The ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming Motherboard Review
by Gavin Bonshor on January 25, 2021 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- AMD
- Asus
- ROG
- AM4
- Ryzen 3000
- X570
- Strix X570-E
- Ryzen 5000
- X570-E Gaming
Conclusion
Looking beyond AMD's AM4 socket, the future is currently unknown. There has been plenty of speculation (some of which I may or may not agree with) that Ryzen 5000 won't be the last processors to be grace the platform, but should AMD launch another generation of hardware on AM4, these won't be expected until at least late 2021. Until such time as AMD pulls the trigger on new desktop CPUs, it'll likely focus on another generation of Threadripper first at any rate. This means that boards such as the ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming have some good longevity for the future.
The X570 Strix sits just below the ROG Crosshair series of models, and the ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming is the premier board of its Strix series. This is shown with its feature set that includes two PCIe 4.0 x4/SATA M.2 slots, with eight SATA ports with no bandwidth shared between any of them. This allows users to install the highest level of consumer-level NVMe SSDs, as well as high-capacity SSD/HDD arrays for mass data storage. For expansion cards, ASUS includes three-full length PCIe 4.0 slots that operate at x16, and x8/x8/+x4, with two additional PCIe 4.0 x1 slots.
The board also includes a solid array of networking, with a Realtek RTL8125-CG 2.5 GbE and Intel I211-AT Gigabit controller pairing, including an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 interface for wireless and BT 5.0 connectivity. Perhaps the most impressive feature on the ASUS board is its level of out of the box USB support. It includes seven USB 3.2 G2 Type-A and one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C port on the rear panel, which is impressive for a mid-range model. There is also one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C header (one port), one USB 3.2 G1 Type-A header (two ports), and two USB 2.0 headers (four ports) offering extra USB connectivity if users require additional ports.
Other important features include the SupremeFX S1220A HD audio codec which includes EMI shielding, with two OP Amps designed to boost the overall output, which allows for compatibility with up to 7.1 surround sound via five 3.5 mm audio jacks and its single S/PDIF optical output. ASUS includes the Sonic Studio III software which works well with the audio solution. Many vendors rely on the basic Realtek Control Panel, so it's nice to see ASUS has put some effort into this as auditory experience can be just as important as visuals to users.
Turning to the performance, the ASUS delivers in our system tests, with solid power consumption figures, very fast POST times, and extraordinary DPC latency performance out of the box. It is also competitive in our CPU and gaming tests. When we put it to the test in our overclock testing, the large 12+4 power delivery operating at 6+2 with teamed power stages works effectively and efficiently. We noted solid VDroop control with the default LLC profile, as well as highly competitive performance when it comes to VRM thermals. This shows the power delivery is efficient, with a good heatsink capable of handling large overclocks.
Final Words
ASUS isn't without stern competition at the sub $300-350 price point with GIGABYTE, and ASRock both competing with models that similar feature sets. This includes models with three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, but none of them include as much USB 3.2 G2 on the rear panel, and this is where the ASUS shines. ASUS does include a solid software package that makes subtle, but effective enhancements in users' experience, it only bolsters the overall package. It performs well in our testing, looks good while doing it, and offers users plenty of overhead for users looking to push the performance of Ryzen 5000 and Ryzen 3000.
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du_bucha - Monday, January 25, 2021 - link
I have this board, they just forgot to tell that there is a bunch of bios upgrades in asus website that is causing a lot of errors in people systems, so it is a good thing check the asus forum first to see which ones are the stable bios before rushing into the last one ( using ver 3001 here but there is a 3402 beta already for download in asus website).Another thing that bothers me in this mb is the fact that it doesn't have a bios reset button for use when overclocking or fine tunning the memory. You only have an ancient jumper pin and terribly located in the bottom part of the motherboard.
The chipset sits right under the video card and suck all the hot air from it. My chipset temperatures was around 68ºC in idle with a GTX1060. Since I don't use the computer for gamming, I changed the GTX1060 to the second slot and changed the thermal pad too, and now chipset temp is around 62ºC.
These are the negative points I found in this board that was not mentioned in the review.
Beaver M. - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link
All new mainboards have issues with crappy firmware. But its starting to get ridiculous with X570 and B550 ones. They sure as hell arent new anymore. Only the Zen 3 CPUs are, and they have been released for a long time as well.Yet nothing seems to change or improve.
I am seriously rethinking of buying an AMD because of that and because of the WHEA issues (not to mention the still not fixed X570 IO issues.
Guess people (and me) were right still recommending Intel simply because they are far more stable.
Qasar - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link
news for you, myself, and some others i work with, have had issues with intel as well. be it bios updates or drivers. to claim intel is more stable, is also false.EG, i have 2 X99 boards, after a re install of win 10, for some reason, 6 of the 10 sata ports would not work after installing the latest drivers from the board maker AND intel's site, exclamation point in device manager. went back to both pages and tried a few of the driver revisions on both, i started to search for drivers. finally found ones that fixed the issue. this driver version was not available on either site.
i have this board, and it has been great for a year now. even with an issue with the SB Z sound card i have, and a bios update that cause it to reboot on its own from time to time, i would still get this board again. bottom line i have had issues with BOTH AMD AND Intel. and would get either or, depending in which has the performance and features i want for a price i am willing to pay. this round, its been amd, and have replaced 3 of 6 comps with amd and ryzen 3000 cpus that were intel.
Beaver M. - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link
So youre comparing ancient boards with new ones?Ok.
You know, my one Z170 board also has lots of issues. But they started over time, because........ its degrading after 5+ years.
The issues with AMD are filling reddit and other forums. Thats a fact. And its not issues that are because of rare hardware failures that are normal, its because of bugs in software AND hardware design that can be reproduced rather often. In comparison, when the first Skylake had the "768 FFT bug", or the Z87 bug, it wasnt nearly as huge of a problem as the AMD fanboys made it out to be. Plus they were fixed quickly.
The issues with AMD right now are vast, critical and numerous and some of them have been there for quite a long time (some even since Zen 2). And all you hear are crickets.
If Intel had those issues, the cries of havoc would be so shrill and loud that even your rose colored glasses would burst into tiny shards. And very justified so.
But this "users keeping silent/uncritical about serious issues" phenomenon has always been a part of AMD. Even 20 years ago. I fell for it several times myself.
Qasar - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link
yes, as while that issue with the sata ports were recent, when i picked up my x99 board new 5 years ago, i had issues then as well.the funny part, is EACH person has their own experience with either side. myself, i have had issues with BOTH. it hasnt been just amd, or just intel over the years.
" it wasnt nearly as huge of a problem as the AMD fanboys made it out to be " the SAME can be said about the intel fanboys with amd, whats your point ?
while you kind of accuse me of rose colored glasses, the same can be said for the other side as well, again whats your point ?
if intel does it, its just fine, and ok, but if AMD does it, its a federal offense.
Spunjji - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link
They managed to squeeze so much projection, prognostication and ventriloquism into a few tight little posts. It's an exceptional demonstration in partisan rhetoric married to denial.Qasar - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link
i didnt know that saying either side has had,and has, its issues was considered to be a demonstration in partisan rhetoric married to denial.Spunjji - Wednesday, January 27, 2021 - link
@Qasar - I was talking about Beaver M., not you. I agree entirely with you here. 👍Spunjji - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link
I'm impressed by the way you made a claim about forums, threw in the declarative "Thats a fact" (it wasn't, it's hyperbole) and then followed with another statement that *definitely* isn't a fact - it's clearly just your opinion. Very self-confident; Dunning and Kruger offer a salute.I also appreciated your completely un-self-aware commentary on how other people have "rose tinted glasses", even as you assume the truth of your casual dismissal of specific Intel issues. To make it extra funny from an outside perspective, you hype up a few other AMD issues you just didn't quite get around to specifically naming.
Whatever this bit you're doing is, it's very good!
Spunjji - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link
Cautiously-worded partisan FUD is still partisan FUD. You jumped from someone's specific anecdotal critique to a generalised one, then used that to bolster an unrelated conclusion.I Googled the WHEA issues, and it leads to two types of post:
1) People gathering data on the issue and noting that it doesn't do any harm in and of itself, and is often fairly trivially solved.
2) A bunch of similar posts on forums (some from the same users) that look like this: "My (fairly recent) high-spec Intel system was a saint that never crashed, and now my brand-new high-spec AMD system crashes aLl ThE tImE and this is definitely AMD's fault. /ragequit"
It's possible there's a selection bias here - and I might be missing a serious issue. I just don't really buy the way you introduced these topics.