AMD X870 Flagship Roundup: Zen 5 Motherboards Are Here

The “new” AMD 800-series chipsets and their accompanying motherboards are actually formally launched. So, in case you’re trying to purchase one, now you can – however must you? What do these new motherboards have to supply, how do they carry out, and the way a lot do they price?

We’ll be masking all of that at present as we kick off our X870E content material with flagship fashions from Asus, Asrock, Gigabyte, and MSI.

Really, we do not have MSI’s $700 Godlike as a result of it was delayed, so the Carbon should do. However earlier than diving into the boards, what is the distinction between the brand new X870E and the previous X670E chipsets? The quick reply is: not a lot. They’re primarily the identical, with X870E merely making USB4 help obligatory.

Apart from that, they’re an identical. Each chipsets present a most of 44 PCIe lanes, 24 of which help PCIe 5.0. The first PCIe slot from the CPU have to be 5.0 compliant, as does the first M.2 slot. The utmost supported USB pace is 40 Gbps, additionally a requirement as a result of obligatory USB4 help.

The distinction between X870 and X670, the non-E variations, is extra substantial.

The distinction between X870 and X670, the non-E variations, is extra substantial. X870 requires the first PCIe slot to be 5.0 compliant and mandates USB4 help. Nevertheless, X870 makes use of a single chipset, whereas X670 requires two, that means there are simply 36 PCIe lanes accessible for X870 however 44 for X670. In that sense, X870 is a downgrade. Nevertheless, X870 provides 24 PCIe 5.0 lanes, whereas the older X670 has simply 8. It is an odd alternative by AMD, making their already complicated chipset lineup much more complicated.

Anyway, the fashions we’re taking a look at at present are all X870E boards, they usually all price means an excessive amount of cash. So, that is thrilling – let’s verify them out!

The Motherboards

MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi

We’ll begin with the MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi, essentially the most high-end MSI X870E board accessible, given the present absence of the Godlike. MSI claims an MSRP of $500 for this board, so it is not low-cost, however count on this to be the norm for X870E boards. Now we have but to see the place the retail worth settles, however the X670E Carbon at the moment retails for $420 and lacks options equivalent to WiFi 7, 5 Gbit LAN, and USB4.

There are additionally some good board options just like the EZ PCIe Launch button for the first PCIe slot. Moreover, there’s the EZ M.2 Protect Frozer II, a tool-less design that enables for RGB lighting inside the heatsink, which is, in fact, pointless however appears to be like fairly cool, no pun supposed.

The truth is, all M.2 slots are tool-free on the X870E Carbon, which is not one thing you may discover on all of the costly X870E motherboards. The opposite three M.2 slots can all be accessed by eradicating a single giant heatsink utilizing the identical launch mechanism, with cooling supplied to either side of the SSD.

The first and secondary M.2 slots are PCIe 5.0 compliant, whereas the opposite two are PCIe 4.0. Different notable onboard options embrace a digital debug LED, energy and reset buttons, and big VRM heatsinks. Talking of the VRM, you are getting eighteen 110A energy phases for the vcore, which is kind of spectacular. The X670E model was already overkill with eighteen 90A energy phases, so naturally, they have been upgraded.

General, the X870E Carbon WiFi is an excellent-looking AM5 motherboard, and at $500, it higher be.

Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Hero

The ROG Crosshair X870E Hero must be one of many best-looking motherboards we have ever seen. Better of all, it is loaded with options – a lot in order that it is exhausting to know the place to start.

The characteristic record is nearly overwhelming, with issues like M.2 Q-Launch, PCIe Slot Q-Launch Slim, Q-Antenna, Q-LED, and Q-Code. In different phrases, a variety of “Q” options, together with WiFi 7, tons of PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots, Nitropath DRAM Expertise, Constructed-in Clock Generator, and extra. And no, we have not even scratched the floor of that large RGB holographic panel.

Across the I/O panel, you may discover two USB4 ports, eight USB 10 Gbps ports (together with six Sort-A and two Sort-C), an HDMI output, a WiFi module, two Ethernet ports (one 2.5 Gbit and the opposite 5 Gbit), gold-plated audio jacks, optical audio out, a BIOS Flashback button, and a transparent CMOS button. It is a well-stocked I/O panel with loads of USB help and no USB 2.0 ports in sight, which is a refreshing change for a high-end board.

When it comes to cooling, the Crosshair X870E Hero is a stable slab of aluminum. The bottom of the board encompasses a full-size warmth spreader, whereas the entrance contains giant VRM heatsinks and a number of M.2 heatsinks that additionally cowl the chipsets.

There are 5 M.2 slots onboard; the primary three help PCIe 5.0, whereas the extra two are PCIe 4.0 compliant. The PCIe 5.0 ports provide cooling for either side of the SSD, and the first port related to the CPU will get a big heatsink with the M.2 Q-Launch characteristic, which additionally incorporates Q-Slide and Q-Latch – a triple-Q characteristic, if you’ll.

Each PCIe x16 slots additionally characteristic the brand new Q-Launch Slim mechanism, which lets you launch the graphics card with out pushing any buttons – simply raise the cardboard, and it releases robotically.

As for the VRM, like MSI’s X870E Carbon WiFi, this board has sufficient energy supply for a number of Intel Core i9-14900K processors, though it solely must deal with a single Ryzen 9 9950X. So, evidently, there’s loads of headroom right here, because of eighteen 110A energy phases for the vcore. There’s little level in testing the thermal efficiency of this VRM, however we’ll do it anyway.

Asrock X870E Taichi

The Asrock X870E Taichi is probably going essentially the most reasonably priced flagship X870E motherboard at $450, and regardless of that, it appears to be like fairly spectacular. That stated, the gold highlights won’t enchantment to everybody. If that is the case, the Taichi Lite is perhaps extra to your liking, and we’ll check out that model shortly.

On the I/O panel, you may discover a dozen USB ports, though two are USB 2.0, and three are USB 3.2 Gen 1. Whereas it is not essentially the most in depth USB configuration, there are nonetheless 5 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and two USB4 ports. Moreover, there is a LAN port, WiFi antenna ports, optical audio out, two audio jacks, a CMOS clear button, and a BIOS flashback button.

Onboard, there are 4 M.2 slots. The first slot is PCIe 5.0 related to the CPU, whereas the opposite three are PCIe 4.0. There are additionally two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots related to the CPU. When each are in use, they run at x8/x8.

Further onboard options embrace energy and reset buttons, a digital diagnostic LED show, an easy-release mechanism for the first PCIe x16 slot, and tool-less entry for the first and secondary M.2 slots. Nevertheless, screws are required to entry the extra M.2 slots.

The VRM is roofed by giant heatsinks related with a warmth pipe, and regardless of this, Asrock nonetheless included a small energetic fan. Nevertheless, we could not hear the fan throughout testing. The vcore VRM consists of 24 110A energy phases, offering sufficient energy for a 64-core Threadripper CPU – undoubtedly overkill for a desktop board.

Asrock X870E Taichi Lite

If the gold highlights aren’t for you, there’s the Taichi Lite, which has a extra refined look. Apart from the toned-down look, the Taichi and Taichi Lite are the very same motherboard. The “Lite” model will prevent $50, with an MSRP of $400, making it a wonderful high-end board for the worth.

We would personally go for this model, as the straightforward PCIe connector might be sacrificed, particularly since key options just like the debug LED stay intact.

Gigabyte X870E Aorus Grasp

The ultimate motherboard in our roundup is the $480 Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master, which is a refined model of the X670E Grasp. It is also not essentially the most high-end X870E board from Gigabyte – that would be the Aorus Xtreme AI TOP. It is a horrible identify, with the cringe-worthy “AI TOP” tacked on, however at $800, it is definitely excessive. For now, we’ll concentrate on the Aorus Grasp.

Across the rear I/O, we see just a few updates in comparison with the X670E mannequin, together with the addition of a Clear CMOS button and an improved button for the Q-Flash characteristic. The WiFi antenna connections have additionally been up to date to the brand new EZ-Plug design.

When it comes to USB help, the one important change is the inclusion of USB4, with two ports. Apart from that, you continue to get 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. The USB providing right here is considerably underwhelming, particularly when in comparison with extra reasonably priced fashions like MSI’s X870E Carbon WiFi, which simply surpasses the Aorus Grasp on this space.

The onboard options are stable. You get each a digital and LED debug, an influence button, fast launch for the first PCIe x16 slot, and tool-free entry to the M.2 slots. Nevertheless, the swivel latches are barely extra cumbersome in comparison with the push-button strategy utilized by MSI. That stated, reattaching the heatsinks is fast and simple, so the removing course of, whereas a bit trickier, continues to be very manageable.

You are additionally getting an actual finned heatsink over the VRM, and for vcore energy, now we have sixteen 110A energy phases, which has similarities to the earlier mannequin’s sixteen 105A energy phases – nonetheless excessive overkill.

There are three PCIe x16 enlargement slots in whole. The first is wired for PCIe 5.0 x16 bandwidth, whereas the second helps PCIe 4.0 x4, and the third is PCIe 3.0 x4. There are 4 M.2 slots, three of which help PCIe 5.0 units, with the fourth restricted to PCIe 4.0. General, it is a handsome board, and now it is time to see the way it performs, together with the opposite boards we have reviewed.

Benchmarks

For testing, we’re utilizing the Antec Flux Professional mid-tower case. To file temperatures, we use a digital thermometer with Okay-Sort thermocouples, and we’ll be reporting the height PCB temperature. We’re not reporting Delta T over Ambient; as an alternative, we keep a constant room temperature of 21 levels Celsius, guaranteeing steady ambient situations with a thermocouple positioned subsequent to the check system.

For the stress check, we’re utilizing the Ryzen 9 9950X and operating Cinebench 2024, which was looped for an hour. After that, we report the utmost PCB temperature, once more recorded utilizing Okay-Sort thermocouples. Now, let’s get into the outcomes…

VRM Temps

As anticipated, all 4 boards ran very cool, with all fashions staying nicely beneath 70°C. The perfect performer was the Asrock X870E Taichi, the place we discovered a peak sizzling spot temperature of 52°C for each the usual and Lite fashions.

Moreover, Asrock consumed the least quantity of energy on the 12V rails – 5% lower than Asus and eight% lower than MSI – although total efficiency deviated by not more than 1%.

Surprisingly, the Aorus Grasp ran the most popular, at what continues to be a cool 62°C. Regardless of this, with a rating of two,289 factors, it was the quickest board, although by a really slim margin. Briefly, all boards handed this check with ease, and VRM thermals are usually not a priority for any of them, as anticipated going into this testing.

Chipset Temps

Here is a fast have a look at the height chipset temperatures reported by every board after our hour-long stress check. Temperatures ranged between 52°C and 57°C, with solely a small variance. All temperatures had been nicely inside secure limits.

EXPO Reminiscence Assist

Now let’s check out reminiscence overclocking help. For this check, we used G.Skill’s Trident Z5 Neo DDR5-8000 CL38 package. Our objective was to see if merely loading the EXPO profile would enable the system to run because it ought to, reaching a steady DDR5-8000 configuration. By “steady,” we imply a one-hour cross of Prime95 Giant FFTs – not essentially the most rigorous validation, however provided that it takes a complete day to check only one motherboard, we could not commit extra time.

Here is what we discovered: all of the boards handed apart from the Asrock Taichi fashions, which each didn’t POST with the 8000 EXPO profile loaded. It is value noting that every one boards had been operating the most recent BIOS revisions accessible on the time of testing, primarily based on AGESA 1.2.0.2, and Asrock had no additional updates for us.

Anyway the findings are as follows, all of the boards handed aside from the Asrock Taichi’s which each didn’t even POST with the 8000 EXPO profile loaded. Now I ought to notice all boards had been operating the most recent BIOS revisions accessible on the time of testing which had been primarily based on AGESA 1.2.0.2, and Asrock had no additional updates for us.

Asrock has validated these boards for speeds over 8000, so it is probably a compatibility situation with our RAM package, which they will tackle with a future BIOS replace, or one thing else is at play. We’re not saying DDR5-8000 is unimaginable on the X870E Taichi; somewhat, with the package we examined, it did not work. We may get it to POST by manually setting the reminiscence pace to 7800, however it failed the Prime95 check, forcing us to drop all the way down to DDR5-7400 for a cross.

For optimum frequency testing, we left the voltage at 1.4V and manually locked in all major, secondary, and tertiary reminiscence timings on the EXPO default values. We then raised the reminiscence frequency and ran our one-hour stress check. If the system crashed inside the hour, we lowered the frequency; if it handed, we elevated it till it crashed.

This testing resulted in a most steady reminiscence pace of 8200 on the Gigabyte boards, 8100 for MSI, and a powerful 8300 for Asus. Take into account that this knowledge is predicated on a pattern dimension of 1 for the whole lot – the CPU, reminiscence package, and motherboard. However utilizing the {hardware} now we have, these are the frequencies we had been in a position to validate.

ECC Reminiscence Assist

One other memory-related check is Error Correction Code (ECC) reminiscence help, which a number of of you may have requested us to look into when testing motherboards – on platforms that help ECC, in fact. With AM5, ECC is supported, however it’s an optionally available characteristic, and we discovered that some boards help it whereas others don’t.

Each the Gigabyte and Asrock boards labored appropriately with ECC enabled, and we had been in a position to overclock the 5600 reminiscence to 6400 utilizing the inventory timings and voltage. The Asus board ran with ECC reminiscence, passing the Energy-On Self Check (POST), and we may overclock the reminiscence to 6400, however ECC was not enabled.

On the MSI board, it would not even POST utilizing ECC reminiscence. We tried only one stick and totally different DIMMs, however with the present BIOS, this reminiscence package is not supported. We reached out to MSI, they usually responded, “MSI doesn’t check or validate our client vary of motherboards with ECC Reminiscence.” So, in brief, if you’d like ECC reminiscence help on an AM5 desktop motherboard, do not buy an MSI board.

Boot Occasions

One other ceaselessly requested check is boot instances. Whereas we do not contemplate boot instances important, so long as they’re affordable, we all know a lot of you care, so here is the info. The slowest boards took 23 seconds from power-on to the Home windows 11 desktop. All 4 Home windows 11 installs had been contemporary, with minimal software program put in for testing. All the things was faraway from startup, so that is primarily a clear set up with little to no bloat.

MSI, Asus, and Asrock had been throughout the 22-23 second mark, however Gigabyte managed it in 17 seconds. These figures are primarily based on a three-boot common, so Gigabyte wins right here, saving you 5-6 seconds every time you energy in your PC, for no matter that is value.

USB Efficiency

Now let’s take a look at rear I/O USB efficiency to make sure the whole lot is functioning as anticipated. For this check, we used the brand new Ugreen USB4 M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure with a PCIe 5.0 SSD. This enclosure helps the complete 40 Gbps switch pace, and with the Essential T700 1TB SSD, we should always have the ability to max it out, at the very least when studying from the exterior SSD.

We created a RAM drive for this check and copied a big file from the exterior USB4 drive to the RAM drive. Utilizing customized software program, we recorded the precise switch time and sustained switch pace.

We’ll present a visible of the rear I/O, highlighting every port examined together with its switch pace, primarily based on a three-run common. Notice that some ports are grouped as they carried out inside just a few megabytes of one another.

Asrock USB

The Asrock Taichi fashions embrace three USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, restricted to round 430 MB/s. Sadly, there are additionally two USB 2.0 ports, that are clearly very sluggish at 40 MB/s. The 5 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports principally carried out nicely, however one capped out at just below 950 MB/s, although this was repeatable. Lastly, the USB4 ports maxed out at 4 GB/s. Whereas theoretically, they may very well be sooner, 4 GB/s was the restrict in our configuration, which was constant throughout all 4 boards.

Asus USB

Asus eliminates USB 2.0 on the rear I/O, which is good to see, and even does away with USB 3.2 Gen 1, making USB 3.2 Gen 2 the slowest interface. Once more, we discovered some Gen 2 ports capped at 950 MB/s, whereas others exceeded 1 GB/s – not an enormous distinction, however value noting. The USB4 ports, as soon as once more, maxed out at 4 GB/s.

Gigabyte USB

Gigabyte, like Asrock, provides a variety of USB requirements on the rear I/O, together with USB 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1, Gen 2, and USB4. Whereas it is good to have a dozen ports to select from, it is irritating to see such sluggish speeds on some ports, particularly on an costly motherboard.

MSI USB

Lastly, MSI provides a configuration much like Asus, with all ports able to over 900 MB/s. With 13 ports in whole, that is spectacular. We noticed an 8% variance in efficiency throughout the USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports – some had been sooner than others – however total, this can be a stable setup.

Audio High quality

We won’t recall the final time we truly used onboard audio, however that is one side of the motherboard that a few of you wished examined, so here is the info. We’re not going to get into the nitty gritty, however in case you’re , we’re offering the info as an experiment and may proceed to take action sooner or later.

For this check, we used Rightmark Audio Analyzer software program, which requires connecting the Line Out to the Line In utilizing a brief, high-quality 3.5mm to three.5mm jack. The OS speaker was set to 100%, and the Line In was adjusted till the software program indicated acceptable ranges.

The check evaluates a number of elements, together with noise ranges, dynamic vary, harmonic distortion, and stereo crosstalk. All of the boards carried out fairly nicely, although the standout was the Asus Crosshair Hero.

What We Realized

So there you may have it, our first have a look at AMD’s newest X870E motherboards. In case you’re questioning why we did not embrace any gaming benchmarks evaluating X870E and X670E, it is as a result of there’s no efficiency distinction between the 2 – they’re primarily the identical in that regard.

AMD may push options like DDR5-8000 help, however this is not new. Many first rate 600-series boards already help DDR5-8000, and it is not value the fee since efficiency is much like DDR5-6000. So, we would not advocate spending further on costly DDR5-8000 reminiscence.

The one actual benefit of the 800-series boards is the obligatory USB4 help, although even some 600-series boards already characteristic USB4. As an illustration, the Asrock B650E Taichi Lite features a single USB4 port and prices $240, whereas the X670E Taichi provides two USB4 ports for $380.

That stated, in case you had been available in the market for a high-end X670E board, these new X870E fashions ought to be of curiosity. Take the MSI MPG Carbon WiFi, for instance. The X670E model at the moment prices $420, which suggests the X870E model may include almost a 20% premium, assuming the $500 MSRP is correct.

The X870E mannequin is considerably higher, although. Not solely are you getting extra USB ports on the rear I/O, however you are additionally getting many extra high-speed ports – 13 at 10 Gbps or higher in comparison with simply eight on the X670E mannequin. Moreover, you get USB4, which was utterly absent on the earlier mannequin. WiFi 6E has been upgraded to WiFi 7, and the wired LAN has been upgraded to five Gbit whereas nonetheless retaining the two.5 Gbit connection.

As for which of those 4 fashions – or actually 5, contemplating there are two Taichis – is greatest, it is exhausting to say since we have not seen remaining retail pricing, and Asus hasn’t supplied an MSRP for the ROG Crosshair X870E Hero. Whereas the Asus board is very spectacular, if it finally ends up costing $700, then it turns into means much less interesting.

In any case, contemplate this a preview of those high-end X870E motherboards. Hopefully, we’ll have a full breakdown of all X870E boards for you in a future evaluation. Till then, tell us what you consider these new motherboards – are you contemplating shopping for an 800-series board?

Purchasing Shortcuts:

• MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi on Amazon
• Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Hero on Amazon
• Asrock X870E Taichi on Newegg
• Asrock X870E Taichi Lite on Newegg
• Gigabyte X870E Aorus Grasp on Amazon