GIGABYTE has built a strong reputation for delivering capable AM5 motherboards, pairing solid performance with designs that appeal to enthusiast builders and gamers. Its latest release, the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE, continues that trend. The board is expensive, heavy and visually striking, clearly designed to make an impression.
Priced at about $599.99 USD, the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE represents a refreshed take on the standard Master model, tuned specifically for AMD’s latest X3D Ryzen processors. While it carries a premium price tag, it justifies the cost with robust power delivery and features that simplify the building process rather than complicate it. With support for the latest hardware standards, the board is well-positioned for builders who want to start strong with a high-end system.
If you are shopping for a GIGABYTE ICE-series motherboard, expectations are clear, particularly when it comes to the striking white colour scheme. The GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE delivers exactly that. While white PC components have become more common, GIGABYTE fully commits to the aesthetic, ensuring nearly every visible surface is bright, clean and designed to stand out.
The board uses a server-grade, eight-layer printed circuit board that is genuinely white, rather than silver or light grey. Large heatsinks cover most of the surface area, creating a clean, monolithic appearance that goes beyond visual appeal. The extensive metal coverage also serves a functional purpose, providing substantial thermal protection for the power delivery components beneath.
With the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE being one of the flagship boards in the AM5 lineup, GIGABYTE has focused attention where it matters most: power delivery. The result is a board designed to ensure components operate at their full potential. GIGABYTE has implemented an 18-phase power design, supplemented by additional phases for memory and the system-on-chip. Each power stage is rated at 110 amps, far more than most users will require, but it provides ample headroom for overclocking and sustained heavy workloads. In practical terms, the board is capable of delivering clean, stable power to even the most demanding processors without strain.
Thermal management is handled by large VRM heatsinks connected by an 8-mm heat pipe, helping keep temperatures under control during long gaming sessions or extended rendering tasks. And while some of the features do sound like gimmicks that do not have any effect on overall performance, GIGABYTE seem to have made a board that does deliver on the hype, with it standing up well to testing, with the board holding up well when we did our standard stress benchmarks to push the CPU and components to their limits, and the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE managed to take it all in stride.
“With the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE being one of the flagship boards in the AM5 lineup, GIGABYTE has focused attention where it matters most: power delivery.”
As a flagship AM5 board, it is designed to support extremely fast memory, provided compatible modules are available. On paper, the board supports DDR5 speeds of up to 8,600 MT/s and beyond. Achieving those figures will depend on the processor and memory kit used, but the available headroom is clear.
To help maintain stability at higher speeds, GIGABYTE includes a small clip-on fan that directs airflow over the memory slots. It is a thoughtful addition. Builders aiming for near-silent systems may choose to leave it unused, but its inclusion is welcome for those looking to push memory performance to its limits.
Storage is another area where this board stands out. The GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE offers five M.2 slots in total, a generous allocation that should meet the needs of most builds. Two of the slots support full PCIe 5.0 speeds directly from the CPU, while the remaining three operate at PCIe 4.0.
The layout of the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE is well designed, with thick thermal pads and large heatsinks used throughout to help prevent high-speed drives from overheating. For users planning to run multiple fast SSDs, that additional cooling can make a meaningful difference. That said, with a board of this class, some PCIe 5.0 drives may require removing the motherboard’s heatsinks in favour of the drive’s own cooling solution. This is a common consideration on boards with built-in M.2 heatsinks and is worth keeping in mind when selecting components.
Along the rear panel, the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE offers a broad and well-equipped selection of ports. The board includes two USB4 ports capable of 40 Gbps speeds, along with a strong mix of additional connections. These include one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port operating at 20 Gbps, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port at 10 Gbps and seven USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports rated at 5 Gbps.
That said, users with a large number of legacy peripherals may still wish there were additional USB Type-A ports. Networking is a particular strength. The board features dual Ethernet connections rated at 10 Gbps and 5 Gbps, making it well-suited for high-speed fibre internet or home server setups. Wi-Fi 7 support rounds out the connectivity options, ensuring the board is ready for the next generation of wireless hardware.
“Along the rear panel, the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE offers a broad and well-equipped selection of ports.”
One of the more distinctive features of the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE is what GIGABYTE calls the Sensor Panel Link. This is an internal HDMI port built directly into the motherboard, allowing users to mount a small display inside the case to show temperatures, clock speeds or custom graphics.
The key advantage is that it eliminates the need to route a cable out the back of the case and into the graphics card. While it remains a niche feature, it suits the enthusiast audience this board targets and offers a clean way to reduce internal cable clutter.
GIGABYTE also addresses several long-standing frustrations through its EZ-Latch system. Installing or removing a graphics card or M.2 drive does not require a screwdriver, and the latches are sturdy and easy to access, an important consideration on a board this densely packed.
Another practical feature is DriverBIOS. Essential Wi-Fi and network drivers are stored directly on the BIOS chip, allowing users to get online during a fresh Windows installation even without an existing internet connection. This removes the need to search for drivers on a second system and simplifies the initial setup process.
On the tuning front, GIGABYTE includes a new option called X3D Turbo Mode. The company says it can boost gaming performance by up to 25 percent by optimizing core and memory behaviour. In real-world testing, however, gains are typically smaller and vary from game to game. It is a useful feature, best viewed as a bonus rather than a guaranteed performance boost. For users aiming to extract every possible ounce of performance from their system, it remains a fun and worthwhile addition, which we clearly turned on for testing as we went through the different games and apps we wanted to throw on the system.
The GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE also includes a generous amount of RGB lighting. The I/O shield features a mirror-like finish that highlights customizable lighting effects controlled through GIGABYTE’s software. The board can also sync with compatible DDR5 RGB memory and other accessories, creating a cohesive lighting setup across the system. Paired with the all-white design, the lighting stands out, giving the board a look reminiscent of Miami Vice, and I very much dig it personally.
And yes, the GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE includes a healthy dose of lighting. The I/O shield features a mirror-like finish that shows off RGB effects customizable through GIGABYTE’s software. It can also sync with compatible RGB DDR5 memory and other accessories to create a fully immersive lighting setup. Paired with the all-white design, the lighting really pops, giving the board an ’80s Miami Vice vibe that I genuinely dig.
The GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE is a serious piece of hardware. It blends a distinctive visual identity with heavily over-engineered power delivery designed for long-term reliability. The price is undeniably high, and features such as 10-Gbps Ethernet and PCIe 5.0 support may be more than the average gamer needs today, but they are undeniably fun to have and make a strong case for future-proofing a new build. For builders chasing a white-themed system without sacrificing performance or connectivity, this board delivers across the board. The GIGABYTE X870E AORUS MASTER X3D ICE feels like a solid, premium foundation for a high-end PC from the moment it comes out of the box.
