Customer Ratings & Reviews

Now that we’re firmly in the DDR5 generation of AMD processors, motherboards are abundant and cover the entire gamut of price and performance options from entry-level office machines (A620 chipsets) to extreme overclocking (X870E) and everything in-between. Sitting at the low end of the gaming-oriented X870 chipset stack, the Gigabyte EAGLE X870 is among the more affordable midrange motherboard options, with a feature set that looks appealing on the surface but makes a few odd decisions along the way that may be making more sacrifices than enthusiasts would like, but still performs admirably for the money. An important disclaimer: This review will be geared toward PC-building enthusiasts. If you’re a novice user or tinkerer who hasn’t built a custom desktop PC before, you will want to look into guides and videos for how to build a PC before purchasing a motherboard. Best Buy’s Geek Squad can point you in the right direction or offer build services, but by and large if you aren’t sure whether you need this item, then you likely do not. - Unboxing and Setup Since motherboards are the figurative (and sometimes literal) backbone of a PC build, you won’t find much in the way of installation instructions in the packaging. I wasn’t expecting much from the EAGLE X870 but the installation guide is more sparse than I expected, detailing just the key components with visual installation instructions. While I have plenty of experience building PCs and had no major issue setting up my machine with this motherboard, you will want to seek out an online guide or at least a typical front panel I/O diagram - there is none in the included installation guide. Besides the motherboard (which features an integrated I/O shield - a higher-end touch I appreciate as an experienced builder) and instructions, Gigabyte packs the typical loadout with a WiFi antenna, two SATA cables, M.2 screws, M.2 padding, and a “G Connector” that helps guide front panel I/O cables into those headers on the motherboard. Starting with the AM5 generation, AMD processors now use a land-grid array (LGA) layout, so there are no longer pins on the processor to contend with. Much like Blue Team motherboards, AM5 motherboards such as the X870 EAGLE have a spring-loaded socket with pins protected by a plastic cover to prevent shipping damage. The zero-insertion-force mechanism is intuitive and easy to use. Better yet, the AM5 socket is largely backwards-compatible with AM4 coolers that used the stock AM4 backplate, though coolers that utilize custom backplates will need to be checked for AM5 compatibility or adapters from the vendor. Once I had my system assembled, the first feature I took advantage of was the BIOS Flashback. This allows you to update the motherboard’s firmware (BIOS) without needing to install a CPU or boot the system; simply place a copy of a BIOS file downloaded from Gigabyte’s website to a USB disk, connect to the indicated USB slot on the rear, hold the flashback button, and let the system update until the status LEDs finish flashing. This can also serve as a CMOS clear (BIOS settings reset) if accessing the CMOS battery is difficult due to your build configuration. - Configuration & Feature Set Being a mid-range board with an enthusiast chipset, a balance between functionality and performance means making a couple of concessions to appease the widest audience - the strangest decision of which is the inclusion of 3 full-length PCIe slots, but having only the topmost one wired for PCIe 5.0 x16 while the other two are wired for PCIe 3.0 x1. What this means is although the lower two slots look like they can power any PCI Express device, they’ll be severely performance limited if they were designed for newer PCIe standards or more than 4 lanes. This may not be a problem for most users, but those with 10gig networking cards, PCIe M.2 host cards, high-end video capture cards, and other high-performance PCIe needs may run into bandwidth issues. Fortunately the M.2 configuration is fairly decent. One Gen 5x4 slot with a heatsink allows for the speediest of boot drives, and the remaining 2 slots are Gen 4 (though if both are populated, the third slot runs at x2 - otherwise either will run at x4). The EAGLE X870 also has four SATA ports for 3.5” disk drives, 2.5” SSDs, or optical drives. On the USB side the board has 8 USB-A ports (4x USB 2.0, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2), and 2 USB4 Type C ports that support DisplayPort video from compatible AM5 processors with integrated graphics. For those who are curious or picky about their chipsets: > 2.5G LAN is powered by a Realtek RTL8125BG chipset. > Onboard audio is powered by a RealTek ALC897 chipset. There is no S/PDIF audio output. > WiFi 7 / Bluetooth is powered by a MediaTek MT7925 or Realtek RTL8922AE chipset, depending on board revision (Rev 1.0 gets MediaTek, 1.1 gets Realtek. My unit is revision 1.1 and has the Realtek chip.) Again splitting the difference between high end features and a midrange market position, a total of 6 fan headers are strewn about the board to cover most PC cases, with 3 ARGB 5v headers for enthusiasts to control lighting. While probably sufficient for most builds, my builds lean higher end and I needed to use a PWM splitter to spin all 8 fans off the mainboard (and a protip if you use this approach - make sure you select a fan header that can output enough amperage to spin that many fans at once. I used the pump header since they’re typically rated for 3 or 4 amps compared to a single amp for most other headers). RAM selection is fairly flexible on this board, with Gigabyte’s own support page indicating up to 8200MHz is viable when overclocking, and official support for up to 256GB (4x64) of RAM across its four DDR5 DIMM slots. Bear in mind that the memory controller of your CPU will likely struggle to reach rated speeds when all four slots are used, and thus in a gaming focused setup you will want to keep to two memory modules for the fastest speeds and best results. In my case I wound up populating two slots with 2x32GB DDR5-6000, 30-40-40-76 timing @ 1.4V, and it has run without issue in the X870 EAGLE. - Overclocking This is where expectations need to be tempered with the X870 EAGLE. Though it has 8+4 pin EPS power connectors to suggest some overclocking headroom, the power delivery system on this motherboard is good but not great. The 60-amp voltage regulators are configured as doubled 7-phase for VCore and 2+1 phase for the SOC, which is plenty acceptable for running any of the current AM5 Ryzen processors at stock speeds with a bit of headroom. Higher-end boards will use both more phases and higher-amperage voltage regulators for power stability when overclocking the same AM5 CPUs. This motherboard has all the usual settings for overclocking and voltage adjustments, including the all-important load line calibration. A light overclock is possible but I would expect running into power limitations and system instability sooner than on high end boards; however, if your intent is to enable AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) and let the chipset handle performance and voltage adjustment automatically, the X870 EAGLE should be able to hit rated PBO numbers and hold performance consistent on all but the most power-hungry CPUs. I personally did not tweak my CPU settings at a fine level; I simply enabled PBO and threw in a -100mV VCore offset to slightly lower operating temperature in the long run with my 9800X3D. I saw no stability issues in my testing but I have only been running this board with this setup for a couple days, nor have I tested the entirety of my game library and benchmarking software that could show instability. Your mileage may vary! [Disclaimer: overclocking technically voids your CPU and motherboard warranty as you are running both outside their “safe” design specifications. Overclocking is done at your own risk, and the BIOS will notify you of the same prior to enabling.] - Bottom Line Barring the aforementioned overclocking limitations and unusual PCIe lane arrangement, Gigabyte’s X870 EAGLE is a solid choice for a “plug and play” AM5 motherboard. So long as you aren’t hamstrung by the PCIe slot limitations, the X870 EAGLE makes a good backbone of an all-purpose PC for gaming and light content creation alike, allowing some expansion options and a bevvy of connectivity that even some higher-end boards I’ve used struggle to match. That being said, the X870 EAGLE’s midrange price means it faces tough competition in a popular market segment, even against some of Gigabyte’s own B850 chipset options that offer comparable connectivity and better PCIe arrangements at similar pricing - albeit without USB4 support; the X870’s biggest strength and arguably the most important for some workflows. If your use case dictates that need, you won’t find as featured an X870 board for the price, and in either circumstance the EAGLE does the job well. Recommended!

Screwless design for M.2 SSDs and the heatsink makes it hassle-free to install both without the need of additional tools. Installing the CPU is easy with the current AM5 technology. The BIOS UI is detailed without feeling overwhelming. Manually overclocked dual RAM sticks to 7600 didn't cause any issue. Aorus AI can also help with overclocking to find the best speed for your RAM. Updating drivers for the motherboard didn't take a long time. Flashing a new BIOS file via USB GIGABYTE Control Center helped adjust other components such as fan speeds, RGB for fans, and RAM RGB. Having 3 m.2 SSDs for SSD is great for both storing games and for video production purposes. Wifi 7 almost makes it unnecessary to use LAN unless you have interference in the room. Haven't tried to undervolt the CPU yet, the 9000 series seems to handle performance and temps just fine with this motherboard. PROS: Screwless design. Drivers updated quickly Great Storage Performance pretty good CONs: None at this time. Thank you for allowing me to review this product.