ASUS ROG STRIX X570-E Gaming Review

👤by Matthew Hodgson Comments 📅08-07-19
X570 Overview
X570 - A Brief Aside

Launching alongside Ryzen 3000-series CPUs is the new X570 motherboard range. Manufactured by AMD's extensive array of partners including industry mainstays ASRock, ASUS, GIGABYTE and MSI, X570 motherboards are the most feature complete of those available on day one.

First generation Ryzen launched with single-figure motherboard support across all manufacturers, and the second generation was only a little better. Third generation Ryzen marks a sea-change in attitudes and model variety. Dozens of X570 variants are planned across all partners, including some exceptionally high-end designs such as the £777.77 MSI X570 God Like or limited edition ASRock X570 Aqua.

In addition to all the features you expect on premium motherboards, including a plethora of IO options, storage flexibility, networking, audio and RGB lighting systems, the motherboard (specifically the chipset) will also offer up to 16 PCIe 4.0 lanes for connected components (NVMe storage etc.) which don’t require direct connection to the CPU (as in the case of discrete graphics).

The most notable pre-launch commonality has been the inclusion of a chipset/FCH fan, reflecting the increased demands these components are put under in this generation. Some motherboard manufacturers have dealt with it well, whereas others have regressed to small high-speed fans without a means of RPM control - manual or automatic. For all their bluster and high-end features, such glaring flaws will tend to rule them out of contention for approval given the pricing is far from budget.

Indeed, these motherboards are all pitched at a far higher price than the X470 series you might think they replace. That's justified through the exclusive features - highest among them being exclusive out-the-box PCIe 4.0 support - and is excused as B450 and X470 models will continue to be sold for the time being. However, their positioning makes the next-generation Ryzen platform as a whole a little more expensive an upgrade than many would have thought just a few months ago.

Furthermore, these motherboards have limited support (i.e. typically none) for first generation Ryzen CPUs and 2000-series APUs (based on Zen rather than Zen+ architecture). As a result they may not be suitable for piecemeal upgrades. By the same token, they appear to have extremely robust power delivery systems even compared to their X470 counterparts, potentially making them excellent overclocking candidates for the higher 12 and 16-core count 3000-series processors.

Nonetheless, the vast ecosystem of X570 motherboards should mean that, if your budget is flexible enough, you'll find exactly what you need for your use case.

21 pages « 2 3 4 5 > »

Comments