Amd x570: everything you need to know + recommended asus boards

The reception received by the new AMD Ryzen 3000 platform with its CPUs and AMD X570 chipset motherboards has been spectacular. Never before have we had such top-of-the-range plates on all major assemblers. We are talking about Asus, MSI, Gigabyte and ASRock, all of them with a large number of models available for users who want to make the leap to these powerful processors.

In this article we will focus on seeing the advantages and characteristics of these new boards and we will recommend you the best models from the manufacturer Asus, a great partner that has turned to us during these weeks, sending us the majority of its X570 arsenal.

Index of contents

Is the X570 chipset a worthwhile leap?

The new AMD platform has come with a major update not only in its processors, but also in the chipset or south bridge of the new generation boards. This evolution has received the name of X570, a substitute for the X470 that has been with us for a long time.

In comparisons that were made in its time, the X470 chipset was not a notable novelty compared to the X370, and this did not sit too well in the community. An example of this was that many manufacturers did not even choose to assemble range caps for this platform. Precisely one of the few was Asus with its Crosshair series, although without reaching the Formula, its top range.

This case is different, since we have a chipset that is really worth it. We are talking about quite a bit of power within it, no less than 20 lanes or PCIe Lanes, which are now natively compatible with the PCIe 4.0 bus. This bus is capable of transfer rates very close to 2000 MB / s simultaneously up and down, double that of PCIe 3.0. A bus that is still very much left over for almost all the expansion peripherals that are available, except M.2 SSDs. In the desktop PC arena, they are the only devices already harnessing the power of PCIe 4.0, with SSDs capable of up to 5000MB / s read and write.

Here you can see the comparison between AMD X570 vs X470 vs X370

High connection capacity with 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes

The architecture of this chipset is very important to understand how its PCIe lanes are distributed along with those of the CPU. We have a total of 20 for the chipset and 24 for the 3rd generation Ryzen processors. Focusing on the X570 chipset, 4 of these lanes are used to communicate with the CPU. 8 lanes will be a must for PCIe, eg SSD or expansion slots. And another 8 lanes may be used for other devices such as SATA or peripherals such as USB, for example, with manufacturers having some freedom of movement in this case. We call these Pick One in the descriptions.

With all this, manufacturers have connected to the chipset one or two M.2 NVMe x4 slots, PCIe X16 slots, although they work at x4 and depending on the board, some PCIe 4.0 x1 slot. Similarly, we have enough capacity for 6 or up to 8 SATA 6 Gbps ports, and up to 8 USB 3.1 Gen2 ports at 10 Gbps (can be 3.1 Gen1) and 4 USB 2.0 ports. Undoubtedly a connectivity that overwhelms previous chipsets. We are explaining this distribution with all the plate reviews, so that you are clear about how the platform is being used. The only disadvantage that we can have with this chipset is that, due to its high power, it has been necessary to place a fan on it, which is sometimes a bit noisy. Similarly, consumption rises to 15W, while the previous ones only consumed 5.8W.

In any case, it is a highly recommended jump, although not obligatory, for the new Ryzen 3000

The only boards compatible with 1st generation APUs are the Asus

Precisely with the last paragraph above, we will see which CPUs are compatible with this new platform. And is that as you know, AMD has maintained its AM4 socket of PGA type also in this new generation, which in theory allows a backward compatibility with previous Ryzen processors.

This compatibility in the case of Asus is settled with the possibility of installing 2nd generation AMD Ryzen processors (2600, 2700X, etc.) on the new X570 without integrated graphics. But in addition, it is the only manufacturer that assures us compatibility with 1st generation AMD Ryzen with integrated Radeon Vega graphics, which is very interesting for mounting multimedia devices with great connectivity in storage.

On the other boards, these CPUs simply won't be supported, at least not in the BIOS versions we currently have. While it is true that it is still a fairly green platform and with things to correct and polish.

Backward compatibility available

AMD X570 boards are quite expensive, that cannot be denied, and many users are going to choose to install these new CPUs on X470 boards. Backward compatibility is a great option that AMD provides, and we can take advantage of it after updating the BIOS on certain boards.

This will not happen on all boards with all CPUs, for example a 16 core Ryzen 3950X needs a lot of power, and only the best X470 boards support such features. We have produced an article in which we leave a complete list of X470 and X370 boards and their compatibility with these new CPUs.

A platform that has not done its best yet

And so it is, despite the fact that we have enormously powerful processors with frequencies that reach almost 5 GHz in many of the models, the platform is not yet getting all the juice out of them.

A clear example is found in our reviews of the new AMD Ryzen and the frequency at which they work. A Ryzen 9 3900X is capable of reaching 4.6 GHz, although its frequency is currently limited to 4.25 GHz in the tests we have carried out. The same happens for example with the Ryzen 5 3600X, being its theoretical frequency 4.4 Ghz, we have only obtained frequencies of 4.0 GHz in its tests.

These temporary limitations placed on both the CPU and the BIOS itself also affect its overclocking capacity. You will know that all Ryzen are unlocked CPUs, but as of today (July 2019) we will not be able to manually overclock these processors. Not even put them at their maximum frequency, since we will get a nice restart and corresponding reset of the BIOS if necessary.

VRM enhanced with PowlRstage

The power capacity of the new X570 boards has also been increased to supply at least 200A of current for the CPU. In some models such as the Asus Crosshair VIII Hero, we see a count of 16 power phases, figures that the manufacturer had not reached so far for AMDs. This shows that these new 7nm FinFET CPUs need enormous voltage signal quality and also great power to power the high frequencies and high number of cores in their chiplets.

Again, here we must break a spear in favor of Asus, since after these weeks of review to boards, they are the ones that generally present a better power supply to the CPU. We refer to these, speaking of a supply of adequate voltages depending on the resources that are needed at all times. This is very important in order to squeeze the CPU to the maximum without overloading it with excessive voltages even higher than 1.5 V in some competing boards. Remember that an excessive voltage will cause throttling in the CPU sooner and a higher general temperature, having to cut the frequency prematurely.

One of the best and most stable BIOS are those of Asus, on this, and on all platforms

Much of the blame for the great quality lies with Infineon, a reference MOSFETS manufacturer in this new generation. Asus mounts three component 60A IR3555 phases on nearly all of its boards along with a DIGI + ASP 140I controller to control the voltage entering each. Asus power phases always work as a team, but all of them real and without signal duplicators such as MSI or ASRock.

The advantages that this entails are evident, lower temperature in stress and overclocking processes, and a more stable and real signal to what the CPU needs, especially in a possible overclocking. Asus accompanies these VRMs with aluminum heatsinks with an intermediate heat pipe to control temperatures in a fairly solvent way compared to CPUs like the 3900X we have tested.

RAM and storage improvements

Precisely one of the most substantial improvements has come in the storage section. Contrary to what it may seem, a current graphics card is far from overflowing the capacity of the PCIe 3.0 bus, even in 8K @ 60 FPS resolutions. We will see that the same does not happen in storage, since the limit was at 4000 MB / s with PCIe 3.0 and the new bus has come to double this capacity.

Manufacturers like AORUS with its NVMe PCIe 4.0 or Corsair with its MP600 offer speeds of 5000 MB / s and 2 TB of capacity, being the fastest M.2 SSDs on the market. The new NVMe 1.4 protocol update was recently announced to further improve speed. As we have already said, the chipset acquires a great role, since one or two of the M.2 slots are connected to it and all the SATA compatible with AMD Store MI and RAID 0, 1 and 10. It is striking that perhaps you all Asus boards have two M.2 slots instead of three, but we'll see the reason for this in the next section.

As far as RAM is concerned, the platform has finally been updated in capacity and speed. These Ryzen are now capable of supporting 128GB of Dual Channel DDR4 memory thanks to 4 DIMM slots. And the speed has increased to 4400 MHz on almost all boards and 4800 MHz for example in the Crosshair VIII Formula. Of course with absolute compatibility with XMP OC profiles and the possibility of choosing speed and voltage manually from the BIOS.

Internal and external connectivity

The reason that there is only double M.2 on Asus boards is to gain capacity on external and internal connections. We are obviously talking about USB, specifically 3.1 Gen1 and 3.1 Gen2 that work at 5 and 10 Gbps in each case. In this way we find counts of up to 8 USB 3.1 Gen2 in the I / O panel in the top range, and up to 7 USB of both generations in the lower models, which is really good. Surpassing by outrageous models of other brands in the same range, being able to see it in the Asus Crosshair VIII Hero vs X570 AORUS MASTER, or the Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming vs MSI X570 Pro Carbon.

As for internal connectivity, we have multiple USB 3.1 Gen1, Gen2 and 2.0 headers, this is common in all manufacturers. It will depend on the range of the plate to have more or less variety in this regard. Asus usually incorporates enough connectivity for pumps and fans, along with the Asus NODE connector. It is a connector designed to be compatible with most programmable embedded systems and peripherals, ideal for this type of work.

Something no less important for gaming is the sound card, where Asus always customizes the Realtek ALC1200 and ALC1220 chips to add Asus ROG SupremeFX technology. To do this, add the prefix "S" and the suffix "A" in these chips, indicating that they are their own.

The inclusion of Wi-Fi 6 and high-bandwidth LAN chip

It was time to implement the Wi-Fi 6 standard or the network that works on the IEEE 802.11ax protocol in the new generation of boards. In fact Asus was the first manufacturer to launch an AX router to the market, we are talking about the Asus AX88U that now makes much more sense with a network card working on this same standard. And the protagonist chip in practically all the boards is the Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, a CNVi card of size 2230 installed on an M.2 slot. There is another variant of the Intel oriented gaming chip, the Killer AX1650 that offers the same benefits, It gives us a 2 × 2 MU-MIMO connection that increases the bandwidth in 5 GHz up to 2404 Mb / s and in 2.4 GHz up to 574 Mb / s (AX3000), and of course Bluetooth 5.0. In this way, Wi-Fi networks evolve both in speed and in an improvement in latency for gaming, as well as to almost forget about wired networks. Of course, this bandwidth can only be used if we have a Wi-Fi 6 router, otherwise we will be working under the 802.11ac protocol, which is perfectly backward compatible.

But it's not just about Wi-Fi, as wired connectivity has also undergone a major evolution. Until recently, we only found dual network cards on top of the range boards, while now it is quite common to find at least three or 4 models with 1 and 2.5 Gbps LANs. Chips like the 1000 Mbps Intel I211-AT team up with the Realtek RTX8125 (2.5G), the Killer E3000 (2.5G) or the Aquantia 5 and 10 Gb.

What are the keys to an X570 motherboard?

We have seen what are the most important characteristics that have been reinforced in the new AMD X570 platform, and you can see that they are not few, so, by way of summary, we are going to give the keys that summarize the superiority of these plates with respect to to the X470, specifically those of Asus

• New X570 chipset with 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes and support for up to 8 USB 3.1 Gen2. Compatibility with 2nd and 3rd generation AMD Ryzen without integrated graphics, and 1st and 2nd generation with Radeon Vega. Very high quality VRM with Infineon PowlRstage MOSFETS and better voltage and intensity delivery than the competition. Support up to 128GB of RAM up to 4400MHz or 4800MHz in some cases. Multiple PCIe 4.0 x16 slots compatible with AMD CrossFire and Nvidia SLI. Extensive USB Gen2 connectivity on the I / O panel in almost all its models, outperforming its direct competition. Integration with Wi-Fi 6, with models available in both Wi-Fi and normal versions. One of the great novelties in this AMD X570 chipset. The Asus BIOS is a guarantee of stability always. Use of custom Realtek sound chips and with DAC SABER in many of its models. Wide range of models, from the cheapest X570-P to the Crosshair VIII Formula.

Most recommended Asus AMD X570 motherboard models

Without further ado, let's see which are the models that, in our opinion, and after having thoroughly tested them in our test bench, are the most recommended. We will give a little of everything, but the truth is that this platform has quite expensive plates in general.

Asus X570-P

ASUS PRIME X570-P - ATX AMD AM4 motherboard with PCIe 4.0, 12 DrMOS power stages, DDR4 4400MHz, two M.2, HDMI, SATA 6 Gb / s and USB 3.2 Gen. 2 connector

• Zcalo amd am4 - ready for 3rd and 2nd generation amd ryzen processors Optimized power solution: 8 + 4 stages power drmos, procool connectors, alloy coils, and durable capacitors for stable power delivery Leading cooling options: full fan controls and aio water pump from fan xpert 4 and our acclaimed uefiAsus optimem: memory circuit optimized to preserve signal integrity and power overclocking range Next generation connectivity: supports pcie 4.0, two m.2, usb 3.2 gen. two

165.37 EUR Buy on Amazon

We start with the most discreet model of all, a model that is quite similar to the Pro with its 8 + 4 phase power VRM, although in this case they are MOSFETS built by Vishay instead of Infineon. The good thing is that it supports memories of up to 4400 MHz, like higher models, and also AMD CrossFire.

We continue with a capacity of 2 M.2 PCIe 4.0 although it has been cut in heatsinks since these slots do not have them. In LAN connectivity, we also have only one port, and a Wi-Fi version is not available.

ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus

ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus (WI-FI) - Gaming Motherboard ATX AMD AM4 X570 with PCIe 4.0, Two M.2, 12 + 2 with Dr. Mos Power Stage, HDMI, DP, SATA 6 GB / s, USB 3.2 Gen. 2 and Aura Sync RGB lighting

• Zcalo am4 amd: compatible with 3rd and 2nd generation amd ryzen processors Optimized power solution: military grade tuf components, procool connector and digi + vrm to extend its durability Full cooling: dis ipad or vch active, dis ipad or vrm, dis ipad or m.2, hybrid fan and fan xpert 4Aura sync rgb connectors: synchronize led lighting with a wide range of compatible devices like rgbTuf gaming alliance strips: the tuf hardware ecosystem offers the most advanced compatibility and matching aesthetics

247.90 EUR Buy on Amazon

This plate is one of the ones that have given us the best feelings during our analysis. Relatively contained in price compared to what we see in this new platform and more than remarkable performance and connectivity. It is the prelude to the Strix and Crosshair, with a VRM of 12 + 2 phases of power that perfectly supports Ryzen 9 of the new generation.

Please note that the Wi-Fi version of this board works low is Wi-Fi 5 standard, and not Wi-Fi 6, and we have a single 1Gbps LAN port controlled by Realtek L8200A. We have good rear connectivity with 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 and 2 3.1 Gen2 together with a Type-C, being a very balanced board and valued by the community mainly due to the quality and durability of its components.

ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PLUS - AMD AM4 X570 ATX Gaming Motherboard with PCIe 4.0, Dual M.2, 12 + 2 Dr. Mos VRM, HDMI, DP, SATA 6Gb / s, USB 3.2 Gen 2, Aura Sync RGB, Supports Ryzen 3000 Zcalo am4 amd: compatible with 3rd and 2nd generation amd ryzen processors 219, 90 EUR

Asus ROG Strix X570-E

ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming - Gaming Motherboard AMD AM4 X570 ATX with PCIe 4.0, Aura Sync RGB led, 2.5 Gbps and Intel Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Dual M.2, SATA 6Gb / s, supports Ryzen 3000

• Zcalo am4: compatible with 3rd and 2nd generation amd ryzen processors to maximize speed and connectivity with two m.2 units, usb 3.2 generation 2 and amd storemiAura sync rgb: aura sync rgb lighting, includes rgb connectors and 2nd addressable connectors Generation Full cooling: active ipad or pch, ipad or mos with 8mm heat pipe, two m.2 coolers and one connector for water pumps 5-way optimization: automatic adjustments of the whole system with created overclocking and cooling profiles specifically for your teamAudio gaming: high-fidelity sound with supremefx s1220a, dts sound unbound and sonic studio iii to get fully into the action

329.80 EUR Buy on Amazon

From this board there are up to three different models, the F and E models are ATX size, while we also find another one in ITX format quite useful for enthusiastic range mini PC gaming. The difference between the two ATX models is quite small, and one of the main ones is network connectivity, since variant E has Wi-Fi 6 and dual LAN connectivity, while model F is more discreet in this regard with a configuration of a single RJ-45 port.

As for the VRM and expansion slots, they are exactly the same, and even in design, very little of them changes. However, we will leave the two links for which you are interested in saving you some money on model F

ASUS ROG Strix X570-F Gaming - Gaming Motherboard AMD AM4 X570 ATX with PCIe 4.0, Aura Sync RGB led, Intel Gigabit Ethernet, Dual M.2 with heatsinks, SATA 6Gb / s, USB 3.2 Gen 2, supports Ryzen 3000 297, 00 EUR Asus ROG STRIX X470-I GAMING AMD AM4 X470 mini ITX - Gaming motherboard with M.2 heatsink, Aura Sync RGB LED lighting, DDR4 3600MHz, HDMI 2.0, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, dual M.2, SATA 6Gb / s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 2 x DIMMs, max. 64GB, DDR4 2666/2400/2133 MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered; AMD Ryzen 1. Generation / AMD Ryzen with Radeon Vega graphics 239.56 EUR

Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero and Wi-Fi

ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi) - AMD X570 Gaming ATX Motherboard with PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Integrated, 2.5 Gbps LAN, USB 3.2, SATA, M.2, ASUS Node and Aura Sync RGB lighting

• Zcalo am4: compatible with 3rd and 2nd generation amd ryzen processors to maximize speed and connectivity with two m.2 units, usb 3.2 generation 2 and amd storemi Full thermal design: dis ipad or pch active, dis ipad or m.2 de aluminum and cooling zone rogHigh performance networks: wi-fi 6 (802.11ax) with mu-mimo, 2.5 gbps ehternet and gigabit ethernet with asus languard protection and gamefirst5-way optimization software functions: automatic adjustments of the whole system with overclocking and cooling profiles created specifically for your equipment Unmatched customization: aura sync rgb lighting, includes rgb connectors and 2nd generation addressable connectors

452, 90 EUR Buy on Amazon

This board is the prelude to the top Asus range, although they have quite similar characteristics, especially in both internal and external connectivity. In fact, the VRM consisting of 16 power phases is the same as the top model, although with a somewhat more basic heatsink.

It supports frequencies of 4600 MHz of RAM, and it has 3 PCIe 4.0 x16 slots and one x1, where the chipset handles one x16 and one x1. Of course we have support for 3-way CrossFire and 2-way SLI. If we go to the rear panel, we have no less than 12 USB ports, of which 8 of them are Gen2, impressive. We have two models, with and without Wi-Fi 6, but both have dual LAN connectivity of 1 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps.

ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero - AMD X570 ATX Gaming Motherboard with PCIe 4.0, Integrated 2.5 Gbps LAN, USB 3.2, SATA, M.2, ASUS Node and Aura Sync RGB lighting 416.45 EUR

Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula

ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula - AMD X570 ATX Gaming Motherboard with PCIe 4.0, Integrated Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), 5 Gbps LAN, USB 3.2, SATA, M.2, ASUS Node and Aura Sync RGB lighting

• Zcalo am4: compatible with 3rd and 2nd generation amd ryzen processors to maximize speed and connectivity with two m.2 units, usb 3.2 generation 2 and amd storemi Full thermal design: crosschill ek iii integrated, active ipad or pch, dis ipad or m.2 aluminum and rog cooling zone High performance networks: wi-fi 6 (802.11ax) with mu-mimo, 5g aquantia and intel gigabit ethernet with asus languard protection and software gamefirst v5-way optimization functions: automatic adjustments of the entire system with overclocking and cooling profiles created specifically for your equipment Unmatched customization: aura sync rgb lighting, includes rgb connectors and 2nd generation addressable connectors

579.90 EUR Buy on Amazon

We already told you that we do not have too many differences with the previous model, although in this case the VRM heatsink is prepared to connect it to a custom liquid cooling system. The voltages and stability of your BIOS are just what we can ask for in this category, something that for example should improve MSI in your Godlike.

The Hero has identical connectivity, if it weren't for the fact that the second LAN chip is now a 5Gbps Aquantia and a top-level Supreme FX sound card. A metal armor has also been installed in the rear area and an OLED screen in the EMI protector on the rear panel. Great details for what is the best Asus board.

Conclusion about Asus X570 motherboards and the most recommended models

It is never just about placing the plates that we think are better here and defining some of their specifications, what we want is for you to know what are the new features that they bring and what are the keys when choosing one. With this article we hope to have made this whole issue a little clearer, in addition to seeing the new features of the X570 and its advantages and also the details that still need to be polished, such as voltage, overclocking and other details at the firmware level.

• If you want to see the complete list of recommended boards, visit our guide to the best boards on the market. And if you want to accompany your purchase of a CPU, then visit the guide to the best processors on the market. With the best listed Ryzen models and their characteristics.

So far this little guide dedicated to Asus boards and AMD X570 chipset, if you have any questions about something specific to these boards or want advice, do not hesitate to ask us in the box below or in our Hardware Forum.