ASRock X870 Pro RS AMD Ryzen Socket AM5 ATX Motherboard DDR5 DIMMs 8000 MHz 256 GB PCIe Gen5 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s

I was very skeptical about this motherboard, the last time I had purchased an ASRock motherboard was over 5yrs ago & it only lasted one year. I was very surprised when I received the package, and opened the box, it was literally so beautiful, I seriously paused for a moment to just appreciate the beauty. The motherboard is put together very well, I couldn't believe it's an 8-layer PCB, has a metal back plate, and all of the PCIe lanes correctly setup for the lower price that it is verses the competition. I do understand that there have been issues with previous versions of the bios mostly with PBO settings. My motherboard came with bios 3.20, and I promptly updated to 3.25, now there is another bios version available, however I believe this is for upcoming new CPUs & I haven't yet updated my bios to the latest. I also do not use PBO, I set a multiplier & set the CPU core voltage & SoC voltage & it's been stable. I am using a 9800 X3D, set all 8 cores to 5.4 GHz, set CPU core voltage to 1.24v (it actually goes lower on its own), & SoC voltage to 1.24v (it also goes lower on its own). While I don't dismiss there could be an issue with this motherboard & it killing CPUs, I do think it is mostly due to users just plugging in the CPU and just allowing it to run at system defaults, which has shown will do in the CPU based on how good the cooling it has. The only issue I had with the motherboard is that it has to have a thumb drive formatted as Fat32, which means you need a smaller size drive to get this done. Once I got found a smaller size drive, it updated quickly and all is well. The only other downside for me is that the bios looks likes & feels like something from early 2000s, so this is also why that you are stuck to using a Fat32 formatted drive, so if ASRock wants to truly fix something, this would be a huge plus if they could fix their bios & be able to use larger size drives for updates. One last issue I had is the memory list, I have 3 different memory kits & only one is on it, however, its rock solid on the EXPO I profile, so I just mention this as a warning to make sure to look at the qualified memory list, & also this is the first time I've seen a M.2 drive support list, again make sure to go over this list to make sure you don't have compatibility issues later. Overall, I would recommend this motherboard & has been completely stable since the start & I will come back and change the review should something happen. Speaking seriously, I am about to give up on AMD due to mostly memory compatibility issues, I still have Intel systems working today & are older systems & they were stable from day one & didn't have to jump through all these hoops to just get it working, I truly hope AMD can get this sorted out soon, because at this moment I have no hope, because we are like 3yrs or more into the platform & memory issues still exist. ASRock needs to seriously work on their own software for their products. The software they have made to control the system fans, while works, it doesn't work well & also their software for the lighting control works, it's just very clumsy & strange to use. It would be great if they could get their software put together better. My Computer build: Windows 11 Pro CORSAIR 7000D AIRFLOW Full-Tower ATX PC White Case ASRock X870E NOVA WIFI AMD X870E ATX Motherboard bios v3.25 AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D overclocked to 5.4ghz all cores 1.24 volts G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 6000MT/s Model F5-6000J3040G32GX2-TZ5NR Samsung 980 Pro M.2 2280 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe (boot drive) Crucial P3 Plus M.2 2280 4TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe (game drive) Western Digital SN850X 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe (backup drive) be quiet! Silent Loop 3 420mm CPU AIO Liquid Cooler with 6 Phanteks D30-140mm fans setup in a push/pull in front of case 3 Phanteks D30 140mm set as exhaust on top of case 1 Phanteks D30 140mm reverse blade fan as rear intake fan ASRock Phantom Gaming PG-1600G 1600W 80 PLUS GOLD & Cybenetics PLATINUM Full Modular Power Supply ATX3.1 & PCIe5.1 ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 OC Edition Gaming Graphics Card Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System THX certified CORSAIR K70 RGB PRO Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard-Cherry MX RGB Red Linear Switches Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro SE Qi Wireless Charging Certified ASUS ROG Scabbard II Extended Gaming Mouse Pad Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus 32-bit 384 kHz PCI-e Interface Sound Card Samsung S90C 55” QD-OLED TV 4k UHD HDR 144hz Free sync Premium Pro (main monitor) LG OLED42C2PUA 4K evo OLED TV (2022) – (second monitor)

It seems every MB I considered had it’s detractors and I carefully considered the reviews I found on Amazon and Newegg and I read many. There seemed to be a consensus that the ASRock Phantom Gaming X870E Nova had the best bang for the buck feature wise. My experience with it is that it was relatively easy to work with, it’s well laid out, seems to be very robustly built with a sturdy back plate and has a robust power stage. The instruction manual has a lot to be desired, I’ve seen far better in the past and it took me a bit of time to figure out where everything is in the BIOS but with time and patience I figured it out. Remember to go to the ASRock website and download the Software/BIOS Setup Guide in addition to the User Manual. Remember to configure the BIOS to use the Integrated Graphics Controller from the MB prior to installing the GPU which requires the proper drivers being installed first which you download from the GPU vendor. Also ASRock can install the necessary drivers for the MB in the BIOS, Boot into the BIOS, and a notification will pop up in the lower right corner of your screen saying, "Do you want to one-step-install the latest drivers simply from ASRock Auto Driver Installer?" Select YES and it will do it as long as you have a network connection. After I installed Windows 11, the MB kept failing to boot because my BIOS was not set to by default to enable Security Device Support, the computer would go into a rapid cycle where it could try to open Windows and then reboot because it didn’t see “Security Device Support enabled”. So hit F2 go into the BIOS, click on “Advanced” scroll down to Trusted Computing and Enable it and it will boot! After this it has been smooth sailing ever since. It boots very quickly, is rock solid, it’s in use hours a day – no issues. I’m using G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB Series (AMD Expo) DDR5 RAM 64GB (2x32GB) 6000MT/s,CL30 (Remember to enable EXPO in the BIOS) Ryzen 9 processor, Asus RTX 4060, Seasonic Vertex 750 PSU, Scythe Mugen 6 Dual Fan Black Edition CPU Air Cooler – All purchased on Amazon. I would certainly buy this again now that I know a bit more about it. I hope this helped those of you struggling with the decision and may your next build be GREAT!! Art

A very well built and solid case. I am looking forward to more cases from this brand. Well painted, and solidly built. I was expecting fit and finish errors, but found NONE. The three panes of glass meet perfectly and did not require you to adjust them at all. What I like the most, a "fish tank" case that allows full ATX components without that three fans up and three fans across. Which is not needed at all in most builds. This case allows a 240mm AIO rad, but you do have to remove the front control panels (three screws is all) to place them. Very easy. Great cable routing with hold downs everywhere. Plenty of ventilation. Since this case allows it to sit right or left side, it comes with adhesive feet for the back panel. Which fell off within minutes. Luckily I have the perfect screw/nuts to mount them by drilling holes where needed. I do not consider this a downside, because there is no better options I can think of. I will eventually make some wood feet for it. That is about it, see the pics below. Good Job, a very fine case.

Update- After one a couple months and trying updates, the motherboard has gotten worse. Frequent boot up problems with various issues, ranging from unable to initialize RAM that's brand new and reliable in a different motherboard to not able to initialize the boot drive. Their lack of help and the headache of a motherboard, I'm getting a different one that will work. Worst motherboard I've owned. Initially, I had to use a separate computer and usb to download the drivers to get it to connect to wifi because it didn't auto detect at setup. Since then, the wifi adapter crashes and i have to either restart the device or uninstall and reinstall the driver to get wifi to get back. I have never had win 11 crash but with this mb, I've had 3 blue screens now. Looks like Macy's, runs like Walmart. Don't get your hopes up, save the headache, many people have had issues with drivers, just read the reviews. I wished I listened.

I have used many of the Steel Legend boards and the Pro RS boards. They are solid and work well. I have one big problem with this current generation, and that is the PCIE layout. They put the two Nvme slots on the bottom of the board, and this moves the PCIE slot up. If you are going to run a top tier graphics card that is fat, it completely blocks the second PCIE slot. My 10Gbe network card cannot be installed with my rtx4090. Really to bad, as the Pro RS, Steel Legend and Riptide all have this layout. If you need to use a PCIE slot along with a graphics card, look at the Nova.

It seems every MB I considered had it’s detractors and I carefully considered the reviews I found on Amazon and Newegg and I read many. There seemed to be a consensus that the ASRock Phantom Gaming X870E Nova had the best bang for the buck feature wise. My experience with it is that it was relatively easy to work with, it’s well laid out, seems to be very robustly built with a sturdy back plate and has a robust power stage. The instruction manual has a lot to be desired, I’ve seen far better in the past and it took me a bit of time to figure out where everything is in the BIOS but with time and patience I figured it out. Remember to go to the ASRock website and download the Software/BIOS Setup Guide in addition to the User Manual. Remember to configure the BIOS to use the Integrated Graphics Controller from the MB prior to installing the GPU which requires the proper drivers being installed first which you download from the GPU vendor. Also ASRock can install the necessary drivers for the MB in the BIOS, Boot into the BIOS, and a notification will pop up in the lower right corner of your screen saying, "Do you want to one-step-install the latest drivers simply from ASRock Auto Driver Installer?" Select YES and it will do it as long as you have a network connection. After I installed Windows 11, the MB kept failing to boot because my BIOS was not set to by default to enable Security Device Support, the computer would go into a rapid cycle where it could try to open Windows and then reboot because it didn’t see “Security Device Support enabled”. So hit F2 go into the BIOS, click on “Advanced” scroll down to Trusted Computing and Enable it and it will boot! After this it has been smooth sailing ever since. It boots very quickly, is rock solid, it’s in use hours a day – no issues. I would certainly buy this again now that I know a bit more about it. I hope this helped those of you struggling with the decision and may your next build be GREAT!!

If you are running an AMD CPU this board is great. They have had some issues with the X3D CPU's burning up but there's a new BIOS that was just released to put that problem to bed. I'm running an Ryzen 9 7950X on mine without any trouble. It does use 170 TPD and will run up to 95 degrees Celsius but I discovered that is normal for that chip. Most would throttle back but this one is designed to do that as every core runs at 5.1 mhz at the same time The big plus is you can put as many as 5 M.2 drives in it without cutting the GPU slot to 8X it remains running at 16 X. It will completely shut down the second PCIE slot. If you need that second slot just don't fill up all of the M.2 drive slots. The first M.2 slot can run the 5th generation of SSD and the first PCIE slot can run a 5th generation GPU once they start coming out. That helps to make this board future proof. It has more than enough USB ports running at different speeds including two USB C ports. It has several choices for sound including a digital output port. I don't use that, instead I have a sound card in a PCIE 1.2 slot which many boards never include anymore. It also has a 5GB ethernet port. It's easy to get set up, every connector is marked as to what it is used for. I haven't had any overheating problems and it can rum up to 256 GB of DDR 5 memory at speeds all the way up to 8000 but most don't need that kind of speed, even for gaming. It also has digital display on the board that shows any error codes. If you like lots of RGB it has plenty of options. The BIOS is functional but many say it's the boards only downfall. With the speeds this board defaults to the only thing you need to do in the BIOS is set the RAM speeds setting it to EXPO to get your RAM running at the speed it's meant to run at, set the boot order, and adjust fan speeds to keep it cool.

This motherboard is the baseplate for the computer I built and it has the connectivity that I wanted, was easy to set up and has more capacity for memory than I needed but its nice to have that overhead. It connects my speedy ram and allows for easy overclocking and undervolting. The physical silicon looks great and is at a glance durable and defect free. Pros: -One of the best full-fat motherboards for AM5 -ASRock's website for drivers/BIOS is great -Robust enough for my (minimal) overclocking Cons: -ASRock AM5 boards have gotten a reputation for not playing nice with AM5 CPUs which hangs over my head Overall, this is the nicest motherboard I've ever had and I love it.