Gigabyte has refreshed its AM4 motherboard lineup with a new model that brings the latest Wi-Fi 7 connection standard to a tried and tested design. Unlike a lot of the latest motherboards, its use of the older AM4 socket means it doesn’t require DDR5 RAM, so you can save a lot of money if you already have some DDR4 memory.
Dubbed the B550 Aorus Elite WiFi7, this board shares nearly identical specs with the original B550 Aorus Elite series, released back in May 2020, just adding Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, plus some other goodies. It’s pretty much an upgraded version of the B550 Aorus Elite AX V2, but with Wi-Fi 7 instead of Wi-Fi 6E. Everything, from the visual aesthetics to expansion slots, looks otherwise unchanged, which isn’t a bad thing in the case of this board.
For this upgraded version, Gigabyte went with a Realtek RTL8922AE wireless module, supporting 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz frequency bands. In the process, Gigabyte also switched to its new EZ-plug antennas, which ditch the annoying screw-type connectors for the aerial. Unfortunately, Gigabyte didn’t take this occasion to also upgrade the wired LAN connection, leaving it at 2.5Gb/s, although that’s still at least an upgrade on the Gigabit sockets found on a lot of AM4 boards.
The B550 Aorus Elite WiFi7 launch is well timed with the relaunch of AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X3D processor, which is already selling like hot cakes. To feed it, the board carries a 12+2-phase digital twin power design using 50A DrMOS, cooled by a sizable metal heatsink. In other words, you should be fine regardless of the CPU you choose to pair with it.
Like with its predecessors, Gigabyte is taking full advantage of the space offered by the ATX format with this board, packing four PCIe slots, plus two M.2 slots. These are wired to give you a PCIe Gen 4.0 x16 graphics card slot, PCIe Gen 3.0 x2 for the second, and PCIe Gen 3.0 x1 for the remaining two. Note, however, that aside from the main x16 slot, which connects directly to the CPU, all the other slots run through the chipset.
On the storage side, you get one PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 M.2 slot plus one Gen 3.0 x4 slot, plus four SATA 6Gb/s ports if you need more storage space. As for I/O, you’ll find two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 sockets, two USB 2.0 connectors, plus a bunch of video/audio ports. Note that while there is no USB-C port on the back I/O, you can connect one to the internal header if your case supports it.
Overall, the B550 Aorus Elite WiFi7 is mainly an option for those still trailing with a pre-AM4 platform, or looking to build their first desktop PC without having to pay for DDR5 RAM. Its main advantage is its DDR4 memory support, which remains the most sensible choice for users on tight budgets.
At the time of writing, you can find 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 memory kits for as low as £164, whereas a 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 kit would set you back at least £330. The board supports up to 128GB of memory in speeds reaching 4,733MT/s, so if you can afford more, there is plenty of room for an upgrade.
