Introduction

Gigabyte has pushed a few new motherboards out the door recently with both refreshed Socket AM5 and LGA1851 models, such as the Z890 Aorus Elite Wi-Fi7 Plus we're looking at today. Out of the box they support Intel's recent and likely final additions to its LGA1851 socket, but also have some minor tweaks including cost-saving, features and future-proofing.

It's a shame that we didn't have CPUs such as the new Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and Core Ultra 5 250K Plus at the start of Intel's LGA1851 socket's reign, but while it might seem like too little too late for what is essentially a dead-end socket, upgrade cycles have definitely been stretched due to increased hardware prices. We're simply not upgrading at the frequency we did 18 months ago, and building new now would certainly mean keeping that PC a lot longer. The result is that Intel's new CPUs are certainly more attractive than they would be if hardware pricing was at 2024 levels, bringing some method to Gigabyte's madness of releasing new Z890 boards at this late stage of LGA1851's lifecycle.

A lot depends on price, of course. Intel's new CPUs are thankfully reasonably priced and generally offer very good value compared to similarly-priced AMD models, especially outside of games. There is, of course, a counterargument for going AMD with its better socket longevity, not to mention the gaming performance of X3D models, but if you're dead-set on sticking with team blue and have a shiny new Core Ultra 7 270K Plus you need a home for with a budget of less than $300, then on paper the Z890 Aorus Elite Wi-Fi7 Plus should make for a compelling option. Let's see how it performs.

Specifications