ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming motherboard review. evolutionary round

Today we are going to look at an ASUS gaming motherboard from the middle-end category. Let me remind you of the hierarchy of models proposed for interpretation by the manufacturer himself. The device is designed to please the gaming audience with increased needs, while the basis is provided by the TUF Gaming series. When assembling a modern gaming PC, appearance plays an important role, therefore, experts paid due attention to it: cooling elements of complex shapes, a heat pipe can be seen as part of radiators for the VRM sector, I / O ports are hidden under a three-dimensional overlay, where a juicy backlight is built-in, divided into two sectors. It will also be active in the very center of the device, next to the battery. The device has three high-speed adapters: two for wired networks, the third for wireless, the most modern for today, the sixth generation.

The rest of the list of features meets expectations from an expensive device. You can focus on the lack of support for D-Sub, PS / 2 and COM interfaces (even by a platform on the board), they are taken by the manufacturer beyond the modern ones, everything else is present and in abundance. Let’s talk in more detail below, first – a table with the main characteristics.

The general idea of ​​building products based on the X570 was considered in the course of acquaintance with the ASUS Prime X570-Pro.

Packaging and equipment

The box is devoid of redundant decorations in the style of hinged lids or windows. We see durable cardboard and printed work in a matte style, as if gloss was deliberately avoided and they tried to emphasize the severity of intentions.

Behind the key role is given to the board itself. Her image is in the center, and key features are listed on the sides. At the bottom, the advantageous features inherent in this particular model are emphasized, although a couple of pre-installed M.2 coolers are already found even in inexpensive models from competitors.

The complete set is expanded, there is:

• user manual, which illustrates and describes the UEFI sub-items in detail (in English);
• two sets of mounting screws and stands for M.2 devices;
• ASUS branded warranty card for ROG and TUF product lines;
• an additional booklet with information on the need to comply with a number of safety measures when assembling and operating the system;
• a set of stickers with various images of the ROG Strix series, including those for cables;
• disk with drivers and proprietary software;
• ROG device owner welcome brochure;
• coupon with a discount for the procedure of braiding wires (rounding);
• sign on the door “Restricted Area: STOP. DO NOT DISTURB”/”Accessible Area: ENTER. IF YOU DARE”;
• four SATA 6Gb / s cables, two of which have an L-shaped connector on one of the ends;
• extension cord for connecting a controlled LED strip;
• seven nylon ties;
• one remote thermocouple;
• extension cable for connecting RGB LED strip;
• remote antenna with the possibility of fixing only one position.

Appearance

Buttons and switches, contacts for measuring system voltages and other attributes of status products for overclocking are absent here. The high level of the device is confirmed, perhaps, by the POST code indicator. More attention was paid to modern trends, for example, there are four sites (two types) for connecting LED products, and a Node. The dimensions of the model correspond to the ATX format. The total weight is considerable, and not only because of the presence of voluminous radiators, a fairly thick textolite adds strength and solidity to the entire structure.

There are no backlight elements, but even here you can see the concern for the appearance of the device, completely transparent cases will allow it to stand out against the general background of faceless competitors. All elements are fastened with screws.

There are nine holes for mounting, but to access the central one, you will need to dismantle the grid covering the fan on the hub, any screwdriver (even a flat one) will do for this. Modern cases in this place are usually equipped with a rack, so this nuance is not a problem.

The chipset cooler is separate and does not combine with M.2 heatsinks, as is the case with many opponents. The plastic pad acts as a dust filter, there are no clamps, just a couple of screws will provide centering in place.

The idea of ​​implementing cooling is not new to us, it is actually the same on all the manufacturer’s boards, here we can state the most complete version of the base, it is not sharpened to access the mounting holes on the board, as is the case in cheaper models, and the contact area with the chip is wider due to the angle narrowing the air channel below. That’s right, even if you completely cover the grid from above with a video card, the chip will not be deprived of airflow due to air flow from the bottom. Suffer here, perhaps, the acoustic comfort of the owner of the system. The fan uses a four-wire connection, so the operation of the tachometer will not be accompanied by problems caused by a lack of supply voltage.

For compact M.2 type devices shorter than 11 cm, auxiliary stands with screws are required, the kit provides just two necessary sets. For the longest products, additional attributes during installation are not required. Both pre-installed heatsinks have large area thermal pads.

There are eight SATA outputs in total and all of them are longitudinal type.

Case USB cables can count on: two platforms of generation 2.0, one – version 3.2 Gen1 and one more – for the most modern balanced output 3.2 Gen2.

A pair of reinforced, shielded PCI-E x16 slots can share 16 processor lanes from the CPU. The remaining three plastic sockets cooperate with the hub. In the middle of the sector under discussion, four repeaters of signal commands and four switches are soldered, the models are exactly the same as in the ASUS Prime X570-Pro. Next to them, a place was prepared for six multi-color LEDs, the lens of which is directed upwards.

The audio codec is located under the shielding cap, there is a set of specialized capacitors and an auxiliary pair of operational amplifiers. There is no additional DAC, it can be found only in the structure of the most expensive boards.

The voltage stabilizer will use six pairs of conductors from the power supply, for this we installed two sockets, the contacts here are cast (reinforced). The main slot was ennobled with shielding.

Above the 24-pin power socket there are four multi-colored LEDs from the Q-LED complex, a simplified procedure for identifying the progress of the equipment interrogation takes place with their assistance.

For in-depth diagnostics of problems, for example, when overclocking RAM, a two-character code indicator with red segments is useful. Nearby is a contact pair for connecting a thermocouple, I remind you that it is included in the delivery.

The power-supply heatsinks are massive, although their height is unlikely to pose any CO-compatibility threats to the CPU. The socket placement is quite traditional and there should be no conflicts between processor coolers and video cards.

The manufacturer’s VRMs also have decent power in simpler products, here the main difference will be the PWM controller used. The element corresponds rather to older devices, its model is ASP1405I, it, like the entire power circuit in general, is equivalent to building a ROG Crosshair VIII Formula stabilizer. In any case, it is the twelve-channel CPU voltage regulator built on the same power elements – IR3555. Simpler chokes are used, the packing density is even higher. So the smaller IR3553 turned out to be allocated in a separate section, they are used in the four-channel SOC Voltage stabilizer. As a result, the general structure of education receives a description of 6 + 2 “phases” with a double number of elements in each. The capacitors here are of a “military” reliability class, however, with a resource of five thousand hours of operation at extremely high temperatures, and not with twelve thousand, as was seen in the more prestigious model.

Once again, the aesthetic component was put at the forefront and we see a slight shortage of space for all thermal pads. However, given the enormous power of the converter, this is unlikely to create problems. For the hub crystal, this approach was avoided.

The filling of the rear panel is literally exemplary. Someone might miss the CMOS reset button, which is available in the older ROG Crosshair series of products, otherwise everything is here, including a couple of video outputs that are completely absent in the upper echelon of ASUS motherboards.