memory ICs in the kit and provides optimized frequency, timing, and voltage profiles that you can easily apply to increase performance.

Above the DRAM slots are the first three (of seven) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices. Each header outputs up to 3A/36W, which is plenty of output for any pump-and-fan configuration. You can even run a custom loop off the headers without worrying about power. Control of any attached devices is handled via the BIOS or Fan Expert 4 in the Armory Crate software suite. Or you can use ProArt Creator Hub to monitor PC status, switch fan profiles, and adjust performance modes.

Continuing right and moving down the long edge, the first thing we run into is the 4-LED debug header, which lights up during the POST process. If something goes wrong during this critical time, one of the LEDs corresponding to the problem (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot) remains lit, indicating where the hiccup is. Moving down the same edge, we then see the first two (of three) 4-pin ARGB connectors. The ProArt Creator hub or Armory Crate controls each. Next, we see the 24-pin ATX connector for board power, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) connector that also supports 30W PD/QC4+ charging, and a 19-pin front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header.

Power delivery on the B850-Creator Wifi Neo is plenty capable, sporting 17 phases, with 14 dedicated to Vcore. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connectors and onto the Digi+ EPU (ASP2205) voltage regulator. From there, it moves to the 80A DrMOS MOSFETs. The 1,120 Amps available isn’t a ton, but it will handle any CPU you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2.

At the bottom of the board, on the left, are the last-gen flagship Realtek ALC1220P codec and a couple of dedicated audio capacitors. This audio solution is typical for the price point, and most users won’t have any issues with it.

Next are four PCIe slots in the middle of the board. The top full-length slot uses reinforcement, connects to the CPU, supports PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds, and uses the PCIe Slot Q-Release to simplify removing a PCIe card from the motherboard. The other reinforced full-length slot also connects via the CPU and supports PCIe 5.0 x8 speeds. If both slots are in use, they run at x8/x8. The bottom full-length slot (not reinforced) connects via the chipset and supports PCIe 4.0 x4 (but it shares lanes with M.2_3). The tiny x1 slot also connects through the chipset and runs up to PCIe 4.0 x1 speeds.

There are three M.2 sockets, with the top two (under heatsinks) connecting to the processor and supporting PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) speeds. The last M.2 socket, M.2_3 on the right, connects through the chipset and runs up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. This socket shares bandwidth with the PCIe_3 slot. If either one is populated, the other gets disabled. So keep that in mind if you need to use that slot, as it will take away an M.2 socket.

Along the right edge, we find another 4-pin fan header and two (of four) SATA ports. If you need to run RAID, the SATA ports and M.2 sockets support RAID0/1/5/10 modes.

We also included images of several chips used on the board. Asus uses mainly Realtek (audio, networking), and it's own PWM ICs.

At the bottom are several headers, including front-panel audio and USB ports. A complete list of connectivity is listed below (from L to R):

• Front panel audio
• 2-pin thermal sensor header
• COM port
• 2-pin Clear CMOS
• 3-pin ARGB header
• (3) 4-pin fan headers
• TB/USB4 header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (2) SATA ports
• Front panel
• Battery

The rear I/O on the B850-Creator Neo has all the basics, but lacks native 40 Gbps USB ports, which could be a concern for creators whose files are on an external drive. Outside of that, it does come with two USB-C ports, both running at 10 Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 1), and one supporting DP Alt Mode (for video). You get two 10 Gbps and four 480 Mbps Type-A ports for a total of six, which can be limiting for some users (including me). Additionally, there are DisplayPort and HDMI for video output, a BIOS Flashback button, dual 5 GbE ports, quick-connect Wi-Fi 7, and three 3.5mm audio jacks (no SPDIF).

Note: this board uses a ‘slower’ Wi-Fi 7 that’s limited to 2.9 Gbps. It’s still plenty fast, and faster than Wi-Fi 6, but it's worth mentioning in case you’re one of the few who actually need the fastest Wi-Fi around and have the hardware to use it.

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Firmware

Asus updated the BIOS layout and for the Creator Neo, using the familiar white/tan/gold that matches the ProArt theme and the mostly black board. EZ Mode is mostly informative, with system information and temperatures on the left, and quick settings for EZ Flash, Aura RGB, the Driver Hub for easy driver installation, and more in the middle. Fan control and access to full Q-Fan functionality are below. The right block displays DRAM and storage status, and Boot Priority is self-explanatory.

Advanced mode still has the headers across the top, but the shortcuts to Q-Fan and AI OC have been moved to quick settings and other locations. The right panel holds system information, including CPU frequency and temperature, in a colorful display. The main body has all the editable functionality.

Overall, I like the aesthetic update for the BIOS. It’s easy to read, and, as usual with Asus' BIOS, frequently used items are easy to find and not buried too deeply in their menus. Anything that’s a pain to access can be added to the customizable favorites screen.

Software

Armoury Crate has Several applications exist for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control and audio to system monitoring and overclocking. It's also worth mentioning the included software. When purchasing this Asus motherboard, you get a one-year AIDA64 license – a helpful application for stress and performance testing; Asus’ Driver Hub (get your updated drivers here); Dolby Atmos (for audio); and a custom version of Hwinfo for real-time monitoring — all are helpful applications. We’ve captured a few screenshots of the applications below.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

Starting with our synthetic benchmarks, the Creator Neo was average to above average among the other tested boards. In some tests, such as 7-Zip compression, it was among the fastest. It was average elsewhere and rarely below. This is what we see from most boards—nothing to worry about so far.

Timed Applications

Timed applications also went well. It delivered the slower of the two times in LAME (9.0 seconds) but faster in Corona (41 seconds). Handbrake results were also good, running above average across both sub-tests. Nothing out of the ordinary here, either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the Creator Neo was average overall. It scored slightly lower on the 3DMark Speedway test but slightly faster than average on Steel Nomad. In our games, Cyberpunk 2077 results were right around average, while F1 24 was slightly above average at 124/175 FPS (minimum/average, respectively). To summarize, this board has no issues running games or any productivity/creator-related activities.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X. The Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s RAM prices, we doubt many people are looking at these higher speeds in the first place.

Dropping in the Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, which is a trend we’ve seen since we started using the APU (the IMCs on the APUs are generally better than those on desktop processors). Again, AMD’s sweet spot is around 6000-6400 MT/s, and this board (really any X870E board we’ve tested) can handle that and then some. Asus also offers AI Overclocking for the CPU if you don’t want to adjust settings manually.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing the Creator with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it to be less power-hungry than most boards. At idle, it sat around 81W and peaked at 256W. This averages out to 169W, which is again slightly lower than the average B850/X870/X870E-based boards.

VRM temperatures are good, peaking at just under 48 degrees Celsius on our sensor (internal sensor readings were off and not listed). Between the capable power delivery and large heatsinks, you won’t have any trouble running flagship-class processors or even overclocking.

Bottom Line

Asus’ B850-Creator Wifi Neo is an OK budget motherboard for Creators. Priced at $299.99, you get dual 5 GbE ports, three display output options, and several of Asus’ EZ DIY and AI Features that all help to make this a viable option for the budget-minded creator. That said, you are lacking in a couple of areas compared to the X870E version of the board, which offers faster USB (40 Gbps USB4 ports) and more USB ports. If you’re hung up on the port count, the next Asus Creator option costs almost $250 more ($549.99), and at that point, there are plenty of other options that would work for less.

One example, ASRock’s X870 Taichi Creator ($319.99), is arguably a better option in the creator space and a direct competitor to the Asus B850 Creator. For $20 more, you get 10GbE and 5 GbE, dual USB4 (40 Gbps) ports, and more USB Type-A ports, along with even more robust power delivery. If this isn't the board for you, check out our best motherboards article to see if one of our best picks are right for you.

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Leading Japanese capsule toy maker Tarlin International has announced an official collaboration with “the four major manufacturers” of the PC components industry. The teased result means that gachapon fans will be able to get their hands on tiny models of ASRock, Gigabyte, MSI, and Intel parts (plus fans, PSUs, and cases), accurate enough “that you can assemble and play with.” In 2026, PC building has become so expensive that perhaps Tarlin’s latest wares will fill an emotional vacuum in the market.

In the image above, you can see Tarlin has inked some kind of official licensing deal with ASRock, Gigabyte, MSI, and Intel. There’s already been four series of networking equipment gachapon launched by Tarlin, for some context.

As far as we can see from the social media posting, the new Tarlin gachapon series includes three branded miniature motherboards: the ASRock Z890 Steel Legend WiFi, the Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite WiFi7 Plus, and the MSI MEG Z890 Ace. Premium stuff. Intel’s Core Ultra 7 270K Plus seems to be the only CPU choice. There are also case fans, a PSU, and a tower case for your minuscule components PC build.

Tarlin’s eccentric gachapon pedigree

Compared with gachapon rivals like Bandai and Takara Tomy, Tarlin has carved a niche, eccentric furrow in the industry. It has a reputation for turning everyday, mundane, or highly technical objects into accurate scale miniatures.

Examples of other incredibly niche Tarlin-produced capsules include its Temporary Toilet Series, a realistic Articulated Crayfish, and its series of Cisco rackmount network gear toys. In this context, it's “serious spec” PC component capsule toys, which are made to such exacting precision that they can be assembled to make tiny tower PCs, aren’t so unusual.

In 2024, we spotted a Japanese capsule toy machine filled with Intel CPUs. One gacha chancer acquired an Intel Core i7-8700 CPU after inserting 500 Yen (around $3.25) and twisting the customary knob.

It looks like motherboard vendors are hurting badly. As Prime Day gets underway, we're seeing some price discounts on motherboards that are frankly hard to believe. Take the flagship ASRock Z890 Taichi as an example, which is normally $460, but you can get it for a massive 56% off, bringing the price down to $200. When you see a discount that big (its previous low was $300), you know something is afoot.

That something is the price of RAM and SSDs. With prices high on those components, enthusiasts aren't building new PCs, and by extension, not buying motherboards. Motherboard sales have apparently dropped by as much as 37%, and vendors are massively cutting prices to get those numbers up.

Although the existential dread of PC component pricing right now is omnipresent, let the lose of motherboard vendors be your gain. It's extremely unlikely that we'll see motherboards this cheap again once RAM prices stabilize, so now is the best time to buy if you want to upgrade.

We're picking out some of the most impressive discounts here, but make sure to keep our list of the best motherboard deals handy during Prime Day if you want to check out all of the discounts.

Save $260 on the ASRock Z890 Taichi at a new all-time low price

We're very familiar with the ASRock Z890 Taichi, as it's the motherboard we use for testing LGA 1851 CPUs. Carrying ASRock's Taichi brand, it's a flagship design with all the bells and whistles, and at a list price of $460, those bells and whistles make sense. Right now, however, you can get it for just $200.

The board is high-end across the board. It supports memory speeds up to 9600 MT/s, and it comes with a 20+1+2+1+1 VRM design, giving you plenty of power stages to push your CPU overclocks hard.

Internally, you're spoiled for connectivity options. There are a total of six M.2 slots, one of which supports PCIe Gen5 x4 (the others support PCIe Gen4 x4). The top PCIe slot also supports PCIe Gen5 x16, and the board comes with an internal USB-C header.

Around the rear, you'll find dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, another four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and dual LAN with connections for 2.5Gb and 5Gb. You simply won't find this level of support on a motherboard for $200, or even $300, for that matter.

Get 40% off the Asus ROG Strix B650E-I makes SFF affordable

You'll pay a hefty premium on any premium mini ITX motherboard; take it from a recovering SFF addict. This current deal on the Asus ROG Strix B650E-I, which I personally used for the last few years with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, makes mini-ITX seem far more reasonable. The board is 40% off, bringing its $300 list price down to $180.

That matches the board's previous all-time low, which it hasn't been to in nearly a year. Despite such limited room, this board has a solid amount of connectivity. It features two M.2 slots, one at PCIe Gen5 and the other at Gen4, along with two SATA connections. There's a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot that supports PCIe bifurcation through the BIOS, as well. There's even internal headers for USB 3.2 Gen 1 and Gen 2, so you get full front panel connectivity.

Around the back, you get a total of eight USB ports: two USB 2.0, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C. The board also comes with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, so you don't need to muck around with add-in cards. Although the 600-series chipsets debuted with Ryzen 7000 CPUs, this board also supports newer Ryzen 9000 CPUs via a BIOS update.

Flashback to LGA 1700 with the MSI Z790 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi at an all-time low price

MSI's Gaming Plus range doesn't go overboard like a Taichi, but they're reliable boards that we've cycled in and out of the Tom's Hardware test bench several times over the years. The MSI Z790 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi here doesn't have a shocking sticker discount (it's 27% off), but it's down to its lowest price ever, giving you Intel's flagship chipset from the previous generation for just $130.

This is a midrange motherboard that you can buy for an entry-level price. It sports a total of four M.2 slots, one of which supports PCIe Gen5, along with four PCIe expansion slots (the top x16 slot supports Gen5, as well). Networking is excellent, as well, with the board coming with 2.5Gb LAN, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.

Through the back panel, you get audio hookups for the Realtek ALC897 7.1 audio chip, along with three USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, and a single USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C connection. The board features internal headers for USB 3.0 and 3.2 Gen 2, as well.

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If you're in the market for an X870 motherboard with a rich feature set, the Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite WiFi7 is one of them that comes to mind. The premium motherboard, from one of the biggest names in the industry, usually carries a $319.99 price tag. However, for a limited time, the Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite WiFi7 can be your reliable workhorse for $249.99, saving you $70.

• Check out the Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite WiFi7 deal on Newegg

The Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite WiFi7 features a potent 16+2+2-phase power delivery subsystem. It can support entry-level to flagship AMD Ryzen processors across the Ryzen 9000, Ryzen 8000, and Ryzen 7000 lineups. You can outfit the motherboard with up to 256GB of memory with modules ranging from DDR5-4400 to DDR5-8200. AMD EXPO and Intel XMP support let you configure your memory with a single click in the BIOS.

The motherboard has multiple storage ports to take advantage of the latest PCIe 5.0 SSDs. It has one high-speed M.2 PCIe 5.0 x4 port that's complemented by three more M.2 ports that run at PCIe 5.0 x4 or PCIe 4.0 x4, depending on which Ryzen chip you pair it with. If you prefer conventional SATA, there are four SATA III ports on the motherboard with RAID 0, 1, and 10 support.

Expansion and connectivity options on the Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite WiFi7 are also very plentiful. The primary PCIe 5.0 x16 expansion slot is great for a graphics card, while the other two PCIe x16 expansion slots (one PCIe 4.0 x4 and one PCIe 3.0 x2) are more than adequate for other, less bandwidth-demanding devices. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 are also available for high-speed Internet connection and transfers.

With a current price of $249.99, the Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite WiFi7 makes for a very solid foundation for any AMD-based system. It has enough unique features to make the motherboard a great option for a wide range of builds, whether it's a gaming PC, a normal system, or a small consumer-grade workstation.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

AMD announced EXPO Ultra Low Latency at Computex this month, promising to bring it to most AM5 motherboards as part of the EXPO 1.2 update. We've known about EXPO 1.2 since April, when it first showed up in BIOS releases, and it has already been available on 800-series motherboards for a while. Now, the first batch of 600-series motherboards have begun receiving ULL support as well.

MSI and Asus have both just pushed out new AGESA 1.3.0.1b BIOSes to various X670 products. Asus has updated the X670E Hero, X670E Gene, X670 Extreme, X670E-A Gaming Wi-Fi, X670E-E Gaming Wi-Fi, X670E-F Gaming Wi-Fi, and X670 Creator Wi-Fi. The X670E-I Gaming Wi-Fi, X670E-Plus, and X670-E Plus Wi-Fi are missing their subsequent updates for now, but they should be coming soon.

These are all beta releases, so keep in mind they're not intended for most users. We also checked a bunch of B650 support pages manually (since they don't have a dedicated thread like X670), and no Asus motherboard seems to have been updated to AGESA 1.3.0.1b yet. They're all running the AGESA 1.3.0.0 or 1.3.0.1 releases from months ago, but don't explicitly mention EXPO ULL support being added.

Similarly, MSI has updated its X670-E motherboards to AGESA 1.3.0.1b, and the release notes highlight EXPO ULL, while X670 (non-E) boards also received Ultra Low Latency updates with AGESA 1.3.0.1 BIOSes during this or the past week. Some models like the MAG X670-E Tomahawk Wi-Fi actually added ULL support back on May 27th when they were updated to 1.3.0.1, but that news was missed by most of the community.

MSI has also updated their B650 lineup with AGESA 1.3.0.1b this week, with ULL support mentioned in the release notes for all models we checked, including budget A620 offerings. Gigabyte follows a similar pattern; all of its B650 and X670(E) motherboards have the latest AGESA release with Ultra Low Latency checked off in the patch notes. Lastly, we took a look at ASRock and, unfortunately, that was a bit of a confusing endeavor.

First of all, none of its motherboards, not even the highest-end X870E models, have been updated to the very recent 1.3.0.1b release; rather, they're all on 1.3.0.1. That's fine on its own, but the release notes only mention "Optimized Memory Compatibility," and we're pretty sure that doesn't refer to EXPO ULL, given the February/March release dates. At least even the entry-level units are updated with recent BIOSes, though.

The reason we dug this deep is that EXPO Ultra Low Latency can be very useful in eliminating the added latency penalty associated with modern AMD platforms. It can be particularly helpful if you're running a high-frequency kit that forces a 2:1 clock ratio, but even standard 6,000 MT/s CL30 kits can benefit. AMD says ULL profiles can help improve gaming FPS by up to 4% in non-X3D CPUs.

It doesn't help as much in chips equipped with 3D V-Cache because the large amount of SRAM reduces those CPUs' sensitivity to finer adjustments. Moreover, EXPO ULL is not just a software-side solution — you need new RAM kits compatible with the tech to use this feature since the tweaks are baked into the memory's physical SPD. It's not something you can update like your motherboard BIOS.

Technically speaking, AMD is simply codifying what overclockers have done manually for years into an official certification. If you don't want to buy new memory to get the one-click profile, which is understandable in the current RAMpocalypse, you can just mimic the subtimings one-by-one. Of course, going at it manually comes at the cost of potential stability issues.

Intel's next-gen Nova Lake family is expected to land on a new socket, but it will also bring forth a bunch of new chipsets with it. We've already covered them before, but new details have surfaced about the flagship offerings: Z970 and Z990. Both of these will allegedly feature the same PCH that's 22% smaller but more power-hungry than the current-gen Z890 platform, consuming up to 14W at the top-end when fully saturated.

Before we discuss that, a low-resolution picture of the Z990 PCH has also been leaked, with Jaykhin claiming it measures out to 25 x 24mm for the package, while featuring an 11.15 x 6.5mm die. That comes out to 72.5mm² for the die area, while we're looking at 600mm² for the package area. For comparison, Z890's package area was 658mm², and the die area would work out to 92.9mm², constituting a 22% shrinkage for the die and an 8.8% smaller overall package.

This is despite the higher power draw suggested for Z990, which is 14W. However, the platform will only hit that upper limit when running multiple PCIe 5.0 devices simultaneously; otherwise, the base power for the Z990 PCH is just 7.9W — still 1.9W more than the 6W base power of Z890. Even the cut-down Z970 apparently features a 6.4W base power draw. Both chipsets have the same maximum operating temperature of 113°C, 5 degrees higher than Z890.

When you have just a single GPU slotted in the motherboard, it's wired up directly to the CPU and doesn't use any of the downstream PCIe lanes stemming from the chipset. The same goes for a single PCIe 5.0 drive for Z970 and up to two PCIe 5.0 SSDs for Z990. But the moment you add more PCIe 5.0 devices, they're routed through the chipset, which makes it consume more power to maintain signal integrity.

We haven't officially seen any LGA 1954 motherboard yet, but there were some early prototypes at Computex, which is where the leaked PCH image could've come from. Anyhow, Nova Lake is expected to carry up to 52 cores at the top-end, so it makes sense such powerful motherboards are required to handle the silicon. Previous rumors have pointed toward an insane 700W PL4 for the flagship NVL-S part with dual compute tiles.

It's a weird fact of the modern PC industry, but the motherboard "chipset" or "Platform Controller Hub" (to use Intel's terminology) is basically just a PCIe-attached I/O hub that exposes additional PCIe, USB, SATA, and platform services. Contemporary CPUs are built as SoCs, so all the essential functions to run the machine are integrated into the CPU itself. That's why companies have started creating what are effectively I/O breakout boards by slapping motherboard chipsets onto PCI Express cards, including the one pictured above from WisdPi, as well as one coming from Minisforum, as spotted by PC Watch at Computex.

In the case of the AMD Promontory 21 chipset, it really is just a PCI Express I/O controller. In fact, AMD created the X670 chipset by simply wiring up two Promontory 21 chips in series. It's the exact same chip, just used in pairs on the fancier motherboards, so you end up with piles of I/O, though it's all running over the same PCI Express 4.0 x4 link to the CPU.

We've reported on cards like this before; this past December, we highlighted an open-source project for exactly this purpose, and of course, Asusd and ASRock have shipped expansion boards for specific motherboards that "upgrade" them from B650 to X670 by adding the second Promontory 21 chipset. All the way back in 2023, we also covered AMD engineers showing off the same thing in a Gamers Nexus video. Indeed, the very word "Promontory" refers to a projection from a larger body, such as a high cliff or, perhaps, an add-on card.

So, the WisdPi "PROM21 All In Expansion Card" is a half-height PCI Express 4.0 add-in card that offers a whopping four M.2 slots, five USB 10 Gbps ports, six USB 2.0 ports, and an OCuLink port that supports PCI Express 4.0 or can breakout into four SATA ports. That's more connectivity than some motherboards offer, which is no surprise, since the card costs $199 by itself, with no cables. WisdPi is primarily a Raspberry Pi shop, and as you'd expect, the card is compatible with Raspberry Pi devices that expose PCI Express, but that's simply because it's actually compatible with any PCI Express device, from AMD, Intel, Arm, or whoever.

The card spotted by PC Watch at Minisforum's Computex booth is similar in that it also offers four M.2 slots, an OCuLink connector, and at least one high-speed 20 Gbps USB port. However, it lacks the SATA functionality and the other USB ports of the WisdPi offering. Also, unlike WisdPi's card, it seems that it will come with a dedicated cooling unit (with a blower fan and a shroud) for fast SSDs. That's a little ironic considering the card seemingly limits drives to PCIe 4.0 x2 if you install all four, but "cooling" is better than "no cooling". No word on how much the Minisforum offering will cost, but it will apparently be available in Q3 of this year.

It's almost a shame these cards aren't more commonplace. For folks with machines based on entry-level motherboards, one of these cards could be just the ticket to expanding the I/O. Particularly on older-generation motherboards that usually had only one M.2 slot (if any), a card like one of these could enable significant storage expansion now that M.2 SSDs are the only type still being actively produced. You can check out PC Watch's photos of the Minisforum "PCIE TO 4" card at their post over here.

Gigabyte’s Z890 Aorus Elite Wifi7 Plus motherboard is the next of multiple Z890 refresh motherboards to land in our test lab. This mid-range offering ($269.99) is a well-balanced motherboard that doesn’t break the bank. It natively supports the latest Intel Core Ultra chips like the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and 250K Plus released earlier this year, so you don’t have to worry about flashing the BIOS (though it does have flashback capability) for full support. You get just about everything Gigabyte has to offer for the platform, including fast networking, ample storage options, enough USB ports for most users, and an aesthetic (including integrated RGBs) fit for the price point.

For the money, you get enough of everything, but nothing in wasteful abundance. One of the positives of this board is the fast networking. Gigabyte stuck a 5 GbE port on the back and includes integrated Wi-Fi 7 (320Hz, 8,774 Mbps). It also has room for expansion with three full-length PCIe slots, with the two at the bottom, far enough apart to house a large video card and still use the two bottom slots. It has four M.2 sockets and four SATA ports for storage, which should be plenty, though only one of the M.2 sockets is PCIe 5.0 x4-capable.

There are 10 USB ports on the rear IO, with one USB4 (40 Gbps) Type-C port and nine Type-A ports. The audio solution uses a Realtek ALC1220 codec, which was the flagship of its generation, but it’s not the newest audio codec. As for appearance, the plate-style heatsink covers much of the unsightly bits on the PCB, and the all-black look, with Aorus branding spattered here and there, also looks good with most build themes.

Performance on the Elite Wifi7 Plus matched that of our other motherboards across most scenarios. Whether gaming, office work, or creative workflows, the Aorus Elite WiFi 7 Plus can handle anything you throw at it. It also uses Gigabyte’s Ultra Turbo modes to extract even more out of your system with the click of a button in the BIOS. Performance isn’t a concern on this motherboard.

Below, we’ll examine the board's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Gigabyte.

Specifications of the Z890 Aorus Elite Wifi7 Plus

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging are multiple accessories to help get your system up and running. Gigabyte includes the typical things: manuals, a quick-connect Wi-Fi 7 antenna, a Q-connector, two SATA cables, some pads for M.2 drives, and an Aorus sticker. There isn’t a lot here, but it’s also not lacking compared to similarly priced offerings from other board partners.

Design and Features of the Aorus Elite Wifi7 Plus

The mostly-black appearance starts with the multi-layer PCB and extends to almost all the heatsinks and connections, including the four DRAM slots. The Elite Wifi7 Plus sports a brushed aluminum finish on the plate heatsinks and some VRMs, with the other VRM heatsinks featuring a textured matte finish. There’s Aorus branding on both heatsinks (RGB backlit on the top left) as well as some gray-lined pattern stenciled on the PCB. Under the chipset heatsink are a couple of RGB LEDs. Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) and RGB Fusion app control the integrated and any attached RGB strips.

In all, this is a simple design aesthetic that’s par for the course (read: price) and should blend well with any black- or dark-themed builds. And if you read our Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X review, the specifications and features should be familiar, as they are the same board, except the Duo X has two DIMM slots, and with that, supports high-density, high-speed CQDIMMs.

Zooming in on the top half of the board, we get a better look at the two VRM heatsinks that cool the MOSFETs below. They are large, have plenty of surface area, and do a good job of keeping the hot bits below running in spec. Above that are two 8-pin Ultra Durable EPS power connectors (one required) for the processor. If you’re overclocking or pushing a high-end CPU to the limit, you’ll want to use both to share the loads. Personally, I plug them both in, regardless of my use case.

Moving past the socket area to the right, the next thing we run into are the four DRAM slots with locking mechanisms at the top and bottom. Gigabyte lists support for up to DDR5-9466 MT/s (OC), which is plenty fast for the platform and we’d say well past Intel’s sweetspot. Both our kits (DDR5-7600 and DDR5-8200) worked as expected during testing. As always, stick to the memory QVL to ensure compatibility.

Above the DRAM slots are the first three (of six) 4-pin fan/pump headers. Each header supports PWM- and DC-controlled devices. Gigabyte lists the output for each header at 2A/24W, which is plenty to support multiple fans or a custom water-loop pump/ecosystem. Control over these headers is managed via GCC and Fan Expert in Windows, or via the BIOS.

Along the right edge, the next items we run into are the two debug features. The first is the 2-character debug port/LEDs, and the second is the four-LED debug area. Both tell you where problems are during the POST process. The 2-character debug port gives you details, while the four LEDs generically tell you where the problem is (CPU, DRAM, BOOT, VGA). Looking down the edge, we see the 24-pin ATX power connector, another 4-pin fan header, and finally a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port. Those looking for 20 Gbps connectivity on the front panel will have to look elsewhere (or get an add-in card that supports it).

Power delivery on the Z890 Aorus Elite Wifi7 Plus has a total of 19 phases, with 16 dedicated to Vcore. Power is supplied to the OnSemi NCP81537 controller via the 8-pin EPS connectors. From there, it heads on to 16 OnSemi NCP302155 60A SPS MOSFETs. While the 960A isn’t a lot, it can easily handle the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, as well as the Core Ultra 9 285K. You can even overclock; just be sure to keep good airflow in your chassis, as the components here can get warm with sustained heavy use.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the left, is the audio section, which includes the previous-generation flagship Realtek ALC1220 codec and a mix of standard (yellow) and WIMA (red) audio caps. It’s a solid audio solution for this class of board, the same as the Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X, though I would like to see the newest codecs (Realtek ALC408X) on the latest boards. You’d be hard-pressed to hear a difference, however.

In the middle of the board, between the M.2 heatsinks, are three full-length PCIe slots. The top slot sports an “UD” (Ultra Durable) reinforced slot and features the company's PCIe EZ-Latch Plus button for unlocking and releasing your graphics card. The slot connects the CPU, runs at the full PCIe 5.0 x16, and is the primary slot for discrete video cards. The bottom two full-length slots connect via the chipset, and both support PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds, making them good for high-speed expansion.

Mixed in with the PCIe slots are four other M.2 sockets. The top socket, above the primary graphics slot and working with its own (anemic-for-a-PCIe 5.0) heatsink, connects through the CPU and is the only PCIe 5.0 4x (128 Gbps) socket. It, like the others, supports devices up to 110mm. The three M.2 sockets below share the same heatsink, and all run through the chipset at up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. The bottom-most, M2M_SB, also supports SATA-based SSDs. These M.2 sockets and SATA ports support RAID 0/1/5/10 for additional speed or redundancy (though RAID is not a backup).

Moving right, past the chipset heatsink on the right edge, is the 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector and the four SATA ports (supporting RAID 0/1/5/10). We've also captured several images of the ICs used to make this motherboard work, including a mix of OnSemiconductor for power and Realtek for networking and audio.

We've also captured several images of the IC's used to make this motherboard work consisting of a mix of Realtek for USB hub, Ethernet, and audio, and Vishay for MOSFETs.

At the bottom of the board are a slew of headers. You get your typical connectivity, with nothing missing or worth a specific mention. Below we’ve listed all the connections across the bottom (rear) of the board.

• Front panel audio
• (2) 3-pin ARGB
• 4-pin RGB
• SPI TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Thunderbolt AIC headers
• (2) 4-pin system fan headers
• Front panel
• 2-pin Clear CMOS
• 2-pin Reset

The rear I/O on the Aorus Elite WiFi7 Plus offers enough connectivity and includes a couple of buttons typically found on the motherboard itself. From left to right, we see those power and reset buttons, along with Clear CMOS and the Q-Flash Plus functionality. To the right is a DisplayPort output to use with integrated graphics. For USB ports, there are a total of 10: one USB4 40 Gbps Type-C port (that’s correct, USB4, not Thunderbolt 4), two USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports, and four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. Above the blue USB ports is the Realtek 5 GbE, and next to that, the quick-connect Intel Wi-Fi 7 (BE200NGW, 320Hz). Finally, on the right edge is the audio stack with two 3.5mm jacks (mic and line out) and SPDIF out.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s updated “UC BIOS 2.0” with HyperTune also made its way to Intel boards, and, like the AMD counterpart, defaults to Easy Mode. It’s laid out logically and displays a wealth of information about the system, including processor, RAM, fan speeds, and several selectable options, such as XMP profiles, RAM tweaks, Re-Size BAR support, Smart Fan 6 access, and more. The Aorus Elite Wifi7 uses a black background with light blue accents and white writing, providing a high-contrast screen that’s easy to read, similar to the Aorus Stealth, but with a mountain lit up by the moon as a background instead of the Aorus branding.

All headings are still displayed across the top in advanced mode; they are now larger ‘buttons’ and can be easily selected with a mouse. The highlight bar (where you are on the page) is a light blue here and easy to see. Every option you need and want is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to drill down several layers to reach the most commonly used functions – especially if you populate your selections in the Favorites section.

Software

Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) is a one-stop solution for controlling various functions, including RGB and Fan control, hardware monitoring, and overclocking. It’s also helpful in finding, downloading, and installing driver updates for your system. It’s a simple application that does its job. It’s also a much cleaner tool than the previous App Center. It earns our approval for the breadth of functionality it offers users. There’s also the curiously named AI Snatch to help with overclocking.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (25H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late April 2026. On the hardware front, we’ve updated the RAM kits to ones appropriate for the platform. Peripherals, including cooling, storage, power supply, and graphics cards, remain unchanged. We also use the latest publicly available BIOS unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS:

• CPU - Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Renegade - 32GB DDR5-7600 CL38 (KF576C38RWAK2-32)
• RAM - G.Skill Trident Z5 CK - 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 (F5-8200C4052G24GX2-TZZ5CK)
• RAM - V-Color 256GB (2x128GB) DDR5-8000 CL64 (TECQ5128G80Q864K)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (25H2 - 26200.8037)
• NVIDIA Driver 595.97

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features at default. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS, then set the memory by enabling the XMP profile. If there are boosts enabled by the BIOS by default, it runs like that. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks and Real World Applications

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios. We’ve also combined our previous ‘timed’ benchmark applications into this section.

Performance on the Elite Wifi7 Plus was solid compared to the other two boards we’ve tested. It trades punches with the Duo X more than the Asus Prime does, but no board is a slouch in testing so far. Be it encoding, rendering, or any other function, it performed as expected in this set of tests.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Arrow Lake refresh chips, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 25. We’ll continue with the ever-popular and aesthetically pleasing Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed in the table above). Both games are set to use DLSS.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS metric, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

As we’ve seen historically, the 3DMark test results are all jammed together, with a 1% difference (read: margin of error) between the fastest and slowest boards, including the Elite Wifi7 Plus. In our games testing, F1 2025 averaged 203 frames per second and ranks in the middle of all results. The minimums in this title were higher than the Duo X (96 frames) and matched the faster Asus Prime (102 frames). The Cyberpunk results were also solid, matching the other Gigabyte board, with 151 frames per second average and just ahead of the Asus. Nothing to worry about with gaming, either!

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while out-of-the-box performance has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and an overwhelming majority support power-hungry flagship-class processors, so we know the hardware can handle them.

There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: manually adjust the settings or use some of the fancy AI overclocking board partners have been touting. Results will vary and depend on the CPU's cooling and quality. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering the above, we’re not overclocking the CPU for these review articles. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

The new Arrow Lake refresh CPUs have a maximum in-spec speed up to DDR5-7200. Anything above that would be considered overclocking for the IMC. However, the base kit we use for testing and benchmarking is the Kingston Fury Renegade 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-7600 CL38, so it is overclocked. The second set of RAM we use to further stress the IMC is the G.Skill Trident Z5 CK 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 kit. With the board’s specs listing a limit of 9,666 MT/s, we run well below that, and expect our two kits and the 270K Plus to pass testing. As you can see from the image above, we didn’t have any issue running the G.Skill DDR5-8200 kit, as expected.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We have moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing with our flagship-class 270K Plus and the Kingston DDR5-7600 kit at stock settings, the system peaked at 337W and idled at 63W—the lowest so far among the boards we've tested.

VRM temperatures weren’t a concern with the 270K Plus and this board. Throughout the 30-minute test, the system (excluding the monitor) used an average of 243W, and temperatures peaked at 64 degrees Celsius on our hottest sensor (#3 that sits under the top array of MOSFETs) and 51 degrees on the other two. The top sensor ran hot, but is still well within specifications. If you’re overclocking flagship-class (read: high-power) processors, make sure your case has good airflow. But chances are, CPU temperature will limit you before the board/VRMs get in the way.

Bottom Line

Gigabyte’s Z890 Aorus Elite WiFi 7 Plus is a worthwhile option in the low-cost Z890 space. From the native Arrow Lake refresh support to fast networking, there’s plenty to like on this sub-$270 motherboard. For the money, it offers plenty of storage options, including four SATA ports and four M.2 sockets, power delivery capable of handling flagship-class processors, and a solid (albeit last-generation) audio solution. It also performed well, trading punches with our other boards.

That said, whether it's existing or refreshed, there’s a lot of competition at that $269.99 price point. For $259.99, MSI’s Z890 Tomahawk Wi-Fi is a viable option, though it lacks integrated RGB lighting. The ASRock Z890 Nova Wifi ($269.99) offers more robust power delivery, a better audio solution, and more USB ports on the rear I/O (including two 40 Gbps ports), but it has only one PCIe slot for expansion, unlike the others. Last but not least, Asus’ ROG Strix Z890-H Gaming Wifi ($286.99) is now in the ballpark of the others. Like the Z890 Nova, it offers more robust power delivery and fast networking, and is arguably the best-looking out of this similarly priced group of motherboards. Among these, the ASRock stands out with its specs, making it the most handsomely equipped of the bunch.

Still, the Aorus Elite WiFi 7 Plus is a well-rounded motherboard for your Arrow Lake-based Intel processor. For under $270, it’s a fair price for a new (refreshed) LGA1851 motherboard and downright reasonable when you consider RAM, storage, and video card pricing these days. While this board didn’t make our best motherboard list, the Elite Wifi7 Plus should be on your shortlist for an inexpensive way into the latest Intel Core Ultra platform.

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Back in 2006, several Asus engineers and enthusiasts got together and announced a new division within the company, dubbed Republic of Gamers, dedicated to equipping gamers with high-performance, tweakable PC hardware that’s “...loaded with style and indulgent extras.” The first product to kick off 20 years and counting of ROG was the original ROG Crosshair motherboard. As you may have guessed by now, the original featured a huge copper heatsink connected via heatpipe for the VRMs, Northbridge, and Southbridge (remember, those were separate), ending with the first ROG symbol, the orange and white “G.” All of the slots, including DRAM, PCIe, as well as the ATX power, IDE connector, SATA ports, and some of the headers at the bottom used a blue and white color scheme on this old school ROG board.

Fast-forward to today, and in the lab is the limited edition ROG Crosshair 2006 ($799.99). On it, we clearly see the retro-inspired aesthetic has made its way to a motherboard with modern underpinnings – a "restomod" if you will. We see the copper-colored heatsink (not made of copper) for the VRMs, M.2, and chipset. The large plate-style M.2 heatsink on the bottom half brings back the original ROG symbol, and the company brought back the blue and white accents on the DRAM and PCIe slots, as well as the SATA connectors and some ports along the bottom edge. The design isn’t what we are used to these days, with many boards adopting a monochromatic look, but it has grown on me since we first saw it. When you have it in your hands, you’ll realize that the images don’t do it justice. If you were an enthusiast back then, the board really hits you in the feels and takes you back to a simpler time of overclocking, when gains were much more significant, and AI was more of a concept in a movie than a reality.

Outside of the throwback aesthetic, there’s high-end hardware underneath. In fact, it’s based on the ROG Crosshair X870E Dark Hero we reviewed earlier in 2026 that received 4/5 stars, and is a “...compelling premium choice for high-end builds.” Hardware-wise, this board is nearly identical and packed with premium features. You get five M.2 sockets (two PCIe 5.0), fast networking with 10 GbE and 5 GbE ports and Wi-Fi 7, a robust power delivery solution with 24 total phases and 110A MOSFETs, five USB Type-C ports on the rear IO (including two USB4/40 Gbps), and a flagship-class audio solution. Asus crams in several software features, like its AI (Overclocking, Cooling II, Networking II, Cacheboost, Advisor), EZ PC DIY features, and an updated BIOS, cementing the Crosshair 2006 as a well-rounded premium mid-range solution.

Performance testing went as expected and was quite similar to the Dark Hero; in fact, even with a newer BIOS and AGESA, a couple of benchmarks scored the same. Overall, it performed well across most of our tests. It was competent at gaming and also above average at most productivity tests (as we’ll see in detail later), so there's nothing to worry about in terms of performance.

Below, we’ll examine the Crosshair 2006’s performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Asus’ website:

Specifications of the Crosshair 2006

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging, the Crosshair 2006 comes with several accessories, though fewer than the Dark Hero it’s based on. You get the typical collection of cables, antennas, and guides, but Asus does not include the ROG Assistant fan for cooling the memory or the DDR5 fan holder (nor the ROG VIP card or bottle opener). We’ve listed everything inside the box below:

• (4) SATA 6Gb/s cables
• Thermal pad for M.2 22110
• ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna
• Q-connector
• (3) M.2 Q-Slide package
• (5) M.2 backplate rubber packages
• ROG stickers
• ROG screwdriver
• Quick start guide

Design of the Crosshair 2006

The Crosshair 2006 and its retro-inspired copper-colored cooler design (it’s aluminum) look incredible against the multi-layer matte-black PCB. The heatsink uses fins (thicker than the original to prevent scrapes) to increase surface area, while a heatpipe connects the two copper-colored heatsinks. The primary M.2 socket also takes on the copper theme and adds a cool little OLED on top, a much better choice than the polymo lighting feature on the Dark Hero. Blue and white colored covers adorn the DRAM and PCIe slots, as well as the four SATA ports on the right edge and USB 2.0 ports along the bottom. The plate-style heatsink that covers multiple M.2 sockets looks a bit different, with the modern ROG symbol on the left and the retro “G” figure on the right, above the chipset.

Overall, the throwback appearance will look good in any modern chassis, especially with dark-colored builds. But it can be polarizing. There’s a reason that colorful style (blue PCB, anyone?) went the way of the dodo.

Starting in the top-left corner, we get a better look at the large, copper-colored heatsink for power delivery. Here we see the larger fins reminiscent of the original design, Crosshair branding, and special 20th ROG branding on the heatsink and I/O shroud. Above that are the two white (instead of the typical black) 8-pin EPS connectors to power the processor (one required).

Looking past the socket and before the DRAM slots is the new Asus Q-Connect feature. The proprietary 11-pad hub transfers power and control signals (think pump, ARGB, fans, and, on some models, the display) directly through the motherboard, eliminating the need for traditional, visible, individual cables that detract from a clean aesthetic. It’s compatible with the ROG Strix LC and SLC IV 360 AIOs announced at CES 2026. It’s a useful feature if you plan to use compatible Asus AIOs. But I would like Asus to include a simple rubber cover that matches the board’s appearance, so it doesn’t stick out when you’re not using it.

Next, the four DRAM slots (with Nitropath technology) are to the right, with locking mechanisms to secure the RAM on the top and bottom. Asus lists support for 256GB of RAM and DDR5-8600 speeds for 9000 series desktop processors, and even higher (DDR5-9200) for APUs. Though, unless you’re benching for Hwbot, I can’t see many using an APU on a $700 motherboard, unless you’re benchmarking competitively. Still, that’s plenty fast and way past AMD’s sweetspot.

Above the DRAM slots are the first four (of eight) standard 4-pin fan headers, each with a white header, compared to black on the Dark Hero (which also has them covered by a shroud). Per usual, each supports PWM and DC-controlled devices. Power output varies across headers: 1A/12W on most headers (CPU, Chassis, AIO, and the AIO_POGO), while the single W_Pump+ header supports 3A/36W. The Asus BIOS or Armory Crate software controls these attached devices.

In the upper-right corner are the two-character Q-Code LED and Q-LEDs that help troubleshoot POST issues. The Q-LEDs light up during the POST process and remain lit to give you a general idea of where the problem is (CPU, VGA, DRAM, Boot), while the Q-Code LED provides two-digit codes to indicate more specific issues and also displays CPU temperature when in Windows.

Looking down the right edge, we see the Start and Flexkey buttons; in this case, they are square rather than the round ones found on the Dark Hero, along with a small Retry button. Below that is another 4-pin fan header, the 24-pin ATX power connector, an 8-pin PCIe connector for supplemental board power (to support 60W charging - both in black), and one of the front-panel USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C connectors.

Power delivery on the Crosshair 2006 is one of the most capable we’ve seen…just like the Dark Hero. With a total of 24 phases (20 for Vcore), only a handful of boards offer more capable power delivery. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connectors and onto the Digi+ EPU (ASP2205) voltage regulator. From there, it moves to the Infineon PMC41420 110A SPS MOSFETs. The 2,220 Amps available will handle any CPU you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X, the recently released Ryzen 7 9850X3D (fastest gaming processor around), or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, even if you want to use extreme (sub-ambient) cooling methods.

At the bottom of the board, on the left and hidden under a black metal shroud, are the flagship Realtek ALC4082 codec and an ESS 9219Q DAC/HPA. This is the platform's premiere setup. If you want something better, you’ll have to buy a dedicated sound card.

Next are the two PCIe slots in the middle. Both of these reinforced slots connect through the CPU, offering PCIe 5.0 bandwidth. The top slot is for primary graphics and runs at x16 speeds, while the bottom slot is limited to x8 (or both at x8/x8). Note that this applies to 7000 and 9000 series desktop processors; APUs are different (see the specifications on Asus’ website for details). Thankfully, Asus moved away from its controversial PCIe latching mechanism and now uses a more traditional button to lock and unlock the top slot, reducing the risk of scratching the PCIe connection on your video card. The button is also blue with a copper-colored heatsink surrounding it. Be aware that when PCIEX16_1 runs at x16, the second slot runs at PCIe 3.0 x4, but you can change that in the BIOS.

Above the top PCIe slot is the first of five M.2 sockets. M.2_1, the top socket under the huge individual copper color heatsink (now with 2” customizable OLED and two 20th anniversary exclusive animations), connects through the CPU and is your first 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) socket (*holds up to 110mm devices). Under the plate heatsink are three other M.2 sockets. M.2_2 is your other 5.0 x4 socket and holds up to 80mm modules. M.2_3/4/5 all connect through the chipset with 3/4 PCIe 4.0 x4 capable, and the bottom slot, M.2_5, PCIe 4.0 x2. That last slot is also limited to small, 30mm devices. M.2_2 shares bandwidth with the USB4 ports and both run at PCIe 5.0 x2 when a device is installed in the M.2_2 socket. You can switch to 5.0 x4 in the BIOS, but this disables the USB4 Type-C ports altogether.

Along the right edge is another USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) front-panel connector, followed by a 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector. Below that are four SATA ports (in blue!), with two using native chipset connectivity and two using an ASMedia controller that does not support RAID.

We've also included a few images of the active ICs for the board. The Crosshair 2006 uses several different brands, including ASMedia (USB), Infineon (VRMs), and Realtek (audio, network, VRM controller), similar to those on the Dark Hero.

At the bottom are several headers, including front-panel audio and USB ports. A complete list of connectivity is listed below (from L to R):

• Front panel audio
• (2) 3-pin ARGB headers
• (2) 4-pin fan headers
• PCIe mode switch
• 2-pin thermistor header
• 4-pin fan header
• (3) USB 2.0 headers
• 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen1 connector
• Front panel
• Battery
• LN2 mode

The rear IO on the X870E Crosshair 2006 is chock-full of buttons and ports, including 11 USB ports. On the left are two buttons, one for BIOS Flashback and the other for Clear CMOS. Below those, to the right, are three Type-C ports (10 Gbps). Continuing right, we run into an HDMI port for iGPU output, followed by two USB4 (40 Gbps Type-C) ports. Above that, in red, are six USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) ports. Above those are the two Realtek-based Ethernet (5 and 10 GbE) ports, the quick-connect Wi-Fi 7 antenna connector, and the audio stack (2x 3.5mm for line out/mic in, and optical SPDIF out). There’s even the old ROG “G” symbol on the back.

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Firmware

Asus updated the BIOS layout and color earlier in the year, and for the Crosshair 2006, adopted the familiar ROG black-on-white with red accents theme. EZ Mode is mostly informative, with system information and temperatures on the left, and quick settings for EZ Flash, Aura RGB, the Driver Hub for easy driver installation, and more in the middle. Fan control and access to full Q-Fan functionality are below. The right block displays DRAM and storage status, and Boot Priority is self-explanatory.

Advanced mode still has the headers across the top, but the shortcuts to Q-Fan and AI OC have been moved to quick settings and other locations. The right panel holds system information, including CPU frequency and temperature, in a colorful display. The main body has all the editable functionality.

Overall, I like the aesthetic update for the BIOS. It’s easy to read and, as usual with Asus BIOS, frequently used items are easy to find and not buried too deeply in their menus. Anything that’s a pain to access can be added to the customizable favorites screen.

Software

Armoury Crate here also follows the ROG-inspired theme. Several applications exist for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control and audio to system monitoring and overclocking. It's also worth mentioning the included software. When purchasing this Asus motherboard, you get a one-year AIDA64 license – a helpful application for stress and performance testing; Asus’ Driver Hub (get your updated drivers here); Dolby Atmos (for audio); and a custom version of Hwinfo for real-time monitoring — all are helpful applications. We’ve captured a few screenshots of the applications below.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

Starting with our synthetic benchmarks, the premium Crosshair 2006 was average to above average among its peers, just like the Dark Hero it's based on. In some tests, like 7-Zip compression, it was one of the fastest, and in others, like Cinebench, it was above average. It was average elsewhere, and rarely below. This is what we see from most boards—nothing to worry about so far.

Timed Applications

Timed applications also went well. It delivered the slower of the two times in LAME (9.0 seconds) and Corona (42 seconds). Handbrake results were also good, just one second behind our fastest time in the x264 test and also one of the quickest we’ve seen in the longer running x265 test.

3D Games and 3DMark

With the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular and good-looking game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the Crosshair was average overall. It was average in the 3DMark tests and average to above average in our games. It’s clear from our testing that the Crosshair 2006 performs well across a wide variety of activities. From gaming to productivity and creativity, you’ll get everything out of your CPU with this board.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: the Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X, but the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s outlandish RAM (and video card and storage) prices, we imagine few people are considering them in the first place. Dropping in our Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, as we can on most motherboards. There’s plenty of headroom for anyone who can afford faster speeds.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing the Crosshair with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it to be slightly more power-hungry than most boards. At idle, it sat around 92W and peaked at 268W. This averages out to 180W, which is again slightly higher than the average X870E/X870-based boards, and on par with the Dark Hero.

VRM temperatures are good, peaking at just under 49 degrees Celsius on our sensor and 54 degrees on Asus’ internal sensor. Between the robust power delivery and oversize heatsinks, you won’t have any trouble overclocking flagship-class processors, like the Ryzen 7 9850X3D.

Bottom Line

Asus’ ROG Crosshair 2006 ($799.99) is an awesome, premium mid-range motherboard with retro-inspired aesthetics from the original ROG motherboard released in 2006. Based on the venerable X870E Dark Hero, you not only get that throwback styling with blue and white connections and loads of copper colored heatsinks, you get everything that makes the Dark Hero great and even a bit more with the small OLED screen on the M.2 heatsink. But you get five M.2 sockets, robust power delivery, a high-end audio solution, dual LAN with a 10 GbE port (plus fast Wi-Fi 7), and various EZ PC DIY and loads of AI features.

There is competition in this space. MSI’s MEG X870E Ace MAX (currently $699.99 at Newegg) is also a good option, offering similar specifications but more USB ports on the rear IO and five 80mm-plus-capable M.2 sockets. But it is lacking a second Ethernet port like the others. The Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master X3D Ice ($599.99 at Newegg) is another quality competitor in the space with similar hardware and would make a great option for a white build. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the Crosshair X870E Dark Hero ($699.99), as that’s what this board is based on.

In the end, the ROG Crosshair 2006 is a solid premium mid-range motherboard. If you’re already in the market for a higher-end motherboard, the deciding factor in purchasing this board (or not) comes down to whether you like the retro appearance and want to spend $100 more for the limited-run motherboard and a piece of PC history. Otherwise, there are similarly equipped options for less.

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Sticking with the budget side of Z890, the next board in our lab is the Asus Prime Z890-P Wifi ($229.99). The Prime series motherboards, according to Asus, are “...expertly engineered to unleash the full potential of the latest Intel Core processors.” The board itself offers robust power design, comprehensive cooling, and intelligent tuning options, such as AI-based overclocking, so it has the tools to get the most out of your system. In all, it’s a solid motherboard for Z890, but the competition in this space, between existing and refreshed motherboards, makes standing out among its peers difficult.

The Z890-P Wi-Fi comes generally well-equipped for the budget price. You get support for the latest processors, including the recently released Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and 250K Plus, It has capable power delivery that can easily handle flagship-class processors like the Core Ultra 285K, too. Connectivity-wise, there are eight total USB ports on the rear IO, including one Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps) with a Type-C connection, which may be limiting for some. Storage-wise, it has four M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0-capable) and four SATA ports, which should be plenty for most users. The audio section uses the basic Realtek ALC897 codec and, like its peers in the budget-class, does not include a fancy DAC or AMP. But it has all the other fixins. Basics? Check.

As far as aesthetics go, it’s certainly an inexpensive motherboard with a lot of black PCB showing. Outside of the VRMs, the only M.2 socket with a heatsink, a thin plate-style one at that, is the 5.0 X4 socket above the primary PCIe slot. The contrasting black-and-silver appearance won’t win any awards, but it looks fine in most dark build themes. Note that if you would like some RGB bling, you’ll have to add your own, as the board doesn’t include any onboard.

Performance on the Z890-P was good overall, landing somewhere around the Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X running default settings. In other words, it’s competent across a wide swath of PC activities, including gaming, rendering, encoding, and office-type work. It’s worth noting that these tests were conducted with our DDR5-7200 kit, as the DDR5-7600 kit did not play nice with this motherboard. That said, you may still see a slight performance bump on memory-sensitive applications, but as it stands, it performs very well across our testing suite.Below, we’ll examine the board's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Asus’ website.

Specifications of the Z890-P Wifi

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging, Asus includes a few accessories to help get your system running, hopefully, without a trip to the store. You get a quick-connect Wi-Fi antenna, some M.2 screws and mounting hardware, two SATA cables, and a quick start guide. There isn’t much here, but it is similar to other boards of this ilk.

Design of the Prime

When we look at the Prime Z890-P, it’s clearly not a high-end offering, with only a few slots and sockets visible. Here, almost the entire PCB is exposed with heatsinks and shrouds covering only the minimum, though that is normal for this price point. The black, six-layer PCB gives way to a couple of white lines traversing diagonally through the bottom half of the board to break up the design monotony. The large silver heatsinks on the VRMs connect to share the thermal load.

As for RGB lighting, the Prime Z890-P does not include any onboard, but it does have multiple headers to connect your own, with control over the light show handled through the Armory Crate software with the Aura RGB applet. In all, it’s a simple design aesthetic fitting for its class, and it should look good with any dark-themed build.

On the top half of the board, we get a better look at the VRM heatsinks, and we spy the two 8-pin EPS ProCool solid-pin connectors (one required) just above. The heatsinks themselves have a diode/slider-type design on top with a brushed aluminum finish. The two heatsinks are connected via a thermal pad. This is better than leaving them separate, but not as good as a heatpipe that distributes the load more efficiently. As you’ll see later, VRM temperatures were fine, so there’s nothing to be concerned about with that configuration.

Past the socket to the right, the first thing we run into are the four DRAM slots with a single locking mechanism at the top (where you have room to reach it). Asus lists support up to DDR5-8666 MT/s (OC), which is plenty fast for the platform. Curiously, our DDR5-7600 kit, the baseline for new Z890 tests, did not work, but the 8200 MT/s kit did. As per usual, stick with the memory QVL for your best chance of compatibility.

Asus’ Enhanced Memory Profile II (AEMP III) feature (a tuning feature that optimizes the clock driver, memory frequency, and timings), as well as DIMM Fit Pro, give you fixed and user-defined tuning options for full memory timing control for more advanced users, which is useful if you’re comfortable with tweaking; it could be overwhelming for novice tweakers. But just input the parameters you want it to change, reboot, and it works through the process. Once completed, the RAM will be set to its optimum values. It’s a good way to get the most out of your kit.

Above the DRAM slots are the first two (of seven) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports up to 1A/12W. While this isn’t a lot compared to other boards, it’s enough for several fans, an AIO, or even a custom water loop. Control over these headers is handled through Asus Fan Xpert 4, found in the BIOS or Armoury Crate. Just be careful not to overload the headers.

Working our way down the right edge, we run into another 4-pin fan header (AIO_PUMP), and the first two (of three) 3-pin ARGB headers. Below that is the 24-pin ATX connector, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C header, and, finally, a 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 header — nothing out of the ordinary.

Power delivery on the Prime Z890-P isn’t the most robust we’ve seen, but it is appropriate for this class. It has 18 phases, 14 of which are dedicated to Vcore. Power is supplied to the Digi+ (ASP 2442GQW) controller via the 8-pin EPS connector. From there it heads on to 14 Vishay SIc639 DrMOS 80A MOSETs. The 1,120A available can handle the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, and the Core Ultra 9 285K. You can even overclock; just be sure to keep air flowing in your chassis, as the components here will get warm with sustained heavy use.

On the bottom half of the board, we’ll start on the left with the audio section. There, we see a couple of dedicated audio capacitors and the basic Realtek ALC897 codec. While this isn’t the best audio solution, it’s par for the course for most budget boards. You should still be happy with it, as it’s difficult to discern most of them without seeing the actual specifications.

In the middle of the board are multiple full-length PCIe slots, including M.2 sockets. Starting with PCIe, the topmost slot has reinforcement, which Asus calls Safeslot. It is your sole PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and connects through the CPU. The bottom three slots all connect through the chipset, and the middle two run up to PCIe 4.0 x4 and the bottom to PCIe 4.0 x1.

Among and around the PCIe slots are four M.2 sockets. The top socket, M.2_1 above the top PCIe slot and under the heatsink, is your CPU-connected PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) socket. The other three M.2s all connect through the chipset and run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps), with M.2_4, the bottom-right socket, also supporting SATA-based M.2 devices. If you plan to use the others with hot-running drives, make sure they have heatsinks to prevent thermal throttling under sustained loads. But if you have a large video card, you won’t be able to use one with a large heatsink, as it will likely be under the video card with limited z-height.

All sockets support up to 80mm modules and can run RAID 0/1/5 modes for redundancy and/or increased speed (RAID is not a backup). Finally, moving past the chipset heatsink to the right edge, are two of the four SATA ports (supports RAID 0/1/5/10) - the other two are mounted vertically along the bottom edge.

Between the PCIe slots, M.2, USB, and SATA ports, there is no lane sharing. You can fill all the slots and sockets and still receive the full bandwidth from each. As great as that is, the compromise is fewer USB ports, many of which are slower (think USB 3.2 Gen 1 and 2.0). But you’ll find this in some flavor on all the boards without multiple USB hubs, as it’s a limitation of the Z890 chipset and the number of available lanes.

We've also captured several images of the IC's used to make this motherboard work consisting of a mix of Realtek for USB hub, Ethernet, and audio, and Vishay for MOSFETs.

At the bottom of the board are a slew of headers. It offers your typical set of connectivity in this area, with nothing missing or worth a specific mention. Below we’ve listed all the connections across the bottom of the board.

• 3-pin SPDIF out
• Front panel audio
• 9-pin COM port
• 2-pin Clear CMOS jumper
• (2) USB 2.0 (380 Mbps) headers
• 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header
• (2) SATA ports
• 13-pin TB(USB4) header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• (2) 4-pin Chassis fan headers
• Front panel

Flipping the board around to the rear IO, the Prime Z890-P offers basic connectivity for the platform. You get everything, but the eight total USB ports could be a challenge for users who rely on many USB-based devices on the back. On the left, we spy the DisplayPort (v1.4) and HDMI (v2.1) outputs to use with integrated video. Next to it is the tiny BIOS FlashBack button. The next stack holds the 40 Gbps Thunderbolt Type-C port and the only USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port. Next to that are four USB 2.0 ports, and the Realtek-based 2.5 GbE port stacked on top. Rounding out the USB ports back here are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports. Continuing right, we find the 3-plug (all 3.5mm - there’s an SPDIF header) audio stack and finally, the quick-connectors for the integrated Wi-Fi 7 (2.9 Gbps).

There’s nothing particularly notable here; please confirm you are comfortable with the USB port count and speeds.

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Firmware

Asus uses its familiar BIOS configuration, and the Prime uses a black-and-light-blue theme that matches the black-and-silver board. EZ Mode is mostly informative, with system information and temperatures on the left, and quick settings for EZ Flash, Aura RGB, and Driver Hub for easy driver installation. Fan control and access to the full Q-Fan functionality are below that. The right block displays DRAM and storage status, and Boot Priority is self-explanatory.

Advanced mode still has the headers across the top, but the shortcuts to Q-Fan and AI OC are gone and moved to the quick settings and other locations. The right panel holds system information, including CPU frequency and temperature, in a colorful display. The main body has all the editable functionality.

Overall, I like BIOS. It’s easy to read and, as usual with Asus BIOS, frequently used items are easy to find and not buried too deeply in their menus. Anything that’s a pain to access can be added to the customizable favorites screen.

Software

Armoury Crate is Asus’ one-stop shop for all of its features. Several applications exist for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control and audio to system monitoring and overclocking. It's also worth mentioning the included software. The Asus Driver Hub is another helpful application. We’ve captured a few screenshots of the applications below.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (25H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late April 2026. On the hardware front, we’ve updated the RAM kits to ones appropriate for the platform. Peripherals, including cooling, storage, power supply, and graphics cards, remain unchanged. We also use the latest publicly available BIOS unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS:

• CPU - Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Renegade - 32GB DDR5-7600 CL38 (KF576C38RWAK2-32)
• RAM - G.Skill Trident Z5 CK - 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 (F5-8200C4052G24GX2-TZZ5CK)
• RAM - V-Color 256GB (2x128GB) DDR5-8000 CL64 (TECQ5128G80Q864K)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (25H2 - 26200.8037)
• NVIDIA Driver 595.97

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features at default. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS, then set the memory by enabling the XMP profile. If there are boosts enabled by the BIOS by default, it runs like that. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks and Real World Applications

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios. We’ve also combined our previous ‘timed’ benchmark applications into this section.

Since this is our second review using the Core Ultra 270K Plus CPU, we’re only comparing two direct configurations and the turbo modes from the Gigabyte board at this time. We’ll keep working through the pile in the lab and continue adding more data to the charts.

The results we do have match our 270K Plus review and compare well with the Gigabyte Z890 Elite Duo X (our first using the 270K Plus), so we know it performs well. It actually traded punches with the Gigabyte depending on the test. If it’s anything like our historical results, we won’t see a significant difference between boards that can run the same speeds.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Arrow Lake refresh chips, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 25. We’ll continue with the ever-popular and aesthetically pleasing Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed in the table above). Both games are set to use DLSS.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS metric, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

As has been the case with previous motherboards and CPUs, the 3DMark tests don’t show much separation from worst to first, and we see that again across our varied datasets. In games, the 270K Plus does well, beating out the 285K and our 9900X. They still don’t hold a candle to the 9800/9850X3D, but the refresh has improved gaming performance. Our RTX 4080-based system managed 144 frames per second in Cyberpunk 2077 and 197 frames per second in F1 2025 on the Texas track. These are a couple of percent slower than the Elite Duo X, although the minimums in F1 25 were a few frames faster, but nothing you’d notice without an OSD showing your frame rate.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while out-of-the-box performance has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and an overwhelming majority support power-hungry flagship-class processors, so we know the hardware can handle them.

There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: manually adjust the settings or use some of the fancy AI overclocking board partners have been touting. Results will vary and depend on the CPU's cooling and quality. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering the above, we’re not overclocking the CPU for these review articles. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

The new Arrow Lake refresh CPUs have a maximum in-spec speed up to DDR5-7200. Anything above that would be considered overclocking for the IMC. However, the base kit we use for testing and benchmarking is the Kingston Fury Renegade 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-7600 CL38, so it is overclocked. The second set of RAM we use to further stress the IMC is the G.Skill Trident Z5 CK 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 kit.

Curiously, our Kingston Fury DDR5-7600 kit would not boot in this system, but worked fine with the slower Team Group DDR5-7200 kit and the faster G.Skill DDR5-8200 kit. A quick scan of the memory QVL list, and we couldn’t find the Kingston kit. As we said earlier, stick to the QVL for your best chance of compatibility.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We have moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing with our flagship-class 270K Plus and the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit at stock yielded a peak of 340W at the wall, which aligns with the Duo X's stock results of 338W. The Prime used less power at idle, 61W, compared to 69W from the stock Gigabyte. There’s nothing noteworthy, otherwise.

VRM temperatures weren’t a concern on this board. Throughout the 30-minute test, the system (excluding the monitor) averaged 243W, and our sensor located on the back of the board directly under the MOSFETs, recorded temperatures peaking at 48 degrees Celsius, while Hwinfo and the internal sensor showed temperatures peaking a few degrees higher at 55 degrees Celsius. That value is well within specification for the MOSFETs doing all the work below. We have plenty of confidence that the power delivery can handle anything you throw at it. Chances are, the CPU temperature will limit you before the board hinders overclocking.

Bottom Line

Asus’ Prime Z890-P ($229.99) is a worthwhile motherboard in the budget Z890 space. The EZ DIY and AI Features stand out at this price, though their value is subjective. It’s a well-rounded budget-class board specs-wise too, offering a (single) fast 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port, Wi-Fi 7 (2.9 Gbps), and plenty of options for storage, be it SATA or M.2. The best part, if you can work around the lower USB port count, is that nothing shares bandwidth. Stuff it full, and it will all run at speed, but so will others.

Speaking of the competition, MSI’s Z890 Gaming Plus Wifi (currently $211.99), Gigabyte’s Z890 Aorus Elite Wifi 7 ($199.99), and ASRock’s Z890 Livemixer ($209.99) are all compelling options that cost a little less. The Livemixer offers more USB ports, including dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the Aorus Elite is probably the best-looking of the group (and includes RGB lighting, along with the ASRock). Granted, they don’t have quite the in-depth AI and automation that Asus does, but if you aren’t using those features (you probably should at least try them out…), the less-expensive options are probably the better choice. While the Asus Prime Z890-P Wi-Fi didn’t make our best motherboards list, it’s not a dud and should still be an option in the budget $200- $230 price range, but it would be positioned much better among its peers if the price were under $200.

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Motherboard sales are collapsing amid unprecedented shortages fueled by AI, causing prices for many major PC components to rise across the board during the past six months, with memory modules and storage drives leading the way.

Those shortages are being exacerbated by chipmakers like Nvidia, Intel, and AMD, which have reduced production of consumer chips so they can manufacture more AI processors. The AI infrastructure buildout is also causing shortages for Intel and AMD CPUs (and even high-end Macs), as interest in agentic AI rockets through the roof.

Because of this, users who lack deep pockets are putting off upgrading their PCs and holding on to their current devices longer. Motherboard manufacturers have begun to feel the effects of these delayed purchases, with Digitimes [machine translated] reporting that the four major firms are revising target sales downward.

Asus, which sold 15 million motherboards in 2025, has shipped only a little more than 5 million in the first half of 2026. The company will have to push hard to even move 10 million units by the end of the year, marking a 33% decrease in sales year-on-year. Gigabyte and MSI sold 11.5 million and 11 million motherboards last year, respectively. The companies have revised their internal forecasts for 2026 to 9 million (Gigabyte) and 8.4 million (MSI), a 22% drop for the former and a 24% contraction for the latter.

ASRock will be hardest hit by the situation: The company’s shipments are projected to fall by 37%, from 4.3 million in 2025 to just 2.7 million by the end of the year. This marks a contraction of 28% for the overall motherboard market, at least for the big four manufacturers.

AI’s demand for memory, storage, and processors is the primary driver for this drop in sales. Shortages that have been caused by their massive purchases have forced PC builders and enthusiasts to fight over a smaller pie of PC components, resulting in higher overall prices for these components.

Aside from this, AMD continues to use the AM5 socket for its latest processors, while Intel's Nova Lake, which will reportedly use LGA 1954, isn’t available until later this year. The situation is further compounded by Nvidia not releasing a refreshed RTX 50 Super series this year, while rumors claim that the RTX 60 series will not debut until 2028. This confluence of factors is discouraging PC builders from upgrading their current systems.

Despite this drop in sales, these companies aren’t exactly struggling. Asus, Gigabyte, and ASRock have pivoted some of their production towards AI servers, allowing them to capture some of the investments that hyperscalers are generously pouring into their data centers.

If you’re planning to build a completely new PC from scratch, you might be able to find good deals on motherboard combos, especially as retailers are keen on getting their inventories moving. Although these discounts might not be enough to offset the increased costs of memory, storage, and, to some extent, processors, it will at least save you a few dollars as you navigate the current chip crisis.

The Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X motherboard is the first of several Z890 refresh motherboards we expect will land on our test bench in the coming weeks. Hailing from the budget mid-range side of the tracks, the Duo X supports the latest and greatest Intel processors, including the newest Arrow Lake refresh chips in the Core Ultra 270K Plus and 250K Plus, as well as the original Core Ultra chips. In addition to native Arrow Lake Refresh refresh support, Gigabyte adds an “Ultra Turbo Mode” to easily extract maximum performance from your system (details on that later), and it's one of the first to be compatible with high-density CQDIMMs (Clocked Quad-rank Unbuffered Dual In-line Memory Modules - think high-density, high-speed modules).

The Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X ($279.99) comes well-equipped for a budget mid-range board. One of its primary differentiating features is CQDIMM compatibility, designed for high capacity and high speed, enabling 256GB (2x128GB) capacities and speeds up to DDR5-8000. With that much RAM, you typically need four sticks, and there’s no chance to run close to those speeds with four sticks, as it’s too much stress on your memory controller. So, for those who want or need higher RAM capacities, you can now have that and higher speeds. To be clear, Gigabyte doesn’t officially support CQDIMMs, but it does allow them to work with the Core Ultra CPU.

Outside of that, you’ll find five M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0) and four SATA ports for storage, Wi-Fi 7 and 5 GbE networking, a last-gen flagship-class audio codec, capable power delivery, 64MB driver BIOS, and several DIY-friendly features, including the M.2 EZ-Latch Click and EZ-Latch plus to secure your M.2 module and its heatsink. Finally, the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus lets you easily remove the graphics card with the push of a button. On top of the hardware, Gigabyte’s Ultra Turbo mode is said to increase performance by up to 40% (in specific situations) on Ultra 200S Series (K-SKUs) CPUs with a single click, and you can overclock through the BIOS or the AI Snatch software.

Performance with the latest BIOS (F2) is fine, at least compared to our Core Ultra 7 270K Plus review, where we had a couple of similar benchmarks and settings. The performance portion of the review focuses more on Intel 200S Boost and Gigabyte’s one-click overclocking presets than on comparisons with other boards at the moment. We really didn’t see much out of the 200S profile, but did see some worthwhile gains out of the Level 2 setting. We tried the ‘Level 3, Extreme’ setting, but our CPU wasn’t stable enough to complete the test suite (particularly Cinebench R26 or other heavily multithreaded tests). We’ll cover the details in the overclocking section.

Below, we’ll examine the board's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Gigabyte’s website.

Specifications of the Aorus Elite Duo X

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging are several accessories to help get your system up and running. Gigabyte includes the typical fare: manuals, a quick-connect Wi-Fi 7 antenna, a Q-connector, two SATA cables, some pads for M.2 drives, and an Aorus sticker. There isn’t a lot here, but it isn’t lacking compared to similarly priced offerings from other board partners, either.

Design of the Aorus Elite Duo X

As for the looks and design, the multi-layer PCB is black with some grey lines around the socket, DRAM, and chipset areas to break up the monotony. It uses oversized heatsinks with a matte finish, and a plastic shroud above with a brushed-metal appearance. There’s also some Aorus branding on the shroud, backlit by a couple of RGB LEDs. The bottom of the board is covered with heatsinks on the hot spots, but nothing else (as expected for this class of board). The heatsinks here also sport a brushed-aluminum finish and more Aorus branding that bleeds over to the RGB-laden chipset heatsink.

In all, it’s a simple design aesthetic, fitting for its class, and it should look good with any dark-themed build.

Focusing on the top half, we get a closer look at the two VRM heatsinks and shrouds and see the two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) just above. Looking past the socket to the right, we then run into the two memory slots and Gigabyte’s D5 Duo X technology, which promises to deliver traditional 4-slot capacity with only two DIMMs and increased speeds due, in part, to direct path (skipping the middle slots) and zero signal reflection, according to Gigabyte. Listed memory support is up to a smokin’ fast 10,266 MT/s – and you can achieve that speed, but with lower-capacity DIMMs and a CPU with a better-than-average Integrated Memory Controller (IMC).

With the updated platform and chip, speeds have increased to DDR5-7000 without even overclocking the IMC. RAM isn’t cheap these days, and there isn’t an end in sight to the pricing madness. Performance will still be solid at slower speeds, but if you’re anything like me, running below the platform's maximum leaves me feeling uneasy, even if the performance difference isn’t typically much. Just be sure your use case utilizes the bandwidth before dropping more money than you need to on RAM and not getting the performance bump you expect.

Above the DRAM slots are the first two (of six) 4-pin fan headers; in this case, it's the CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT headers. Gigabyte balances output across all headers, with each capable of 2A/24W, which is plenty to support fans, AIOs, and even custom water loops. Control over the headers is handled through the BIOS, Smart Fan 6, or the Gigabyte Control Center software. Next to these headers is the 2-character debug display, which offers up codes during the POST process and provides details on where any potential problem may be.

Before we travel down the right edge, between that and the two DRAM slots is a chipset-connected M.2 socket (PCIe 4.0 x4 64 Gbps) that fits up to 110mm modules. We don’t often see M.2 in that area, but with the extra real estate afforded by using two RAM slots instead of four, you might as well add something useful here.

Down the right edge is the 4-LED debug (CPU, Boot, VGA, RAM). And like the ‘80 port’ debug above, it lets you know, at a high level, where the problem is when your system hangs in POST. Next are the 24-pin ATX connector for powering the board, the 4-pin FAN4_PUMP header, and the front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C connector.

Power delivery on the Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X has a total of 19 phases, with 16 dedicated to Vcore. Power is supplied to the OnSemi NCP81537 controller via the 8-pin EPS connector. From there it heads on to 16 OnSemi NCP307155 60 SPS MOSFETs. While the 960A isn’t a lot, it can easily handle the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, as well as the Core Ultra 9 285K. You can even overclock; just be sure to keep good airflow in your chassis, as the components here can get warm with sustained heavy use.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the left, is the audio section, which includes the previous-generation flagship Realtek ALC1220 codec and a mix of standard (yellow) and WIMA (red) audio caps. It’s a solid audio solution for this class of board, though I would like to see the newest codecs (Realtek ALC408X) on the latest boards.

In the middle of the board, between the M.2 heatsinks, are three full-length PCIe slots. The top slot sports an “UD” (Ultradurable) reinforced slot and features the company's PCIe EZ-Latch Plus button for unlocking and releasing your graphics card. The slot connects the CPU, runs at the full PCIe 5.0 x16, and is the primary slot for discrete video cards. The bottom two full-length slots connect via the chipset, and both support PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds, making them good for high-speed expansion.

Mixed in with the PCIe slots are four other M.2 sockets. The top socket, above the primary graphics slot and working with its own (puny-for-a-PCIe 5.0) heatsink, connects through the CPU and is the only PCIe 5.0 4 (128 Gbps) socket. It, like the others, supports devices up to 110mm. The three M.2 sockets below share the same heatsink, and all run through the chipset at up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. The bottom-most, M2M_SB, also supports SATA-based SSDs. These M.2 sockets and SATA ports support RAID 0/1/5/10 for additional speed or redundancy (remember, RAID is not a backup!).

Moving right, past the chipset heatsink, near a second source of RGB lighting on the right edge, is the 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector and the four SATA ports (supporting RAID 0/1/5/10).

We've also captured several images of the IC's used to make this motherboard work consisting of a mix of OnSemiconductor for power and Realtek brand networking and audio.

On the bottom of the board are a slew of headers. It offers your typical connectivity, with nothing missing or worth a specific mention. Below we’ve listed all the connections across the bottom (rear) of the board.

• Front panel audio
• (2) 3-pin ARGB
• 4-pin RGB
• SPI TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Thunderbolt AIC headers
• (2) 4-pin system fan headers
• Front panel
• 2-pin Clear CMOS
• 2-pin Reset

The rear I/O on the Aorus Elite Duo X offers enough connectivity and has a couple of buttons typically found on the motherboard itself. From left to right, we see those power and reset buttons, along with Clear CMOS and the Q-Flash Plus functionality. To the right is a DisplayPort output to use with integrated graphics. For USB ports, there are a total of 10: one USB4 40 Gbps Type-C port (that’s correct, USB4, not Thunderbolt 4), two USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports, and four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. Above the blue USB ports is the Realtek 5 GbE, and next to that, the quick-connect Intel Wi-Fi 7 (BE200NGW). Finally, on the right edge is the audio stack with two 3.5mm (mic and line out) and SPDIF out.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s updated “UC BIOS 2.0” also made its way to Intel boards, and, like the AMD counterpart, defaults to Easy Mode. It’s laid out logically, and displays a wealth of information about the system, including processor, RAM, fan speeds, and several selectable options, such as XMP profiles, RAM tweaks, Re-Size BAR support, Smart Fan 6 access, and more. The Aorus Elite Duo uses a black background with light blue accents and white writing, providing a high-contrast screen that’s easy to read, similar to the Aorus Stealth, but with a mountain lit up by the moon as a background instead of the Aorus branding.

All headings are still displayed across the top in advanced mode; they are now larger ‘buttons’ and can be easily selected with a mouse. The highlight bar (where you are on the page) is a light blue here and easy to see. Every option you need and want is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to drill down several layers to reach the most commonly used functions – especially if you populate your selections in the Favorites section.

Another feature is that the new 64MB BIOS includes a “DriverBIOS” function that preinstalls your Wi-Fi driver, so you can get online easily when you first boot. It’s a beneficial feature for Windows 11 25H2 users who need an internet connection to use their Microsoft account to install the OS.

Software

Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) is a one-stop solution for controlling various functions, including RGB and Fan control, hardware monitoring, and overclocking. It’s also helpful in finding, downloading, and installing driver updates for your system. It’s a simple application that does its job. It’s also a much cleaner tool than the previous App Center. It earns our approval for the breadth of functionality it offers users. There’s also the curiously named AI Snatch utility to help with AI overclocking.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (25H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late April 2026. On the hardware front, we’ve updated the RAM kits to ones appropriate for the platform. Peripherals, including cooling, storage, power supply, and graphics cards, remain unchanged. We also use the latest publicly available BIOS unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS:
• CPU - Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Renegade - 32GB DDR5-7600 CL38 (KF576C38RWAK2-32)
• RAM - G.Skill Trident Z5 CK - 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 (F5-8200C4052G24GX2-TZZ5CK)
• RAM - V-Color 256GB (2x128GB) DDR5-8000 CL64 (TECQ5128G80Q864K)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (25H2 - 26200.8037)
• NVIDIA Driver 595.97

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS then set the memory by enabling the XMP profile. If there are boosts enabled by the BIOS by default, it runs like that. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks and Real World Applications

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios. We’ve also combined our previous ‘timed’ benchmark applications into this section.

Since this is our first review using the Core Ultra 270K Plus CPU, we don’t have any direct comparisons with other motherboards at this time. We have several sitting in the lab ready for their chance to shine, and will populate the charts soon.

The results we do have match our 270K Plus review, so we know this motherboard performs fine; we just can’t compare it with anything in this, our first review with the new processor and updated benchmarks.

Intel’s baked-in 200S turbo didn’t yield much improvement in our testing suite, but using Gigabyte’s “Level 2” overclocking did see minor gains across the board. The “Level 3” extreme setting wasn’t stable with our CPU. In fact, it couldn’t handle any multi-threaded applications we run and didn’t complete any long-running benchmarks (think Cinebench R26's single-thread test). So if you’re going to use this functionality, Level 2 is your goldilocks setting unless you have a better overclocking CPU than we do.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Arrow Lake refresh chips, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 25. We’ll continue with the ever-popular and aesthetically pleasing Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed in the table above). Both games are set to use DLSS (previously, only used in Cyberpunk 2077).

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

As has been the case with previous motherboards and CPUs, the 3DMark tests don’t show much separation from worst to first, and we see that again across our varied datasets. In games, the 270K Plus does well, beating out the 285K and our 9900X. They still don’t hold a candle to the 9800/9850X3D chips, but the refresh has improved gaming performance over the original Arrow Lake processors. Our RTX 4080-based system managed 151 frames per second in Cyberpunk 2077 and 204 frames per second in F1 2025 on the Texas track.

The ‘level 2’ boost setting also showed minor frames per second improvement in games. CP2077 increased by around 2.5%, and F1 2025 was roughly the same. They aren’t big increases, but they are real.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while out-of-the-box performance has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and an overwhelming majority support power-hungry flagship-class processors, so we know the hardware can handle them.

There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: manually adjust the settings or use some of the fancy AI overclocking board partners have been touting. Results will vary and depend on the CPU's cooling and quality. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering the above, we’re not overclocking the CPU for these review articles. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

The new Arrow Lake refresh CPUs have a maximum in-spec speed up to DDR5-7200. Anything above that would be considered overclocking for the IMC. However, the base kit we use for testing and benchmarking is the Kingston Fury Renegade 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-7600 CL38, so it (the IMC) is overclocked. The second set of RAM we use to further stress the memory controller/system is the G.Skill Trident Z5 CK 32GB DDR5-8200 CL40 kit. With the board’s specs listing a limit of over 10,000 MT/s (for 9000-series APUs) and 8600 MT/s for desktop-class processors, running well below that, we expect our two kits and the 270K Plus to pass testing.

Now the fun part. Remember reading earlier that this two-DIMM board supports CQDIMMs? We had a chance to test out a 256GB (2x128GB CL64 - TECQ5128G80Q864K) V-Color kit, an ‘AI Server Solution’ says the package, that’s set to run at once-unthought-of speeds, for the capacity, of DDR5-8000. But sure enough, our 270K and the Elite Duo X took our two sticks loaded with ICs front and back and successfully completed a 30-minute stress test at those speeds.

The overall usefulness of CQDIMMs on a consumer platform is, arguably, relatively little. Most users are good with 32GB, or even 64GB on two-DIMM boards for normal use scenarios (think gaming, productivity, creative workflows, etc.). RAM is also prohibitively expensive right now and for the foreseeable future. Admittedly, it is cool to see more gigabytes crammed onto a DIMM and running at fast speeds, and this helps the home user who wants to run local LLMs and a lot of RAM. I’m just not sure many people’s pockets are deep enough to stand up a system with this much RAM in 2026, considering that a similar V-color kit with four sticks at DDR5-6000 (not quad-rank, and a lot slower speed, note) is over $10,000.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Please note that we moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing with our flagship-class 270K Plus and the Kingston DDR5-7600 kit at stock and with Intel’s 200S Boost yielded similar results, peaking at 335/338W, respectively, while idling at a low 69W. Using Gigabyte’s Level 2 performance bump cranked the wall power to 408W, significantly increasing power consumption. We’ll see additional motherboards in the list as they are tested.

VRM temperatures weren’t a concern with the 270K Plus. Throughout the 30-minute test, the system (excluding the monitor) used an average of 247W, and temperatures peaked at 48 degrees Celsius on our sensor (the readings from Hwinfo and the internal sensor showed that the temperatures went DOWN a couple of degrees during the test, so we didn’t include that dataset). That value is well within specification for the MOSFETs below. We have plenty of confidence that the power delivery can handle anything you throw at it, as the CPU temperature will limit you before the board hinders overclocking.

Bottom Line

The mid-cycle update Gigabyte Aorus Elite Duo X is a solid mid-range motherboard designed with the Arrow Lake refresh processors in mind. The board's biggest stand-out is the CQDIMM capability. While the company is shying away from officially supporting them, we know the high-capacity kit was compatible and worked in our testing. For most mortals, that doesn’t matter, as the platform already supported 64GB DIMMs/128GB total with two DIMMs, which is more than enough for most users. But if you need more than that and at faster speeds, boards that can run the CQDIMMs are where it’s at.

Specs-wise, the Duo X has enough connectivity, including 10 USB ports on the rear I/O (though one Type-C port can certainly be limiting), five total M.2 sockets, fast networking, and native support for the new, refreshed processors. The software stack is also comprehensive, covering a wide range of functionality from overclocking to RGB lighting with GCC and AI Snatch. In all, it’s a well-rounded offering and one of the first reasonably priced boards (the Z890 Tachyon CQDIMM edition was the first) to run CQDIMMs. Relative usefulness notwithstanding, it was cool to see 256GB of RAM running at DDR5-8000 at only 1.1V.

For $279.99, the Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X sits right in what I would consider a sweet spot for budget mid-range motherboards, and there is plenty of competition in that space. You can find the Asus ROG Strix Z890-A Gaming Wi-Fi for $288.99. It offers multiple 40 Gbps (Thunderbolt 4) ports but has fewer M.2 sockets. ASRock’s Z890 Nova Wifi (currently $281.99) offers a ridiculous-for-the-price six M.2 sockets, superior audio and VRM solutions, and dual Ethernet ports. The MSI MAG Z890 Tomahawk Wi-Fi ($259.99), out since Arrow Lake, is the least expensive of the bunch, but offers fewer M.2 sockets and the same last-gen flagship audio solution as the Duo X.

Among these boards, none stand out as superior to the others, as we can all make arguments for each depending on our needs and personal preferences. Obviously, if you need what CQDIMMs offer, the Duo X is the only option in this group and at this price. In the end, the Gigabyte Z890 Aorus Elite Duo X motherboard won’t make our best motherboard list, but it is a well-appointed motherboard for the price. If you’re looking for an out-of-the-box Arrow Lake refresh, CQDIMM compatibility, and squeezing 256GB of fast RAM into a two-slot board, this is the one under $300.

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Breaking out from under ‘the big four’ (ASRock, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI), it’s been a while since we've covered any Colorful motherboards. In fact, it's been more than two years since we tested one. Colorful’s motherboards generally tend to be solid options, some with unique appearances, offering features and specifications similar to those available in the US market (Colorful boards are typically available only in Asia and the UK). Still, the company has never offered what I would consider genuine high-end boards. But that changes today, with iGame X870E Vulcan OC V14 motherboard we have in the lab. Colorful touts this as a premium motherboard focused on overclocking, and we’d have to agree. From the robust power delivery, BCLK engine chip, and dedicated BCLK buttons, to the 2-DIMM memory configuration, the Vulcan OC is ready to push any chip to the limit, even with sub-ambient cooling.

Heatsinks and shrouds cover most of the PCB, and it also comes with a small ‘Vulcan Smart Screen’ customizable display, all of which are traits of a premium modern motherboard. Priced around $679.99 (if it makes it to the US market - you can find this in the UK and the Far East), it sits squarely in the premium mid-range segment. It competes with boards like the MSI X870E Ace Max and Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Dark Hero by price, and overclocking-centric boards like the Gigabyte X870 Aorus Tachyon ($599.99), and ASRock X870E Taichi OCF ($499.99). So it’s a bit of a tough sell, as it comes across as a sort of hybrid, with the integrated display.

Hardware-wise, you get robust power delivery (18 phases, 110A SPS MOSFETs), fast memory support (up to DDR5-10000+ MT/s), three PCIe 5.0-capable M.2 sockets (four total), ample USB connectivity on the rear IO with 13 total, including two USB4 40 Gbps ports, 5 GbE and fast Wi-Fi 7 networking, an integrated BCLK controller, and more. It even has a couple of DIY-friendly features to help with installing your video card or M.2 storage. Colorful also has several baked-in X3D BIOS profiles to get the most out of your high-cache X3D processors.

Testing with our Ryzen 9 9900X showed the board performs well overall. It’s a competent gaming platform, and it plowed through our comprehensive benchmarking suite, so we know there are no performance issues out of the box. We’ll cover those details and more, below, as well as test its performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Colorful’s website.

Specifications of the X870E Vulcan OC

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging, below the well-secured motherboard, is another box containing all the accessories. And while you won’t see an M.2 add-in card, you get everything else in this comprehensive set of extras. The company even includes a screwdriver kit and a set of white gloves to avoid seeing nasty little fingerprints on glossy surfaces.

• USB stick with drivers
• Operation/Quick Start guides
• Stickers
• Gloves
• Screwdriver kit
• Wi-Fi antenna
• GPU support strut
• (4) SATA cables
• (2) ARGB (3-pin) extension cables
• New thermal pads for M.2 sockets
• (2) quick-connect headers (front panel)
• (4) M.2 standoffs and screws
• Zip ties

Design of the Vulcan OC

Colorful’s iGame X870E Vulcan OC V14 looks the part of a premium motherboard, with barely any of the 10-layer PCB visible, except for where all of the connections are. It has a large heatpipe-connected VRM heatsink to cool the MOSFETs below. On top is some iGame/Vulcan branding, along with 3-line RGB stripes running along the edge. To the right of the socket is the Vulcan Smart Screen, a useful addition once you've configured it in the iGame Center software. The bottom half of the board is also covered in plate heatsinks (Colorful calls it Vulcan Thermal Armor), including the audio section and the bottom PCIe slot. On top is a lined design, with the Colorful symbol on the left in black and the igame branding in white on the right.

Overall, we like the appearance; it’s fitting for a premium motherboard and a worthy centerpiece for a premium AM5 build.

Zooming in on the top half of the board reveals the VRM heatsink. It’s a 3D design with a smoked plastic cover hiding the Vulcan branding and Colorful symbol, creating a pretty cool aesthetic. The three-line RGB feature follows the shape of the cover with iGame branding, backlit at the bottom. The VRM heatsinks themselves have plenty of mass and use an array of fins to dissipate heat from the powerful VRMs beneath. You’ll see later that they do a fine job keeping things running in spec. Above that are the two 8-pin EPS power connectors (one required) for power to the processor.

Moving past the socket area to the right, the next thing we see are the two reinforced DIMM slots with a single locking mechanism at the top (where there should be room to access), supporting up to a crazy DDR5-10400+(OC) MT/s when using 8000-series APUs. With Ryzen 9000 series desktop processors, you’re still looking at a fast DDR5-8600 MT/s. You can stuff up to 128GB into the two-slot board, if needed. Being an overclocking-focused board, it also allows you to unlock higher voltage mode (called High-V) to really push the limits.

Above that are the first four (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices. But the documentation doesn’t show the output, so we should assume they are 1A/12W each, as overloading the headers could destroy the motherboard. We’ve reached out to Colorful and will update this section when we hear back.

Also in that area are the first two (of four) 3-pin ARGB headers, with the other two located along the bottom edge. The iGamecenter software controls any attached (or integrated) RGB’s. In this same area, you’ll also run into a voltage measurement point (covering VDDCR, VDDIO, VDDCRSOC, and MISC) for extreme overclocking, when knowing the exact voltage matters more (software can sometimes be a bit off). Colorful also provides troubleshooting help via the four LED debug light (DIMM/CPU/GPU/Boot), and the 2-character LED debug code light, which indicates, generically (4 LEDs) and more specifically (2-character LED), where the problem lies during the POST process.

Moving down the right side, the first thing we notice is the Vulcan Smart Screen. Along with holding Power, Reset, and Retry buttons, this small LCD screen displays system monitoring information or images (Colorful provides several, but some features are behind a login wall) and is configured through the iGamecenter software. If you don’t set it up, you get a splash screen upon boot, then it shuts off. I wish it would display system information, or at least something, by default.

Hiding underneath the screen are another 4-pin fan header, the 24-pin ATX power connector, and a supplemental PCIe (6+2) connector for the board.

Power delivery on the X870E Vulcan OC consists of 22 phases, with 18 dedicated to Vcore. Power comes from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) in the top-left, then to the Renesas RAA229521 controller, and finally to the 18 Renesas RAA2209004 110A SPS MOSFETs. The 1,980 amps available to the processor are plenty for any compatible chip, including the Ryzen 9 9950X or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, even if you want to use extreme (sub-ambient) cooling methods.

The bottom half of the board is covered with heatsinks and shrouds, leaving very little of the PCB exposed. On the left, hiding under a shroud, is the audio solution. It features the Realtek ALC1220 codec and an ESS ES9219Q DAC. I would have preferred the latest-generation 4000 series codec, but few will complain about this implementation.

In the middle of the board are two full-length PCIe slots and five M.2 sockets. Starting with the PCIe slots, the top slot (reinforced) is your primary (and only!) connection to the CPU and supports PCIe 5.0 x16. It also bifurcates into x8/x4/x4, as it shares bandwidth with M.2_2/3, and features quick-release functionality via a button on the bottom of the LCD screen, called VGA Snap-fit. The bottom slot, hidden under a plastic shroud, connects to the chipset and runs at PCIe 4.0 x4.

Mixed in above and between the PCIe slots are five M.2 sockets. The top M.2 sockets (M.2_1/2/3) are the first of three that support PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps). M.2_1 supports devices up to 110mm and is mounted under its own plate-style heatsink. I would have liked to see something a bit larger for the ‘primary’ M.2, but this should be fine for most situations. M.2_2/3 also connects through the CPU and runs PCIe 5.0 x4 as well, sharing lanes with the PCIe slot. If M.2_2/3 is in use, the top PCIe slots drop to PCIe 5.0 x8 speeds, and the other x8 slot is assigned to M.2_2/3. I like this implementation because you can get three ultra-fast PCIe 5.0 drives without losing entire slots and maintaining the SATA port count.

Moving past the chipset to the right edge, we find the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) front panel connector. This connection supports PD 3.0 charging at 60W so that you can charge your phone or small laptops with ease from your PC (you need to use the supplemental PCIe connector to reach that wattage). Next is another 4-pin fan header, a 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector, and finally, the four SATA ports (supporting RAID 0/1/5/10 modes with non-APU processors).

We’ve captured several images of the chips that power the board and keep it working as it should. This includes the PWM controller and VRMs (Renesas), audio solution (Realtek), and USB controllers (ASMedia and Genesys Logic).

Finally, across the bottom edge are a slew of buttons and headers for additional functionality and connectivity, including the manual BCLK +/-, LN2, and slow mode buttons for overclocking.

• Front panel audio
• LED on/off switch
• LED Demo mode switch
• BCLK + and - buttons
• Safeboot button
• LN2 mode switch
• 4-pin speaker
• 3-pin ARGB header
• Slow mode switch
• BIOS switch
• (2) 4-pin fan headers
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• 3-pin ARGB header

The rear IO offers the typical connectivity you'd expect from a premium motherboard. Starting on the left are three buttons: Clear CMOS, BIOS UPDATE/Flashback, and Turbo Mode for one-button overclocking. To the right of that is a legacy PS/2 port, which is beneficial for extreme overclocking with a USB-connected keyboard and mouse. There are 13 total USB ports of varying speeds. You get two USB4 (40 Gbps) Type-C ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps - red) ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps - blue) ports, and two USB 2.0 (480 Mbps - black) ports, which should be plenty for most users. Next is the Realtek 5 GbE, the Mediatek Wi-Fi 7 connections, and finally the audio stack with two 3.5mm (Line out/mic in) jacks and SPDIF out. If it’s lacking anything, other boards around this price have more Type-C ports on the back, but three total (one on the front) should be acceptable.

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Firmware

Colorful’s BIOS starts in easy mode, as most do these days. It’s a unique-looking BIOS setup with a black background, red buttons/icons, and white text matching the iGame theme. It’s a nice contrast and easy to read, for sure, and it has all the functionality you want. But it also feels a little dated compared to the competition. The BIOS also has a ‘Main Panel’ page that displays an image of the board and its connectivity (akin to Asus’ Q-Dashboard). If something is connected, it shows on the screen with a green light next to it. They also provide several modes to boost X3D processor performance.

Advanced mode displays the hardware monitor on the left side and the different headings across the top. Here again, you'll find everything you need to get the most out of your system, even if you’re using sub-ambient cooling methods. In all, it’s a solid BIOS, and I like that there are two to use, but they are 32MB and not 64MB, so you may lose support on older chips as time goes on.

Software

Colorful’s iGamecenter software is your one-stop shop for viewing your hardware, monitoring the system, and controlling the RGB lighting and the Vulcan Smart Screen. It also includes a game section that predicts your FPS based on your hardware at three resolutions (1080/1440/4K). The AI section you’d think is for overclocking and optimization is, sadly, for pets and avatars. Cute, but nothing to do with system optimization.

This software, while useful, wasn’t very user-friendly. To see temperatures and such on the screen, you need to merge several pictures and adjust what it displays. I don’t know why it doesn’t show system info (or even a picture) by default, but it should. I would also like to see some overclocking features (at minimum, multiplier and Vcore adjustment) in the software.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

Across our synthetic benchmarks, the Vulcan OC performed well, posting average-to-above-average results. Be it rendering, encoding, compression/decompression, it held up well against all of the other AM5 boards we’ve tested so far.

Timed Applications

In our timed applications, LAME fell into the slower of the two times, while the Corona benchmark was the fastest, matching multiple other boards. Handbrake performance was also above average—nothing to worry about in these benchmarks either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular and good-looking game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In the 3DMark tests, it was above average in Steel Nomad and below average in Speed Way. These results are incredibly close, and the difference is within the margin of error for the most part. In our games, the board also performed well, with above-average frame rates in F1 2024 (174) and one frame per second below our average in Cyberpunk 2077 (138). Nothing to worry about here; it’s a competent gamer, too.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For the memory testing, we started with our usual method, popping in the DDR-7200 kit, and it ran without issue. Next, I tested the DDR5-8000 kit with our Ryzen 9 9900X desktop processor and, surprisingly, it booted and ran our stress test successfully! The two-DIMM setup and the latest BIOS seemed to pay dividends, as this is only the second board to run the faster kit with the 9900X. Usually, it takes the 8600G APU with its superior IMC to do so.

Colorful also has several profiles for the 9800X3D CPU. If you have one of these processors, the BIOS displays a dropdown for it, named X3D A.I Turbo, with those options in it. You have Turbo modes 1-4, Turbo 2/3 + BCLK, and an auto setting. They range from more of a PBO-type adjustment to raising the BCLK in conjunction with clocks.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Please note that we moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress-testing the X870E Vulcan OC with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it drawing the most power overall of any AM5 board we tested so far. This was mostly due to the high idle wattage that, sat at around 121W with zero CPU/system activity. After some sleuthing, we found that by default, the C-states appear to be disabled in the BIOS. Enable the C-states, and idle wattage drops to 99W, which is better, but still the highest idle we’ve seen. Load wattage was also up there, at 272W. The 199W average between idle and load is 12W higher than the next board (Asus' Extreme Glacial).

VRM temperatures were good, peaking just shy of 56 degrees Celsius on the internal sensor and 51 degrees on ours. The 18 110A SPS MOSFETs, combined with a large finned heatsink, mean you can overclock any processor, with the only limitation being your cooling.

Bottom Line

Colorful’s iGame X870E Vulcan OC V14 is a solid overclocking and all-around motherboard. On the overclocking front, the clock driver IC, two physical buttons for independent BCLK adjustments, robust power delivery, superior cooling, and the two-DIMM configuration all help you achieve your overclocking goals. It may not have baked-in memory profiles like the X870E Apex or X870E Tachyon, but it’s still plenty capable. The design is also a step up from previous iGame-class boards and fits in with other boards that cost the same. In all, Coloful did a good job in this space.

As discussed earlier, the board is not without competition at the price point or type (overclocking). For a similar price, you can have the Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Dark Hero for $699.99. Still, you lose the speeds capable from a 2-DIMM board (it’s not an overclocking board), or go for the cheaper X870 Aorus Tachyon Ice ($599.99) that does everything the Vulcan does, and is arguably the more refined overclocking board of the two. However, connectivity on the X870 chipset is somewhat limited. ASRock’s X870E Taichi OCF is also a viable alternative for overclocking and is even cheaper at $499.99, but it, like the Tachyon above, lacks a display. As always, it’s a give-and-take as to which one is best for you, but the Vulcan is a worthy combatant.

In the end, the iGame X870E Vulcan OC V14 is a well-rounded premium mid-range solution with a focus on overclocking and the X3D chips with the performance presets. Even though it didn’t earn a nod as a best motherboard, it offers a long list of features and specifications, but it lacks AI-based overclocking and memory profiles we see on other boards. For competitive benchmarking, this isn’t generally a problem, as it’s typically done manually (or perhaps a profile used as a starting point to further tweaking). Still, if you plan to lean on those features, its similarly priced peers do offer those options. That said, the X870E Vulcan is a solid board in the premium mid-range space, especially if you plan on overclocking your RAM or need the ability to use CQDIMMs with increased density and speeds.

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Not long ago, we covered the non-X3D version of Gigabyte's X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top motherboard and, in general, liked what it had to offer (especially at the lower refurbed price point). The elephant in that review, though, was that this X3D board was already on the market, with notable improvements in design and functionality. Like the original, the X3D is a flagship-class product through and through. From the appearance to the features, there’s no doubt it’s a premium offering. And now priced at $999.99, it’s one of the more affordable flagships. But as you’ll see, it measures up with the others.

The Xtreme X3D AI Top comes with five M.2 sockets (up from four on the non-X3D) and two SATA ports (from four) for storage. Dual 10 GbE ports and fast Wi-Fi 7, unique flagship-class audio codec, plenty of USB ports including 10 on the rear IO (two USB4 40 Gbps Type-C), and multiple DIY-friendly features (including screwless M.2 designs, to EZ Wi-Fi plugs) sweeten the pot when considering this board against its high-end competitors. We love the appearance, and it is no doubt better than the non-X3D version all around. You even get a fancy LCD Edge View display like its peers, placing this in the crosshairs of other, more expensive flagships like the MSI X870E Godlike X, and the Asus X870E Extreme Glacial, both of which we reviewed in recent months.

Performance on this board using the latest BIOS (F7a with AGESA 1.3.0.0a) was among the best we’ve seen, too. It’s this way because, by default, there’s some magic sauce in the RAM settings increasing bandwidth (we only enabled Expo profile for the RAM; Expo AI Boost, and high-bandwidth support were disabled). As you’ll see later, what Gigabyte is doing improves all facets of our AIDA64 testing rather significantly.

The increased bandwidth and slightly reduced latency improved some of our results, yielding the fastest times we’ve seen in some tests. The board is a great gamer, and did well in productivity tests as expected. In short, this board performs quite well across a wide range of tests and games, thanks to the bandwidth increase that seems baked in when enabling the Expo profile on the base kit.Below, we’ll examine the Gigabyte X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Gigabyte’s website.

Specifications of the Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging are a wide variety of accessories, including an inline USB DAC for audio, an apparatus with a ~60mm fan to help cool the RAM, and even a “CPU Thermal Matrix” designed to reduce VRM and RAM temperatures, with Gigabyte stating improvements of up to 8.5 degrees Celsius. Outside of that, it comes with your typical collection of accessories, though it is a bit light compared to other flagship-class motherboards that come with additional add-in cards (for more M.2 slots), for example. See the complete list, below:

• Installation guide/User’s Manual/Stickers
• ESSential USB DAC (Type-C to 3.5mm)
• M.2 Thermal Guard Xtreme
• (2) SATA cables
• DDR5 Windblade fan
• G-Connector
• Quick connect Wi-Fi antenna
• (2) Thermistor cables
• Speaker
• (2) Velcro strips
• Xtreme M.2 cooler
• Front panel extension cable
• (2) Fan power extension cables
• (2) Integrated extension cable for sys fan/water cooling
• CPU Thermal Matrix
• 3-in-1 bottle opener
• Aorus insulated tumbler

Design of the Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top

The Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top looks the part of a premium motherboard, with only a small amount of the 8-layer PCB exposed. There’s a large, oversized heatsink with the LCD Edge View display on top, plus a large heatsink for the top PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket (with an even larger one included in the accessories) sporting ‘Xtreme’ branding in RGBs. The bottom heatsink is a large plate that connects via magnets on the left, above the audio, and has a simple latch for removal. Covering two of three PCIe slots is a magnetically attached plastic shroud. If you need to use the bottom two PCIe slots, simply remove the plastic shroud exposing the slots. This two-piece heatsink and shroud configuration allows you to retain the premium ‘covered’ appearance while still having access to the slots. I like this a lot better than Asus’ implementation, where you need to remove a fancy-looking metal cover to expose the other PCIe slots, which takes away from its appearance.

Overall, we like the look, and it gives off the premium vibes you'd expect from a flagship-class offering – you can barely see any PCB, it has a large LCD screen, and a clean overall appearance with only a single PCIe slot and CPU socket visible. The design is much improved over the Xtreme non-X3D, and looks the part of a flagship motherboard, fitting in with the likes of the X870E Godlike X and Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial.

Focusing on the top half, starting on the left, we get a better look at the 5-inch LCD Edge View screen, which displays system parameters for instant insights, including temperatures, voltages, and clock speeds. You can also customize the display to show your own GIFs or still images for your own special touch. The VRM heatsink below uses fins (with a ‘nano carbon coating’), a lot of mass, and a heatpipe connecting to both, helping to dissipate heat from the MOSFETs below. Between this and the high-quality VRMs underneath, you can run and overclock any compatible chip to its limit (which will be your cooling method). Above the socket area, Gigabyte includes another magnetic shroud, this one designed to cover the dual 8-pin EPS connectors and some unsightly bits along the top edge, maintaining the clean appearance.

Just past the socket area, to the right, are the DRAM slots. Here, all four slots use Gigabyte Memory UD Slot D5 reinforcement (only two are reinforced on the non-X3D), and all four have locking mechanisms on both sides to secure the sticks in place. Gigabyte lists support of up to DDR5-9000, which is plenty fast for the platform and is a slight increase over the original Xtreme AI Top. We didn’t have any issues running any of our three kits, up to DDR5-8000 with an APU, as expected. The X3D also includes a RAM fan with a shroud that slides over your RAM (secured via a magnet) to help cool the warmer-running DDR5 sticks. We didn’t crank the voltage to see any differences, but we did observe a ~4°C drop during our 30-minute stress test using our DDR5-7200 kit, which runs at a higher 1.4V.

Above the DRAM slots and below that shroud are the first two (of three - 10 total fans through internal headers) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports both PWM- and DC-controlled devices and delivers 2A/24W, which is plenty for fans and pumps. Control over the headers is handled by the BIOS, Smart Fan 6, or Gigabyte’s Control Center (GCC) software. Just to the right, left, and above the VRM heatsink are two 2-pin temperature sensor headers for additional monitoring capabilities.

Rounding the corner and working our way down the right edge, we first see the 2-character debug display. Below that are power, reset, and Clear CMOS buttons. Next, in the upper-right corner, we see another 4-pin system-fan header and two more fan headers (those that split into three each - cables included). Below that is a front USB Type-C connector with DisplayPort capability (for installing an extra monitor on your chassis). Continuing down the edge, we then run into the 24-pin ATX to power the board, along with supplemental PCIe power (6+2) for additional board power (think RTX 5090 or a pair of graphics cards).

Next is another 3-pin fan header, a 2-pin temperature header (use the included thermistors), and the front HDMI output for easy installation of additional monitors (think an internal display for sensors or the like). Last but not least is the front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) connector.

Power delivery on the X870E Aorus Extreme X3D AI Top consists of 24 phases, with 22 dedicated to Vcore, again, more than the non-X3D version. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) in the top-left corner, onto an Infineon XDPE192C3D 12-channel controller. From there, it moves to the 22 Infineon PMC41430 110A SPS MOSFETs. It’s a robust solution that will handle anything you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X, the recently released Ryzen 7 9850X3D (fastest gaming processor around), or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, even if you want to use extreme (sub-ambient) cooling methods.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the front-left side and under the plate heatsink, is the audio section. Gigabyte equips the Xtreme X3D AI Top with unique ESS ES9080 chips (versus the Realtek ALC4000-series we’re used to) and an ESS ES9280AC DAC chip. On paper, the specs are similar: Both offer 7.1 channels and around 110 dB SNR. You’d be hard-pressed to hear a difference between them, and we have no issue with the audio selection as it is excellent. Gigabyte also includes a USB DAC that connects your 3.5mm headphones to the DAC and system.

In the middle of the board, under the heatsinks, are the five M.2 sockets. The top socket (M2A_CPU), with its own larger heatsink (another massive heatsink is included in case you have a hot-running 5.0 x4 M.2 drive and plan to beat on with extended transfers), supports up to 110mm devices and runs at PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps), as does M2B-CPU, but it’s under the plate heatsink. Also below the large plate heatsink are three other sockets, each supporting up to 110mm modules. The top-most, M2C/D_SB and M2E_SB, run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) again, supporting up to 110mm devices, and connect through the chipset. Compared to the non-X3D AI Top, this board has one more total socket and a second PCIe 5.0 x4 slot, which we expect from a flagship.

Visible around the plate heatsink are three full-length PCIe slots. The top two connect through the CPU and are reinforced with their Titanium PCIe UD Slot X, which connects to the CPU. The top slot supports PCIe 5.0 x16 (also x8), while the second supports PCIe 5.0 x8. The top slot is your PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for your video card, and both use the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus to secure your expensive graphics card. Simply install the card, then press the button to lock it and remove it. Easy. The bottom full-length slot connects to the chipset, supports PCIe 4.0 x4, and is used for expansion cards.

Moving right, past the chipset, the first item we run into is next to the PCIe release buttons. Along the edge is a front USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) port, followed by two SAT ports below it. Next are the LED header, USB fan header, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) headers, and, finally, the front panel port.

We've also captured several images of the IC's used to make this motherboard work consisting of a mix of Infineon bits for power and Realtek brand networking and USB support. Typical fare.

Normally, we’d list all the headers across the bottom, but unlike most motherboards, all the headers you typically see are on the right edge and covered above.

The rear IO on the Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top offers enough connectivity, including 10 USB ports. Starting on the left, we see the convenient Q-Flash Plus buttons (for CPU-less BIOS flashing) and the OC Ignition button for one-touch overclocking. Next to that is the rear HDMI (v2.1) port for using the integrated graphics on (most) CPUs. Above that is the audio stack (2x 3.5mm plus SPDI/F). There are two USB4 (40 Gbps) Type-C ports, one 20 Gbps Type-C port, and a 10 Gbps Type-C port, for a total of four. You get eight Type-A ports, all running at USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps). Above the USB ports are the two Marvell AQTion 10 GbE ports, and finally, the Mediatek-based Wi-Fi 7 (5.8 Gbps) quick connect. I would have liked to see more USB Type-A ports here, like the competition, but most users won’t need or miss them.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s updated “UC BIOS 2.0” starts in Easy Mode, is laid out logically, and displays a wealth of information about the system, including processor, RAM, fan speeds, and several selectable options, such as XMP profiles, RAM tweaks, Re-Size BAR support, Smart Fan 6 access, and more. The Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top uses a black background with light-blue accents and white writing, providing a high-contrast screen that’s easy to read. The background is similar to the Aorus Stealth, but with a mountain lit up by the moon instead of the Aorus branding.

All headings are still displayed across the top in advanced mode; they are now larger ‘buttons’ and can be easily selected with a mouse. The highlight bar (where you are on the page) is a light blue here and easy to see. Every option you need and want is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to drill down several layers to reach the most commonly used functions – especially if you populate your selections in the Favorites section.

Another feature is that the new 64MB BIOS includes a “DriverBIOS” function that preinstalls your Wi-Fi driver, so you can get online easily when you first boot. It’s a beneficial feature for Windows 11 25H2 users who need an internet connection to use their Microsoft account to install the OS.

Software

Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) is a one-stop solution for controlling various functions, including RGB and Fan control, hardware monitoring, and overclocking. It’s also helpful in finding, downloading, and installing driver updates for your system. It’s a simple application that does its job. It’s also a much cleaner tool than the previous App Center. It earns our approval for the breadth of functionality it offers users.

If you’re into local AI development, Gigabyte’s AI Top utility is a specialized, no-code software platform that enables users to train, fine-tune, and run AI models directly on their desktops without programming expertise. It leverages system memory and SSDs, making it ideal (according to Gigabyte) for running large language models (LLMs/LMMs with 685B parameters) and Stable Diffusion locally. It’s a unique piece of software to include with motherboards and is useful if you want to play around with your own local AI.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

The X870 Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top performed very well in our synthetic benchmarks, posting some of the best scores we’ve seen across the suite, just like the non-X3D, and again thanks to higher bandwidth (by default) on our base DDR5-6000 sticks. Be it office apps, encoding, or rendering, the Xtreme X3D AI TOP was one of the best overall performers in our tightly packed results.

Timed Applications

In our timed applications, LAME fell into the slower of the two times, while the Corona benchmark result was the fastest, but matching multiple other boards. Handbrake performance was also above average, responding well to the magic bandwidth sauce Gigabyte’s using.

3D Games and 3DMark

With the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular and good-looking game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the board was average to above average in Speedway, and slightly below average in Steel Nomad. That said, the X3D AI Top did really well in our actual games, posting the best non-9800X3D FPS we’ve seen in Cyberpunk 2077 (146, also with the highest minimum, 111 frames per second), and did well in F1 24, running faster than the average (129 min, 175 avg). In short, this is one of the better performing boards we’ve tested. Regardless of whether you’re gaming, a creative, or just doing general productivity, the X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top can get the most out of any installed processor.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: the Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X, but the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s outlandish RAM (and video card and storage) prices, we imagine few people are considering them in the first place. Dropping in our Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, as we can on most motherboards. There’s plenty of headroom for anyone who can afford faster speeds.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress-testing the X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it drawing more power than most boards. At idle, it sat around 93W and peaked at 268W. This averages out to 178W and puts it just above average. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here either. Boards with more functionality / features generally use more power.

VRM temperatures were, not surprisingly, good, peaking at 49 degrees Celsius on the internal sensor and 48 degrees on ours. The 22 110A SPS MOSFETs, combined with the oversized heatsink, mean you can overclock any processor, with the only limitation being your cooling.

Bottom Line

I’m glad we had the opportunity to test the X3D AI Top as the original Xtreme AI Top just didn’t cut it compared to the other updated flagship motherboards (but still stands as a solid motherboard). Priced at $999.99 on Amazon, the X3D AI Top is one of the least-expensive ‘true’ flagships available for the AM5 platform and a relative ‘deal’ compared to the others. You’re essentially missing some add-in cards for additional M.2 storage, and other tidbits. But if you don’t use them, there’s little need to pay more.

Speaking of others, this board competes with the MSI MEG X870E Godlike X ($1,299.99) and stands its ground. The Godlike X offers more M.2 sockets (thanks to the Xpander AIC) and doesn’t include a fan cooler for the RAM, but it still offers plenty of reasons to buy. The Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial ($1,199.99), is another worthy combatant at the top. Its icy-white appearance is arguably the best of the bunch, and you get a fancy display above the VRMs, oversized heatsinks all around, and plenty of connectivity. If you need or want to use the AI Top software, the answer is obvious: Gigabyte takes it. But if you aren’t worried about running local LLMs on your PC, it’s all going to come down to looks and how you want to divide up connectivity.

In the rarefied air of flagship motherboards, Gigabyte’s X870E Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top strikes a smart balance between value and a high price point. Compared in a vacuum, these boards are downright expensive, and for many who aren’t wowed by LCD screens and extra bits they offer, they aren’t on the shopping list, even if you can afford it. But for those who need a board at the top of the product stack and five or more M.2 sockets, overbuilt VRMs for overclocking, work with local LLMs, cool LCDs, or just would like to get the most out of their X3D chip with X3D Turbo Mode 2.0, the Xtreme X3D AI Top is one of the best motherboards. It should be on your shortlist if you’re interested in this class of board.

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EXPO 1.2 officially released two days ago with Asus' X870 models being among the first recipients of the new feature. The company is expanding support to more X870 and even B850 models with beta BIOS builds, while teasing that older X670 and B650 motherboards are also due for an upgrade. EXPO 1.2 brings a range of improvements with the main feature being CUDIMM support, allowing for significantly higher DDR5 memory speeds.

Unlike standard UDIMMs that needs to constantly talk to the CPU's memory controller, CUDIMM comes with a CKD (Client Clock Driver) that lets the RAM maintain signal integrity and stabilizes memory operation at higher frequencies. EXPO 1.2 adds partial support for CUDIMM, allowing them to run in "bypass mode" that limits the speeds to around 6,000 MT/s despite being capable of achieving up to 9,000 MT/s.

Ryzen 7000, 8000G, and 9000 series processors don't natively support CUDIMM. So even though the motherboard will recognize it with new AGESA updates, the memory controller won't let the system boot without the bypass mode. Native CUDIMM compatibility is reportedly planned for next-gen Ryzen CPUs based on the Zen 6 architecture. In contrast, Intel's Arrow Lake chips have native CUDIMM support.

CUDIMM also brings Ultra-Low Latency mode for DDR5 memory, reducing it by five to seven nanoseconds. MRDIMM support is also being added for data center and server CPUs that should allow for much higher throughput. A more interesting feature for consumers is perhaps the added support for module geometry that can understand how the ICs are arranged on individual DDR5 sticks. This could enable HUDIMM support on AM5.

EXPO 1.2 is currently available on only AMD's latest 800-series motherboards across different vendors, but Asus has implied that older 600-series models, such as X670 and B650, could also get the updates soon. The screenshot above is from the ROG forums hosting the beta BIOSes, so this is not an official confirmation but a positive sign nonetheless for early adopters of the platform. Apart from the obvious CUDIMM omission, users should still be able to benefit from EXPO 1.2's other improvements.

Nvidia's N1/N1X SoC has been driving the rumor mill for years at this point, but we've recently begun to see some leaks that point toward the chips finally releasing this year. The latest piece of evidence comes from Goofish, a reselling platform in China, where someone has just listed a laptop motherboard allegedly featuring the N1 SoC in all its glory. It's priced at around $1,400 (9999 RMB), but offers have been closed.

The pictures show a small motherboard that could be from a 13-inch tablet (similar to ROG Flow Z13) or, more likely, a 14-inch laptop, as it houses a large cutout for a fan. The N1 SoC can be seen on the right side; it's the biggest part on the board, flanked by eight memory chips and what looks like a robust 8+6+2 phase VRM setup. That beefy power delivery suggests that the N1 will feature a significant power appetite.

Upon closer inspection, the eight memory ICs are SK hynix H58G78CK8B modules, totaling up to 128 GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at 8,533 MT/s. For context, Strix Halo tops out at 8,000 MT/s while Panther Lake can go up to 9,600 MT/s in flagship configurations. Apple's M5 series also supports 9,600 MT/s across the board, and a report from WSJ previously said N1 is designed to directly compete with Apple Silicon.

Anyhow, this motherboard also has plenty of ports — HDMI, USB Type-A, USB-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on one side, but none on the other. We can see 2x M.2 slots for 2240-sized SSDs, and there's a shielded communication antenna in the bottom-right corner for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It's a fairly densely packed PCB that appears more like a close-to-final, retail unit than an early engineering sample.

As for the N1 itself, we know that the GB10 Superchip inside DGX Spark is based on N1 silicon, as confirmed by CEO Jensen Huang himself. It reportedly features a 20-core Arm-based CPU (10 cores per cluster) and an RTX 5070-level GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores. It's being developed in conjunction with MediaTek, which handles the CPU side, while Nvidia is, of course, in charge of the graphics and software.

The chip is so significant because after years of failed efforts, Nvidia has the chance to reinvigorate Microsoft's Windows-on-Arm initiative with silicon that can actually rival legacy options. Qualcomm's GPU drivers have held back the Snapdragon X Elite family, so Nvidia has the perfect gap to fill here. Once launched, this will be the Green Team's first consumer CPU since the Tegra X1 in the Shield TV back in 2015.

All signs are now pointing toward a Computex 2026 reveal for the N1/N1X lineup after it missed GTC last month. A DigiTimes report from earlier this year claimed that Nvidia is targeting Q1 2026 for launch with more variants to follow in the second quarter. In January, we even saw a leaked shipping manifest for a Dell XPS laptop featuring an N1 engineering sample, suggesting that Dell is at least testing/tested the waters.

The Goofish listing claims that whatever device this motherboard is from is coming in the second half of the year, too, bringing "consumer-grade AI PCs" to the public. The board is also mentioned as an "Nvidia N1 AI book engineering sample" and that it "should be used for tablet computers." The text is translated, but the general sentiment is still carried over: N1 is intended for both conventional laptops and hybrid 2-in-1 devices.

PCI Express (PCIe) is a foundational technology that's been around for decades, and that's not going to change anytime soon. The standard is set to change and evolve over the coming years, and the technology has a rich history behind it, too. PCIe inherited elements from the original PCI standard (such as configuration space, PnP, BARs, and command/status registers), so the history of this technology stretches into the annals of computing history.

Ever since its introduction in 2004, PCIe has been evolving in accordance with a simple rule: each new major revision roughly doubles link bandwidth while maintaining backward compatibility. The pace of formally introducing a new PCIe version every three or four years remained mostly stable, barring a major slip between PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0. But what changed in recent years is not the pace, but the difficulty of each new iteration. Early generations increased throughput almost effortlessly by doubling transfer rates (clocks) and improving encoding efficiency. Today, the roadmap pushes PCIe directly into the territory where manufacturing tolerances, materials, and retimers define what is possible and how much it costs.

Nonetheless, PCI-SIG, the standard that oversees the development of PCIe and adjacent standards, continues to steadily introduce new PCIe generations every three to four years, ensuring its relevancy for years to come. Before diving into the future of the standard, let's first take a look back at history.

A quick look back

PCIe began as a replacement for shared buses in the early 2000s and introduced point-to-point connections and scalable lane counts. PCIe 1.0 operated at a 2.5 GT/s data transfer rate per lane, followed by PCIe 2.0 at 5 GT/s. PCIe 3.0 increased the data rate to 8 GT/s, which was far from doubling the prior generation, but introduced a more efficient 128b/130b NRZ encoding scheme, which significantly reduced protocol overhead.

PCIe 4.0 doubled the transfer rate to 16 GT/s in 2017, and marked the first time where a new PCIe revision was adopted by enthusiast-grade desktop PCs only two years after the formal publication of the standard.

PCIe 5.0 followed in 2019 at 32 GT/s per lane, and brought the electrical designs of data centers to client systems, requiring higher-grade PCB materials and stricter signal-integrity controls. Now, the bus provides up to 128 GB/s bidirectional bandwidth through an x16 slot, which is an overkill for consumer graphics cards, but increasingly useful for AI accelerators and high-end storage.

While PCIe 5.0 connectivity is must have for data centers, not every mainstream and entry-level consumer PC supports PCIe 5.0 for SSDs and graphics cards, which highlights that the cost of the technology introduced in 2019 is still fairly high for inexpensive computers.

PCIe 6.0: An inflection point

Introduced in 2022, PCIe 6.0 represented a major inflection point for the technology: instead of driving conventional two-level signaling to ever higher frequencies, the specification transitioned to PAM4, a four-level modulation method that carries two bits per symbol, and introduced 242B/256B FLIT encoding. This change allows throughput to double to 64 GT/s per lane without doubling the clock rate, but it comes with severe tradeoffs.

Multi-level signaling methods like PAM4 compress voltage margins dramatically, making them far more sensitive to electrical noise, jitter, crosstalk between lanes, and even tiny imperfections in PCB manufacturing, something that historically reserved this transmission method in enterprise-grade networking like 400Gb Ethernet or InfiniBand.

To ensure that everything works, PCI-SIG mandated forward error correction (FEC) and significantly more complex equalization, which is costly in terms of silicon complexity (more compute power required), added latency, and power.

To a large degree, PCIe 6.0 controllers with Physical Interfaces (PHYs) now resemble mixed-signal processors, rather than simple interfaces, as they now have to pack DSP blocks for high-resolution analog processing, adaptive equalization, and FEC engines, which all consume power. Furthermore, validation requirements across the platform are much tighter with PCIe 6.0 compared to previous generations.

Meanwhile, from a platform perspective, the greatest limitation is no longer bandwidth or latency; it is distance. At PCIe 4.0's 16 GT/s and PCIe 5.0's 32 GT/s, system designers can still route signals across motherboard traces up to 11 inches under favorable conditions using quality materials. This is no longer the case with PCIe 6.0. According to channel-loss figures published by Astera Labs, a direct copper trace operating at 64 GT/s can span as little as 3.4 inches under a 32 dB loss budget, depending on materials and conditions.

To a large degree, such constraints redefine motherboard engineering: lengths once considered trivial now require architectural decisions, since factors like dielectric loss, copper surface roughness, via impedance, and connector discontinuities all affect signal integrity. Consumer-grade laminates have also become inadequate, mandating manufacturers to use high-cost, low-loss materials typically reserved for networking equipment.

Furthermore, since raw copper can no longer maintain usable eye graph margins across practical distances, retimers are no longer optional for meaningful distances between the root complex and the slot: modern servers with PCIe 5.0 use between 17 and 24 of them, and PCIe 6.0 is set to raise that dependency dramatically. For example, two retimers per link can extend a PCIe Gen6 trace reach to roughly 10 inches, but the PCIe specification does not allow more than two retimers between a host and an endpoint, so server motherboard designers must be creative.

Retimers are not a panacea, though: each retimer adds unavoidable latency, cost, validation burden, and power draw, easily adding over 200W per server. Connector design faces similar pressure. Interfaces originally designed for signaling in the low single-digit GHz range are now expected to operate cleanly at tens of GHz, which is why companies like Molex are introducing new connector and cable families explicitly for PCIe 6.0 and 7.0. Obviously, such connectors and cables are expensive, complex, and physically larger than they used to be in PCIe 4.0 times.

Given all the complexities surrounding PCIe 6.0, Wallace C. Kuo, chief executive of Silicon Motion, says that he does not expect consumer-grade SSDs with a PCIe 6.0 interface to become a widely-adopted product before 2030.

PCI 7.0, 8.0 and beyond

Beyond PCIe Gen 6, the roadmap remains consistent in terms of cadence and performance increase, but hardly in terms of implementation and adoption cadence by the industry. PCIe 7.0 targets another performance doubling to 128 GT/s per lane, but this time actually increasing clocks and further refining the PAM4 modulation scheme and tightening electrical tolerances.

PCIe 8.0, which is still under development, aims to double that again to 256 GT/s with the specification available sometime in 2028. If achieved, an x16 connection would approach an almost 1 TB/s of aggregated bandwidth in both directions. Whether such speeds remain viable on copper is an open question. Connector vendors are already developing specialized hardware, including extended-reach cables and high-density sockets, to accommodate future data rates. Optical interconnects and co-packaged PHY designs are no longer academic exercises and could become requirements at some point, although Al Yanes, the head of PCI-SIG, implies that the organization is looking forward to enabling a 256 GT/s speed over copper. Only time will be able to tell if that'll become a reality.

The future of PCIe: Predictable performance, demanding silicon

One notable question about the evolution of PCI and PCIe technologies is what defines them at different parts of their history. Intel originally began developing PCI for desktop PCs in 1990, only envisioning its entrance in the server space in the mid-1990s. Yet, by the time PCIe entered the scene, Intel was dominating the server market early in the new millennium.

Both PCI and PCIe were originally designed with PCs in mind as PC sales grew at a high pace in the 1990s and early 2010s, driving sales of bandwidth-hungry graphics cards that were (and still are) mandatory for video games. Over the following years, the growth of cloud infrastructure flourished, demanding its own set of capabilities and costs. Today, AI infrastructure dominates, setting new targets for performance and capabilities.

In general, the PCIe roadmap still promises predictable performance growth. But given what application is now driving the IT world, maintaining that pattern now demands exponential increases in engineering effort. Higher data rates shorten trace distances, raise board costs, and require more active silicon to preserve signal integrity. But at the same time, make more work done at any given second, thus maximizing performance efficiency.

However, whether future generations remain electrical or transition toward optics, PCI Express is no longer optional; it is the structural backbone of modern compute systems, starting from a humble PC all the way to Elon Musk's Colossus with hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs.

Gigabyte’s X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top has finally landed in our lab for testing. The AI Top has been out for a while now and is the pinnacle of AM5 motherboards for the brand. This version offers plenty of awesome things, but it also made some curious choices for a high-end motherboard. First, you get a premium product through and through. From the appearance to the features, there’s no doubt it’s a quality offering. And now priced at $599.99 for a refurb (but still over $1,200 from a 3rd-party seller new), it’s one of the more expensive ones new, as it’s no longer available in large numbers, given the newer X3D version.

The Xtreme AI Top comes with four M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0 x4) and four SATA ports for storage, dual 10 GbE ports and fast Wi-Fi 7, last-gen flagship-class audio, plenty of USB ports including 10 on the rear IO (two USB4 40 Gbps Type-C), and even has multiple DIY-friendly features (including screwless M.2 designs, to EZ Wi-Fi plugs) to entice you into buying. Using the latest BIOS, it also enhances X3D chips' performance by simply enabling an option in the BIOS, just like the more expensive X3D (read: refresh) boards - though you don’t get any of the updated features some may have. We do like how it looks overall, but we were surprised not to find an LCD screen on the VRM heatsink, as most of its peers had (and even on their original AM5 flagships).

Performance on this board using the latest BIOS (F12a with AGESA 1.3.0.0) was among the best we’ve seen. It’s this way because, by default (we only enabled Expo profile for the RAM; Expo AI Boost, and high bandwidth support were disabled), there’s some magic sauce in the RAM bandwidth, as you’ll see later, improving all facets of the AIDA64 testing rather significantly.

The increased bandwidth and slightly reduced latency improved some of our results, yielding some of the fastest times we’ve seen in Handbrake, and it did very well in gaming. In short, this board performs quite well across a wide range of tests and games, thanks to the bandwidth increase that seems baked in when enabling the Expo profile on the base kit.

Below, we’ll examine the board's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Gigabyte’s website.

Specifications of the X870E AI Top

Inside the Box

Inside the retail packaging are a wide variety of accessories, including an inline USB DAC for audio and a small ~60mm fan to help cool the RAM. Outside of that, it comes with your typical collection of accessories, though it is a bit light compared to other flagship-class motherboards that come with additional add-in-cards (for more M.2), for example. See the complete list below:

• Installation guide/User’s Manual/Stickers
• ESSential USB DAC (Type-C to 3.5mm)
• (2) SATA cables
• DDR5 Windblade fan
• G-Connector
• Quick connect Wi-Fi antenna
• (2) Thermistor cables
• Speaker
• (2) velcro strips

Design of the Aorus AI Top

The Aorus Xtreme AI Top looks the part of a premium motherboard, with only a small amount of the 8-layer PCB exposed. There’s a large, oversized heatsink with branded (Aorus) RGB, the only integrated RGB feature. There’s a large heatsink for the top PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket, with the model listed across the top. The bottom heatsink is a large plate that connects via magnets on the left, above the audio, and has a simple latch for removal. On top of it is the Aorus Falcon on a glossy surface. I was surprised not to see an LCD, since most of this board’s flagship competitors have one. That said, the newest iteration of this board, the Aorus Xtreme X3D AI Top, does. So if you love the board and insist on an integrated screen, you’ll have to step up to the new one (and pay more than you'd pay for this one).

Overall, we like the look, and it gives off the premium vibes you expect from a flagship-class offering, but it isn’t the standout of the group (that would go to the Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial we reviewed).

Zooming in on the front, we get a better look at the connector-free front side and how clean it looks. We won’t talk much about the VRM heatsinks (covered above), Focusing on the top half, starting on the left, we get a better look at the ‘polymo’-like RGB feature on top of the huge heatsinks. The VRM heatsink uses fins (with a ‘nano carbon coating’), a lot of mass, and a heatpipe connecting both to dissipate heat from the MOSFETs below. Between this and the MOSFETs below, you can run and overclock any compatible chip to its limit. The top has an infinity mirror look, which is cool, but again, I want a screen like the others at this price point. Above that are the two 8-pin EPS “UD” (Ultra Durable) power connectors for the CPU.

Just past the socket area to the right are the DRAM slots. Here, the two primary slots (A2/B2) use reinforcement, while all four have locking mechanisms on both sides to secure the sticks in place. Gigabyte lists support of up to DDR5-8800, which is plenty fast for the platform. We didn’t have any issues running any three of our kits, up to DDR5-8000 with an APU, as expected.

Above the DRAM slots are your first three (of 10) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports both PWM- and DC-controlled devices and delivers 2A/24W, which is plenty for fans and pumps. Control over the headers is handled by the BIOS, Smart Fan 6, or Gigabyte’s Control Center (GCC) software. Just to the right are a 4-pin RGB header (also controlled through GCC and the RGB Fusion Applet inside) and a 2-pin reset jumper. At the top right is the first 3-pin ARGB header.

Rounding the corner and working our way down the right edge, we first hit the “EZ Debug Zone,” which includes power and reset buttons (the latter a multi-key you can assign various functions), the Debug LED (four LEDs), and the 80 Port 2-character debug display. Between them, you’ll have a good idea of any issues that arise during the POST process and holding up getting into Windows. Next is the 24-pin ATX power connector for the board, another 3-pin fan header, a 2-pin temperature header (use the included thermistors), and the front HDMI output for easy installation of additional monitors (think an internal display for sensors or the like). Last but not least is the front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) connector.

Power delivery on the X870E Aorus Extreme AI Top consists of 22 phases, with 18 dedicated to Vcore. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) in the top-left corner, onto an Infineon XDPE192C3D 12-channel controller. From there, it moves to the 18 Infineon PMC41430 110A SPS MOSFETs. It’s a robust solution that will handle anything you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X, the recently released Ryzen 7 9850X3D (fastest gaming processor around), or the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, even if you want to use extreme ( sub-ambient) cooling methods.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the front-left side and under the plate heatsink, is the audio section. Gigabyte equips the Xtreme AI Top with a last-gen flagship Realtek ALC1220 codec and several audio capacitors (including the red WIMA). We’d like to see the latest generation on the newest boards, but this solution is perfectly acceptable for an overwhelming majority of buyers. The company also includes a USB DAC that connects your 3.5mm headphones to the DAC and Type-C to the PC.

In the middle of the board, under the heatsinks, are the four M.2 sockets. The top socket (M2A_CPU), with its own larger heatsink, supports up to 110mm devices and runs at PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps). Under the plate heatsink are three other sockets, each supporting up to 110mm modules. The top-most, M2D_SB and M2B_SB, run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) again, supporting up to 110mm devices, and connect through the chipset. I’m surprised we don’t see a second PCIe 5.0-capable M.2 socket on a flagship, and others do have five or more. This isn’t a problem for most users, but the count is comparatively short here.

Visible around the plate heatsink are three full-length PCIe slots. The top two connect through the CPU and are reinforced with their Titanium PCIe UD Slot X, which connects to the CPU. The top slot supports PCIe 5.0 x16 (also x8), while the second supports PCIe 5.0 x8. The top slot is your PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for your video card, and it also uses the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus to secure your expensive graphics card. Simply install the card, and it locks, then press the button to remove. Easy breezy. The bottom full-length slot connects to the chipset, supports PCIe 4.0 x4, and is used for expansion cards.

Moving right, past the chipset, the first item we run into next to the PCIe release button is a voltage read point. There are several holes in the PCB where you’d put a probe to read the voltage of multiple important things, including VCore, VDDIO, VDD MISC, and more. If you need accurate voltage readings for your overclocking adventures (or just for curiosity's sake), your best bet is to use these read points, as software can sometimes be inaccurate. Moving down, we see the four SATA ports, two more 4-pin fan headers, and a 19-pin front USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) connector.

We also captured some pictures of the chips Gigabyte uses on this board. We see ASMedia for USB, Infineon for PWM controller and MOSFETs, along with Realtek covering audio, PWM control, and USB. Networking duties are handled by Marvell and Qualcomm (for rev 1.0, Mediatek for rev 1.1).

At the bottom of the board are several headers offering typical connectivity for the location. There’s nothing really missing or worth a specific mention. Below we’ve listed all the connections across the bottom (rear) of the board.

• Front panel audio
• (2) 3-pin ARGB headers
• Debug header
• SPI TPM header
• (3) 4-pin system fan headers
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header
• 4-pin fan header
• Front panel

The rear IO on the Aorus Xtreme AI Top offers enough connectivity, including 10 USB ports. Starting on the left, we see the convenient Clear CMOS and Q-Flash Plus buttons (for CPU-less BIOS flashing), and next to that is the rear HDMI (v2.1) port for using the integrated graphics on most CPUs. There are two USB4 (40 Gbps) Type-C ports, six USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports (red), and two USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports (black). Next are the two Marevell AQTion 10 GbE ports, the Mediatek-based (or Qualcomm depending on board version) Wi-Fi 7 (5.8 Gbps) quick connect, and, finally, the audio stack comprising line out, mic-in, and SPDIF optical output. I would have liked to see more USB ports here, like the competition, but most users won’t need or miss them.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s updated “UC BIOS 2.0” starts in Easy Mode, is laid out logically, and displays a wealth of information about the system, including processor, RAM, fan speeds, and several selectable options, such as XMP profiles, RAM tweaks, Re-Size BAR support, Smart Fan 6 access, and more. The Aorus Xtreme AI Top uses a black background with light-blue accents and white writing, providing a high-contrast screen that’s easy to read. The background is similar to the Aorus Stealth, but with a mountain lit up by the moon instead of the Aorus branding.

All headings are still displayed across the top in advanced mode; they are now larger ‘buttons’ and can be easily selected with a mouse. The highlight bar (where you are on the page) is a light blue here and easy to see. Every option you need and want is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to drill down several layers to reach the most commonly used functions – especially if you populate your selections in the Favorites section.

Software

Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) is a one-stop solution for controlling various functions, including RGB and Fan control, hardware monitoring, and overclocking. It’s also helpful in finding, downloading, and installing driver updates for your system. It’s a simple application that does its job. It’s also a much cleaner tool than the previous App Center. It earns our approval for the breadth of functionality it offers users. This is the latest version from early 2026.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

The X870 Aorus Xtreme AI Top performed very well in our synthetic benchmarks, posting some of the best scores we’ve seen across the suite, thanks to higher bandwidth (by default) on our base DDR5-6000 sticks. Be it office apps, encoding, or rendering, the Xtreme was one of the best overall in our tightly packed group of results.

Timed Applications

In our timed applications, LAME fell into the slower of the two times, while the Corona benchmark was the fastest, matching multiple other boards. Handbrake performance was the best we’ve seen, clearly responding well to the memory bump, posting the fastest times across over 30 motherboards.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the board was average to above average in the really tight 3DMark results, and did really well in our actual games posting the best non-9800X3D FPS we’ve seen in Cyberpunk 2077 (145, also with the highest minimum), and did well in F1 24, running slightly faster than the average (134 min, 173 avg) In short, this is one of the better performing boards we’ve covered. Regardless of whether you’re gaming, a creative, or just general productivity, the X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top can get the most out of any installed processor.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X, and the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s outlandish RAM (and video card and storage) prices, we imagine few people are considering them in the first place. Dropping in our Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, as we can on most motherboards. There’s plenty of headroom for anyone who can afford faster speeds.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress-testing the X870E Aorus Xtreme AI Top with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it drawing more power than most boards. At idle, it sat around 96W and peaked at 267W. This averages out to 182W and puts it towards the higher end of power use. That said, you’d be hard-pressed to notice it on your bill. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here either.

VRM temperatures were good, peaking at 49 degrees Celsius on the internal sensor and 48 degrees on our own. The 18 110A SPS MOSFETs, combined with the large heatsink, mean you can overclock any processor, with the only limitation being your cooling.

Bottom Line

Although the Gigabyte X870E Aorus Xtreme Ai Top has been out for a while, it’s still a great all-around motherboard, even though the refresh boards have some added tweaks. The biggest problem with the board at this time is that it’s still fetching a premium (over $1,200). That said, there are several refurbished models available at Newegg and Amazon for an incredible $599.99, which is much more reasonable considering the age and is priced less than the X870E Godlike released around the same time.

The flagship boards it competes against include the Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial ($1,199.99 - or the Extreme at $998.99), and the MSI Godlike X ($1,300 at Newegg). The Glacial and Godlike X are refreshed boards, both with large displays on the VRM heatsink, unlike the Aorus Xtreme AI Top. The ‘original’ Godlike is available but still $1040.11. These also have more M.2 storage (and more PCIe 5.0-capable M.2 sockets), a better audio solution (at least the latest-gen flagship codecs instead of last-gen), and arguably a more premium appearance. The real competition for these boards is the updated X870E Aorus Extreme X3D AI Top ($1,099.99), which mitigates most of the shortcomings of the original by adding more M.2 sockets (now two PCIe 5.0 x4), a large display, an updated audio solution, and improved aesthetics.

While this board doesn’t make our best motherboards list, overall, we do like the Aorus Xtreme AI To. It’s just not ‘the one’ at this time because of the refresh boards, current prices, and availability (or lack thereof). If you’re good with a refurbished board, you can find these at a hell of a deal, $599.99, and it’s worth the cost at that price. But if you have to pay full price, you’ll want to move to the refreshed X3D AI Top instead.

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Gigabyte's X870 Aorus Stealth, as its name implies, features only the required connectivity on the front (think PCIe, RAM, and storage), while the rest of the connections, like ATX and EPS power, fan, RGB, and other expansion headers, have all moved to the back of the board, yielding a clean, wire-free aesthetic on the front side, moving all the unsightly cables to the rear where they can are easily hidden. On top of that, the new board sports an all-black design, support for the latest AMD processors, a 64MB BIOS (Wi-Fi driver included), ample connectivity, robust power delivery, and more, all for a reasonable MSRP of $299.99.

The decidedly mid-range motherboard comes with four M.2 sockets (two PCIe 5.0 x4) and two SATA connectors for storage, fast networking with 5 GbE and Wi-Fi 7, a last-generation flagship audio codec, 13 total USB ports on the rear IO (10 Type-A, three Type-C, and two USB4 40 Gbps ports), and more. The board also uses its X3D turbo mode to get the most out of your X3D chip, along with several DIY-friendly features, like the EZ-Latch Plus/Click for the M.2 socket and the primary PCIe slot, the Wi-Fi EZ-Plug, and the EZ-Debug zone. Not too shabby for a $300 board.

Performance with the latest BIOS (F5) was fine on the Aorus Stealth, even though the AGESA is one version older (1.2.8.0 vs 1.3.0.0). We generally saw above-average to average results across a wide variety of tests. The board proved not only to be competent in productivity and creative activities, but also solid in gaming. In short, it’s a well-rounded motherboard with a variety of features and connectivity, and oh yeah, you get the clean look of a rear-connect motherboard that isn’t too cheap or too expensive.

Below, we’ll examine the board's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards (it's one of the best rear-connect out there...). But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from Gigabyte’s website.

Specifications of the X870 Aorus Stealth

Gigabyte's Project Stealth

Like most other major brands, Gigabyte has also jumped on the rear-connect/BTF bandwagon, offering an ecosystem that supports back-connect devices. This includes motherboards, video cards, and chassis. If you haven’t heard of BTF/rear-connect, it’s just as described: All the connections for power, fans, RGBs, and other connectivity (USB, SATA, audio, front panel, etc.) are on the back, which makes for a much cleaner look than with the wires coming out of their normal locations on the front of the board.

Gigabyte offers a couple of different Stealth models, including the X870 Aorus Stealth (and Stealth Ice - in white) we’re covering here, and even a B850 Aorus Stealth. A quick search at their website didn’t turn up anything for the latest Intel chipset (though they did have some in the previous generation), so you do have options.

Gigabyte also made a video card, the Aorus RTX 5090 Stealth Ice 32G, where instead of the 16-pin connector mounted at the top of the card, which sticks out like a sore thumb, it’s mounted at the end of the PCB, hidden much better. The ‘stealthy’ mounting location works with a normal or vertical orientation. I'd like to see something further down the product stack (and cheaper) with this feature.

As far as cases go, Gigabyte’s mid-tower C500 Panoramic Stealth (and Stealth Ice - ~$183) rounds out its current list of rear-connect/BTF compatibility. The mid-tower chassis features cutouts on the motherboard panel to support not only their rear-connect offerings but also those of their competitors, fitting Mini-ITX through ATX boards. The case itself is beautiful, sporting a 270-degree panoramic view of the inside via two glass panels (front and side). It includes three 120mm RGB fans (3x reverse - front, 1x normal - rear), a fan/RGB hub, and enough room for two 360mm radiators (top/side). There’s plenty of airflow. If you air cool, the maximum height is 176mm, while the largest GPU you can fit is 410mm (vertical mounting is also supported, with a kit sold separately). The IO panel offers typical modern connectivity, with two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports, a 10 Gbps USB-C port, a reset button, and audio in/out.

Inside the Box

To put it succinctly, the Stealth doesn’t come with a lot of extras, but it does offer what you need to get started. Gigabyte includes the typical guides and stickers, some pads for the M.2 sockets, a quick-connect for the front-panel header, two SATA cables, and a quick-connect Wi-Fi antenna. Nothing extraordinary here.

Design of the Aorus Stealth

For an all-black board, the X870 Aorus Stealth looks good and blends into any black or dark-themed setup. You won’t find any RGBs onboard (contrary to their website that shows RGB next to the DRAM slot, it’s reflective and did not light up on our board), so any lighting has to come from the chassis or connect them using the motherboard headers (controlled via RGB Fusion software). The large VRM heatsinks are connected through a heatpipe to share the thermal load. On top is a gloss-black design element, with the Aorus Falcon flexing proudly towards the bottom. The first M.2 socket has its own individual heatsink, while the bottom three use a large plate-style heatsink, both using the M.2 EZ-Click and EZ-Latch features to make installation and removal easier. The plate heatsink’s design is split diagonally, with Aorus branding in the middle, flanked by a brushed aluminum finish on the left, and a matte finish on the rest.

In all, I do like the appearance and wire-free aesthetic these rear-connect motherboards provide, as they really clean up the case's interior.

Zooming in on the front, we get a better look at the connector-free front side and how clean it looks. We won’t talk much about the VRM heatsinks (covered above), but we will move right to the DRAM slots. Each slot uses locking mechanisms on both sides to secure the RAM. Gigabyte lists support of up to 256GB and speeds to DDR5-8200, which is plenty fast for the platform. The board ran our DDR5-6000 and DDR5-7200 kits using the 9900X without issue, as also ran DDR5-8000 on the APU.

In the right corner are the four debug LEDs (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot) to help with POST issues. If there’s a problem booting your PC, the LED indicating the issue remains lit, giving users a general idea of where the problem is. The 2-character debug LED gives more detailed information, but this is fine for basic troubleshooting.

Just below that, in the EZ-Debug zone, are three simple buttons: Power, Reset, and QF Plus. The first two are self-explanatory. The QF_Plus button enables Q-Flash functionality, which allows you to update the BIOS when your system is off (S5 shutdown state). Simply plug the USB thumb drive into the dedicated port, then start the flash process by pressing the Q-Flash Plus button.

Flipping the board around to the rear, where all the connections are, we spy the two EPS connectors on the ‘right’ (8-pin and 4-pin; 8-pin required). Moving left in the image, we run across the first three (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports both PWM- and DC-controlled devices, as usual. All headers output 2A/24W, which is plenty for a slew of fans or a pump for custom watercooling. Control over the fans is handled through the BIOS and Smart Fan 6, or the Gigabyte Control Center.

Working our way down the edge, we see the first 3-pin ARGB header, the 24-pin ATX power connector, and two more 4-pin fan headers. The two 2-pin headers are for temperature probes (not included, oddly), while below them are two more RGB headers (a 4-pin RGB and a 3-pin ARGB).

Power delivery on the X870 Aorus Stealth consists of 20 total phases, with 16 dedicated to Vcore. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) in the top-left corner, then to an Infineon XDPE192C3D 12-channel controller. From there, it moves to the 16 Infineon PMC41410 80A SPS MOSFETs. It’s a capable solution that will handle anything you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X, the recently released Ryzen 7 9850X3D (fastest gaming processor around), or the purported Ryzen 9 9950X3D2.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the front-left side and under the plate heatsink, is the audio section. Gigabyte equips the Stealth with a last-gen solution: the flagship Realtek ALC1220 codec. We’d like to see the latest generation on the newest boards, but this solution is perfectly acceptable for an overwhelming majority of buyers.

In the middle of the board, under the heatsinks, are the four M.2 sockets. The top socket (M2A_CPU), with its own larger heatsink, supports up to 110mm devices and runs at PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps). Under the plate heatsink are three other sockets, each supporting up to 110mm modules. The top-most, M2B_CPU, is the other PCIe 5.0-capable socket, while the other two, M2C_XB and M2D_ASB, run up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) and connect through the chipset.

Visible around the plate heatsink are two full-length PCIe slots. The top, reinforced slot, connects to the CPU and is your PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for your video card. It also uses the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus to secure your expensive graphics card in the slot. Simply install the card, and it locks, then press the button to remove. Easy breezy.

Moving right, past the chipset, and flipping the board over to see the connections, the first item we run into is the front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) connector. Next are two SATA ports, another system fan header, and last, a 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header.

We also captured some pictures of the chips Gigabyte uses on this board. We see ASMedia for USB, Infineon for PWM controller and MOSFETs, along with Realtek covering audio, PWM control, USB, and networking duties.

On the bottom of the board, again on the backside, are a slew of headers you’d normally see on the front. It offers your typical connectivity, with nothing missing or anything worth a specific mention. Below we’ve listed all the connections across the bottom (rear) of the board.

• Front panel audio
• 3-pin ARGB
• SPI TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (2) 4-pin system fan headers
• Front panel
• 2-pin Clear CMOS
• 2-pin Reset
• 2-pin DB sense

The rear IO on the Aorus Stealth offers plenty of connectivity, including 13 USB ports. Starting on the left, we see four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports (blue), the HDMI output (for iGPU use), four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports (black), and along the bottom three Type-C ports (2x USB4/40 Gbps, 1x USB 3.2/10 Gbps). Just above the three Type-C ports are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports (red). Above that is the Realtek RTL8126 5 GbE, while to the right is the quick connect for fast Qualcomm-based Wi-Fi 7. Finally, on the far right is the audio stack with two 3.5mm (mic and line out) and SPDIF out.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s updated “UC BIOS 2.0” starts in Easy Mode, is laid out logically, and displays a wealth of information about the system, including processor, RAM, fan speeds, and several selectable options, such as XMP profiles, RAM tweaks, Re-Size BAR support, Smart Fan 6 access, and more. The Aorus Stealth uses a black background with light blue accents and white writing providing a high-contrast screen that’s easy to read.

All headings are still displayed across the top in advanced mode; they are now larger ‘buttons’ and can be easily selected with a mouse. The highlight bar (where you are on the page) is a light blue here and easy to see. Every option you need and want is at your fingertips, and you don’t have to drill down several layers to reach the most commonly used functions – especially if you populate your selections in the Favorites section.

Another feature is that the new 64MB BIOS includes a “DriverBIOS” function that preinstalls your Wi-Fi driver, so you can get online easily when you first boot. It’s a beneficial feature for Windows 11 25H2 users who need an internet connection to use their Microsoft account to install the OS.

Software

Gigabyte Control Center (GCC) is a one-stop solution for controlling various functions, including RGB and Fan control, hardware monitoring, and overclocking. It’s also helpful in finding, downloading, and installing driver updates for your system. It’s a simple application that does its job. It’s also a much cleaner tool than the previous App Center. It earns our approval for the breadth of functionality it offers users. This is the latest version from early 2026.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

The X870 Aorus Stealth performed well in our synthetic benchmarks, achieving average-to-slightly above-average results across most of our benchmark suite. Be it office apps, encoding, or rendering, the Stealth did fine here.

Timed Applications

In our timed applications, LAME and Corona, our board fell into the slower of the two results for each of these two benchmarks. Handbrake performance was good, posting the second-fastest time in x264 and on the faster side of average in x265. So far so good!

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the board was slower in 3DMark than most (remember, these results are ~1-2% from worst to first), but it did well in Cyberpunk 2077, posting the second-highest average frame rate (141). F1 24 was just 1 FPS below our average at 168 frames per second. In short, performance is on par with the other boards we’ve tested, whether for work or play.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X. The Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s otherworldly RAM (and video card, and storage) prices, we doubt many people are looking at these higher speeds in the first place.

Dropping in our Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit. Curiously, the first time we ran the stress test, it failed at 30:02 before I could stop it and capture the screenshot. I powered down, re-seated the RAM, and off we went, this time passing the 30-minute mark. I started another, and it ran for a couple of hours, so perhaps it wasn’t seated properly during the first run. And the short of it is, the kit worked, and DDR5-8000 is close to the Stealth’s ceiling.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing the X870 Aorus Stealth with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it to be fairly average in power consumption. At idle, it sat around 79W and peaked at 255W. This averages out to 167W and is an efficient result among X870 and X870E boards. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here either.

VRM temperatures ran nice and cool, peaking at just over 48 degrees Celsius on our sensors, and surprisingly, were lower on the integrated MOS sensor (40 degrees Celsius). Although we’re only testing with a Ryzen 9 9900X, we’re certain the VRMs will handle any flagship-class processor and an overclock without being the limiting factor.

Bottom Line

The Gigabyte X870 Aorus Stealth delivers what its name suggests: a clean-looking, all-black, rear-connect motherboard that moves all unsightly connections to the back—paired with a stealthy all-black appearance that blends in with most build themes. It’s well equipped for a mid-range motherboard with 13 USB ports on the rear IO (2x USB4), enough storage options with four M.2 sockets (2x PCIe 5.0 x4) and two SATA ports, fast networking, a solid audio solution, and capable power delivery, all for $299.99 at Newegg (along with the Aorus Stealth Ice, white, for $10 more).

In the rear-connect world, there are only a couple of comparable motherboards available from the major board partners (ASRock not being one of them for AMD). MSI’s MAG X870E Tomahawk Max Wifi PZ ($319.99) is one of those direct competitors. Outside of appearance (I prefer the Stealth), there isn’t much difference between them, though the MSI board’s second PCIe 5.0 socket runs at up to x2 speeds, whereas the Stealth's runs at full 4x. Asus’ closest competitor is the TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wifi W ($270.99). This board, on the B850 chipset, has fewer M.2 sockets (three), slower and fewer USB ports (10 on rear IO, one Type-C, no USB4), slower LAN and Wi-Fi 7 (2.9 Gbps max, vs 5.8 Gbps), and a similar audio codec. If you can get away with less, it’s a good option, but for an additional $30, you get a lot more board for the money with the X870 Aorus Stealth.

You can also choose X670 or B650 options for rear-connect. Still, the newer generation offers more and, in this reviewer’s opinion, looks even better than earlier generations, making it my preference for this type of build.

The Gigabyte X870 Aorus Stealth is a strong competitor in the rear-connect/BTF motherboard market. While there are a couple of boards bookending our review board on price, the Stealth is in the Goldilocks zone, offering a balance of features, pricing, and a premium appearance that the others don’t have. If you’re in the market for a BTF/rear-connect motherboard and love the all-black look and complete feature set, it’s the best motherboard for the job at a reasonable price.

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'Tis the season for refreshed motherboards, and we have another in the test lab. This time, we get a chance to look at MSI’s X870E Carbon Max Wifi, a refresh of the original X870E Carbon Wifi we covered all the way back in 2024, just after release. The updated Carbon Max Wifi offers a couple of changes over the original, including the OC Engine chip for overclocking, a 64MB BIOS, and a slightly different design aesthetic to the premium mid-range offering. Outside of that, it’s a boring update (and to be fair, most refreshes are). But there’s not a lot you can do hardware-wise at this point to freshen things up without blurring the lines between SKUs.

At $499, the Carbon Max Wifi isn’t not cheap, but still offers some high-end hardware, including multiple LAN ports (5 and 2.5 GbE) and Wi-Fi 7, 13 USB ports on the rear IO (2x 40 Gbps Type-C), ample storage options with four M.2 sockets (two PCIe 5.0) and four SATA ports, a solid current-gen audio solution, and robust power delivery designed to support flagship-class processors and overclocking. MSI also packs the Carbon Max with EZ DIY features, including PCIe Release, EZ M.2, and EZ Button features to simplify installation and removal of parts. Like most others, it also offers ‘AI’ functionality to help with overclocking, networking, cooling, and even an NPU boost (if your CPU has one).

Performance using the latest BIOS and AGESA was average overall. It was slower in our Handbrake encoding tests, but otherwise performed well across a wide variety of activities, including rendering, office work, and, of course, gaming. In short, performance isn’t a concern. The board happily ran our Ryzen 9 9900X and RTX 4080 combo without issue.

Below, we’ll examine the board's performance and other features to determine whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best motherboards. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from MSI’s website.

Specifications of the X870E Carbon Max Wifi

Inside the Box

The X870E Carbon Max includes a few accessories to get you started. You get your typical collection of cables, clips, and screws, but nothing extraordinary. In fact, it isn’t much different than the X870 Edge Ti we recently covered. Below is the full list.

• EZ Wi-Fi Antenna
• Cable Stickers/Installation Guide
• 1 to 3 EZ Conn-cable (v2)
• 1 to 3 ARGB Gen 2 extension cable
• (2) SATA cable
• EZ Front Panel cable
• EZ M.2 Clip II remover
• EZ M.2 Clip II

Design of the Carbon Max Wifi

The X870E Carbon Max maintains the carbon-black aesthetic of its predecessor, featuring a ‘server-grade’ 8-layer PCB and a reflective Mystic Light RGB lighting accent (the MSI dragon) atop the VRM heatsink. Compared to the non-Max, it doesn’t look much different, with the only changes being accent lines on the plate heatsinks and the VRM. The large M.2 Shields Frozr II heatsink for the top PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket also features RGB, with the Carbon branding tastefully shining through. We rarely mention the back of the board, but in this case, MSI’s PinSafe design uses a pin-less backside so you don’t get poked, or your clothing doesn’t get caught on the solder points all over the rear.

In the end, we still like the board’s aesthetic, and there’s no doubt it looks good inside a chassis, but it isn’t significantly changed over the already good-looking original.

Focusing on the top half of the board gives us a better view of the large heatsink cooling the VRMs. The oversized heatsinks are connected by a direct-touch heat pipe that distributes the load between them. There’s a lot of mass and surface area, so we expect them to perform well during testing. Above the VRMs are two 8-pin EPS power connectors (one required) for the processor. Between the capable MOSFETs below and the large cooler, you can overclock any compatible processor, whether with PBO or manually, without worry.

Moving right and past the socket area, the next thing we see are four DRAM slots, with a single locking mechanism at the top (where you have more room for access). MSI lists support for up to DDR5-9000 (with an APU, 8400 MT/s with a desktop-class processor), which is well past AMD’s sweet spot. Our DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue with the desktop-class CPU. With our recently acquired Ryzen 5 8600G APU, the board also happily ran our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit.

Just above the RAM slots are the first three (of seven, plus the JAF header, detailed in the next paragraph) four-pin fan headers. Each header supports both PWM- and DC-controlled devices, with the output varying for each. The system fans are the lowest at 1A/12W, CPU_FAN1 next at 2A/24W, and the PUMP-SYS1-2 header (defaults to PWM mode) is the most at 3A/24W. This is plenty of power for most cooling systems. If you’re pushing the limits, be sure to connect the supplemental PCIe (6-pin) power to ensure the board can safely output all that juice.

Working our way down the right edge, we find another fan header and the first 3-pin ARGB header. MSI Control Center and the company’s Mystic Light application control the integrated RGBs and those attached to the headers. Next up is the two-character debug (a new, smaller, less chunky version than we’ve seen), 24-pin ATX power for the board, and the combo JAF_2 header that combines fan, USB, and RGB into one connector (EZ Con-cable included).

Power delivery on the X870E Carbon Max consists of 21 total phases, with 18 dedicated to Vcore. Power heads from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) in the top-left corner, then to a Renesas RAA229620 controller. From there, it moves to the 18 Renesas R2209004 110A SPS MOSFETs. It’s a robust solution that matches the more expensive X870E Ace Max and will handle anything you throw at it, including the Ryzen 9 9950X or the purported Ryzen 9 9950X3D2.

On the bottom half of the board, hidden under a metal shroud labeled Audio Boost 5 on the left side, is the audio section. The Carbon Max uses the mid-range Realtek ALC4080 codec. You won’t find any fancy DAC/AMPs, but this audio solution will be fine for an overwhelming majority of users.

In the middle are three full-length PCIe slots for graphics and expansion. The top two slots connect to the CPU. The top slot, which is primary for graphics and runs at PCIe 5.0 x16, uses the EZ PCIe release button, while the middle slot runs at PCIe 5.0 x8. If the second slot is populated, the top slot drops to x8 as well. The bottom x4 slot connects through the chipset and supports PCIe 4.0 x4.

Among the slots are four M.2 sockets, with a fifth on the back of the board. The top two sockets, M.2_1/2, source their bandwidth from the CPU and run up to PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) while supporting up to 80mm devices. M.2_3/4/ receive their bandwidth from the chipset and all run up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) while supporting 80mm devices (M.2_3 supports up to 110mm).There is some bandwidth sharing; M.2_2 shares with the USB4 Type-C ports. So when that specific M.2 socket is used, bandwidth drops to x2 speeds for both. Like PCIe lanes, you can force an x4 connection, but you’ll lose both USB4 ports in the process. If you have many M.2 drives and would like to use the full bandwidth of the USB4 ports, do not populate M.2_2.

Past the one-touch plate heatsinks to the right edge, we run into the front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps with 27W charging) connector, followed by four SATA ports and two 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connectors—standard fare, and again, the same as on the more expensive Ace Max.

We also included images of several chips used on the board. MSI uses mainly Realtek (audio, USB, PWM controller, ASMedia (USB4), and Renesas (PWM and MOSFETs).

Along the bottom are several headers, ranging from the front panel to fans and supplemental PCIe power, and more. From left to right, we’ve listed them below. One item worth mentioning is the supplemental PCIe power connector for additional board power, so the board can actually output everything it’s rated for as well as the 2-pin Direct OC jumper (connect a simple button to raise/lower BLCK manually).

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin RGB
• 3-pin ARGB
• 2-pin LED on/off header
• (2) 2-pin thermistor headers
• (2) 4-pin System fan
• PCIe supplemental power
• (1) 4-pin System fan
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• 3-pin ARGB
• Reset/Power buttons
• BCLK jumpers
• 2-pin battery header(CMOS reset)
• Front panel

The rear IO on the X870E Carbon Max is full of connectivity, including 13 USB ports. Starting on the left, there are six (of nine) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps, red) ports, followed by the HDMI output and the two USB-C 40 Gbps ports. In the middle are three convenient buttons: BIOS Flashback, Clear CMOS, and a programmable Smart button. Next to that are the two Ethernet ports, 5 and 2.5 GbE, respectively, while below that are the other three USB 3.2 Gen2 ports. Finally, on the right is the quick-connect Wi-Fi 7 (fast 5.8 Gbps) and audio stack (two 3.5mm and SPDIF out)—plenty of ports to go around.

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Firmware

With X870, MSI has updated its BIOS, renaming it “Click X,” and improved the aesthetic and functionality in the process. The company changed the format to left-aligned headings, middle-aligned details, and right-aligned system status information, and it’s all logically laid out. Like most other board partners, it features an informational EZ Mode that provides limited functionality, with access to features such as Game Boost, PBO, and more. The Carbon Max uses a black and purple theme that's easy on the eyes with plenty of contrast.

Overall, we like the layout (it’s one of my favorites), and maneuvering around is intuitive after a short time, though it does take some getting used to.

Software

MSI Center is a single utility that offers a wide range of functionality. From hardware monitoring to RGB control with Mystic Light, the software has many applets and is a one-stop shop for downloading other utilities, including overclocking and fan control. Those looking to use the Gamebar feature, Super Charger, or any other utilities MSI offers will find them all in MSI Center. This is the latest version from early 2026.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 (23H2) 64-bit OS with all updates applied as of late September 2024 (this includes the Branch Prediction Optimizations for AMD). Hardware-wise, we’ve updated the RAM kits (matching our Intel test system), cooling, storage, and video card. Unless otherwise noted, we use the latest publicly available non-beta motherboard BIOS. The hardware we used is as follows:

TEST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

• CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
• Cooling - Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420
• Storage - Crucial 2TB T705 M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD
• RAM - Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32)
• RAM - Teamgroup T-Froce Delta DDR5-7200 CL34 (FF3D518G7200HC34ABK)
• RAM - Klevv Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 (KD5AGUA80-80R380S)
• GPU - Asus TUF RTX 4080 16G
• PSU - EVGA Supernova 850W P6
• Windows 11 64-bit (24H2)
• NVIDIA Driver 561.09

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.

The Carbon Max performed well in our synthetic benchmarks, achieving slightly above-average results across the dozens of motherboards we tested.

Timed Applications

The Carbon Max was hit-or-miss in our timed applications. It did well in Corona and LAME, but Handbrake testing was slower than most by a few seconds in both benchmarks. Noting out of the ordinary.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.

The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.

In our 3DMark and game tests, the board did well in 3DMark (Speedway was average; Steel Nomad was faster than average) and in games. Overall, nothing to worry about here. The Carbon Max performs well across a wide variety of functions, including games.

Overclocking

Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.

For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X. The Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s otherworldly RAM (and video card, and storage) prices, we doubt many people are looking at these higher speeds in the first place.

Dropping in a new Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue. We expect to see similar results moving forward, as the IMC on the APUs is generally better than the desktop processors we usually test with, and this one easily handles 8,000 MT/s.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.

Stress testing the Carbon Max with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it to be fairly average in power consumption. At idle, it sat around 91W and peaked at 263W. This averages out to 177W, a middling result among X870 boards. There’s nothing out of the ordinary here, either.

VRM temperatures, surprisingly, ran warm on this machine, peaking at almost 51 degrees Celsius on our hottest sensor and about the same on the internal sensor. Although we’re only testing with a Ryzen 9 9900X, we’re certain the capable power delivery can handle any flagship-class processor and an overclock, without getting in the way.

Bottom Line

As we said up top, MSI’s refreshed X870E Carbon Max doesn’t arrive with significant updates. The OC Engine chip is a plus for manual overclockers, but it doesn’t offer much for PBO overclockers who adjust power limits and multipliers, leaving other adjustments, like BCLK, alone. You do get a higher-capacity 64MB BIOS for increased flexibility, retaining a full-featured BIOS without removing functionality or past processor support, and, of course, a minor facelift. Otherwise, the features and specifications remain the same.

There is plenty of competition around the $500 price point on this platform. Gigabyte’s X870E Aero X3D Wood ($499.99), which we recently reviewed and included on our best motherboard list, offers a unique aesthetic and, spec-wise, is similar to the Carbon Max (though it lacks a dedicated BCLK overclocking chip). Asus’ ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming (now $409.99 from $479 MSRP - that we also reviewed) packs a similar punch but is significantly cheaper (though you can find the original X870E Carbon Wifi for the same price). ASRock’s X870E Taichi OCF ($499 - another board we covered recently) is more focused on manual overclocking, but is more purpose-built and isn’t quite as attractive as the other boards.