Introduction
The latest board to land on our test bench is a small-form-factor Intel option, the Gigabyte Z890M Aorus Elite Wifi7 Ice. This Micro ATX motherboard costs only $209 on Amazon and packs most of the ATX version's features into a smaller package. The board is optimized for Intel’s Core Ultra 200S Plus processors and pairs best with Micro ATX chassis, but its best feature is its looks. It’s one of the better-looking Micro ATX options, especially if you’re looking for a white-themed build.
The Z890M Aorus Elite offers three M.2 sockets (2x PCIe 5.0) and four SATA ports for storage, 2.5 GbE and Wi-Fi 7 (160 Hz) for networking, and a basic audio solution. The rear IO delivers nine USB ports total, including one 40 Gbps Type-C port (with DisplayPort capability). All of that is typical fare for the form factor. You also get two full-length PCIe slots (one reinforced) and heatsinks covering all M.2 sockets, giving the board a more premium look than its direct competition. It also adds two RGB lighting zones, one by the VRMs on the left and the other under the chipset heatsink, adding glow to your chassis.
Overall, performance in our testing was average, with the board doing well in some tests and slightly below average in others. For gamers, it performed well in our 3DMark tests and in real games. In short, there’s nothing to worry about from a performance standpoint. The Z890M Aorus Elite also supports AI features, including AI Perfdrive, which offers customizable BIOS performance presets for one-click CPU improvements.
Unboxing
The box includes the usual accessories. You get two SATA cables (white), a rubber pad, an extra thermal pad for M.2, an EZ connector for the front panel, and an installation guide. The collection here is sparse, but typical for the price point.
Design and Layout
For what tends to be a budget motherboard class, the Aorus Elite WiFi 7 Ice is an attractive Micro ATX SKU. Where its peers don’t offer complete heatsink coverage on the bottom half, this one does. It also uses a large heatsink for the primary M.2 socket, unlike its peers. It also has integrated RGB lighting for an extra bit of flair. All in all, it’s one of the better-looking Micro ATX motherboards around.
Zooming in on the top half, starting on the left, we get a better look at the Aorus eagle design, along with the RGB feature. The VRM heatsink below has a lot of mass and surface area, so it does a good job keeping the MOSFETs below running in spec. Above that are the two solid-pin 8-pin power connectors for the processor.
Past the CPU socket, the next thing we run into is the four DRAM slots. Gigabyte lists support for up to DDR5-9200(OC). Next to the RAM slots on the left are the first two 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices up to 2A/24W output.
Above the DRAM slots is the Q-LED feature with four LEDs for CPU, Boot, VGA, and RAM diagnostics. Next to it are three simple buttons: power, reset, and Q-Flash. Down the right edge, you'll find ARGB headers, the 24-pin ATX connector, fan headers, and front-panel USB connections.
Power Delivery
Power delivery on the Z890M Aorus Elite WiFi7 Ice is capable. The board has 15 phases, 12 of which are dedicated to Vcore. Power comes from dual 8-pin EPS connectors controlled by an OnSemiconductor NCP81537 controller and OnSemi NCP302155 60A DrMOS MOSFETs. The 720A available can handle the Core Ultra 7 and Ultra 5 processors, though caution is advised when aggressively overclocking higher-end chips.
Expansion and Audio
On the bottom half of the board, the Z890M uses the budget Realtek ALC897 audio codec alongside dedicated audio capacitors. In the middle of the board are two full-length PCIe slots. The primary slot uses Gigabyte’s PCIe UD Slot X reinforcement and runs at PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds, while the second slot runs up to PCIe 4.0 x4.
Between and above the PCIe slots are three M.2 sockets. The top socket connects through the CPU as the main PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 socket under a robust heatsink. Two additional M.2 sockets connect via the chipset and support PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. The board also supports RAID modes for NVMe SSDs.
Moving right past the chipset heatsink, we spot Thunderbolt headers and four SATA ports supporting RAID modes. The bottom of the board features standard connectivity headers.
Below, we’ve listed all the connections across the bottom of the board.
Front panel audio
(2) 4-pin RGB header
3-pin ARGB header
(2) USB 2.0 headers
(2) 4-pin system fan headers
SPI TPM header
2-pin reset jumper
2-pin Clear CMOS jumper
Front panel header
The rear IO area is sparse compared to high-end boards, featuring ventilation to help keep VRMs cool. It includes four USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a DisplayPort v2.1 output, a USB4 Type-C port supporting 40 Gbps, a 2.5 GbE port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, quick-connect Wi-Fi 7 connectors, and an audio stack with dual 3.5mm jacks and an SPDIF optical output.
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