Gigabyte Z890M Aorus Elite WiFi7 Ice Brings Full-Size Intel Features to a White Micro ATX Board
Priced at $209 on Amazon, Gigabyte's compact Z890M Aorus Elite WiFi7 Ice packs most of its ATX sibling's features into a small board with a standout icy-white look.
By News Media House Staff ·
Gigabyte's Z890M Aorus Elite WiFi7 Ice, a Micro ATX motherboard for Intel processors, has landed on the Tom's Hardware test bench. Listed at $209 on Amazon, it carries over most of the features of the full-size ATX version in a smaller package. The reviewer's verdict is that its best quality is its appearance, making it one of the better-looking Micro ATX options for anyone planning a white-themed build.
The board is tuned for Intel's Core Ultra 200S Plus processors and pairs best with Micro ATX cases. For storage it offers three M.2 sockets and four SATA ports. Networking comes from 2.5 GbE and Wi-Fi 7, though the review notes the wireless chip is limited to 160 MHz channels. Audio is a basic solution built around the Realtek ALC897 codec, which the reviewer considers fine for most users unless they make music or count themselves audiophiles.
Heatsink coverage is where the design stands out. Many rivals in this budget class skip full coverage on the lower half of the board, but this model covers it, and it uses a large heatsink on the primary M.2 socket. Two RGB lighting zones, one near the VRMs and one under the chipset heatsink, add some glow. Fans are well served too, with six 4-pin headers that each deliver up to 2A or 24W.
The primary M.2 socket connects through the CPU at PCIe 5.0 x4 speeds. The other two connect through the chipset at PCIe 4.0 x4, with one accepting modules up to 110mm. RAID0/1/5/10 is supported for NVMe drives. The board also has two full-length PCIe slots: a reinforced CPU-fed slot running at PCIe 5.0 x16, and a chipset-fed slot at up to PCIe 4.0 x4. The reviewer cautions that a large graphics card may block the second slot.
Power delivery is described as capable but not robust. The board has 15 phases, 12 of them for Vcore, fed by dual 8-pin EPS connectors and 60A DrMOS parts, for 720A in total. That is enough for the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and even the Core Ultra 9 285K. The reviewer would be wary of heavy overclocking on the 285K or 270K Plus and advises keeping air moving through the case.
Memory support is listed up to DDR5-9200 (OC). In testing, the fastest kit, rated DDR5-8800, did not work properly with the board, though a DDR5-8200 kit ran fine. The reviewer recommends sticking to the memory QVL for best results.
The rear I/O is sparse next to high-end boards. It provides nine USB ports in total: four USB 2.0, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A. The only Type-C port is USB4 at 40 Gbps, with DisplayPort output, and a DisplayPort 2.1 output sits alongside it. The single Type-C port is listed as a drawback. A front-panel HDMI output is also available for secondary displays.
On performance, the review calls the board average overall, doing well in some tests and slightly below average in others. It performed well in 3DMark and real games, so gamers have little to worry about. It also supports AI Perfdrive, which offers customizable BIOS presets for one-click CPU improvements.
The box contents are sparse but typical for the price: two white SATA cables, a rubber pad, an extra M.2 thermal pad, an EZ connector for the front panel, and an installation guide. Tool-free touches such as EZ-Latch and EZ-Click M.2 mounting round out the package, and the review lists the 'EZ' features among the board's strengths.
Source: Tom's Hardware
