AMD X870E Motherboard Mash-Up: Three Socket AM5 Mainboards Reviewed
AMD's Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series processors didn't set the DIY and enthusiast worlds ablaze when they initially launched, and that's understandable considering their relatively modest gains over the previous generation. However, the 3D V-Cache equipped Ryzen 7 9800X3D is out now, and it offers explosive performance uplifts in comparison to its predecessor, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D—to say nothing of how it dunks on the competition.
With that in mind, a lot of folks are probably looking at building new systems, and the centerpiece of any new PC is of course the motherboard. Along with the Ryzen 9000 CPUs, AMD launched revised motherboard chipsets in the form of the X870 and X870E and it's the top-end chipset we'll be looking at here.
These models use the same "Promontory 21" chip as the 600-series chipsets, but have more stringent requirements for available features, including support for USB4 as well as PCIe 5.0 on both the primary graphics slot and at least one M.2 socket. They also promise improved memory overclocking capabilities versus the 600-series motherboards.
Naturally, every vendor under the sun is now selling new Socket AM5 motherboards based on the X870 and X870E chipsets. The two are identical in terms of capabilities, save for one major detail: the X870E connects two Promontory 21 chipsets to the LGA 1718 "AM5" socket for extra PCIe and USB connectivity. In that sense, X870 is essentially the same as B650E, while X870E is basically "X670E Redux."
So, today, we're going to take a look at three motherboards, starting from "high-end" and working our way up from there. The first motherboard pictured above is ASRock's Phantom Gaming X870E Nova WiFi. This $349 motherboard includes the most RGB LED lighting of the three, and also has the most robust power delivery. However, as the most affordable representative, it's naturally a little lacking in a few other places, comparatively. We'll dive a little deeper in just a bit.
The second board will be the MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi. This $499 premium offering is a notable step up from the Nova in certain ways, and amongst the priciest motherboards we would ever actually recommend most users buy. However, it's still not the most over-the-top board in today's trio.
That title goes to the ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero, a high-end motherboard reserved for only the most extreme enthusiasts. It has several features targeted directly at the extreme over-clocking (XOC) community, and it also comes with the most accessories. The $699 price tag (currently on sale for $669)may put it out of reach for many, though.
If you're in a hurry, this chart summarizes the critical capabilities of each board, but don't fret if you can't make sense of all this techno-babble -- we'll be going over each board in detail over the next few pages. Before we do, though, we'd like to give a big shout-out to ASUS, MSI, and ASRock for providing the hardware used in this article. Without their support, this round-up wouldn't have happened.
And with that, let's dive in...
And with that, let's dive in...
