Gigabyte Priced White Z890M Motherboard at $209
The micro ATX board offers full heatsink coverage and PCIe 5.0 storage slots for Intel Core Ultra 200S Plus builds.
By Giovanni Serrano ·
Gigabyte has listed the Z890M Aorus Elite WiFi7 Ice on Amazon for $209. The micro ATX motherboard targets builders using Intel Core Ultra 200S Plus processors. It packs many features from the larger ATX model into a smaller form factor.
The board includes three M.2 slots and four SATA ports. The primary M.2 slot connects to the CPU at PCIe 5.0 x4 speeds. The remaining two M.2 slots connect to the chipset at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. One of these slots accepts drives up to 110mm in length. RAID support includes levels 0, 1, 5, and 10 for NVMe drives.
Heatsink coverage distinguishes this model from other budget options. The design covers the lower half of the board, a feature often omitted by competitors in this price range. A large heatsink also cools the primary M.2 slot. Two RGB zones provide lighting near the VRMs and under the chipset. Six 4-pin fan headers deliver up to 2A or 24W each.
Power delivery consists of 15 phases, with 12 dedicated to Vcore. Dual 8-pin EPS connectors feed 60A DrMOS parts for a total capacity of 720A. This setup supports the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, and Core Ultra 9 285K. The reviewer noted that heavy overclocking on the 285K or 270K Plus requires good airflow.
Memory support is rated up to DDR5-9200 in overclocked mode. Testing showed that a DDR5-8800 kit failed to function properly, while a DDR5-8200 kit ran without issue. The reviewer advises users to stick to the qualified vendor list for stability. Networking includes 2.5 GbE and Wi-Fi 7, though the wireless chip is limited to 160 MHz channels.
The rear I/O panel offers nine USB ports: four USB 2.0, four USB 3.2 Gen 1, and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A. A single USB4 Type-C port provides 40 Gbps speeds and DisplayPort output. A DisplayPort 2.1 output is also present. A front-panel HDMI port supports secondary displays. The box includes two white SATA cables, a rubber pad, an extra M.2 thermal pad, an EZ front-panel connector, and a guide.
Performance tests described the board as average. It performed well in 3DMark and gaming benchmarks. The board supports AI Perfdrive for one-click CPU tuning. Tool-free features like EZ-Latch and EZ-Click M.2 mounting were cited as strengths.
Source: Tom's Hardware
