Asus has a new AMD motherboard to show off and this one uses the new AM5 socket. The ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme is heavily inspired by the number five, including PCIe 5.0 x16 to really pump the data to compatible graphics cards. AM5 motherboards are slowly appearing online, with a leak showcasing MSI's X670E appearing yesterday.
An exercise in future-proofing as much as a highly viable platform for a new PC build, the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme is built around an AM5 socket for Zen 4 AMD chips (that’s Ryzen 7000 for now) and along with the PCIe 5 offers DDR5 slots and five M.2 sockets.
The board appears nicely designed, with LED-spangled heatsinks covering most of the important bits - gone are the days when you could see every transistor on the motherboard. The uncovered components are are the AM5 socket, DDR 5 RAM slots and two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots. Nice touches include USB 3.2 front panel headers that support Quick Charge 4+, offering up to 60W charging from compatible USB-C ports as well as quick transfer speeds.
| Form factor | EATX |
| CPU socket | AM5 |
| RAM | DDR5 |
| PCIe | 5.0 |
| Row 4 - Cell 0 | 2 x16 Slots |
| Storage | 5 x M.2 (4 Supporting PCIe 5.0) |
| Row 6 - Cell 0 | 6 x SATAIII |
| USB | USB 4, USB 3, USB 2, USB-C |
| Row 8 - Cell 0 | USB 3 |
| Networking | Wi-Fi 6E, Marvell |
| Row 10 - Cell 0 | AQtion 10Gb, Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet, and ASUS LANGuard. |
Four of the M.2 slots operate at PCIe 5.0 x4 speeds, if you can find the SSDs to fit them. All slots get heatsinks, and there are six SATA III ports so you’ll have no excuse for not having enough storage. The board’s AniMe Matrix LED display shows custom animations, and its right-hand side features underglow lighting. Combine this with an AURA RGB header and two addressable Gen 2 headers for RGB light strips, and you’ll probably have to think about tinting your case’s glass window.
Six fan headers, and options for two high-power pumps give plenty of cooling choice, and there are sensors to monitor liquid flow. Thoughtful additions include the Q-Release button on the PCIe slot that makes removing a hefty graphics card easier, and an M.2 latch that can be tightened using just your fingers. There's a diagnostic array of LEDs too, providing useful error codes to diagnose the boot process. Audio comes via a SupremeFX 7.1 Surround Sound audio solution with integrated amplifiers, while an ESS ES9218PQ Quad DAC connects to the front panel for headset users.
There's no news yet when we can expect the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme to be available, or for what price, but with Ryzen 7000 expected in the second half of the year, that would probably be a good time for ASUS to let it off the leash. AM5 boards are also expected from the ROG, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, ProArt, and ASUS Prime families.
