Gigabyte puts out what could possibly be the nicest-looking AMD X870E motherboard for those who are intending to build a high-end white-themed AM5 PC.

With X870E and X870 launch season just around the corner, comes another article featuring a motherboard with AMD's next-gen chipset; this time round, we've got the all-white Gigabyte X870E AORUS PRO ICE, which is quite possibly the nicest-looking X870E motherboard I've handled thus far, at least in my opinion.

For the uninformed, AMD's Ryzen 9000 series of processors were launched a few weeks ago, but for some reason, motherboards powered by the brand's new 800-series chipsets were noticeably absent; AMD has chosen to launch its new 800-series chipsets and motherboards after its Ryzen 9000 CPUs had arrived on the shelves of retailers. As it stands, the rumoured plan is to launch motherboards with the high-end X870E and X870 chipsets on 30 September 2024, and then follow up with budget-friendlier motherboards sporting the more affordable B850 and B840 chipsets, which are rumoured to only launch in early 2025.

As can be seen from the image above, the X870E and X870 chipsets offer marginal improvements over the X670E and X670 that they replace, with the key differences being support for faster DDR5 memory modules, and mandatory USB4 support for boards that come with the X870E and X870 chipsets.

The X870E AORUS PRO ICE that we'll be taking a look at today hails from Gigabyte's AORUS series of gaming-oriented motherboards at the higher-end, placing above the GAMING, EAGLE and Ultra Durable line-ups.

Summary of Specifications

Processor Support: AMD Ryzen 9000/8000/7000 series processors
Chipset: AMD X870E
Memory: 4x DDR5 slots, max 256GB, up to DDR5 8000 (OC) support (as of September 2024)
Audio: Realtek ALC1220 audio codec
LAN: Realtek RTL8125D 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
WIFI: Qualcomm QCNCM865 WIFI 7 module with built-in Bluetooth 5.3
Expansion Slots: 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (operates at x4 mode), 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (operates at x4 mode)
Storage: 4x SATA III, 3x PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2, 1x PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 (M.2 slots support NVMe drives only)
Form Factor: ATX
Official Product Page: https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X870E-AORUS-PRO-ICE 

Do note that PCIe 5.0 is supported only when a Ryzen 9000 or Ryzen 7000 series CPU is installed on this motherboard - Ryzen 8000 APUs only support the PCIe 4.0 standard.

Packaging & Contents

As a motherboard offering that is targeted at consumers looking to put together a white-coloured PC build, the X870E AORUS PRO ICE unsurprisingly, comes in a box that sports a white-and black colourway.

The board comes with the following accessories:

• WIFI antenna
• 2x SATA III cables
• 1x noise detection cable
• 1x G Connector
• 1x metal AORUS case badge
• Quick installation guide
• Regulatory information leaflet
• Sheet of AORUS stickers

Board Aesthetics

As can be seen, Gigabyte has gone for a full white-and-silver aesthetic – even the various plastic headers and connectors are white in colour, making this board really suitable for end-users who are intending to build a fully white-coloured AMD AM5 PC.

Over on the rear of the board, we see that the PCB is coloured in grey with a large stylised AORUS motif for added visual interest.

As a premium motherboard offering, no surprises here that the board comes with an integrated I/O shield design, where the said integrated I/O shield's cover also houses a RGB LED accent in the shape of the AORUS logo.

RGB junkies will be pleased to note that the board also comes with built-in RGB LEDs around the chipset heatsink area.

For M.2 drive cooling, Gigabyte has included full heatsink coverage for all four M.2 drive slots that this board comes with.

The X870E chipset has a dual chip design, and the said chips sit beneath the passive heatsink pictured above.

VRM & Memory Support

The X870E AORUS PRO ICE comes with 16+2+2 power stages rated for up to 80A, and sports four DDR5 slots that as of the time of writing this article, support a maximum of 256GBs of RAM and the DDR5 8000 standard when overclocked. The RAM slots are termed "Memory UD Slots", where they come with stainless steel shields for better signal integrity and slot durability.

Front Panel USB Headers

In terms of front panel USB connectivity, the X870E AORUS PRO ICE comes with a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C front panel header near the RAM slots, as well as two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A front panel headers near the bottom edge of the board; the Type-A headers each support up to two front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, for a total of four ports.

Two USB 2.0 front panel headers are found near the bottom edge of the board, where each of these headers provide support for two front panel USB 2.0 Type-A ports.

Expansion Slots & Storage Options

As a nod to the board's premium pedigree, Gigabyte has included a fancy-looking PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card – the said slot sports Gigabyte’s "PCIe UD Slot X" design with a dedicated backplate to reinforce the slot for use with heavy graphics cards.

The said slot even comes with an inner rubber lining strip, which according to Gigabyte, can help to protect your graphics card’s PCB from scratches during installation.

As can be seen, the PCIe 5.0 x16 slot also comes with the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus feature that helps make removing a graphics card from the slot less of a painful affair.

Moving on, the board also comes with a full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot that operates at x4 mode, as well as a full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot that operates at x4 mode.

In the storage department, Gigabyte has included four SATA III ports, with all ports in a right-angled configuration to aid with cable management.

The board also comes with three PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slots and a single PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slot. Do note that these slots support M.2 NVMe drives only - M.2 SATA drives will not work with any of these slots.

The PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slots feature Gigabyte’s "M.2 UD Slot PG5" design, with a unibody stainless steel shield for improved durability and signal integrity.

That said, the X870E AORUS PRO ICE's M.2 heatsinks all feature a tool-less design called M.2 EZ-Latch Click, which makes removing and installing the said heatsinks really easy.

We're not done with the quality-of-life features just yet - all of the board's M.2 slots also come with the M.2 EZ-Latch Plus feature as well, which makes installing and removing a M.2 drive from the X870E AORUS PRO ICE a tool-less affair.

Unfortunately, the X870E AORUS PRO ICE joins the list of AMD X870E and X870 motherboards that have some form of PCIe lane bifurcation shenanigans that are absolutely worth noting, especially if your intention is to use multiple PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 drives with this board.

Do note that the second and third PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slots, slots M2B_CPU and M2C_CPU, share bandwidth with the primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card, where if you have a single M.2 drive installed on any one of these two slots, or populate both slots for that matter with M.2 drives, the primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card will operate at x8 mode instead.

Bearing in mind that PCIe 5.0 is supported only when a Ryzen 9000 series or Ryzen 7000 series processor is installed, if you do have a Ryzen 8000 series APU installed on this board, M.2 slots M2B_CPU and M2C_CPU will be disabled entirely. This is because the Ryzen 8000 series only provides support for the PCIe 4.0 standard.

Audio & Internet Connectivity

Powering the board's audio experience is a Realtek ALC1220 audio codec...

...while wired internet connectivity is courtesy of a Realtek RTL8125D chip that serves up 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet support. Qualcomm's QCNCM865 WIFI 7 module is tasked for your wireless connectivity needs, where it supports 320 MHz channel widths, and also comes with Bluetooth 5.3 support.

Fan & RGB Headers

The X870E AORUS PRO ICE comes with no shortage of fan headers, eight of them, to be precise:

• 1x CPU_FAN
  
• 1x CPU_OPT
  
• 4x SYS_FAN
  
• 2x FAN_PUMP

RGB headers are in no short supply too, where Gigabyte has included three addressable RGB headers and a single 12V RGB header.

Other Features

Kicking off this list of special features that the X870E AORUS PRO ICE comes with is a start button located near the top edge of the motherboard. As its name implies, the said button allows end-users to power on the PC.

Next to the start button is a reset button that Gigabyte also terms a multi key button - the said button can be reprogrammed from within the BIOS to serve other purposes. While still on the topic of resetting one's PC, the board also comes with a reset header located just beneath the multi key button - the said header can be hooked up to the front panel reset button of a PC case.

To help with troubleshooting PC issues, Gigabyte has included a debug LED and a set of status LEDs that can help end-users diagnose various PC start-up issues. I personally like how the debug LED has white-coloured LEDs, which is a nice touch.

Near the ATX power connector of the board are two temperature sensor headers that can be hooked up to optional thermistor cables to monitor the temperature of components within your PC case.

A noteworthy feature that the X870E AORUS PRO ICE comes with is an onboard HDMI 1.4 port, which forms part of a feature that Gigabyte calls Sensor Panel Link. Sensor Panel Link is a feature that taps on the trend of end-users having a small LCD display screen as part of one’s PC case, which can be used to display vital PC statistics or even animated videos of their choice. The said HDMI port supports a maximum display resolution of 1920x1080@30 Hz.

Moving to the bottom edge of the board, we see that Gigabyte has included a TPM header for an optional discrete Gigabyte TPM module.

A noise detection header is also located near the bottom edge of the board, where it can be hooked up to the included noise detection cable to monitor noise levels inside of the PC case.

Rounding up the list of other features is a clear CMOS header located right below the bottom edge of the passive chipset heatsink.

Rear I/O

The X870E AORUS PRO ICE comes with an integrated I/O shield design in white. The following ports can be found on the rear I/O:

• Q-Flash Plus button
• 2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports
• 1x HDMI 2.1 port (supports a maximum display resolution of 4096x2160 at 60 Hz)
• 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports
• 2x USB4 Type-C ports (supports DisplayPort Alternate mode with a maximum display resolution of 3840x2160 at 240 Hz)
• 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports
• 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port
• WIFI antenna connector (WIFI EZ-Plug)
• Audio jack connectors

The Q-Flash Plus feature allows end-users to update the motherboard's BIOS without needing to install a processor, RAM and graphics card.

Interestingly, Gigabyte has included ventilation openings on the I/O shield itself, which apparently helps with dissipating heat from the VRM area.

Conclusion

To sum up, the Gigabyte X870E AORUS PRO ICE is targeted at end-users intending to build an all-white AMD AM5 PC build at the higher-end. As a premium motherboard offering, the board sports PCIe 5.0 support for both a graphics card and M.2 drives, 2.5Gbit Ethernet with built-in WIFI 7, dual USB4 ports and a plethora of other USB Type-C and Type-A connectivity options, along with a whole bunch of interesting and helpful features such as Sensor Panel Link, EZ-Latch Plus and so on.

One issue worth noting is with regard to the PCIe lane bifurcation issue that was highlighted earlier on in this article, where the second and third PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slots share bandwidth with the primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card. To be fair, I do see such a similar lane bifurcation situation with other brands of X870E and X870 motherboards too, which is indicative of chipset PCIe lane constraints and limitations that are brought about from the inclusion of USB4 support as mandated by AMD. That said, the performance difference between running one's graphics card at PCIe 4.0 x8 mode versus PCIe 4.0 x16 mode tends to be small or even insignificant under certain usage circumstances - this is because even the modern flagship GPUs of today are rarely able to fully saturate all 16 PCIe 4.0 lanes of a graphics card slot (where as of September 2024, there are no PCIe 5.0 GPUs as yet). In any case, this is still something to take note of, especially if your intention is to use multiple M.2 drives with this board.

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The motherboard featured in this article was a review unit provided on loan from Gigabyte.