Z890 AORUS PRO ICE Motherboard Review – A Decent Base for a Performance PC

The Z890 AORUS PRO ICE is a top-of-the-line option for building a high-performance Intel-based PC, offering good overclocking potential, high-quality components, and several distinctive features that significantly enhance the PC experience. Find out what this new product can do in our review.

Technical specifications

Equipment and design

The Z890 AORUS PRO ICE is packaged in a thick cardboard box with an image of the board and a list of its key features: LGA1851 socket, support for 2nd generation Intel Core Ultra processors, an increased number of power phases, a reinforced graphics card slot , Wi-Fi 7 support, and so on.

The board is packaged inside an antistatic bag. The package includes a pair of white SATA cables, a remote antenna for the integrated Wi-Fi module, an additional fan for cooling the memory modules (it can be mounted on the top of the board so that it blows air over the RAM), two thermal sensors, a noise sensor, a front panel adapter, a brief installation manual, and branded stickers.

The kit is quite comprehensive, but the lack of a detailed user manual detailing the motherboard’s design features and the purpose of all the connectors is noticeable. This manual will have to be found on the model’s official website.

The Z890 AORUS PRO ICE uses a standard ATX form factor and features nine mounting holes for securing the motherboard inside the case with screws. The rear panel shield is pre-installed and does not require separate installation.

The front of the board is painted white, while the back is gray, boasting a stylish pattern—a shame it’s not visible in a standard case, as it’s hidden by the chassis frame. Note the reinforced plate that reinforces the graphics card slot—a welcome addition for high-end models, which can weigh up to two kilograms or more.

Obviously, the Z890 AORUS PRO ICE’s color scheme will make it look even more appealing in a crisp white setup . However, the model stands out not only for its color scheme, but also for the RGB lighting on the massive heatsinks that cover the power supply, chipset, and M.2 drives.

The central part of the device houses the LGA 1851 socket, which supports Intel Core Ultra processors. The processor subsystem is implemented using a 16+1+2 design, and two 8-pin connectors are provided for powering the “gear,” allowing for increased power delivery—for example, during overclocking.

To the left and top of the processor socket are metal heatsinks that cool the power phases, while another heatsink at the bottom is designed to cool the M.2 drive. On the right are four DIMM slots for RAM, reinforced for better protection. A marking next to the second and fourth slots indicates that these slots are required for dual-channel operation . The Z890 AORUS PRO ICE supports DDR5 memory with a total capacity of up to 256 GB and overclocks up to 9500 MHz. Auto-overclocking via XMP profiles is also supported.

The model is equipped with three PCIe x16 slots. The first is connected to the processor and is designed for a graphics card, supporting the latest PCIe 5.0 adapters. It features metal reinforcement and is reinforced on the back of the motherboard. A dedicated EZ-Plus button, located to the side, allows for easy graphics card removal: simply press it to release the slot and remove the graphics card. The remaining two PCIe x16 slots are connected to the chipset and operate in x1 and x4 modes. They don’t share lanes with other components, so their performance remains unaffected by the number of peripherals used.

The M.2 slot closest to the processor receives data from the processor and supports PCIe 5.0. Four more slots are located below the graphics card slot and are covered by a single large heatsink. Of these slots, one receives data from the processor (supporting PCIe 4.0), and the other three receive data from the chipset (supporting PCIe 4.0). Interestingly, the slot labeled M2M_SB supports M.2 drives with both PCIe and SATA interfaces.

The first, second, and third (counting from top to bottom) slots support drives up to size 22110, while the fourth and fifth slots only support drives up to size 2280. It’s also worth noting the ease of mounting drives and heatsinks—no screws required, just special rotating latches.

The board has four connectors for connecting 6 Gbps SATA drives. They are arranged in pairs, one above the other, so be aware that connecting more than two SATA drives using cables with L-shaped connectors may cause problems, as they will interfere with each other.

Now let’s look at the connectors around the motherboard. At the top, from left to right, are the case fan connector , two 8-pin CPU power connectors, the CPU_OPT connector for the water-cooling pump, the CPU_FAN connector for the CPU cooler, and the ARGB lighting connector.

The top right corner is where the overclocking tools are concentrated. Here you’ll find the Power, Reset, and QF_Plus buttons: the first two are obviously designed for powering on and restarting the board (they can also be assigned other functions via the BIOS, such as switching the backlight or restarting the PC and entering the BIOS). The third is used to update the motherboard BIOS without a processor or RAM; next to it is an LED indicator for the update status.

Below these three keys is a POST code display, indicating the current status of the board. Next to it are LED indicators labeled CPU, DRAM, VGA, and BOOT: these alert the user to any issues with the processor, RAM, graphics card, and OS boot sector, respectively. If the indicators go out shortly after turning on the PC, there are no problems.

Moving on. On the right side of the motherboard, from top to bottom, are a 24-pin power connector, two fan headers, a DB_SENSE noise sensor header, front panel USB ports (USB-A and USB-C), four SATA ports, and a rather unexpected guest: an HDMI port , which works with the processor’s integrated graphics and can be used to connect, for example, a small display to display system load and temperature data.

At the bottom of the board, from left to right, are a front panel audio connector, an addressable (ARGB) backlight connector , one non-addressable (RGB) backlight connector, a TPM module connector, two front USB ports, three fan connectors, and a set of FPanel connectors, which comes with a convenient adapter that accepts all the connectors from the case and then is inserted into the board itself.

Nearby are the battery and jumpers for resetting CMOS and restarting the PC.

The rear panel of the Z890 AORUS PRO ICE contains:

• Four USB 2.0 ports (gray)
• Four USB 3.2 Gen1 ports (blue)
• Two USB 3.2 Gen2 ports (red, one of which, marked “BIOS”, is needed for “cold” BIOS update)
• Two USB4 Type-C ports with support for video output from integrated graphics
• RJ-45 5G network connector
• Proprietary Wi-Fi antenna connector with convenient plug-in connection (supports Wi-Fi 7 with operation in the 2.4/5/6 GHz frequency ranges)
• Optical cable connection port
• 3.5mm jacks for speakers/headphones and microphone

The Z890 AORUS PRO ICE impresses not only with its appearance, which is undoubtedly very impressive, but also with its internals. It has everything an overclocker or advanced gamer needs: a set of tools for board management, reinforced connectors, high-quality component cooling, and well-designed power supply distribution.

For example, PCIe x16 slots don’t share lanes, so they always operate at full capacity. This also applies to storage devices: you can install one M.2 SSD with a PCIe 5.0 interface and four M.2 SSDs with a PCIe 4.0 interface on the board, and they will all deliver maximum read and write speeds.

The large number of fan connectors is also a plus: even if your system is crammed with fans from top to bottom, you’ll be able to power every single one. It’s worth noting that the liquid cooling system’s pump uses the CPU_OPT connector, not the FAN5_PUMP or FAN6_PUMP connectors you might expect. There are also plenty of connectors for the lighting.

The model’s audio is handled by a Realtek ALC1220 codec, capable of multi-channel sound up to 7.1. The audio subsystem is located in the lower left corner of the board, away from other components. There’s no DAC, but high-quality capacitors are present.

Overall, this is a very well thought out and well built board – strong, reliable and beautiful.

BIOS and software

The Z890 AORUS PRO ICE motherboard BIOS supports two operating modes: simplified and advanced, is translated into Russian, and has three interface themes that differ not only in appearance but also in operating speed: subjectively, the Grayscale theme turned out to be the fastest.

In the simplified BIOS mode, you can view information about the components connected to the board, activate the XMP profile of the RAM, configure fan curves, redefine the OS boot order (if you have multiple OSes installed), access the BIOS update utility, and so on.

Advanced mode unlocks even more features. Here you can tinker with processor and memory overclocking, configure storage settings, and enable Secure Boot (a necessary feature for many online games). Conveniently, the BIOS comes pre-programmed with processor performance profiles, so even the most lazy user can simply select the one they need and reboot the PC.

Another useful feature is the “Favorites” tab, where you can add your favorite overclocking and tuning options. You can access it from anywhere in the BIOS by pressing F11.

The expanded fan speed control options are also a plus. Many connectors allow you to monitor various parameters, allowing you to tie a specific fan to the temperature of the CPU , VRM, RAM, and other components. This allows you to fine-tune the operation of each cooling system element, balancing noise levels and performance.

In turn, Gigabyte’s proprietary software allows you to control the motherboard’s operation directly in the OS.

Here you can download driver updates, adjust fan curves, select backlight presets, and overclock your processor and RAM.

Another proprietary utility is called AI Snatch. It uses an AI model to identify RAM overclocking potential and create a profile for stable memory operation.

Testing

The first boot of a newly assembled system based on the Z890 AORUS PRO ICE takes a few minutes—the motherboard needs to check all components and prepare for full operation.

After turning on, you can check the temperatures of the board, RAM and storage devices to ensure there is no overheating.

Next we will conduct tests of the components.

Our system uses XPG Lancer Blade DDR5-6000 RGB RAM with a base frequency of 4800 MHz and overclocking support up to 6000 MHz via XMP. Interestingly, during the initial boot, the board increased the RAM speed to 7200 MHz, and the memory functioned stably and without any issues, confirming the board’s strong overclocking potential. Meanwhile, the board supports modules with frequencies up to 9500 MHz, so overclockers can expect some room for experimentation.

Testing of M.2 PCIe 4.0 drives showed no drop in read/write speeds, as well as good temperature readings, demonstrating the effectiveness of the standard motherboard heatsink.

At the same time, thanks to the PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, we achieved high data transfer speeds between the motherboard and graphics card. This provides a minimal boost to frame rates in games, but it’s still a welcome improvement.

Conclusion

The Z890 AORUS PRO ICE is a great option for those looking to upgrade and build on the Arrow Lake platform. This board supports the latest processors, high-speed RAM, and storage devices, features a wide variety of connectors, and allows for flexible component configuration and seamless overclocking.

Overall, this model has no flaws, but those who aren’t looking for extreme overclocking might want to consider simpler options. However, if you choose the model featured in our review, you’re unlikely to regret your decision.