ASUS ROG Strix X870-I Gaming WiFi Evaluate – Board Layout

Board Layout

The ASUS ROG Strix X870-I Gaming Wi-Fi makes use of the acquainted stacked M.2 association, so there aren’t any rear M.2 ports. This does imply that CPU cooler compatibility is impacted. Unlike MSI’s X870 and Z890 choices, there is no M.2 port enhance right here—you get the identical quantity and kind because the B850 board. The PCB does not have a lot free house, however the format actually has system builders in thoughts, with all the important thing ports situated on the fringe of the PCB for simpler cable tidying. This undoubtedly did not use to be the case.

With all the pieces stripped away we will see the X870 chipset alongside numerous vertical ports that permit for connection of the daughter boards to the PCB. We have two followers cooling the M.2 heatsink stack and VRMs, however whereas there’s extra cooling there than the B850 mannequin, the latter gives extra fan headers, albeit only one extra.

The ROG Strix Hive II exterior USB sound card has had a blended reception, with some saying it provides litter, whereas others have made good use of it. The price added to the value tag is probably going substantial, however with a quantity dial, headphone jack, 10 Gbps Type-C and Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, plus energy and reset buttons along with the ASUS Q-LED energy standing LEDs, it is simple to see why some have grown keen on it. If you simply wish to neglect about these capabilities, however nonetheless use the audio, then you’ll be able to at all times simply use its magnetic base to repair it to your PC out of sight.

It was disappointing to see fewer fan headers right here than on the B850 mannequin. You ideally need the flagship board to be main throughout the sphere with options resembling these. This is made worse by the actual fact the headers it does have are every restricted to only 12 W/1 A. Granted, utilizing greater than three highly effective 120 mm followers from one port on an AIO liquid cooler is probably unlikely with a Mini-ITX motherboard, however it will nonetheless be good to have a minimum of one header able to extra on a board at this value. Thankfully, ASUS has grouped them together with the 2 3-pin ARGB connectors in a single nook of the PCB. Your GPU will profit from PCIe Slot Q-Release Slim, which lets you carry your card from the PCI slot finish and absolutely take away it from the slot with no need to get on the launch lever. This enhanced slot launch is of most use in Mini-ITX circumstances, the place getting at that lever is way tricker than in bigger programs.

In addition to the big heatsink stack there’s a smaller daughterboard that connects to the PCB utilizing two Type-C ports. It’s not important to make use of it, despite the fact that the first entrance panel connector is right here, as there is a second single energy button header on the PCB. However, you may lose the 2 lone SATA ports and USB 2.0 headers, with different options being a CPU over volt header and PCIe alteration mode swap. Ideally we would prefer to see an additional 4-pin fan header right here too. Of course, you might run a fan hub off SATA energy and easily use the PWM sign from one of many present fan headers.

The M.2 ports are organized one above the opposite, with the PCIe Gen 4 slot at high and cooled on one facet. The heatsink shouldn’t be tool-free, which is once more one thing we would prefer to see modified. Both slots require using a second rubber help to the one you see right here should you’re utilizing a single-sided SSD, to make sure it makes good contact with the heatsink above. This undoubtedly makes a distinction to temperatures.

It’s not a fast or simple course of to get on the decrease M.2 port as you must take away a number of tiny screws and take away the decrease heatsink, revealing the PCIe Gen 5 M.2 port beneath. This is simply cooled on one facet, with the heatsink under dealing solely with the X870 chipset beneath. This would usually imply it is at an instantaneous drawback, however a part of the rationale for the board’s premium price ticket is its extra cooling, with certainly one of two small 40 mm followers cooling the M.2 ports. The decrease PCIe Gen 5 port will get many of the airflow. Unfortunately, neither this fan nor the one sat within the VRM heatsink are absolutely configurable, with on, off and full pace being the one choices. More on this later.

The rear I/O panel has an inexpensive seven Type-A USB ports, with 4 of those being USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps and the remainder USB 2.0. You get two video outputs with a devoted HDMI port, whereas DisplayPort Alt mode is accessible over both of the 2 USB4 Type-C 40 Gbps ports. There are USB BIOS Flashback and CMOS clear buttons and whereas a FlexKey/reset button is absent right here in comparison with the ROG Strix B850-I Gaming WI-FI, you do get one on the exterior ROG Strix HIVE II sound card module. There are Q-Antenna appropriate connectors for the Wi-Fi aerial and likewise 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, and the big vent right here is for the M.2 cooling fan.