Component Analysis

With X870E comes the need for dual chipsets and these are placed quite close together. The heatsink does have an RGB display on top, so there's limited scope for it cooling itself, but it is relatively large.


An ASMedia ASM1074 USB 3.0 hub controller deals with the two USB 3.0 headers on the right of the PCB and the I/O controller is Nuvoton's NCT6678D.


For audio, we have Realtek's USB-based ALC4082 codec and this is paired with an ESS ES9219Q DAC for the front panel audio.


The 5 Gbps Ethernet controller is Realtek's RTL8126 and for the 10 Gbps we have Marvell's Aquantia AQC113CS.


A small daughterboard sits on top of the PCB to provide additional USB ports and the three buttons on the rear I/O panel, which also includes a Realtek RTS5420 USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps controller.


Underneath the daughterboard we have a heatsink that cools the USB4 controller, which is the usual ASMedia ASM4242 and is Thunderbolt 4 certified.


The Wi-Fi module is MediaTek's MT7927, which has standard micro connectors internally, while externally has MSI's EZ-Antenna push fittings, but also threads that are compatible with standard aerials. Getting at the module is a little involved as you need to remove the motherboard backplate, the entire VRM heatsink array and the rear I/O panel, but there's nothing too difficult.