Published: September 30, 2024 | Source: ASUS | Author: Tom Logan

ASUS Strix X870-A Gaming WiFi Review

Board Tour

Speaking of white or grey plastics, the two 8pin 12V CPU power inputs come in grey. It’s a shame all the others don’t. Clearly it makes a difference to have the lighter hue here. Maybe ASUS had a job lot as the Strix-E, a resolutely black motherboard, had grey 8pins.

We’re so used to referring to Intel products by their LGA number, and AMD ones by their AMx designation, that having LGA1718 on the Strix X870-A feels like peering into a “one brand” alternate universe. Thankfully it’s just AM5, so we’ll stick to that if it’s all the same to you. You can also see you get three CPU cooling headers, including one aimed at your AIO or water-loop pump.

Moving around the PCB it’s nice how much of it has the protective armour. The CPU 12V connectors did, and both the Type-A USB front panel ones do here too. The Type-C front panel we’ve only ever seen in its metal form.

SATA ports definitely are cut-back on this Strix-A version of the X870 chipset. If you’ve got tons of 2.5″ SSDs on hand it might be worth consolidating, or finally moving across to the speedier M.2 solutions available.

The bottom edge of the ASUS ROG Strix X870-A motherboard it dominated by system fan headers. You can also see the sparkling white of the bottom PCI Express slot. If it was any whiter it would be in a detergent commercial.

Like the Prime, the Strix is 100% Addressable RGB headers. Perfect if you like having control over every single LED in your rig.

The addition of USB4 40Gbps to the X870 chipset is AMDs biggest one-up on Intel. Like a lot of recent leading edge technologies, AMD have managed to hit the market at exactly the right time to include it on their motherboards. The rest of the Strix X870-A is a smorgasbord of USB options. Even the most dedicated peripheral owner won’t be left shorn of connection points.

Lastly, under the silvery heatsink is the Strix X870-A power stage. You get a teamed layout of 16+2 of Smart Power Stages rated at 90A. Sixteen for the VCore, 2 for the SOC. Having teamed rather than doubled is a pick your poison thing. With teamed power stages you get higher ripple, but lower transient voltage drop, whilst the opposite is true for phase doubled solutions.