ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E Hero Review
In Detail
PSU manufacturers and motherboard manufacturers need to have a summit meeting where either motherboard designers agree not to squeeze the 12V CPU power inputs in so tightly, or PSU producers agree to give us more than the exact amount of cable needed to the nearest millimeter. This is, comfortably, the bit of system building we hate the most.
The top right of the Hero is a busy place indeed. As well as a closer look at the chunky VRM heatsink you have the AIO Pump + two CPU fan headers, the POST display, onboard Power, FlexKey and Retry buttons, and two of the four AURA lighting headers for your RGB/ARGB strips.
With 110A power there is no surprise that ASUS have gone hard on the size of the VRM heatsinks. They’re all smooth, deeply grooved for maximum airflow and heavier than us after a sunday roast. It’s odd that the Hero hasn’t got braced DDR5 slots, given how often we see them. We love the ergonomically placed 6 pin addition power supply alongside the familiar 24 pin ATX one.
Just focusing upon the edge for the moment, from top to bottom we have front panel USB in both Type-A and Type-C styles. Perfect given how much Type-C has, rightfully, overtaken Type-A as the design of choice. It’s so obvious now to not have a ‘way up’ that doesn’t fit. Type-A designers must be kicking themselves they never considered to make it oval.
We’ve often mentioned how RGB has been the saviour of internal USB 2.0 headers. For so long they were so useless as to almost be vestigal, and yet the amount of hardware that wants RGB control has seen a resurgeance to the point that the Hero has three! It also has an armoured USB 3.2G1 Type-A front panel connector alongside water pump power and flow meters. Even the placement of the CMOS battery removal tag has been done with sufficient care that you can remove it without needing to take all the heat spreader off.
Lastly the other two ARGB/RGB LED Strip headers sit alongside further fan headers and the SupremeFX audio section. The bracing on the lower PCI Express slot makes its absence on the DDR5 slots even more baffling.
Lastly the rear IO section shows how meaty the Crosshair Hero is, with USB 3.2 and USB 4 ports, HDMI output, 2.5G LAN and WiFi 6E, and even external BIOS control buttons.
