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ASRock B850I Lightning WiFi vs GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against motherboards at a similar price

The GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX scores 6.2/10 overall, ahead of the ASRock B850I Lightning WiFi at 5.9/10.

The GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX leads on connectivity.

They score the same on platform and features, power delivery, BIOS and support and value.

ASRock B850I Lightning WiFi

5.9/10verdict: good, not the best

This is a Mini-ITX AM5 board for people building a compact system on the B850 chipset. It suits builders who want a PCIe 5.0 graphics slot, a Gen5 NVMe drive and BIOS Flashback in a small footprint. It is less suited to anyone who needs Wi-Fi 7, many rear USB ports or more than two memory slots.

Typically about £180 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

6.2/10verdict: good, not the best

The GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX is a micro ATX AM5 board for compact builds on Ryzen 7000, 8000 or 9000 processors. It suits buyers who want one PCIe 5.0 NVMe drive, 2.5GbE and built-in Wi-Fi. It fits a general-purpose desktop, a small workstation or a light homelab box that needs four SATA ports.

Typically about £144.99 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

CriterionWeightASRock B850I Lightning WiFiGIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX
Platform and features25%6/106/10
Connectivity25%6/107/10
Power delivery20%5/105/10
BIOS and support15%7/107/10
Value15%6/106/10
Overall5.9/106.2/10

Specifications

SpecASRock B850I Lightning WiFiGIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX
CPU socket (e.g. AM5, AM4, LGA1851, LGA1700)AM5 (LGA1718)AM5 (Ryzen 7000, 8000 and 9000 series)
ChipsetAMD B850AMD B650
Form factor (ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX)Mini-ITXMicro ATX, 24.4 x 24.4 cm
Memory: type (DDR4 or DDR5), number of slots, maximum capacity and speedDDR5, 2 DIMM slots, dual channel, up to 128GB, up to 8200+ MT/s (OC)DDR5, 4 DIMM slots, up to 256 GB (64 GB per DIMM), dual channel; base speeds 5200/4800/4400 MT/s with OC profiles up to 8000 MT/s; EXPO and XMP supported
M.2 NVMe slots and their PCIe generationM2_1 (CPU-attached, PCIe 5.0 x4 on 9000/7000 series); M2_2 (chipset-attached, PCIe 4.0 x4); Key E slot for 2230 Wi-Fi/BT module2 x M.2 slots, both CPU-connected: M2A_CPU PCIe 5.0 x4/x2 and M2B_CPU PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 (Ryzen 7000/9000)
PCIe slots1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slot (PCIE1), x16 mode1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 from CPU (PCIEX16); 1 x PCIe 4.0 x4 from chipset (PCIEX4)
Wired and wireless networking (e.g. 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 7)Killer E3100G 2.5GbE; Wi-Fi 6E (802.11axe) dual-band 2x2; Bluetooth 5.2Realtek 2.5GbE LAN; Wi-Fi 6E (Realtek RTL8852CE on rev 1.2/1.3); Bluetooth 5.2 or 5.3; no Wi-Fi 7 listed
Rear USB ports, including USB-C and USB4Rear: 1 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 2 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 1 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 4 USB 2.0; front headers for one Gen1 Type-C, one Gen1 header (two ports) and one USB 2.0 header (two ports)Rear: 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s, from CPU), 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 5 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 4 x USB 2.0; no rear USB4 or 20 Gb/s port listed

Strengths and weaknesses

ASRock B850I Lightning WiFi

  • + PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and CPU-attached Gen5 M.2
  • + BIOS Flashback with dedicated rear USB port and button
  • + Rear USB-C plus a front USB-C header
  • − Wi-Fi 6E rather than Wi-Fi 7
  • − Four of the eight rear USB ports are USB 2.0
  • − 40Gb/s Type-C only on selected processors

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who want Wi-Fi 7 built in
  • Builders with many fast USB devices who need more high-speed rear ports
  • Anyone who needs more than two DIMM slots or extra expansion slots
Read the full ASRock B850I Lightning WiFi review ›

GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

  • + PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot plus a second CPU-connected M.2
  • + Q-Flash Plus updates BIOS with no CPU, RAM or GPU
  • + Front 20Gb/s USB-C header and 2.5GbE onboard
  • − No Wi-Fi 7; Wi-Fi 6E only
  • − No rear USB4 or 20Gb/s port
  • − Graphics slot is PCIe 4.0 x16

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who want Wi-Fi 7 built into the board
  • Anyone needing rear USB4 or 20Gb/s ports for fast external storage
  • Builders planning several add-in cards, given the two expansion slots
Read the full GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX review ›

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