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ASUS Shows Off ROG Crosshair X870E Apex Motherboard

btarunr

btarunr

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System Specs
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard Gigabyte B550 AORUS Elite V2
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 16GB DDR4-3200
Video Card(s) Galax RTX 4070 Ti EX
Storage Samsung 990 1TB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
The ASUS ROG Apex brand extension is reserved for motherboards with the best CPU and memory overclocking capabilities. Since Intel processors tended to overclock better than AMD, Apex remained confined to the Intel platform, until now. ASUS at CES showed off the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex, the first AMD platform motherboard to feature this brand extension. The board features a powerful CPU VRM solution meant for sub-zero overclocking of Ryzen 9000X3D processors that are fully capable of overclocking. It also comes with a 1 DIMM-per-channel memory topology, with just two DDR5 DIMM slots. 1DPC is the most optimal dual-channel topology for memory overclocking.

The topmost M.2 Gen 5 NVMe slot features an elaborate fan-heatsink solution. Right next to the two DDR5 DIMM slots, is a breakout DIMM.2 module that provides additional M.2 NVMe slots. There are a couple of more Gen 4 NVMe slots scattered across the board. The board features an I/O feature-set that's at least as good as the ROG Crosshair X870E Hero. The board draws power from two 8-pin EPS, a 24-pin ATX, and an additional 8-pin PCIe power input. The board is packed to the gills with features professional overclockers would look for, including onboard buttons, diagnostic readouts, a hydrophobic PCB surface treatment, dual-BIOS, and clearly labelled voltage domains.



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Is X870E series even necessary for OC oriented board which generally are stripped off all the non essential connectivity options.
 
I'm a big fan of the Intel based Apex boards and I'll be waiting patiently to see what these boards can do.
 
Finally an AM5 board with 1DPC and Dual-BIOS with worldwide, general availability? One can hope.
But dont expect this to come cheap as Z890 Apex costs 755€+
I kinda wish they had also rotated the socket 90 degrees and placed the 24pin etc edge connectors at 90 degree angle like EVGA used to do.

However it's still better than those silly Extreme and Godlike boards costing 1000+ for zero unique features.
 
Now, do the Gene.
 
The topmost M.2 Gen 5 NVMe slot features an elaborate fan-heatsink solution.
Click to expand...

I don't think the fan is for the M.2, it's probably more for the DIMMs.
 
Nice of them to use open-backed PCIe slots, and include some expansion.
Too bad they're blocked by the factory M.2 'sinks, and this'll be nowhere near affordable.

Why can't we get this kind of expansion on normal X870 and X870E boards? I shouldn't have to seek out a $500+ board, for 5+ years ago's capabilities.
 
LabRat 891 said:
Why can't we get this kind of expansion on normal X870 and X870E boards? I shouldn't have to seek out a $500+ board, for 5+ years ago's capabilities.
Click to expand...
Not to mention getting Dual-BIOS and 1DPC on cheaper boards like on some AM4 boards. Not everyone is going for world records on LN2.
 
Tomorrow said:
Not to mention getting Dual-BIOS
Click to expand...
Dual BIOS appears to be dead, in favour of being able to flash from a USB drive, even without a CPU in the board.
 
Of the boards I have seen the one I am most excited about is the B850 Strix E. That looks like a real update on the B550 XE. The fact that this board will be uber expensive with much the same features is what makes Strix so attractive get premium features for hundreds less. Of course the Elephant in the room is if you are a legacy user (Pre M2) the Taichi from As Rock will remain out of stock.
 
rv8000 said:
Gene is a waste of PCB, matx is such a pointless form factor now
Click to expand...
I feel like if anything standard ATX is more useless now with all those unused PCIe slots. SLI is seemingly dead unless GTA 6 with Vulkan mGPU can reraise interests.
 
Upgrayedd said:
I feel like if anything standard ATX is more useless now with all those unused PCIe slots. SLI is seemingly dead unless GTA 6 with Vulkan mGPU can reraise interests.
Click to expand...
SLI/Crossfire may be very well dead for gaming purposes, but mGPU is alive for pro tasks.
 
Finally! I've been waiting for a Gene or Tachyon for the longest time, but this will do just fine.

I'm guessing GB will also release the Tachyon soon. Fingers crossed.
 
Upgrayedd said:
I feel like if anything standard ATX is more useless now with all those unused PCIe slots. SLI is seemingly dead unless GTA 6 with Vulkan mGPU can reraise interests.
Click to expand...
Have you forgotten that far more than GPUs go into PCIe slots? NICs, Sound Cards, Switches, Controllers, etc. etc.

'Would rather the slots, especially when they're so easy and affordable to passively convert to M.2.
 
wNotyarD said:
SLI/Crossfire may be very well dead for gaming purposes, but mGPU is alive for pro tasks.
Click to expand...
I also prefer to have my M2s in an expansion card for RAID 0 arrays especially. They run cooler and usually have active cooling.
 
wNotyarD said:
SLI/Crossfire may be very well dead for gaming purposes, but mGPU is alive for pro tasks.
Click to expand...
Mhm yes. And mATX fits dual GPUs, just not triple.
LabRat 891 said:
Have you forgotten that far more than GPUs go into PCIe slots? NICs, Sound Cards, Switches, Controllers, etc. etc.

'Would rather the slots, especially when they're so easy and affordable to passively convert to M.2.
Click to expand...
True. But I also realize a very large number of ATX boards are only using up 1 slot so why not have a dual dimm gene or more mATX options? Too much gets sacrificed to go to ITX, I pretty much ignore that form factor now.
 
Upgrayedd said:
True. But I also realize a very large number of ATX boards are only using up 1 slot so why not have a dual dimm gene or more mATX options? Too much gets sacrificed to go to ITX, I pretty much ignore that form factor now.
Click to expand...
You make my point. All these companies are making ATX boards with mATX-like expansion (or worse).
All I want is an ATX X870(E) board with a M.2 gen5 (cpu) a x16 (cpu) a 3-slot spacing for GPU (or 2x PCH M.2 under GPU), and the rest x8 or x4, and x1 gen4 slots.
 
Upgrayedd said:
I feel like if anything standard ATX is more useless now with all those unused PCIe slots. SLI is seemingly dead unless GTA 6 with Vulkan mGPU can reraise interests.
Click to expand...

More board for m.2, pci-e, traces, more PCB space in general to improve layout and make accommodations where needed. No need to cram stuff into a smaller space and make compromises, if you wanna do that buy ITX and enjoy your hotbox.

M-atx is useless while itx exists.
 
rv8000 said:
More board for m.2, pci-e, traces, more PCB space in general to improve layout and make accommodations where needed. No need to cram stuff into a smaller space and make compromises, if you wanna do that buy ITX and enjoy your hotbox.

M-atx is useless while itx exists.
Click to expand...
TBH the traces get really complex especially on the memory side on ITX boards, which is why most of them are 10 layer. MATX doesn't have that issue and only really gets the lower PCI-E ports chopped off.

I don't mind either ATX or MATX, both work the same but MATX is usually cheaper for the same performance. ITX is more expensive.
 
Anyone know the IO situation? Did they cut the GPU HDMI out like they did on the intel Apex?
 
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