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Benchmark Results and Final Analysis
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. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.
Synthetic Benchmarks
Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.
Overall, our synthetic benchmark results were positive, with our board at the top of many lists. It performed well across various tests and will handle whatever you do with your PC.
Timed Applications
This motherboard again performed well in our timed benchmarks. The Handbrake tests and Corona were the fastest times we’ve recorded for the platform, while the LAME result tied for first in a tightly packed dataset.
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 differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, which can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.
Gaming performance across our two titles was slower than average in the 3DMark and game tests. That said, the difference is only by a couple of frames per second and not noticeable unless you’re watching a frame counter intently.
Overclocking
Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence while the out-of-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, so 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 of the above, we’re not overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.
As you can see from the image above, we tested successfully using DDR5-7200. The Klevv DDR5-8000 kit booted to Windows and ran the AIDA64 memory bandwidth test but couldn’t pass the stress test out of the box (nor could any other X870 board). Again, that’s well past the price-performance sweet spot anyway.
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 from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC (minus 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.
Power use on the B850 board is the lowest we’ve seen. With the CPU peaking at 160W (Hwinfo), the test system peaked at 242W at the wall, while idling at 70W – well below the X870 boards. This result is expected as there are a lot fewer controllers, switches, RGBs, and other goodies that add to the power use here.
The Aorus Elite Wifi7's VRM temperatures were comfortably within the specified range, reaching a maximum of 43 degrees Celsius with the probes and 46 degrees Celsius from the sensor during our stress test. This performance indicates that it can effectively manage lightweight power delivery. It can support a Ryzen 9 9950X, even when adjusting settings with PBO or other methods to enhance performance.
Bottom Line
B850 motherboards are a good value in general and are a less-expensive way to get into the latest and greatest AMD platform. B850 doesn’t offer all the latest features and is a bit more limited with PCIe lanes, but it still fits the bill for many potential buyers. As you can see on our B850 Aorus Elite Wifi7, you get plenty of USB ports but only one 20 Gbps (no USB4) and one 5.0 M.2 socket. You have to climb the product stack and increase the price to find more. Overall, this board's performance is the best we’ve seen, even if you wouldn’t notice without looking at benchmarks.
We know all major board partners have similarly priced offerings. However, detailed information and pricing weren’t available for direct comparisons at the time of this writing, so we can’t compare them head-to-head. At $229.99, the Gigabyte Aorus Elite Wifi7 is easy on the wallet compared to higher-end X870 options and offers plenty of bang for the buck. If you don’t mind the lack of a USB4 and don’t need a lot of high-speed USB, it’s a very good option for under $230.
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