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ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi vs Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E: Comparison
ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi vs Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E chipset compared
Chipset is the dividing line, ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi B850 against Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E B860. There is a split on oldest cpu family supported as well, Ryzen 7000 on the ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi versus Core Ultra Series 2 on the Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E. Ecc memory support is not the same on both, Unbuffered ECC on the ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi versus None on the Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E.
Which should you buy, ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi or Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E?
Buy the ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi for compact micro-ATX builds that don't need heavy overclocking headroom, though it is the wrong buy for overclockers who need more than an 8+2+1 phase VRM and builds that want Wi-Fi 7 instead of Wi-Fi 6E. The same goes for budget AM5 builds that still want a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot. The Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E suits compact micro-ATX Intel builds that don't need Wi-Fi 7 and builders who want Thunderbolt in a smaller form factor, though it is not the pick for anyone who specifically wants Wi-Fi 7 and builds needing the full 14+1+2+1 VRM of the ATX sibling.
What ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi and Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E have in common
Everything else lines up. Memory slots, max memory, m.2 slots, m.2 slots onboard and form factor read the same on both, so those are not worth weighing. They match on 15 further specifications as well.
Frequently asked questions
Do the ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi and Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E differ on socket?
Yes. Socket reads AMD Ryzen 9000 / 8000 / 7000 series on the ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi versus Intel Core Ultra Processors on the Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E.
Is the Board Width the same on the ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi and Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E?
It is. Both are listed at 244 mm, so it is not a reason to pick one over the other.
Specs and benchmarks
Platform
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- AMD
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Intel
Model Number
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
Socket
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- AMD Ryzen 9000 / 8000 / 7000 series
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Intel Core Ultra Processors (Series 2)
Form Factor
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Micro-ATX
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Micro-ATX
Chipset
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- B850
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- B860
Newest CPU Family Supported
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Ryzen 9000
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Core Ultra Series 2
Memory Type
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 4x DDR5 DIMM, up to 256GB, up to 8000+ MT/s (OC)
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 4x DDR5 DIMM, dual-channel, up to 256 GB, up to DDR5-9200 (OC)
Oldest CPU Family Supported
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Ryzen 7000
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Core Ultra Series 2
Memory Slots
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 4
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 4
Max Memory
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 256 GB
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 256 GB
Board Width
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 244 mm
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 244 mm
M.2 Slots
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 3
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 3
PCIe 5.0 Support
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Yes
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Yes
Wi-Fi Onboard
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Yes
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Yes
Max Rated Memory Speed
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 8000 MT/s
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 9200 MT/sBest
ECC Memory Support
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Unbuffered ECC
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- None
M.2 Slots Onboard
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 3
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 3
M.2 PCIe 5.0 Slots
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 1
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 1
M.2 PCIe 4.0 Slots
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 2
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 2
M.2 CPU Attached Slots
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 2
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 1
SATA Ports
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 4
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 4
PCIe x16 Slots
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 1
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 2
Primary Graphics Slot Gen
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- PCIe 5.0
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- PCIe 5.0
Rear USB4 or TB Ports
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 0
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 1
Rear USB 20Gbps Ports
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 0
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 0
Rear USB 10Gbps Ports
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 2
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 2
Rear USB 5Gbps Ports
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 2
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 4
Rear USB 2.0 Ports
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 4
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 4
Front USB-C Header Speed
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 5Gbps
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 10GbpsBest
Fan and Pump Headers
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 5
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 6
ARGB Headers
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 3
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 3
Vcore Power Stages
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 8
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 12
EPS 12V Configuration
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 8-pin plus 4-pin
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Two 8-pin
BIOS Flashback
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Yes
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Yes
Max Ethernet Speed
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 2.5 Gbps
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 2.5 Gbps
Ethernet Port Count
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 1
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 1
Wi-Fi Standard
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Wi-Fi 6E
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth Version
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 5.2
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 5.3
Audio Codec
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- Realtek ALC897, 7.1-channel
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Realtek
Expansion
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- PCIe 5.0 x16 + PCIe 4.0 x4
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU), 1x PCIe 4.0 x4 in x16 slot (chipset)
Connectivity
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- SATA3, USB 3.2
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 1x rear USB4 Type-C, 2x rear USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 4x rear USB 3.2 Gen 1, 4x rear USB 2.0, front USB-C 10Gbps header, 2x Thunderbolt add-in card connectors
Networking
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 2.5G LAN, Wi-Fi 6E
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- Realtek 2.5GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6E (Intel AX211 on PCB rev. 1.0, Realtek RTL8852CE on rev. 1.1), Bluetooth 5.3
Special Features
- ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi
- 3x M.2 (1x Gen5 Blazing, 2x Gen4 Hyper)
- Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E
- 3x M.2 (1x PCIe 5.0 CPU, 2x PCIe 4.0 chipset), M.2 EZ-Latch Plus/Click, EZ-Debug Zone LEDs, Q-Flash Plus, 7.1-channel HD audio with optical S/PDIF out
Which one should you pick?
Choose ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi if you want the higher memory slots (4 vs 4), the higher max memory (256 GB vs 256 GB) and the higher M.2 slots (3 vs 3).
Choose Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.
Price comparison
| Retailer | ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi | Gigabyte B860M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon |
| Newegg | View on Newegg | View on Newegg |
Disclaimer: The price and specification of the given product may differ from the actual product. Please confirm on the retailer's website before buying.