Inquiries regarding the Asus ROG X670E Hero Crosshair mb and whether it's a good upgrade option
Inquiries regarding the Asus ROG X670E Hero Crosshair mb and whether it's a good upgrade option
Hello, I own an Asus ROG B650E-E equipped with a 7950X. The system functions properly, but I’m considering switching to the Asus ROG X670E Hero Crosshair. You can find a comparison here: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Productco...13-119-593. I plan to install 5 m.2 drives. The B650E-E offers two 5.0 x4 m.2 slots and two 4.0 x4 m.2 slots. The second 5.0 x4 slot can switch to x8 if needed. The X670E Hero supports five m.2 drives, two 5.0x4 slots, two 4.0 x4 slots, plus a 5.0x4 add-on card. If you place the add-on card in the Crosshair’s PCIe 16 slot, it changes the main PCIe 5.0 x16 port to x8. The B650E-E has two PCIe 5.0 x16 ports (x16 or x8/x4) and one PCIe 4.0x16 slot. The X6570E Hero provides two PCIe 5.0x16 ports (x16 or x8/x4) and a single PCIe x16 slot. What distinguishes the PCIe 4.0x16 from PCIe x16? Which one is more suitable? The X670E Hero includes two USB 4 Type C rear ports. My setup currently has only a Thunderbolt header (no Thunderbolt ports available) and two USB C Gen 3 Type C ports. (20Gbps) The Crosshair features an improved audio board. The B650E-E uses a 1x24 pin main power connector plus two 8-pin +12V connectors, while the X670E Crosshair has a 1x24 pin main power connector, two 8-pin +12V connectors, and one 1X6 pin PCIe power connector. What does a 1x6 pin PCIe power connector do? Is it beneficial? The B650E-E’s VRM supports 16+2 and 70A power stages, whereas the X670E Crosshair’s VRM handles 18+2 and 110A stages. I’m running the machine for intensive tasks like 3D animation, rendering, gaming, and video editing—sometimes it runs for up to 24 hours depending on workload. Which board should I choose? Should I stick with my current B650E-E setup? It seems a good move to upgrade to the X670E Crosshair. I already have several Type C devices, including external SSDs. A major improvement would be a 10Gb LAN. If budget allows, I could afford two GPUs on a second unit. My GPU is a 3090Ti.
You can apply the same AIC to the B650E-E to obtain five M.2 slots from the same generation range. It's hard to understand the need for five M.2 drives, though. You might be misunderstanding the specifications. Both boards feature PCIe x16 physical ports and support PCIe Gen 4x4. Do you require Thunderbolt? The header is designed for a Thunderbolt AIC placement rather than a front-panel connector. This detail really doesn't impact things. If audio matters, invest in an external DAC; otherwise, it won't significantly affect performance. It's mainly about boosting power to the PCIe slots when using high-power components like the 3-way Crossfire RX 480s. Such usage is rarely worthwhile, and this board isn't an exception. The AM5 CPUs don't consume much power, and those VRMs wouldn't stand out on a Threadripper setup. The Crosshair. Yes. No. It could be improved, but it probably won’t change your experience noticeably. Instead, add a 10GbE expansion card and connect it to your existing board.
The question asks about the necessary features for your project. If you require more USB Type-C, 10Gb LAN, and an extra M.2, adding these via add-in cards could be worthwhile considering cost or practicality. For a single feature, your current board can handle it with a 10Gb LAN adapter or a USB4/Thunderbolt card. For most users or gamers, the answer would simply be no—upgrading at the same socket isn't usually justified.
Add extra M.2 slots, install a Thunderbolt card, and connect a 10G LAN.
Ensure compatibility with your current board.
Check specifications before making changes.
Test connections after installation.
Consider power and cooling upgrades if needed.
You're looking to link a Thunderbolt card with a 5th-generation M.2 drive to your current setup. This involves connecting both devices to the same hardware interface. Since you're using Macs, ensure the Thunderbolt port supports the required speed and compatibility with your NAS or router. You may need to check if your board supports Thunderbolt 4 or higher for optimal performance.
However, many believe they need a specific quantity of storage, valuing overall size over the count of devices.
I see your point, but the total comes from five drives. Three could hold 12TB, eight TB drives give you 24TB, and a fourth reaches 16TB or 32TB. Beyond that capacity you’d need an external NAS. If not all slots are filled, they’re not essential. For Thunderbolt, purchase the card, place it in the lower PCIe slot, connect the cable to the header, and you’re set. With the 10GbE adapter, install one in the second PCIe slot; this restricts your GPU to PCIe Gen 4x8, which only slightly impacts performance. You might opt for a Thunderbolt 10GbE adapter and link external SSDs via it instead. For the fifth M.2, you can’t fit both an internal 10GbE adapter and another device at once. Choosing an external USB4 adapter lets you use any of the many M.2 to PCIe adapters in the second slot.
I've already filled three m.2 drives and won't replace them all with 4TB ones. I'm using one for the operating system and main apps, another for games, a third for 3D projects, and the fourth on the board will hold a project drive for video editing or Photoshop. The fifth will serve storage or any future needs.
The bottom full-length PCI-E port features four chipset tracks, suitable for an M.2 device. However, using the third slot reduces it to eight lanes, meaning the secondary PCI-E will have just four lanes remaining. This configuration appears insufficient for a 10Gb adapter.
Because I've already filled three M.2 drives and won't replace them all, I'm keeping one for OS and main applications, another for gaming, a third for 3D projects, and the fourth on the board will serve as a project drive for video editing or Photoshop. The fifth will hold storage or any future needs. My second PCIe 4x16 slot is covered by my 3090ti. The B650E-E offers only four M.2 slots but includes USB 3 Gen 3 2x2, not 40Gbps—though it has a Thunderbolt header. The X670E Crosshair supports four M.2 slots but requires a separate 5.0 x4 M.2 card to add a fifth drive.