Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Motherboard Review

There’s no shortage of new ATX motherboards for the AMD B550 launch, barely any sign of mATX (as usual), but alas, there are some good mini-ITX options! The first up is the new Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX. B550 is already meant to be a little more mid-range and affordable than the flagship X570 chipset. However, this motherboard certainly doesn’t seem like a compromise when it comes to features and high-end design. So despite the size, it’s certainly one of the more high-end B550 boards we’ll be reviewing this week.

Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Motherboard Review

The feature list is packed! I mean, obviously it’s limited to just two DIMM slots and one PCIe slot, but that’s normal for mini-ITX. However, you do get support for fast memory, PCIe Gen 4.0, and dual Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0, just like you do on X570. Connectivity is impressive too, with Intel Wifi 6 902.11ax, BT5, and even 2.5GbE LAN! Then you’ve got amazing audio from the ALC1220-VB with Nichicon Audio Capacitors. The list just keeps on going, so let’s grab the box and take a closer look at the design!

Features

Supports 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ Processors
Dual Channel ECC/ Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 2 DIMMs
Direct 8 Phases Digital VRM Solution with 90A Smart Power Stage (SPS)
Advanced Thermal Design with Extended & Multi-Layered Heatsink and Thermal Baseplate
Ultra Durable™ PCIe 4.0 Ready x16 Slot
Dual Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 M.2 with Thermal Guard
Onboard Intel^® WiFi 6 802.11ax 2T2R & BT5 with AORUS Antenna
AMP-UP Audio with ALC1220-VB and Nichicon Audio Capacitors for Rear 120dB SNR
Blazing Fast 2.5GbE LAN with Bandwidth Management
USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C™ & DisplayPort + Dual HDMI Support
RGB FUSION 2.0 with Multi-Zone Addressable LED Light Show Design, Support Addressable LED & RGB LED Strips
Smart Fan 5 Features Multiple Temperature Sensors, Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP and Noise Detection
Q-Flash Plus Update BIOS without Installing the CPU, Memory and Graphics Card
Pre-installed IO Shield for Easy and Quick Installation

For in-depth specifications, please visit the official Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Motherboard product page here.

What Gigabyte Had to Say

“B550I AORUS PRO AX is a mini-ITX motherboard perfect for building a small form factor PC for people who demand higher performance but also cares about aesthetics. The compact yet powerful pc delivers amazing performance with the latest CPU, graphic card and blazing-fast connectivity. It also equips with comprehensive thermal solution to keep it cool under a heavy workload. Performance is not compromised by its size.” – Gigabyte