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Review: ASUS ROG Crosshair VII HERO (Wifi) - A Proper Mobo For 2nd Gen Ryzen
ASUS is ready for Ryzen 2000 / Zen+, this round they've released their ROG Crosshair VII HERO (Wifi), which we just have to review. Alongside the release of Ryzen 5 2600X and Ryzen 7 2700X processors, AMD prepped the X470 chipset, that offers a more fine-tuned experience for your Ryzen processor. The new Hero, however, is taking things to an entirely new level.
Read the full review here.
Review: MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC - 04/19/2018 04:07 PM
We review the MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC. With the release of Ryzen 5 2600X and Ryzen 7 2700X AMD decided to add a new chipset as well, X470 offers a more fine-tuned experience for your Ryzen processor. An...
Review: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X and 7 2700X processor - 04/19/2018 03:02 PM
It has been a long wait, but our first Zen+ review is ready and waiting, we take the Ryzen 7 2700X processor. This puppy is running at up-to 4.35 GHz and with its eight cores and sixteen threads, th...
Review: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X processor - 04/19/2018 03:01 PM
For a hundred bucks less, priced at 229 USD, you could also be interested in the six-core / twelve threads Ryzen 5 2600X. The hexa-core flagship comes with an increased base and turbo frequency runn...
Review: Unleash the Kraken X72! - 04/17/2018 09:23 AM
NZXT super-sized their Kraken series liquid coolers, meet the x72 for cases with 280 mm radiator mounts. This new cooler is compatible with CAM software. This allows you to program, customize and moni...
Review: HP EX900 500GB M.2. SSD - Intensely Fast With the new SM2263XT controller - 04/12/2018 02:33 PM
Okay, try to understand this, incredibly fast, yet cheap. The HP EX900 500GB M.2. SSD that we review today has a new Silicon Motion (SM2263XT) controller. That controller takes a chunk of your DDR4 me...
Hilbert Hagedoorn
Don Vito Corleone
Posts: 37897
Joined: 2000-02-22
Don Vito Corleone
Posts: 37897
Joined: 2000-02-22
#5539269 Posted on: 04/20/2018 09:23 AM
Very true, realistically though, how many users out there still use SLI/CFX?
And then add to that, how many users will actually install two NVME M2 storage units? For 99.9% this simply is not an issue.
M.2_2 on PCIe 3.0 x4 at cost of 2nd PCIe GPU. For many, good idea. For CF/SLI users, not so much.
Very true, realistically though, how many users out there still use SLI/CFX?
And then add to that, how many users will actually install two NVME M2 storage units? For 99.9% this simply is not an issue.
Fox2232
Senior Member
Posts: 10063
Joined: 2012-07-20
Senior Member
Posts: 10063
Joined: 2012-07-20
#5539272 Posted on: 04/20/2018 09:34 AM
Very true, realistically though, how many users out there still use SLI/CFX?
And then add to that, how many users will actually install two NVME M2 storage units? For 99.9% this simply is not an issue.
I meant it more as a choice. Someone who can afford 2x GPU is quite likely to be able to afford 2x M2 drive.
If I did not dislike ASUS's BIOSes, and it was cheaper (and without that horrid bundled CM AIO LC), I would take that board.
Intel has that Optane thingy, AMD brought to table custom alternative. We can just pick any SSD any HDD and combine it. IIRC size limit for SSD is ~500GB. That makes that 2nd slot attractive for virtual hybrid drive. (Not sure if it works in case 2nd M.2 is not on X470 chipset.)
So, for me (as single GPU user) and most of other users, this is likely good trade-off. Yet still remains to be investigated feature wise.
I do wonder if other MBs have similar setup. Getting connection schematics is not as common as I would like it to be.
Edit: To explain it more clearly:
- use of M2_2 on main PCIe 3.0 x4 connection eats up bandwidth from single GPU user to point where GPU has 3.0 x8 connection available. (no big deal)
- in case M2_2 is used with 2 GPUs, 1st has PCIe 3.0 x8, 2nd has PCIe 3.0 x4
Very true, realistically though, how many users out there still use SLI/CFX?
And then add to that, how many users will actually install two NVME M2 storage units? For 99.9% this simply is not an issue.
I meant it more as a choice. Someone who can afford 2x GPU is quite likely to be able to afford 2x M2 drive.
If I did not dislike ASUS's BIOSes, and it was cheaper (and without that horrid bundled CM AIO LC), I would take that board.
Intel has that Optane thingy, AMD brought to table custom alternative. We can just pick any SSD any HDD and combine it. IIRC size limit for SSD is ~500GB. That makes that 2nd slot attractive for virtual hybrid drive. (Not sure if it works in case 2nd M.2 is not on X470 chipset.)
So, for me (as single GPU user) and most of other users, this is likely good trade-off. Yet still remains to be investigated feature wise.
I do wonder if other MBs have similar setup. Getting connection schematics is not as common as I would like it to be.
Edit: To explain it more clearly:
- use of M2_2 on main PCIe 3.0 x4 connection eats up bandwidth from single GPU user to point where GPU has 3.0 x8 connection available. (no big deal)
- in case M2_2 is used with 2 GPUs, 1st has PCIe 3.0 x8, 2nd has PCIe 3.0 x4
Hilbert Hagedoorn
Don Vito Corleone
Posts: 37897
Joined: 2000-02-22
Don Vito Corleone
Posts: 37897
Joined: 2000-02-22
#5539273 Posted on: 04/20/2018 09:43 AM
Which is why I request them these days, and ASUS delivered.
In short, there is no other viable solution at hand, other than to link a second M2 SSD through the chipset, here it would get limited towards PCIe Gen 2.0 lanes where you get half gen3 performance, ergo this is why the motherboard manufacturers all prefer an x4 Gen 3 path directly to the processor.
But again this only applies to people using SLI in combo with a second M2 NVME SSD.
I have not noticed a forced bundle with LCS though, where is that?
Getting connection schematics is not as common as I would like it to be.
Which is why I request them these days, and ASUS delivered.
In short, there is no other viable solution at hand, other than to link a second M2 SSD through the chipset, here it would get limited towards PCIe Gen 2.0 lanes where you get half gen3 performance, ergo this is why the motherboard manufacturers all prefer an x4 Gen 3 path directly to the processor.
But again this only applies to people using SLI in combo with a second M2 NVME SSD.
I have not noticed a forced bundle with LCS though, where is that?
Fox2232
Senior Member
Posts: 10063
Joined: 2012-07-20
Senior Member
Posts: 10063
Joined: 2012-07-20
#5539274 Posted on: 04/20/2018 09:49 AM
Which is why I request them these days, and ASUS delivered.
In short, there is no other viable solution at hand, other than to link a second M2 SSD through the chipset, here it would get limited towards PCIe Gen 2.0 lanes where you get half gen3 performance, ergo this is why the motherboard manufacturers all prefer an x4 Gen 3 path directly to the processor.
But again this only applies to people using SLI in combo with a second M2 NVME SSD.
I have not noticed a forced bundle with LCS though, where is that?
All x470 MBs from ASUS comes like this on all Czech shops:
https://www.czc.cz/asus-rog-crosshair-vii-hero-amd-x470/234272/produkt
Bundled with: Coolermaster MasterLiquid ML240L RGB
That's very good for lower end and cheaper boards, but pairing it with high end is such a waste.
Which is why I request them these days, and ASUS delivered.
In short, there is no other viable solution at hand, other than to link a second M2 SSD through the chipset, here it would get limited towards PCIe Gen 2.0 lanes where you get half gen3 performance, ergo this is why the motherboard manufacturers all prefer an x4 Gen 3 path directly to the processor.
But again this only applies to people using SLI in combo with a second M2 NVME SSD.
I have not noticed a forced bundle with LCS though, where is that?
All x470 MBs from ASUS comes like this on all Czech shops:
https://www.czc.cz/asus-rog-crosshair-vii-hero-amd-x470/234272/produkt
Bundled with: Coolermaster MasterLiquid ML240L RGB
That's very good for lower end and cheaper boards, but pairing it with high end is such a waste.
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Senior Member
Posts: 10063
Joined: 2012-07-20
M.2_2 on PCIe 3.0 x4 at cost of 2nd PCIe GPU. For many, good idea. For CF/SLI users, not so much.