GIGABYTE's AMD B850 Motherboards Are All PCIe 5.0 Supported and Ready to Unleash Full Potential

Introducing GIGABYTE B850 Motherboards

It's been several months since AMD's Ryzen 9000 series processors launched alongside X870 and X870E motherboards. GIGABYTE was ready with a full lineup of AORUS motherboards with PCIe 5.0 support to take advantage of next-gen graphics cards and SSDs.

While the X870/E platform brought cutting-edge performance and features, it's considered an enthusiast-tier platform. Mainstream users were holding out for motherboards with the more affordable B850 chipset. That time is here. Those on a budget now have a full range of GIGABYTE B850 motherboards to choose from. Alongside connectivity and expansion updates, GIGABYTE and AORUS B850 motherboards support PCIe 5.0 across the entire range. And they come with a range of DIY-friendly features, too.

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What is PCIe 5.0?

PCI Express 5.0 (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is the fifth-generation PCI Express standard. It's used to connect high-speed components to a host PC. In the consumer space, we see this in the form of graphics cards via PCI Express slots and NVMe SSDs via M.2 slots. Motherboard manufacturers can also use it to connect various onboard controllers to the rest of the system, including USB and networking chips, though such implementations are uncommon on consumer motherboards.

PCIe 5.0 offers improved data transfer speeds of up to 32 Giga transfers per second for a single lane. That is double the 16 GT/s provided by a single PCIe 4.0 lane. In the case of a PCIe 5.0 x16 connection, this translates to 64GB/s. That's the interface used by NVIDIA RTX 50 graphics cards. It's worth noting that future cards may use a PCIe 5.0 x8 connection, which offers the same bandwidth as a PCIe 4.0 x16 connection. So, even entry-level and mid-range PCIe 5.0 graphics cards will benefit from PCIe 5.0 support compared to their PCIe 4.0 predecessors.

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A PCIe 5.0 x4 connection via an NVMe M.2 interface connects SSDs to the system. An x4 link has a theoretical limit of 16GB/s, though with overhead, it is a little less. In fact, the latest NVMe SSDs with this connection are already approaching this limit.

But all that performance isn't confined to high-end or expensive systems. It's possible on even GIGABYTE's most affordable B850 motherboards, so even if you don't plan on upgrading to a PCIe 5.0 GPU or SSD now, any GIGABYTE B850 motherboard is poised to offer the maximum potential of the PCIe 5.0 standard if you do choose to upgrade.

Why do you need PCIe 5.0?

The higher bandwidth offered by PCIe 5.0 allows for faster communication between devices. As mentioned earlier, GPUs, and particularly SSDs, are the most notable beneficiaries, but other devices, such as high-speed network controllers or devices for high-performance computing, can also benefit from this.

When it comes to graphics cards, a PCIe 5.0 x16 connection offers the maximum possible bandwidth and lowest latency, though the real-world performance benefits are not significant. That may all change in the future, particularly as technologies such as Microsoft's DirectStorage API become more widely adopted. When combined with a speedy PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD, things like level loading times, in-game transitions, and texture decompression can benefit from PCIe 5.0 support.

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Not everyone needs a high-end graphics card for gaming. The primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot also supports SSDs, meaning you can add a discrete card with more PCIe 5.0 slots. That would come in handy for users frequently transferring large amounts of data.

The primary beneficiaries of the bandwidth offered by PCIe 5.0 are SSDs. A drive like the AORUS Gen5 14000 SSD can perform sequential transfers above 14GB/s. These speeds enable gamers, creators, and users needing large, low latency transfers for tasks such as AI model training or 4K/8K video editing to maximize the performance of their systems.

The other beauty of PCIe 5.0 is that it's backward compatible. Older devices will happily function in PCIe 5.0 slots, though they will only run at the maximum supported speed of the particular device. If you have a PCIe 3.0 or PCIe 4.0 graphics card or SSD, you can use it in a PCIe 5.0 slot.

Outside of SSDs, PCIe 5.0 devices are still somewhat rare, but that will change in the years ahead. A GIGABYTE B850 motherboard with PCIe 5.0 support will give users the peace of mind that their system will remain compatible with the latest devices as they come to market. With AMD's pledge to continue support for the AM5 socket for at least a couple of years to come, GIGABYTE B850 motherboards have a promising upgrade path ahead of them.

PCIe 5.0 and DIY-friendly features for all

As you'd expect, GIGABYTE's enthusiast tier AORUS motherboards are all PCIe 5.0 ready. The B850 AORUS ELITE WIFI7 supports CPUs up to and including the 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X or Ryzen 7 9800X3D. It will happily house even an AORUS GeForce RTX 5090 with its PCIe 5.0 x16 connection. It supports dual PCIe 5.0 SSDs too. Add to that Wi-Fi 7 and support for up to 256GB of memory, and you'll have a system with a flagship tier spec by almost any measure.

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Alongside impressive features and specifications, the AORUS ELITE WIFI7 comes with many DIY-friendly options. One of my favorites is the easy method of installing NVMe SSDs into a system. Forget about fiddly screws that can get lost in the depths of a case. The AORUS ELITE WIFI 7 features GIGABYTE's M.2 EZ-Latch Plus mechanism, where SSDs are easily clicked into place without the need for screws. Anyone who's spent time elbow-deep inside a PC case installing M.2 SSDs will know what I'm talking about.

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Other DIY-friendly features include the WIFI EZ-Plug, a simple single adapter that attaches the Wi-Fi antenna to the motherboard's rear. Then there's the PCIe EZ-Latch Plus, an easy way to release the graphics card quickly. That makes accessing the M.2 slots much easier, should you choose to upgrade.

Now, let's look at one of the more affordable GIGABYTE B850 offerings. The B850 EAGLE WIFI6E is a board well suited to those on a budget, yet it still includes a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for the latest (and next-gen) graphics cards. It also supports a PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD slot and comes with an integrated heatsink. So, even though it's affordable, it allows users to take advantage of the fastest graphics cards and SSDs on the market today and for the foreseeable future.

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Like its more feature-rich AORUS siblings, the B850 EAGLE WIFI6E still includes DIY-friendly features, including the WIFI EZ-Plug, M.2 EZ-Latch, and PCIe EZ-Latch Plus GPU release mechanism.

Motherboards such as the B850M DS3H rarely receive much attention, as they tend to end up in prebuilt systems rather than DIY systems, but even this board supports a PCIe 5.0 x16 primary GPU slot and PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 slot. Even those on a tight budget are poised to take advantage of the high speeds offered by PCIe 5.0 devices, which are available now and, in the future, without compromise.

No PC is future-proof, but GIGABYTE B850 motherboards have many years of relevance ahead of them

Future-proofing is a dangerous term to use in the always-evolving PC industry. Still, pending official confirmation from AMD, GIGABYTE B850 motherboards will likely support at least one more CPU generation. If you add PCIe 5.0 support to that, it's safe to say GIGABYTE B850 motherboards are well placed to take advantage of the latest devices as they come to market in the future.

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So, even if you don't plan to build an entirely new system now, you can install future AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel PCIe 5.0 graphics cards in the years ahead. Heck, you could install a mighty AORUS RTX 5090 into a B850 EAGLE WIFI6E in a couple of years, and it will run without compromise.

Let's not get too silly, but with PCIe 6.0 many years away, even next-next-gen graphics cards are likely to support PCIe 5.0, making PCIe 5.0 support an essential and future-looking technology that's more than useful to have.

With promising upgrade paths, user-friendly DIY features, impressive connectivity, and expansion options, GIGABYTE B850 motherboards are ready to support your new AMD build - and probably your next one, too.