The ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WIFI is positioned at the higher-end of ASUS's X870 motherboard line-up, and sports a sleek white-and-silver aesthetic that makes it perfect for white-themed AMD AM5 PC builds.

When AMD launched its Ryzen 9000 series of processors a few weeks ago, motherboards powered by the brand's new 800-series chipsets were noticeably absent - for some reason, AMD has chosen to launch its new 800-series chipsets and motherboards after its Ryzen 9000 CPUs had arrived on the shelves of retailers. As it stands, the rumoured plan is to launch motherboards with the high-end X870E and X870 chipsets on 30 September 2024, and then follow up with budget-friendlier motherboards sporting the more affordable B850 and B840 chipsets, which are rumoured to launch in early 2025.

As can be seen from the image above, the X870E and X870 chipsets offer marginal improvements over the X670E and X670 that they replace, with the key difference being mandatory USB4 support for boards that come with the X870E and X870 chipsets.

In the lead up to the official launch of X870E and X870 motherboards on 30 September 2024, we'll be taking a closer look at a X870 motherboard that is targeted at consumers who intend to build a white-themed high-end AMD AM5 PC - the ASUS ROG Strix X870-A GAMING WIFI. As its name implies, the motherboard sports the X870 chipset, and sits within the ROG Strix series of gaming-oriented motherboards at the higher-end, placing below the range-topping ROG Crosshair series, and above the TUF Gaming and PRIME series of motherboards by ASUS.

Summary of Specifications

Processor Support: AMD Ryzen 9000/8000/7000 series processors
Chipset: AMD X870
Memory: 4x DDR5 slots, max 192GB, up to DDR5 8000+ (OC) support (as of September 2024)
Audio: Realtek ALC4080 audio codec with Savitech SV3H712 amp chip
LAN: Intel 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
WIFI: MediaTek MT7925B22M WIFI 7 module with built-in Bluetooth 5.4
Expansion Slots: 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (operates at x4 mode)
Storage: 2x SATA III, 2x PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2, 2x PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 (M.2 slots support NVMe drives only)
Form Factor: ATX
Official Product Page: https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-x870-a-gaming-wifi/

Do note that PCIe 5.0 is supported only when a Ryzen 9000 or Ryzen 7000 series CPU is installed on this motherboard - Ryzen 8000 APUs only support the PCIe 4.0 standard.

Packaging & Contents

As a product from the Republic of Gamers (ROG) line-up that is targeted at consumers looking to put together a white-coloured PC build, the X870-A Gaming WIFI comes in a box that sports a grey, silver and white colourway, marking a departure from the usual black and red packaging that has come to be associated with ROG products.

The board comes with the following accessories:

• WIFI antenna
• Quick Start Guide
• ASUS WebStorage promotional leaflet
• ROG sticker sheet
• 2x SATA III cables
• 2 packs of M.2 drive rubber pads
• 1x Q-Latch attachment
• 1x Q-Slide attachment
• Cable ties
• ROG keychain

Board Aesthetics

As can be seen, the ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WIFI sports a predominantly white-and-silver aesthetic with some black components for contrast – this is one of the rare ASUS motherboards that comes with a white-coloured PCB, and I think that on the whole, the board is really good-looking. As can be seen, the board comes with an integrated I/O shield design, and has large silver heatsinks all around.

Over on the rear of the board, we see that the PCB is coloured in grey with a slew of ROG motifs that are a nice touch, in spite of the fact that most of these motifs would likely never see the light of day inside of a PC case.

The board comes with an integrated I/O shield design, where the said integrated I/O shield's cover also houses a RGB LED accent in the shape of the ROG logo.

The X870 chipset is cooled by a passive heatsink. and the board's four M.2 slots all come with full heatsink coverage to keep temperatures at bay.

VRM & Memory Support

The ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WIFI comes with 16+2+2 power stages rated for up to 90A, and sports four DDR5 slots that as of the time of writing this article, support a maximum of 192GBs of RAM and the DDR5 8000+ standard when overclocked. The RAM slots feature a single-tab design called Q-DIMM, which helps with RAM installation and removal especially for completed builds.

Front Panel USB Headers

In terms of front panel USB connectivity, we get a USB 20Gbps Type-C front panel header near the RAM slots, as well as two USB 5Gbps front panel headers that each support up to two front panel USB 5Gbps Type-A ports.

Two USB 2.0 front panel headers are also included, and they are located near the bottom edge of the board. Each of these USB 2.0 headers provide support for two front panel USB 2.0 Type-A ports.

Expansion Slots & Storage Options

In terms of expansion slots, the ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WIFI comes with a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot with SafeSlot, which reinforces the slot for use with heavy graphics cards.

The said slot also comes with PCIe Q-Release Slim, a great quality-of-life feature that is an upgrade from the vanilla Q-Release mechanism typically found on ASUS motherboards. With this feature, there is no need to release a latch or even push down on a button anymore - all one has to do is to pull the card out at a certain angle towards the slot's retention tab, and it will come free.

Moving on, ASUS has also included a full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot that operates at x4 mode near the bottom edge of the board.

In terms of storage connectivity options, the board comes with two SATA III ports, with both ports in a right-angled configuration to aid with cable management.

The board also comes with two PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slots and two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots. Do note that these slots support M.2 NVMe drives only - M.2 SATA drives will not work with any of these slots.

ASUS pulled out all the stops when it came to equipping the primary PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot with quality-of-life features - as can be seen, the said slot comes with a fancy heatsink that includes a decorative fabric pull tag, and features the new M.2 Q-Release mechanism, where simply pushing down on the latch pictured above will release the heatsink from the slot.

The slot also features a new-and-improved Q-Latch mechanism that makes the installation and removal of a M.2 drive a breeze.

And we're still not done with the quality-of-life features that the primary PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot has - ASUS has also included a new feature called Q-Slide, which comprises a plastic device that slides along a track, and snaps into place to securely hold a M.2 device of varying lengths. This removes the need to fiddle with screws and standoffs to accommodate M.2 drives of sizes other than the typical M.2 2280 form factor (e.g. 2242, 2260 etc).

Unfortunately with this board, we do get some PCIe lane bifurcation shenanigans that are absolutely worth noting, lest end-users get caught unaware. For starters, the second PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot, slot M.2_2, shares bandwidth with the primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card, where if you have a NVMe M.2 drive installed in slot M.2_2, the graphics card slot will operate at x8 mode instead of x16 mode, thereby depriving your graphics card of its full PCIe lane bandwidth.

Also, owners of Ryzen 8000 APUs should note that slot M.2_2 will be disabled entirely when such APUs are used with the ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WIFI - this is because the Ryzen 8000 series does not support the PCIe 5.0 standard.

Another point to note is that the third M.2 slot, M.2_3, shares bandwidth with the full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot that operates at x4 mode; if you have a drive installed in slot M.2_3, the PCIe 4.0 x16 slot will be disabled entirely.

All in all, these are important bits of information to bear in mind, especially if your intention is to install multiple M.2 SSDs on this board.

Audio & Internet Connectivity

For audio, ASUS has included its ROG SupremeFX audio solution, which comprises a Realtek ALC4080 audio codec, premium audio capacitors and a Savitech SV3H712 amplifier chip.

Wireless internet connectivity for this board is courtesy of MediaTek's MT7925B22M WIFI 7 module that supports 160 MHz channel widths and also serves up Bluetooth 5,4 support. Wired internet connectivity on the other hand, is powered by an Intel 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet chip.

Fan & RGB Headers

The ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WIFI comes with eight fan headers:

• 1x CPU_FAN
• 1x CPU_OPT
• 1x AIO_PUMP
• 5x CHA_FAN

For end-users intending to spruce up their PC builds with RGB bling, ASUS has included three Gen 2 addressable RGB headers for this very purpose - do note that the board does not come with any 12V RGB headers at all.

Other Features

Kicking off this section on special features is a set of Q-LEDs above the board's RAM slots that can help with troubleshooting PC start-up issues.

Near the bottom edge of the motherboard is a Start button that allows end-users to power on the PC - a handy feature to have especially for troubleshooting purposes.

We do also get thermal sensor headers that allow end-users to connect additional sensors, so as to monitor the temperature of devices within their PCs.

Next to the thermal sensor headers is a CPU Overvoltage jumper that allows end-users to set higher CPU voltages for overclocking purposes.

Also included is a PCIe mode switch that allows end-users to toggle between PCIe signal speeds that are sent from the CPU, where for instance, toggling to the first step will cap the PCIe signal from the CPU at Gen 4 speeds, and setting it to the second step will set all PCIe signals sent from the CPU to Gen 3 speeds instead. This feature is intended to improve compatibility of the board with PCIe riser cards/cables - under normal circumstances, the switch should be left on the default Auto mode.

Rear I/O

The X870-A Gaming WIFI comes with an integrated I/O shield design in white, with a ROG motif that lends some visual interest to the rear I/O area of the board. The following ports can be found on the rear I/O:

• 1x DisplayPort 1.4 (supports display output of up to 8K resolution at 30Hz)
• Clear CMOS button
• BIOS Flashback button
• 1x HDMI 2.1 port (supports display output of up to 4K resolution at 60Hz)
• 1x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port
• 5x USB 10Gbps Type-A ports
• 2x USB4 Type-C (supports DisplayPort Alternate mode with video output of up to 4K resolution at 60Hz)
• 1x USB 10Gbps Type-C port (supports Power Delivery of up to 30W)
• 4x USB 5Gbps Type-A ports
• WIFI antennae connectors
• Audio jack connectors

The BIOS Flashback feature allows end-users to update the motherboard's BIOS without needing to install a processor, RAM and graphics card.

Conclusion

The ASUS ROG STRIX X870-A GAMING WIFI comes across as a solid offering of an AMD X870 motherboard, where it's clearly targeted at end-users intending to build a white-themed AMD AM5 PC at the higher-end. The board sports PCIe 5.0 support for both a graphics card and M.2 drives, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet with built-in WIFI 7, dual USB4 ports and a plethora of USB Type-C and Type-A connectivity options, along with a handful of new quality-of-life features such as Q-Release, Q-Slide and so on.

One bugbear that I have however, is with regard to the PCIe lane bifurcation issue that was mentioned earlier on in this article, where the second PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot shares bandwidth with the primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card. To be fair, I do see such a similar lane bifurcation situation with other higher-end X870 motherboards from other brands too, which is indicative of chipset PCIe lane constraints and limitations. That said, the performance difference between running one's graphics card at PCIe 4.0 x8 mode versus PCIe 4.0 x16 mode tends to be small or even insignificant under certain usage circumstances - this is because even the modern flagship GPUs of today are rarely able to fully saturate all 16 PCIe 4.0 lanes of a graphics card slot (where as of September 2024, there are no PCIe 5.0 GPUs as yet). In any case, this is still something to take note of, especially if your intention is to use multiple M.2 drives with this board.

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The motherboard featured in this article was a review unit provided on loan from ASUS Singapore.