Marketplace
This post contains affiliate links. OzBargain might earn commissions when you click through and make purchases. Please see this page for more information.
Seems to be pretty good, x870, wifi 7, lots of m.2 slots for under $300
Gigabyte X870 Eagle WIFI7 AM5 Motherboard, ATX, DDR5, 4x M.2, PCIe 5.0, USB4, Wi-Fi 7 $293.45 Delivered @ Amazon US via AU
340
Price History at 
CamelCamelCamel.
CamelCamelCamel.Related Stores
Comments
Video mentions VRM operating at at 76c, which I believe was the highest of all the boards they tested.
You make it sound like they think the board VRM temps are bad, which is emphatically not the case.
The full quote is "The Eagle did run quite a bit hotter than most of the X870 motherboards we tested, but even at 76 degrees it's still relatively cool for a VRM hotspot temperature, so no real issues there." [emphasis added]
also from the same youtube video, first comment (from the channel owner)
"Please note there is an error with the Gigabyte X870 Eagle WiFi7 VRM temp, after a re-test the peak PCB temperature is 67c, not 76c."
this is good then you buy the ram for it and its 3 times the cost of the board :D
yes came here to say that
DDR5 🥲
I saw an interesting ASRock mainboard with 2xDDR4 and 4xDDR5 ram slots, so people can use their old DDR4 memories for now and upgrade later when the price goes down.
That’s a whole lot of hope there lol
Only 3X M.2 though? Trying to visually locate the 4th..
I thought it was only me, I can't seem locate the 4th one also.
The second and third ones (M2B_SB, M2C_SB) are from the southbridge, and also share bandwidth, so using M2C_SB halves the bandwidth to M2B_SB to pcie 4.0 x2 from pcie 4.0 x4.
That's not bad if you're only using the second/third slots for games storage or something (still massive overkill for games), and is better than some that steal lanes from the GPU slot (which would suck for gaming).
Not true.
Testing of RTX 5090 shows it cant even saturate PCIE 4 x16. PCIE 4 @ x8 when doing certain professional tasks (e.g., Blender, AI training) is when you may see a very minor loss (around 1-4%), but for most people, especially gamers, wont even come close to bottlenecking.PCIE 5 @ x8 lanes is equivalent to PCIE 4 x16.
The only time the RTX 5090 may be bottlenecked is if you messed up in the bios and capped it @ x4 lane but even then difference will be negligible.
If you have anything less than a 5090, it is pointless to even give it any consideration.
It is the lower end 8GB cards that get affected: Hardware Unboxed
You could argue that anyone buying a ~ $300 motherboard won't have to skimp and buy a gimped GPU (or keep their existing one), but it's worth pointing out so people can make an informed choice, because 16GB GPUs are stupidly expensive now.
Nowadays people can barely afford 1 lol
Don't buy for the wifi7 it has Realtek chip which is a known issue.
what kind of issue? mine is working just fine
Does this have the lane sharing issues of the 870 boards?
So far I think even the godlike (insane price) even has it.
From what I can tell, the work around is don’t use the M2.2 port instead use 3 or 4 or doable USB 4 all together.
I can live with that but where I get confused are the boards that sacrifice PCI slot 1 (GPU) from 16x to 8x.
Trying to get my head around a board that doesn’t sacrifice the GPU speed or a slot configuration where it can be avoided.
Also been reading there’s a memory (RAM) setting you need to chance in the BIOs on 870 boards to get faster boot times, the setting changes depending on the manufacturer.
I thought PC components would get easier as time goes on but seem to be more complicated than I remember from my last build 15 years ago.
Gen 5 x8 is plenty even for a 5090, so trading off those lanes is worth if it lets you cram in more M.2s or a second GPU for non-gaming purposes. This mobo is pretty trash for expansion since it’s just a low end gaming board, but the X670E Godlike (and cheaper Ace) actually nailed the lane layout. They give you x8/x8/x4 Gen 5 slots straight from the CPU plus four x4 M.2s (with no lanes shared), so you can basically run three GPUs with only minor bottleneck to the bottom GPU. GPUs will need to be waterblocked to fit tho.
Generally, high end boards support proper PCIe bifurcation - i.e. allowing you to choose between x16, x8/x8 or x8/x4/x4 mode. Here are the reasons:
- To really benefit from PCIe gen 5 x4 NVMe SSDs, you really need at least 2 of them. PCIe bifurcation allows you to have more SSDs connected to CPU lanes (which are faster).
- This PCIe bifurcation setup was available on high end AM4 boards (PCIe gen 4) so it makes sense to continue that.
- Even if you opted for PCIe gen 4 x4 SSDs, having 3 or more SSDs all using CPU lanes, instead of chipset lanes is better.
- PCIe gen 5 x8 has the same bandwidth as PCIe gen 4 x16 so most high end GPU cards still perform well.
- The push to include USB4 port(s) - which is also best wired to CPU lanes makes PCIe bifurcation more useful.
RTX 5060 Ti only supports PCIe gen 5 x8. For RTX 5090, running in x8 instead of x16 mode has 1-4% difference. However, for SSDs, running from chipset lanes vs PCI lanes have larger difference, and a lot of the SSDs don't have good firmware to reduce that performance gap.
There is not much else motherboard makers can do to entice you to spend more.
Thanks for the detailed info, helped a lot, would be great if you can provide a bit more feedback since you know so much more than me.
I’ve certainly ruled this board out.
I’m running a 9800x3D with 9070 XT.
Looking at the MSI MAG Tomahawk 870E Wifi, Ill be running 1 gen 5 2TB M2 SSD & currently don’t have any USB4 devices & will be a Lan connection.
If I run a second m2 drive down the track I don’t mind if its gen 4 and in slots 3 or 4.
I know you said the GPU speed at 16x to 8x is not a big difference but will this board have that issue if I run the configuration I suggested?
Otherwise, theres a few other boards at the $400-550 price point, is there a different one you’d suggest?
EDIT - Since this is ozBargain, the cheap board I’ve seen recommended a lot is MSI B850-P only $279, less future proof but from what I understand, probably does everything I need it to? (I prefer to be future prof, I only upgrade 10+ years at a time, don’t like upgrading 1 part here & there).
That's actually a good board for your requirement. MSI MAG Tomahawk 870E Wifi is designed to just meet 870E without doing the exotic x8/x4/x4 bifurcation support on the board itself.
What it does is let USB4 and M.2_2 slot (From CPU) slot share the PCIe gen 5 x4 bandwidth. You have the following 2 choices:
- Disable USB4, that gives M.2_2 the full PCIe gen 5 x4 bandwidth to the CPU lanes
- Run both, in which both run in PCIe gen 5 x2 (due to bandwidth sharing)
The PCIe gen 5 x16 slot runs at x16 mode (my guess is the BIOS still lets you do PCIe bifurcation on that, but you need to get a special card to do the split - anyway, let's not go super custom hack mode because you want to avoid splitting that x16 anyway).
Personally, I find USB4 not that good (because it is 40Gbps max only (feels like PCIe gen 3 x4 eating PCIe gen 4 x4 bandwidth) and the video passthrough is for integrated graphics - so why bother) so if I have 2 PCIe gen 5 x4 SSDs, on that board, I prefer to disable USB4 but you do have the flexibility to turn it on if you need to.
It does get a bit tricky if you only have 1 PCIe gen 5 x4 SSD because when you put a PCIe gen 4 x4 SSD into the shared slot with USB4 enabled, it has to operate in PCIe gen 4 x2 mode.
@netsurfer: Thanks for the amazing reply, I’ll admit you lost me a little there but this info will hopefully help others in the market for AM5 boards.
For me to simplify:
If go MSI MAG X870E Tomahawk and run:
- 9800x3d
- 9070XT in PCI_E1 (5.0 x16)
- M2 2TB gen 5 in M2_1 (5.0 x4)
Then in future if I need another M2 drive (probably for game installs).
- add a gen 4 M2 drive in M2_3 and or M2_4
Would I not have full bandwidth with no lane sharing for USB4 (if I ever use it) since I skipped M2_2?
And if I’m wrong and I have to disable USB4, whats the point of going an 870E board?
There are cheaper alternatives that still have PCI 5.0 x16 like the B850-P, so then, is there any other board you suggest for my use-case?
@yacman: If you skip M.2_2, then yes you do get USB4 full bandwidth (PCIe gen 4 x4). I don't rule out that USB4 can utilise PCIe gen 5 x2 properly, essentially achieve USB4 PCIe gen 4 x4 full speed while still give that m.2 slot PCIe gen 5 x2. I'd love to find out, but I can't afford that board.
USB4, while better than Thunderbolt 4 in terms of max storage transfer speed, doesn't fully utilise PCIe gen 4 x4, we'll need to wait for USB4v2. Intel roadblocked USB4 to slow down its arrival and soon introduced Thunderbolt 5 after USB4 is more widely available to public.
Since Thunderbolt 5 is already released by Intel (and Intel and Apple have started using it), I am not that keen to pay extra for USB4 on the motherboard. Anyway, if you want your main / primary PC to have USB4, then yes, it is worthwhile.
Pointing out Thunderbolt 5 and USB4v2 so you know USB4 is no longer the best. However, with AM5, it is doubtful a Thunderbolt 5 add-on card would work. Intel generally makes it a huge pain to get Thunderbolt working on AMD. USB4v2 is at least 2 years away and if what happened to USB4 is any indication, it will be another mess. Thunderbolt 5 will most likely require a firmware update (which won't be easy unless your motherboard maker is willing to do that - which means it is a must to ensure you get Thunderbolt 5 from the same motherboard maker AND it is in the compatible list). To avoid that mess, USB4, for now, is a safer choice (though it does feel a bit dated compared to Thunderbolt 5). USB4v2 looks like 80Gbps max, less than Thunderbolt 5's technical max of 120Gbps (but not all that is available for storage transfer speed I think).
If you want a cheaper ATX board that doesn't cut too many corners (i.e. you get a PCIe gen 5 x16 slot and still have a PCIe gen 4 x4 slot), then MSI B850-P looks like a decent choice (I haven't looked into AM5 boards lately so I don't know the current prices).
MSI MAG Tomahawk 870E WiFi is a good choice if you do plan to have 2 PCIe gen 5 x4 SSDs eventually and don't care about USB4 (and actually prefer not to go down x8 x4 x4 bifurcation path).
My only gripe with both boards is MSI holding back on the LAN port (to entice you to buy their top high end boards). A 10Gbps LAN port would make either of them more attractive. However, 5Gbps LAN is better than 2.5Gbps LAN, especially for proper WiFi 7 / 10Gbps LAN setup.
AM5 does close the door on cheap PCIe bifurcation, because unlike B550, in which even a low end board offers a PCIe gen 4 x16 slot capable of doing x4 x4 x4 x4, low end AM5 boards do not come with a PCIe gen 5 x16 slot standard (which means you are still stuck with PCIe gen 4 x4 x4 x4 x4 if you were to do PCIe bifurcation to whack in 4 extra SSDs to CPU lanes). When PCIe gen 4 SSDs were cheap, cost effective B550 boards were also cheap.
Problem is, PCIe gen 5 x4 SSDs are too expensive and doesn't really offer much benefit (random read/write doesn't really improve much). That makes doing PCIe gen 5 bifurcation not attractive (unless you have a really deep pocket and willing to buy 4 PCIe gen 5 x4 SSDs). PCIe gen 6 / AM6, I can't really see the benefit (we are still a long way to max out PCIe gen 5 x4 for SSDs, the NAND flash needs to really improve a lot; with AI HBM demand, NAND makers can't be bothered improving NAND).
The root cause of all these issues is that the CPU to chipset link is still PCIe 4x4, the same as it has been since the x570, two generations back.
AMD needs to improve the CPU to chipset link to PCIe5 and perhaps also to increase the number of RAM channels.
I guess the reason they limit chipset link speed is that they don't want consumer products to compete with their EPYC server market.
The CPU to chipset link for AM5 is PCIe gen 5 x4 capable, refer to the image below from TechPowerUp:
https://www.techpowerup.com/img/mNcRZxZTlwUvFZM8.jpg
It's not just the chipset limitation, there are 3 other issues:
- Even if the chipset becomes PCIe gen 5 x4 capable, PCIe gen 5 lanes (even if it is x1 slot requires SMT, which cost more). We only have one type of PCIe gen 4 x4 expansion cards (USB4 and Thunderbolt 5, but both actually work better with CPU lanes directly). PCIe gen 5 cards, I am not aware of one yet.
- EPYC server class CPUs have more CPU lanes, AM5 CPUs simply have less CPU lanes.
- Cost of a chipset that's PCIe gen 5 x4 capable. I don't think Intel has created one yet.
@netsurfer: Thanks for the link and the detailed answer.
I've only ever seen AM5 chipsets with PCIe gen 4 x4:
https://tpucdn.com/cpu-specs/images/connectivity/amd-am5.pngStill, as you point out, this is all academic right now.
My bigger point is that maybe 7 years ago your high end workstation/gaming PC was equivalent in performance to good server hardware. Now there is a big gap, unless you're willing to pay a huge amount:
https://www.pugetsystems.com/products/workstations/threadrip…
Things to be aware of about this board:
- USB4 port support took away the PCIe gen 4 x4 lanes (I am guessing to CPU lanes), meaning there is no PCIe gen 4 x4 expansion slot.
- Two of the m.2 slots are from the chipset and they share bandwidth, when both slots are used, they drop to PCIe gen 4 x2 mode (M2C_SB only supports up to PCIe gen 4 x2 anyway).
- WiFi chipset lottery (I wouldn't trust whichever the board revision number the listing indicated, you could get a different one). Neither is true WiFi 7, given it only supports up to 160Mhz channel width.
- 2 x PCIe gen 3 x1 slots (in x16 slot size). This basically means if you really want to do PCIe bifurcation on that x16 slot, you probably want x8 x4 x4 setup (assuming it supports that) otherwise you choice is using internal graphics.
You do get a PCIe gen 5 x16 slot, a m.2 PCIe gen 5 x4 slot and USB4, so it is technically an X870.
any recommendations in terms of board that could replace this one well in build?
Read the reviews on site. Not good.
You want decent value get Asrock Riptide wifi
Gotta go through the Amazon US site but you can get the ASRock x870e Nova for about $465 shipped. Flogs pretty much every mid end AM5 board and has no lane sharing for the PCI 5.0 16x slot so you can fill it up with multiple m.2 drives.
I suspect warranty claim will be bit of an issue when the board kills a 7000/9000 series X3D CPU tho.
Yeah, I wouldn’t risk an ASRock board, they tick a lot of boxes spec wise but people are still reporting burnt out CPUs on latest BIOS, it might be a small vocal minority but why risk it.
Also I’m no expert and have no technical knowledge on this but they have a lot of features the competitors don’t at a cheaper price point and their boards fry AM5 CPUs (reports of non x3ds as well) maybe its a coincidence or maybe theres some kind of connection, either way I’m not risking downtime, a warranty claim and to re-build a PC to find out.
Asrock boards are probably fine if you get it locally and have local cpu warranty, however if you got an aliexpress cpu I would avoid asrock like the plague due to warranty issues
Wait, the burnt CPU issues are because of the new 870 boards? Not just 9000 series? All 7000 too on the 870 versions?
Yes, talk of the town tho.
No one has any clear understanding as to what is actually the problem.
All people know is that 7000 & 9000 X3D CPU's are dying on AM5 boards, and this is not exclusively on the x870 or x870e chipset either, though x870/x870e have the highest K/D out of all AM5 board according to stats.out of all the board manufactures Asrock has the highest K/D, particularly with the X870E Nova, B850 Pro-A, and B850M-X.
But other manufactures such as Asus, MSI and even Gigabyte have also joined in on the fun, with reports of B650 and x670 boards killing X3D.9000 series has the higher death rate between the two CPU.
I think people are focusing too much on the boards, as the common denominator is X3D cpu's. So I would be avoiding the CPU's, not the boards.
@Captain Cheapskate: Haven't heard of them killing x3d cpus since the 7800x3d first came out and it was all fixed with bios updates within months. Guess I'll stick to b650 with mid 2025 motherboard bios tbh
Never buying Gigabyte again since I learned that they purposefully nerf some of their AM5 boards by disabling PBO. MSI are worth extra money.
Info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keJHego7neI&t=1200s
This is Gigabyte's cheapest entry level board. Personally I've never had much luck with high-end GB motherbaords, so stopped buying them. Video mentions VRM operating at at 76c, which I believe was the highest of all the boards they tested.