Asushas announced a slew of motherboards for theRyzen 9000 series processorsunder itsROG Crosshair, ROG Strix, TUF Gaming, andPrimeseries. These come with the newAsus AI Advisorthat is bundled with the other AI features of these high-performance motherboards.
There are just over ten new motherboards in the lineup, going from the top-tier ROG Crosshair X870E APEX to the more budget-friendly Prime B840M-A. Asus joins the likes of MSI, ASRock, and Gigabyte, expanding the options for AM5 motherboards.
Asus ROG Crosshair Motherboards Overview
Buy the ROG Crosshair X870E HERO on Amazon
The Crosshair family of motherboards that are designed for “overclockers and extreme gamers” includes theROG Crosshair X870E APEXand theX870E HERO, with the APEX beingthenew addition (X870E HERO is already available). Both are ATX motherboards that come withPCIe 5.0support,Wi-Fi 7, and a suite of AI features, including AI Advisor, AI Overclocking, AI Cooling II, and AI Networking II. They also come with a Dynamic OC Switcher which automatically switches between AMD’s Precision Boost Overdrive and your manual overclock based on the task.
AI Advisor is like a virtual technical expert that can not only answer questions posed in natural language but also enable certain features like AI overclocking and fan speed tuning.
Asus ROG Strix Motherboards Overview
Buy the ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WiFi on Amazon
The Strix lineup includes four new motherboards, namely theROG Strix B850-E GAMING WIFI,B850-F GAMING WIFI,B850-A GAMING WIFI, andB850-I GAMING WIFI. Except for the B850-I GAMING WIFI, which is a mini-ITX motherboard, the rest are ATX boards but all of them support PCIe 5.0 and Wi-Fi 7. They come with Asus’ AI Advisor but only the B850-E and B850-I support the other AI-based features along with AEMP, Core Flex, and Dynamix OC Switcher.
The ROG Strix motherboards are designed for “style-conscious gamers” and come withfancy RGB lightingshowing off the ROG logo. Furthermore, the B850-A motherboards come in white for those clean all-white PC builds.
Asus TUF Gaming Motherboards Overview
Buy the TUF Gaming X870-PLUS WiFi on Amazon
The TUF Gaming lineup has grown as well, with the new mATXTUF Gaming B850M-PLUS WIFI, the mATXB850M-PLUS, and the ATXB850-PLUS WIFI. Only the B850-PLUS WIFI supports Wi-Fi 7 while the B850M-PLUS WIFI supports Wi-Fi 6E. Nevertheless, they all come with PCIe 5.0 support and AI Advisor, AEMP, Asus Driver Hub, and Asus GlideX features. All three come with four DIMM slots for a maximum of 192GB of DDR5 RAM and a healthy combination of USB 20Gbps Type-C ports as well as USB 10Gbps Type-A ports.
Asus Prime Motherboards Overview
Get the Prime X870-P WiFi on Amazon
Designed for “all-round gamers”, the Prime series sees three new additions:B840-PLUS WIFI,B840M-A WIFI, andB840M-A. The B840-PLUS WIFI is an ATX board, while the rest are mATX. They feature an 8+2+1 power phase structure but neither of them comes with PCIe 5.0 support or Wi-Fi 7. Only the Prime X870-P has PCIe 5.0 but no Wi-Fi support. You do get the AI Advisor feature and AEMP but none of the other AI-based functionality.
As mentioned earlier, the Prime series is the more budget-oriented lineup of motherboards, so don’t expect premium features like heavy overclocking support or the latest connectivity standards. What they do offer is great value and ample expansion options.
Asus AMD X870E, X870, B850, B840 Motherboards: Price and Availability
Asus has not shared an exact date for the availability of these motherboards and the pricing is a mystery as well. However, they should start showing up at retailers in the first quarter with some of them arriving sooner than the rest.
The ROG Crosshair X870E HERO isavailable on Amazon for $698while the ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WiFi isavailable for $330, a $40 discount from its typical pricing.
