ASUSROG Crosshair X870E Hero AMD X870E AM5 ATX Motherboard, Advanced AI PC Ready, 18+2+2 Power Stages, DDR5, PCIe® 5.0, 5X M.2, Wi-Fi 7, USB4®, AI Overclocking, Core Flex, PCIe Slot Q-Release Slim

Allow me to begin this review by emphasizing our company's extensive experience in building custom computers over the past 4-5 years. While this is not our sole focus, we take pride in catering to our clients' unique needs, providing them expert advice and tailored desktop solutions.We were excited when the new Generation 5 products came out. Until this build, I must admit we exclusively used Intel processors in all our builds, and we followed along with versions 12, 13, and now 14. Unfortunately, with Generation 5 versions of motherboards, the graphic cards did not upgrade to Generation 5 with their latest versions. Also, even the latest Intel processor 14 versions did not accommodate enough lanes to have a PCIe slot using Generation 5 devices while simultaneously taking advantage of the new Generation 5 NVMe’s. Considering the graphic cards were still Generation 4, if you use the number one PCIe 16 slot for any device, the SSD slot would revert to Generation 4 speed on Intel-based motherboards. You must decide between a graphics card or a Gen 5 NVMe. If you want both, your NVME will run at Gen 4 speeds regardless, on most of the Intel motherboards,Introducing the AMD-based motherboard, a game-changing solution that not only resolves current compatibility issues but also paves the way for the future. With more lanes dedicated to Generation 5 devices, this motherboard is designed to seamlessly integrate with the upcoming Generation 5 graphic cards, slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2024.On the other hand, this motherboard boasts two NVMe slots that fully utilize Generation 5 NVMe M.2s. This means you can now enjoy Generation 5 speed for your data transfers, both internally and externally, if the other device is Gen 5-based. Moreover, you can effortlessly and instantly boost your graphics speed by installing a new Gen 5 graphics card when available.While the price is not for everyone, the motherboard gives you more “bang” for your buck than any high-end Intel-based boards that cost 50-70% more. If you install one, those Intel boards will give a Gen 5 graphics card the upgraded speed. But you’ll still have an issue with your NVMe’s, as they will only operate at Gen 4 speeds, regardless of the drive's speed.We hope the next generation of Intel processors will allow more Gen 5 use, but that is yet to be seen. Right now, this is the best motherboard for a high-end desktop.

I built my system and was able to post, but it did take a little time the first boot. I was generally happy with the state of the BIOS version that shipped with the board. I was a little nervous to flash a new BIOS because my PC was mostly stable, didn't seem to really be having any memory issues, and there was that fiasco with voiding your warranty using officially released BIOS from Asus (what a joke). BUT, all that warranty stuff has been corrected and I finally decided to update the BIOS to the latest version for stability reasons.It wasn't often, but I DID notice that my system would abruptly crash and reboot (No blue screen, no warning, just like the monitor would turn off and system would reboot) randomly out of nowhere.It wasn't enough to give me concern or anything, but still I wanted to identify the issue and get it ironed out. So I finally decided to update the BIOS to the latest version (at time of review- version 1415), I made sure that all of my drivers were the latest versions from Asus's website, then installed all updates that I had for Windows 11- basically dotted all my i's and crossed all my t's.I'm happy to report that after almost a week or so I haven't experienced any crash or hiccup and everything seems to be operating stable and no issues to report.I know that there's a lot of people complaining about their Asus boards and issues they're having, but I always take these complaints with a grain of salt because I don't know how experienced these users are at building pc's, and more so- troubleshooting issues they may be experiencing or if they even bothered to update their BIOS in the first place. Some users expect a simple plug and play experience (which isn't unreasonable) but when we are talking about a BRAND NEW platform and chipset- well, as you are aware of, there are sometimes growing pains and a maturation process that just takes a little time.The quality of this board is TOP NOTCH. It has virtually every feature you could want or need (although 10gb Ethernet at this price point is not asking for too much), the BIOS are robust and take some time to find all the settings, but they're there! Lol, you can fine-tune and customize every aspect of your system.Auras Sync works great between all my peripherals and components. I mean, Idk what else to tell you. Board was a first time go. No major issues and after my first BIOS update- NO ISSUES to speak of. It looks great, it works great. That's what I paid for and I got my money's worth so far.I've owned 4 or 5 Asus motherboards, used in personal rigs and I've never had a problem with any of them. I not only recommend their products but continue to purchase them myself. It would take a lot to get me to purchase a board from another manufacturer at this point, but this is just my opinion and experience.