ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming Preview
Introduction
If you’ve been following along with our X570 previews then our intro will be familiar to you, so skip on to the technical specifications below to discover what is unique to this particular model. Otherwise, read on to find out what the X570 AM4 is bringing to the party.
When AMD released the first generation of Ryzen processors and the attendant chipset we spoke a lot here at OC3D about how pleased we were to find AMD back with a product range that was a genuine return to form. Instead of attempting to keep updating the ageing AM3 platform they made wholesale changes with the introduction of the AM4 socket and a much more modern chipset with all the features that you could demand.
We clearly weren’t the only people impressed by this massive upgrade to the AMD range as the Ryzen CPUs and Zen architecture sold in droves. Such was the rampant popularity of it that we quickly saw the release of the updated Ryzen processors, the 2nd generation, along with the X470 motherboards that introduced yet more features that hadn’t quite been squeezed onto the X370 release schedule.
The hardware world never stands still for long though, and since the launch of the Ryzen 2nd Generation there have been a few new technologies given the green light to hit the market, and with the release of the 3rd Generation of Ryzen processors comes a new chipset, the X570, which is so up-to date that it comes with a lot of elements yet to find their way onto Intel platforms.
As you would expect all the major manufacturers are gearing up with their X570 product launches, and whilst we can’t go into too much detail before the full launch in early July, we knew that we just had to bring you a glimpse at what you could expect.
Technical Specifications
It won’t come as a shock that the Strix has the full set of features available on it. ASUS don’t apply the ROG branding to just anything you know. Naturally with the X570 chipset launch the banner feature is undoubtedly the inclusion of the latest PCI Express 4.0 which massively increases the available bandwidth for your M.2 drives and graphics cards. The speed at which the market adopted the M.2 solution is nearly as fast as the drives themselves, and given that they can easily saturate the bandwidth available on PCI Express 3.0 – and thus limit the headroom of your graphics card – it is a welcome relief that the latest iteration should, until drives are launched that flood it again, alleviate that problem for a while. Although there are some PCI Express 4.0 abilities built into the chipset you’ll require a Ryzen 3 processor to make the most of it. Elsewhere the X570 has been upgraded from USB 3.0 and 3.1 to the latest USB 3.2 Gen2 both in front and back sections. Add in a 2.5G LAN alongside the Gigabit offering, and the latest Intel Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax and there is much to be excited about regarding the ASUS Strix X570-E.
There are three headers at the top for your AIO pump and CPU fans, supporting both PWM and DC fan types. At the bottom edge of the motherboard is ASUS own Water Pump header, which supplies 3 Amps enabling even the heartiest of water pumps to be connected to your motherboard rather than running off of the power supply directly.
There are three non-specific fan spots on the Strix, just above the uppermost M.2 slot, and two below the lower M.2 socket. The second of these two is designated an M.2 cooling fan, but naturally you can use it as an air intake if you choose.