[SOLVED] B550 Aorus Elite v2: is the NVMe WiFi port on the board like the AX version but without the actual WiFi board installed ?

[Tiger Strike]

I have been looking for some pictures of the board with the heatshields from the I/O area removed just to see if the actual port is physically on the board but just not occupied with the wifi card. I have a wifi card from another PC I could use if it's there, but I don't want to tear down my pc to pull it apart if the port isn't there. I fully understand the elite ax v2 comes with the module installed with the hookups but from what I have read, they are pretty much the same board so I could see them having the port but I can't find anything to confirm it or not.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

There's a manual that's shared with both the B550 AORUS ELITE V2 + the B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 ;
https://download.gigabyte.com/FileL...x-v2_e.pdf?v=24d24cf9acc76ba2c833adbcf9dfc9c7
If you look at page 4 of the manual, you'll notice a slot between USB2.0 and HDMI/DP port towers, the AX variant has that slot occupied with a WiFi AX adapter/card(underneath the heatsink). The non AX variant doesn't have the slot, as shown in this review;

B550 AORUS ELITE V2

The Gigabyte B550 AORUS Elite V2 is supposed to be a gamer focused entry level. Truth is it packs much more than an entry level usually does! It is a deliciously focused motherboard, meaning that, if a feature is not about gaming comfort or performance, it wont be there. AMD's B550 chipset offers...

laurentschoice.com

Even if the M.2 NGFF WiFi adapter port was there, you don't have holes for your antenna's to poke out of the I/O shield. So that would need more reverse engineering on your part.

If I were you, I'd get the AX variant and have WiFi out of the box.

 

[Tiger Strike]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

There's a manual that's shared with both the B550 AORUS ELITE V2 + the B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2 ;
https://download.gigabyte.com/FileL...x-v2_e.pdf?v=24d24cf9acc76ba2c833adbcf9dfc9c7
If you look at page 4 of the manual, you'll notice a slot between USB2.0 and HDMI/DP port towers, the AX variant has that slot occupied with a WiFi AX adapter/card(underneath the heatsink). The non AX variant doesn't have the slot, as shown in this review;

B550 AORUS ELITE V2

The Gigabyte B550 AORUS Elite V2 is supposed to be a gamer focused entry level. Truth is it packs much more than an entry level usually does! It is a deliciously focused motherboard, meaning that, if a feature is not about gaming comfort or performance, it wont be there. AMD's B550 chipset offers...

laurentschoice.com

Even if the M.2 NGFF WiFi adapter port was there, you don't have holes for your antenna's to poke out of the I/O shield. So that would need more reverse engineering on your part.

If I were you, I'd get the AX variant and have WiFi out of the box.

Thank you for very much. I bought the elite v2 on a black friday sale on newegg for $140 and currently the best price I can find on the AX is $170. I don't care about the wifi since it's hard wired but this was my first full build from scratch and I didn't think about the bluetooth. I'd have to weigh taking apart everything and returning the mobo vs just dropping another $20 - $30 for a PCIe adapter. Not the end of the world either way but was hoping to get the "more work but free wifi / bluetooth upgrade" option.