ASUS ROG X870E Crosshair Hero Review
Introduction and Specifications
Introduction
Launch day is finally here. Having already brought you a preview of a lot of the X870 and X870E motherboards, today is performance day. We can finally stop being coy about how each motherboard performs. One of the key elements about AMDs business model is adaptability. They don’t change the socket every two minutes, nor demand you buy one every new CPU release. This means that each new motherboard is an evolution of an extant model.
With evolution comes improvements. For the X870 and X870E chipsets this means the addition of blisteringly fast, 40 Gbps, USB4. You also get a full set of “5s”. Namely DDR5, PCI Express 5.0 and M.2 Gen 5 slots. Indeed the primary difference between the two chipsets is the amount of Gen 5 PCIe and M.2 slots available to you. Otherwise, they are very close.
The last time we reviewed a Crosshair Hero it was the X670E model. Today we’ve got the newest in the ASUS Republic of Gamers range, the Crosshair X870E Hero. Boasting a lot of extra features as part of the revised X870E chipset, and some unique ASUS ROG touches, it’s a very desirable high end motherboard option. Let’s run through what you’re getting.
Specifications
Such was the hugely capable X670E chipset that the new X870E is an evolution rather than a wholesale revolution. It speaks highly of how on the ball AMD are. The primary change is the addition of USB 4 by default. This ASUS Crosshair Hero also has a SlimSAS connector. SAS – Serial Attached SCSI – is normally for enterprise solutions. Finding one on a desktop motherboard is perplexing. We did wonder if it was an element of the new X870 chipset. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time a chipset has reintroduced something. However, after looking at near double digit X870 motherboards, it appears something unique to this. Perhaps ASUS are secretly working on some SCSI hardware.
The Crosshair Hero being a X870E motherboard means you have two PCIe 5.0 slots, as well as a massive 3 M.2 Gen 5 offerings. Clearly if you want to maximise your bandwidth this is a great choice for the well-heeled.