Among the eleven motherboards manufactured by ASUS based on the Intel Z370 chipset, seven belong to the elite ROG (Republic of Gamers) series. Three of this great seven are part of the STRIX subgroup, and, whatever one may say, they are somewhat simpler than the “thoroughbred” ROG Maximus X four, which includes the Apex, Code, Formula and Hero models. In turn, only overclocker Apex stands apart from this quartet, and the remaining trinity differs in the most minimal degree. Therefore, in our opinion, with today's review and testing of one of them, we will be able to kill three birds with one stone. So, meet ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero!
The LGA1151 processor socket is absolutely standard here, not counting the hole for the thermal sensor in its central zone.
Of the ten phases of the power system, eight are allocated to the processor, and each of them uses 50-amp Infineon NexFET BSG0812ND mosfets.
The Digi+ VRM ASP1400BT controller is responsible for managing the processor power.
ASUS Pro Clock (external base clock) and TPU (Turbo Processing Unit) chips help novice overclockers automatically overclock the processor and ensure synchronization of all components during overclocking.
With the power connectors on the board, everything is standard: 24- and 8-pin, soldered in the usual places.
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Four slots random access memory on ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero, they have latches on only one side and are painted in pairs in different colors. They do not have a metallized shell. Note that if only two modules are used, then they must first be installed in the second and fourth slots (gray and marked with asterisks in the captions).
All 64 gigabytes of DDR4 on the board can be filled with modules with frequencies from 2133 to 4133 MHz, and their operation at the highest frequency is not formally guaranteed, even if your modules are included in the official list and support XMP (Extreme Memory Profile).
The dual channel power system is controlled by the Digi+ ASP1103 controller.
Nearby we see the MemOK! and a Q-code indicator, and just below one of the mounting holes for attaching accessories printed on a 3D printer to the board. Another similar hole is located at the SATA ports.
In total, ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero has six PCI Express slots, three of them are x16 in design. At the same time, two such slots have a metallized SafeSlot shell, which you already know well from the tests of previous ASUS boards.
They can install two NVIDIA video cards and combine them in SLI mode or two video cards in AMD CrossFireX mode using the x8/x8 scheme. Multiplexers ASM1480 are responsible for the distribution of PCI-E lines on the board.
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Testing was carried out under the control operating system Microsoft Windows 10 Pro version 1703 (16299.19) with the following drivers installed:
- motherboard chipset Intel Chipset Drivers - 10.1.17464.8052 WHQL dated 12/12/2017;
- Intel Management Engine Interface (MEI) - 11.7.0.1058 WHQL dated 12/08/2017;
- video card drivers - GeForce 388.43 WHQL from 11/30/2017.
We tested the stability of the system during overclocking with the Prime95 stress utility version 29.3 in Small FFTs mode and other resource-intensive benchmarks, and monitoring was carried out using HWiNFO64 version 5.61-3297 and newer.
First of all, using the AIDA64 Extreme utility, we will present the characteristics of the ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero board.
We conducted the first test of the system assembled on the ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero motherboard with automatic BIOS settings, not counting disabling extra controllers and activating XMP. Here is his result.
As you can see, the processor temperatures did not exceed 70 degrees Celsius, and the core voltage, according to monitoring data, varied from 0.688 to 1.184 V. The result for automatic settings is excellent, but we still tried to configure the BIOS manually to further reduce temperatures and power consumption at load. To do this, we fixed the processor frequency at 4700 MHz by changing the multiplier, set LLC to the 5th level and gradually lowered the voltage until signs of instability began to appear. In the end, we settled on a voltage of 1.195 V.
It is noteworthy that with these settings we were not able to win back a single degree Celsius in temperature, when compared with the automatic mode. Moreover, the temperatures of the cores in the load were even a little higher - however, this is not surprising, because in the automatic mode the board managed to achieve voltages lower than we managed to.
For the first time in a motherboard test, the automatic BIOS settings for the processor and RAM were better than the manual ones. Let's hope that this was influenced by our constant criticism of the automatic settings in the reviews on 3DNews, which applied not only to ASUS boards. Let's start overclocking.
Even though we are using a new processor, when we overclocked it on the ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero board, we got old results. Having successfully passed the mark of 4900 MHz at 1.290 V, we stopped at 5000 MHz at 1.350 V and LLC 5.
The system was stable not only in Prime95, but the temperatures of the cores were already close to critical.
Perhaps, after changing the thermal interface under the processor heat spreader and air cooling to a decent liquid one, it would be possible to squeeze another 100-200 MHz at the maximum frequency, especially since the temperatures of the board itself remained at values very far from critical limits.
As for overclocking RAM on the new ASUS board, we achieved a stable 3200 MHz with the main timings of 15-17-17-35 CR2 from our GeIL Evo X GEX416GB3000C15ADC kit, whose nominal frequency is 3000 MHz. This is a standard overclocking result for such a memory, and at 3333 MHz it no longer started even with overestimated delays. Additionally, we managed to correct two minor, but noticeable timing test results: tRFC was lowered from 600 to 450, and tREFI, on the contrary, was increased to the maximum 65534.
Performance
In terms of performance new ASUS We will compare ROG Maximus X Hero with the previously tested one, on which then we achieved not only the same processor frequency during overclocking, but also exactly the same results in overclocking RAM. Interestingly, the cost of these products is almost the same, so today we actually have a comparison of two competing boards with the same overclocking. Let's see what happened.
| ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero Intel Core i7-8700K @5.0 GHz DDR4 2×8 GB GeIL Evo X GEX416GB3000C15ADC 3.2 GHz 15-17-17-35 CR2 tRFC-450 tREFI-65534 |
Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 Intel Core i7-8700K @5.0 GHz |
In memory operations, ASUS ROG Maximus X performs better, but in the same AIDA benchmark, the Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 board leads in terms of L1 and L2 cache speeds of the processor, while losing in L3 at the same time. The victory in both archivers remains with ASUS, but in the tests of rendering HWBOT and converting audio files, it is slightly faster than Gigabyte. Followed by Blender and Corona, they gave one victory to both boards, and ROG Maximus X leads in Cinebench and 3DMark, and in the last test its advantage is especially noticeable.
⇡ Conclusion
Surely you are wondering why we bypassed the answer to the question declared in the annotation to the article, why is ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero on the new Intel Z370 better than its predecessor ASUS ROG Maximus IX Hero on Intel Z270? This was not done because they forgot, and we honestly tried to find some technical advantages of the new board over the old one, but in fact they simply do not exist. Of course, we keep in mind the nominal support for processors with the Coffee Lake core, which motherboards with the Intel Z270 chipset do not have, but it is already known that this is just an artificial barrier created by Intel itself, and not some real restrictions on processor power systems. In other words, the boards Maximus X Hero and Maximus IX Hero are copies of each other, not counting the decorative elements and lighting. And in this light, one cannot fail to emphasize the not very pleasant fact of the difference in cost between them (the previous model now costs 4 thousand cheaper).
However, this is the only negative point in today's ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero test, and as it turns out, it proved to be insurmountable for motherboard manufacturers. As for the rest, we have no doubts about the competitiveness of the new board - it is very good. It has all modern interfaces, a huge power reserve for the processor power system, support for extreme overclocking modes and multiprocessor graphics technologies, the ability to work with high-frequency memory and very wide options for configuring it, high-quality sound, USB 3.1 Gen2 for the front panel of the case, backlight with the possibility of expansion and synchronization, a polished BIOS ... Yes, in general, it has everything, and it works perfectly. Plus, this is the first board that was able to automatically adjust the voltages better than we did manually.
ASUS Socket-AM4 ROG CROSSHAIR VI HERO X370 is a gaming-grade motherboard belonging to the well-known ROG line. It can form the basis of a powerful gaming computer in conjunction with AM4 processors. The board has a unique design and a whole range of advantages. Support for fast DDR4 memory, customizable AURA lighting RGB lighting that will interest modding enthusiasts, Supreme FX sound card with exclusive codec, well-thought-out cooling system (including water-cooling by design), one-click easy overclocking, support for M.2 connectors are its main advantages.
USB 3.1 ports, including type-C, high-quality components and ruggedized PCI-E slots, ESD protection are just some of the features of the board. In a separate line, we can mention the support for design elements for the board, which can be printed on a 3d printer - 3d Printing Friendly.
Small, quiet and powerful computer - the dream of any user. Slots on ATX and EATX boards are mostly empty, one or two PCI Express, two or three SATA and one M.2 are used. So why buy a big tin box, put a huge motherboard in it, if more than half of the space will be unused? That's right, no need. Under powerful systems, small-sized, but multifunctional motherboards are needed. Such as ASUS ROG Strix X470-I Gaming
Specifications
- Form factor: Mini ITX, 170 x 170mm
- Processor socket: Socket AM4
- System logic: AMD X470
- RAM: 2x DIMM, DDR4-3600 up to 32 GB
- Sound: 7.1 HD audio
- Network wired: 1 Gb Ethernet (Intel I211-AT)
- Wireless network: Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v4.2
- Expansion slots: 1x PCI-Ex16
- Storage: 4x SATA III 6Gb/s, 2x M.2
- Rear: HDMI, RJ45, 2x USB 3.1 Type-A, 4x USB 3.0, 3x 3.5mm audio jack, 1x ASUS Wi-Fi GO!
- Price: 15,000 rubles
Equipment
The box is modest in size, four times smaller than a regular cardboard box for an ATX board.A standard set of accessories was included - instructions, stickers, a cover for the rear panel, a disk with drivers, SATA cables, an antenna, a backlight connection cable. Yes, trends have already made their way into all form factors, and even if the little finger does not fit between the connectors on the textolite, then there will always be a place for a good dozen LEDs.
Appearance
A full-size gaming board shrunk down to the size of a Mini ITX looks like this:
Installation is very tight. Everything that did not fit on the main board is mounted on separate small ones one above the other. These ITX mothers are similar to power supplies - in cheap and weak series everything fits on one piece of textolite, while in expensive ones whole blocks are placed on separate printed circuit boards to save space.
It is interesting that the fee under AMD processors. Socket AM4 took up a lot of space, but near the plastic mounting supports there is enough free space for overall coolers.
All Ryzens are supported, including the 2700X with a TDP of 105 watts. It needs a powerful power converter, and it's there, right between the socket and the back panel. Only six phases, controlled by the IR3555 controller.
A large radiator is installed on the power transistors, shifted towards the rear panel, so as not to interfere with CO on the processor.
There are only two slots for RAM. The distance between the slots is enough to fit the bars with large radiators. Modules with frequencies up to DDR4-3600 inclusive are supported.
Below the DIMM slots are the connectors for the second and third USB, two of the four SATA, and the indicator pins for the front panel of the case.
To the right of the ATX24 power socket, there are four LEDs that indicate the stages of the POST. This, of course, is not a two-digit indicator, but you can understand the course of the process.
There is one PCI Express slot, with sixteen lines, for a video card. They placed it at the very edge, which is not quite a “classic” for ITX boards, but there is no other way.
Immediately behind PCIEx16 is a multi-storey structure crowned with a heatsink of one of the M.2 slots. To the right of it are two more SATA. The ROG logo on the heatsink is illuminated, power is supplied through a seven-pin connector.
Below it is a small printed circuit board, on which is mounted an M.2 connector, an audio codec and three minijacks.
The second M.2 is on the back of the board, right under the system logic.
On the "first floor" - a chipset with a small heatsink, a TPU control chip and a "multic" (I / O controller) IT8760E.
This is how you can simply and reliably place both a drive with a heatsink and a sound card on a minimal area, and do not interfere with the wiring for the chipset on the main board.
The back panel is a bit poor - six different versions of USB, HDMI and wired network, three audio card jacks and two high-frequency sockets for the Wi-Fi 802.11ac antenna and Bluetooth.
In general, a wireless network on ITX boards is much more common than on ATX. The reason for this selectivity is not very clear. Many users are willing to forego wires with a high-speed "wireless" with an external antenna that guarantees good reception in concrete boxes.
There are three four-pin connectors for fans, one of them can power a powerful consumer (a CBO pump, for example). Nearby is a four-pin block for a regular RGB tape and a three-pin block for an address one.
The UEFI BIOS menu has undergone minor reductions compared to that on full-sized ATX boards.
In the Ai Tweaker section, there are still many options for changing voltages, frequencies and timings.
The Advanced section allows you to fine-tune the operating modes of the processor, slots, and interfaces.
Temperature monitoring is available in full, as well as setting the fan speed.
The Tools section contains small, but very useful utilities for setting up the system. You can quickly find out the contents of the SPD of RAM, view the data of the video card, "remember" the settings in one of the profiles, or vice versa, load them.
In general, I liked the board. The Ryzen 7 2700X picked up without any problems and worked as part of the gaming platform together with the GTX 1080 Ti Poseidon card for a week. I did not feel any disadvantages associated with a decrease in size. You can complain about the lack of quick start, reboot and BIOS reset buttons, but such boards rarely work on open test benches, and there is no particular need for them.
Summing up
The ASUS ROG Strix X470-I Gaming is a great small motherboard for the latest AMD Ryzen processors. It is great for building both a gaming and work system in a small-sized case. It will not be difficult for the power supply system to feed the top AMD stones for Socket AM4, and the motherboard will not cause problems with installing large video cards. Everything you need for overclocking and tuning is in the BIOS, and, perhaps, the only objective drawback of the board is a small number of USB connectors, both on the rear panel and under the pads.The price is adequate - building a full-fledged motherboard in Mini ITX format using high-quality components is not cheap, and it is unlikely that other manufacturers can offer something similar in terms of functionality and dimensions for less money.
pros
- Small board dimensions
- Powerful power subsystem
- Support for the entire line of Ryzen processors
- Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth modules
- Possibility to install two M.2 drives.
- RGB backlight
- Few USB ports
We have already received several new Asus Prime series motherboards based on Intel chipset X299. But we will start our acquaintance with the new generation models with the ROG Strix series gaming board - Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming.
Completion and packaging
The Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board comes in a small black cardboard box, on which, in addition to the photo of the board itself, all its advantages are painted.
In addition to the board itself, the package includes a user manual (only for English language), DVD with software and drivers, four SATA cables (all connectors are latched, two cables have an angled connector on one side), a cover for rear panel connectors, an SLI bridge for two video cards, one thermal sensor, a cable for connecting an addressable RGB strips, a special mounting frame for vertical installation of an M.2 drive, an external antenna for the built-in Wi-Fi module, and even a few plastic ties.
Board configuration and features
A summary table of the characteristics of the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board is given below, and further in the text we will consider all its features and functionality.
| Supported processors |
Intel Core X(Skylake-X, Kaby Lake-X) |
| Processor socket | |
| Chipset | |
| Memory |
8 × DDR4 (Maximum depends on CPU) |
| Audio subsystem |
SupremeFX S1220A |
| Network Controller |
Intel I219-V |
| Expansion slots |
2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 |
| SATA connectors |
8 x SATA 6Gb/s |
| USB ports |
8 x USB 3.0 |
| Connectors on the rear panel |
1 x USB 3.1 (Type-A) |
| Internal connectors |
24-pin ATX power connector |
| Form Factor |
ATX (305x244mm) |
Form Factor
The Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board is made in a standard ATX form factor (305 × 244 mm), 9 holes are provided for its installation in the case.
Chipset and processor socket
The Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board is based on the new Intel X299 chipset and supports Intel Core-X processors (Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X) with LGA 2066 socket.
Memory
For installing DDR4 memory modules, the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board provides 8 DIMM slots. If 4-core is installed kaby processor Lake-X with a dual-channel memory controller (Core i7-7740X and Core i5-7640X models), then 4 front memory slots are used, and the maximum memory supported will be 64 GB (non-ECC Unbuffered DIMM). When using Skylake-X processors with a quad-channel memory controller, all 8 slots can be used and the maximum memory supported is 128 GB (non-ECC Unbuffered DIMM).
Expansion slots and M.2 connectors
The Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming motherboard has three PCI Express x16 slots, two PCI Express x4 slots, a PCI Express 3.0 x1 slot, and two M.2 connectors for installing graphics cards, expansion cards, and drives. .
The first and second slots (counted from the processor socket) with the PCI Express x16 form factor are based on PCIe 3.0 processor lines and are PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, that is, they can operate at x16 speed (depending on the processor used). These slots are marked on the board as PCIEX16/X8_1 and PCIEX16/X8_2.
The third slot (counted from the processor socket) with the PCI Express x16 form factor supports x8 speed and is a PCI Express 3.0 x8 slot, but in the PCI Express x16 form factor. Moreover, depending on the processor used, this slot can be implemented on the basis of PCIe 3.0 processor lines (in this case it operates in x8 mode), or it can be implemented on the basis of PCIe 3.0 chipset lines (in this case it operates in x1 mode). This slot is labeled on the PCIEX8/X1_3 board.
The operating modes of slots with the PCI Express x16 form factor depend on which processor is used.
Recall that in the Intel Core-X family there are processors with 16 PCIe 3.0 lines (these are 4-core processors of the Kaby Lake-X family), as well as with 28 and 44 PCIe 3.0 lines (Skylake-X family processors).
Let's start with the 44-lane PCIe 3.0 processor option. In this case, all three PCI Express x16 form factor slots are implemented via PCIe 3.0 processor lanes. The operation mode of PCIEX16/X8_1, PCIEX16/X8_2 and PCIEX8/X1_3 slots is as follows: x16/x16/x8. Moreover, in the case of a processor with 44 PCIe 3.0 lanes, you can use up to three video cards in CrossFire mode and two video cards in SLI mode.
In the processor variant with 28 PCIe 3.0 lanes, only two slots (PCIEX16/X8_1, PCIEX16/X8_2) are implemented via PCIe 3.0 processor lanes, and the PCIEX8/X1_3 slot switches to PCIe 3.0 chipset lanes and operates in x1 mode, while being separated from the PCI slot Express 3.0x1. The operating mode of the PCIEX16/X8_1 and PCIEX16/X8_2 slots is as follows: x16/x8. In the case of a processor with 28 PCIe 3.0 lanes, up to two video cards can be used in SLI or CrossFire mode, which are installed in the PCIEX16/X8_1 and PCIEX16/X8_2 slots.
In the processor version with 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes, again, only two slots (PCIEX16/X8_1, PCIEX16/X8_2) are implemented via PCIe 3.0 processor lanes, and the PCIEX8/X1_3 slot switches to PCIe 3.0 chipset lanes and operates in x1 mode. The operation mode of PCIEX16/X8_1 and PCIEX16/X8_2 slots is as follows: x16/- or x8/x8.
Two PCI Express x4 slots, a PCI Express 3.0 x1 slot, and both M.2 connectors are implemented via PCIe 3.0 chipset lanes. Moreover, of the two slots with the PCI Express x4 form factor, only one slot works in x4 mode and is a PCI Express 3.0 x4 slot. This slot is labeled on the PCIEX4 card. The second slot is designated PCIEX1_2 and works in x1 mode, that is, it is a PCI Express 3.0 x1 slot, but in the PCI Express x4 form factor.
The first M.2 slot (M.2_1) supports PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 2242/2260/2280 drives, while the second M.2 slot (M.2_2) is vertical and only supports PCIe 3.0 x4 2242/2260 drives /2280/22110.
SATA ports
To connect drives or optical drives, the board provides 8 SATA 6 Gb / s ports, which are implemented on the basis of a controller integrated into the Intel X299 chipset. These ports support the ability to create RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 10.
USB connectors
To connect all kinds peripherals The board provides 8 USB 3.0 ports, 3 USB 3.1 ports, and 4 USB 2.0 ports. All USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports are implemented via the chipset. 2 USB 2.0 ports and 4 USB 3.0 ports are routed to the rear panel of the board, and there are corresponding connectors on the board to connect 2 more USB 2.0 ports and 4 USB 3.0 ports.
USB 3.1 ports are implemented through ASMedia ASM3142 controllers. There are 2 such controllers on the board. One controller is connected to the chipset with 2 PCIe 3.0 lanes. Based on this controller, 2 USB 3.1 (Type-A) ports are implemented, which are brought to the back panel of the board.
Another ASMedia ASM3142 controller is connected to the Intel X299 chipset with one PCIe 3.0 line, and only one USB 3.1 port is implemented based on this controller. To connect this port, the board has a special vertical-type connector.
network interface
To connect to the network, the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board has a gigabit network interface based on the Intel i219V PHY controller.
In addition, there is also a built-in dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz) Wi-Fi module (802.11a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.2). This module has two antennas.
How it works
Recall that the Intel X299 chipset has 30 high-speed I / O ports (HSIO), which can be PCIe 3.0, USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb / s. Some of the ports are strictly fixed, but there are HSIO ports that can be configured as USB 3.0 or PCIe 3.0, SATA or PCIe 3.0. And in total there can be no more than 10 USB 3.0 ports, no more than 8 SATA ports and no more than 24 PCIe 3.0 ports.
And now let's see how all this is implemented in the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board variant.
The difficulty in this case lies in the fact that for processors with a different number of PCIe 3.0 lanes, the implementation will be slightly different. So, when using processors with 28 or 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes, the PCIEX8/X1_3 slot switches to PCIe 3.0 chipset lanes and operates in x1 mode, sharing with the PCIEX1_2 slot.
Let's start with the processor option with 44 PCIe 3.0 lanes, when all PCI Express x16 form factor slots are implemented through PCIe 3.0 processor lanes. In this case, only 40 PCIe 3.0 processor lanes are used for three PCI Express x16 slots. The PCI Express 3.0 x1 slot (PCIEX1_1) is shared with the ASMedia ASM3142 controller, based on which a vertical USB 3.1 port is implemented. The PCIEX4 slot is shared with four SATA ports (SATA#5-#8), meaning the chipset's four high-speed (HSIO) ports are configured as either SATA ports or PCIe 3.0 ports. In addition, the SATA#1 port is shared with the M.2_1 connector, which supports both SATA and PCIe devices.
As a result, all 30 HSIO ports of the chipset are used.
The block diagram of the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board in the processor variant with 44 PCIe 3.0 lanes is shown in the figure.
The 28-lane PCIe 3.0 processor option uses only 24 PCIe 3.0 processor lanes for two slots in the PCI Express x16 form factor. The PCIEX8/X1_3 slot, which operates in x1 mode and is shared with the PCIEX1_2 slot, switches to the PCIe 3.0 chipset lines. As a result, 30 HSIO ports of the chipset are used.
The block diagram of the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board in the processor variant with 28 PCIe 3.0 lanes is shown in the figure.
The case with a processor with 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes is almost the same as the previous version. The only difference is the organization of PCI Express x16 form factor slots based on PCIe 3.0 processor lines.
The block diagram of the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board in the processor variant with 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes is shown in the figure.
Additional features
This is not to say that the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board has a lot of additional features. Let's start with the fact that there is a POST code indicator and a power button.
And here are the reset buttons, BIOS reset buttons and the traditional MemOK button! not here. There are no switches on the board either. Partially, buttons and switches replace jumpers. So, there is a jumper for resetting the BIOS settings and a CPU_OV jumper, which allows you to set a higher processor voltage during its overclocking than is provided in normal mode.
Another feature is the presence of a connector for connecting a temperature sensor.
There is also a special Intel VROC Upgrade Key connector, which is a standard connector for motherboards based on the Intel X299 chipset. You can learn more about Intel VROC (Virtual RAID on CPU) technology from our article on new Asus boards based on the Intel X299 chipset.
The next feature of the board is the implementation of RGB lighting. The illumination here is minimal, the black plastic casing on the rear panel is illuminated, for which a special translucent insert is made in it.
Next to the processor socket is a decorative element in the form of a prism. This prism has a transparent window with the inscription ROG, which is also highlighted.
There are also connectors for connecting an LED strip, and there are not one, but three such connectors. Two of them are traditional four-pin (12V/R/G/B) connectors for connecting standard 5050 RGB strips with a maximum length of 3 m. Another connector is a three-pin (5V/D/G). This is an addressable or digital connector for connecting an RGB strip with up to 60 LEDs.
Other features of the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board include the presence of a connector for connecting a COM port, as well as the presence of two 3D_Mount mounting holes for attaching modding elements printed on a 3D printer.
Supply system
Like most boards, the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming model has a 24-pin power supply connector. There is also a separate 8-pin ATX 12V connector and a 4-pin ATX 12V connector.
The processor voltage regulator on the board is 8-channel and is controlled by a controller labeled Digi+ VRM ASP1405.
Cooling system
The cooling system of the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board consists of 2 radiators. One radiator is designed to remove heat from the elements of the processor voltage regulator.
Another composite radiator is designed to cool the chipset and SSD-drive installed in the horizontal M.2 slot.
In addition, to create an efficient heat dissipation system, the board provides two 4-pin connectors for connecting CPU cooler fans, two 4-pin connectors for connecting case fans, two 4-pin connectors (AIO_Pump, W_Pump) for connecting a water cooling system, a separate 4 - a connector for connecting a drive cooling fan installed in the M.2 slot, as well as a 5-pin connector for connecting a Fan Extension card, to which additional fans and thermal sensors can be connected.
Audio subsystem
The audio subsystem of the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board is based on the Realtek ALC1220 codec. All elements of the audio path are isolated at the level of PCB layers from other components of the board and allocated to a separate zone.
The rear panel of the board has 5 minijack audio connectors (3.5 mm) and 1 optical S/PDIF connector (output).
To test the output sound path intended for connecting headphones or external acoustics, we used an external Creative E-MU 0204 USB sound card in combination with the Right Mark Audio Analyzer 6.3.0 utility. Testing was conducted for stereo mode, 24-bit/44.1 kHz. According to the test results, the audio path on the Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming board received a "Very good" rating. The full report with the results of testing in the RMAA 6.3.0 program is placed on a separate page, a brief report is given below.
| Frequency response unevenness (in the range of 40 Hz - 15 kHz), dB | ||
| Noise level, dB (A) | ||
| Dynamic range, dB (A) | ||
| Harmonic distortion, % |
