Gigabyte has announced two new motherboards for Ryzen 7000 and 9000 Series CPUs, namely X870 Aorus Stealth Ice and B850 Aorus Stealth Ice. These boards succeed the first-ever white back connect motherboard, B650E Aorus Stealth Ice.
For those unfamiliar with back-connect motherboards, they’re identical to standard designs but place cable headers on the rear of their PCB rather than the front. The advantages of this approach are more than aesthetic, often making for easier installation in addition to a small impact on airflow, though much of their appeal lies in the clean finish they offer system.
Here are the specifications for each motherboard:
| X870 Aorus Stealth Ice | B850 Aorus Stealth Ice | |
|---|---|---|
| VRM | 16+2+2 | 14+2+2 |
| RAM support | Slots: 4 Capacity: 256GB Speed: 8,200+MT/s | Slots: 4 Capacity: 256GB Speed: 8,200+MT/s |
| Onboard graphics | HDMI 2.1 (x1) USB 4 (x2) | HDMI 2.1 (x1) |
| PCIe expansion slots | PCIe 5.0 x16 (x1) PCIe 4.0 x16 (x1) PCIe 3.0 x16 (x1) | PCIe 5.0 x16 (x1) PCIe 3.0 x16 (x2) |
| Audio | Realtek ALC1220 | Realtek |
| Storage | PCIe 5.0 x4 (x3) PCIe 4.0 x4 (x1) SATA 6Gb/s (x4) | PCIe 5.0 x4 (x2) PCIe 4.0 x4 (x1) SATA 6Gb/s (x4) |
| Rear USB | 40Gb/s Type-C (x2) 10Gb/s Type-C (x1) 10Gb/s Type-A (x2) 5Gb/s Type-A (x4) 480Mb/s Type-A (x4) | 10Gb/s Type-C (x1) 10Gb/s Type-A (x2) 5Gb/s Type-A (x4) 480Mb/s Type-A (x4) |
| Front USB | 10Gb/s Type-A (x1) 5Gb/s Type-A (x2) 480Mb/s Type-A (x4) | 10Gb/s Type-A (x1) 5Gb/s Type-A (x2) 480Mb/s Type-A (x4) |
| LAN | Realtek 2.5Gb/s (x1) | Realtek 2.5Gb/s (x1) |
| Wireless | Bluetooth 5.4 WiFi 7 | Bluetooth 5.4 WiFi 7 |
X870 Aorus Stealth Ice and B850 Aorus Stealth Ice are similar in many respects, but there are a few key differences. For instance, the X870 motherboard features USB 4 connectivity while its B850 sibling forgoes the 40Gb/s connector completely. Meanwhile, there’s more room for PCIe 5.0 SSDs on the former, as well as PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion, in addition to a slightly more robust VRM phase design.
To make building with either board as stress-free as possible, Gigabyte also packs EZ-Latch designs for all M.2 slots as well as the main PCIe 5.0 x16 slot. The only thing you’ll need to concern yourself with is case compatibility, but the manufacturer has partnered with many in the field to ensure its boards are ready for the latest designs on the market.
Gigabyte hasn’t yet shared pricing or release dates for either motherboard. However, expect them to carry a small premium on account of their back-connect designs, but nothing close to the company’s flagship board prices.
