TheX870 motherboard market is fairly new, but there are options available from most manufacturers. The mini-ITX X870 market, however, hasn’t seen as much love, with only Asus offering one motherboard under its Strix brand. Now, Gigabyte has expanded the range with its firstmini-ITX X870 Aorus Pro Icemotherboard. As the name suggests, it is a white motherboard that supports the latest AMD Ryzen 9000 series CPUs, as well as older Ryzen 8000 and 7000 series CPUs.
Gigabyte X870I Aorus Pro Ice: Specifications and Features
Being a mini-ITX motherboard, the X870I Aorus Pro Ice does not offer as many expansion slots and connectivity options as the typical ATX motherboards, but its compact nature doesn’t prevent anyone from building a high-performance gaming or productivity machine. You get an8+2+1 digital VRM designwith premium components to ensure consistent performance and durability. The VRM heatsink is also larger, covering four times more surface area than previous iterations.
Gigabyte X870I Aorus Pro Ice
The Gigabyte X870I Aorus Pro Ice is a mini-ITX motherboard based on the X870 platform, which means it supports the latest AMD Ryzen 9000 series processors, as well as older Ryzen 8000 and 7000 series SKUs. The white motherboard comes with ample connectivity options, including a USB 4 port, 2.5Gb LAN, and Wi-FI 7. It is made with premium components and a larger heatsink for the VRM.
It has two slots for DDR5 RAM up to 128GB and up to 8400 MT/s. With Aorus AI Snatch, you get one click activation to enable DDR5 memory boost and full support forAMD EXPO profiles.
It is powered by a 24-pin ATX power connector and has an 8-pin CPU connector with UD Solid Pin. For storage, you can addtwo M.2 NVMe drives, one at the front and one on the back of the motherboard. The one at the front is a PCIe 5.0 compatible slot and has a heatsink pre-installed. There is a single robust PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for the GPU, and this is the only PCIe slot on the motherboard.
In terms of connectivity, the Gigabyte X870I Aorus Pro Ice comes with2.5Gb LAN and Wi-Fi 7. There is plenty of I/O, including two addressable RGB Gen2 LED strip headers, two SATA 6Gb/s connectors, two antenna connectors (2T2R), and plenty of USB ports, one of which is USB 4 compatible.
The Gigabyte X870I Aorus Pro Ice also features Q-FLASH Plus, which allows you to upgrade the BIOS without a CPU, GPU, or RAM installed. Simply connect the power cables, insert the USB dive with the BIOS in the Q-FLASH PLUS USB port, and press the Q-FLASH Plus button. There are LEDs at the top of the motherboard for debugging and indicating non-recommended DRAM installation.
This AM5 motherboard is compatible with the latest Ryzen 9000 series CPUs, including the latestAMD Ryzen 9800X3Dthat has been destroying the competition.
Gigabyte X870I Aorus Pro Ice: Price and Availability
Priced at$300, the Gigabyte X870I Aorus Pro Ice is a premium AM5 motherboard offering. It is available for purchase via B&H Photo and should be listed with other retailers soon. It comes with premium components and features to match, but it’s still a high asking price. However, since the only other option for now is the Asus ROG STRIX X870-I GAMING Wi-Fi, which costs $450, the Gigabyte motherboard seems a lot more affordable, though the Asus offering comes with a more robust 10+2+1 power stage setup and an extra USB 4 port.
