Introduction

In today’s review, we will be looking at the ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E HERO, aimed at PC gamers and enthusiasts alike. The Crosshair family serves as ASUS’s premium line for AMD motherboards, typically comprising a number of different models. Currently, ASUS has only three in production: Hero, Gene and Extreme, with more on the way. The aforementioned ROG Crosshair X670E Hero sits in the middle of the pack while still offering the newest technologies available and the build quality ASUS is known for.

AMD’s AM5 platform and Ryzen 7000 processors launched in late 2022, bringing PCIe Gen 5 and DDR5 support. Waiting that additional year after Intel improved the availability and cost of DDR5 for AMD. With these new Ryzen processors come two big changes. AMD has made the transition to LGA (Land Grid Array) for the AM5 (LGA 1718) socket. All previous desktop Ryzen processors (minus Threadripper) used the AM4 PGA (Pin Grid Array) socket. What this means for consumers is that there is no Zen 4 CPU upgrade path for AM4 based platforms. If you want these new processors, they require a brand new motherboard. The platform change also requires new memory, since the AM5 socket exclusively uses DDR5 for its system memory.

This new AM5 socket carries a host of options for connecting high speed devices that weren’t previously available to AMD customers. As mentioned, going forward, AMD Ryzen CPUs on this new platform will now support DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 5.0 and M.2 Gen 5. With 24 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes from the CPU available, motherboard manufacturers now have an opportunity to innovate and create products catered towards users with high bandwidth needs. Along with more PCIe lanes provided by the processors, are four different chipset configurations; B650, B650E, X670 and X670E. The “E” stands for Extreme, and any motherboard carrying this title will have PCIe Gen 5 support. The ones without will forgo PCIe Gen 5 support in favor of the current PCIe Gen 4 standard. Moreover, the B series, like the previous AM4 iterations, feature fewer connections for USB, M.2 and PCIe lanes, designed to be more budget friendly. The X670 and X670E use the same chipset, with two X670 chips daisy-chained together in the E variant, sharing a PCIe 4.0 x4 link to the CPU. X670E will offer the most high bandwidth lanes, storage options and external connections out of the available AM5 platform chipsets. With that, make sure to read TechPowerUp’s AMD Ryzen 7600X, 7700X, 7900X and 7950X reviews, for more in depth coverage.

The ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E HERO features robust VRM cooling with an 18+2+2 phase VRM solution using 110 A power stages for a stress-free CPU overclocking experience. BIOS flashback has also been included, as well as ASUS’s CPU overclocking tools with AI Optimized. The ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E HERO also offers great connectivity with the newest WiFi 6E technology, USB4, and four onboard M.2 slots, two of which are Gen 5 compliant! There is a lot to cover in this review, so let’s take a closer look at the ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E HERO.

Specifications