We had to have one, and well it’s with this ROG Crosshair X670E Gene from Asus that we’ll start our series of tests of the new AMD motherboards. AMD will first release the X670 and X670E chipsets and then, in October, the B650 and B650E chipsets. These new motherboards feature the new AM5 socket, DDR5 support and depending on the chipset PCIe Gen5 and/or SSD Gen5.
But let’s get back to the ROG Crosshair X670E Gene, which is in itself a small revolution, as it is the first time that Asus is offering a model from the Gene series on an AMD chipset. This series is characterized by its micro-ATX format of 244 x 244 mm. It is a model that has always been warmly welcomed by the community. Despite its small size, previous versions have always offered excellent overclocking potential !
Don’t forget that yesterday we posted an article dedicated to the performance of the Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 9 7900X, Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 5 7600X. A special thank you to Asus for giving us the opportunity to offer you this test of the ROG Crosshair X670E Gene for the end of the NDA.
[nextpage title=”ROG Crosshair X670E Gene : “]
The architecture :
This ROG Crosshair X670E Gene is built around the new X670E chipset. At the moment, we know that AMD is planning to launch several “new” chipsets in the coming weeks. In addition to the X670E chipset, we will also see X670, B650E and B650 motherboards coming out, and by the end of October, all four chipsets should be available to the general public. Here is a table that highlights the differences between these four chipsets. The B650E chipset could also be very interesting for a Ryzen 7000 configuration.
The bundle:
A quick look at the bundle of this ROG Crosshair X670 Gene to see if it benefits from special items. Overall, it’s a pretty standard bundle with the traditional SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna, stickers, motherboard manual, etc.
But a few goodies stand out with the presence of a ROG keychain, a GPU holder and the ROG True Voltician. This is an oscilloscope in USB format and is a continuation of the V-Latch that is always integrated on the motherboard PCB. The mini-USB port allows the software to be run on a separate PC.
This is a module that we already found in the Z690 APEX and Extreme bundle. It seems that this module is now present on the high-end motherboard versions of Asus.
A new socket, hello socket AM5:
After the Z690 chipset and the LGA-1700 socket, it’s AMD’s turn to make its revolution. Goodbye socket AM4, hello socket AM5. It’s time to forget the PGA(Pin Grid Array) socket in which you used to put your processor, and to welcome the LGA(Land Grid Array) socket. This socket will look like the ones that have been present on Intel motherboards for years. Why this change? Simply because of the larger number of pins on the Ryzen 7000 (1718).
AMD decided with the AM5 socket to keep a backplate already present for the AM4 socket. The 4 external holes that hold the retention system to fix your cooling system are still present. The distance between these 4 holes is identical to the AM4 socket, so you can still use your cooling system.
But AMD goes one step further and adds 4 more holes. These will be used to hold the AM5 socket in place and also to hold the backplate in place. The back plate should not be removed like on the previous generation. Finally, the locking mechanism changes. We find the reinforcement frame, the force frame and the latch. Once your Ryzen 7000 has been placed in the correct position, all you have to do is close the latch to keep it in place.
A small remark following my tests, where I removed and put back these new Ryzen 7000 several times, you should know that the grip is far from being obvious with the particular shape of the IHS. There is a risk of accidents if you are not careful with the processor which could slip out of your hand and damage the socket pins. So be careful !
The different heatsinks :
The dimensions of the board are 244 mm x 244 mm, which corresponds to the micro-ATX format. The dominant colors on the PCB are black and grey. The design is still special but on this version the PCB is still rectangular. Aesthetically, it looks quite similar to the Asus Z690 motherboards, especially the Z690 Extreme version.
Let’s start with the radiators, of which there are three! First of all, the two radiators located on the top of the motherboard and which cover the power supply stage. These two radiators are connected together by a heat pipe. The plastic cover, which covers part of the radiator and the external connectors, has a very very light RGB backlight. We are dealing here with a completely passive system.
Finally, the third one covers the chipset and has a fairly large surface area but is low in height to allow for easy placement of the graphics cards. The ROG logo can be seen on this.
Just below this is a large section of the overclocking tools on the PCB, which we will come back to on the next page.
DDR5 support :
This new X670E chipset also brings DDR5 support. Our Crosshair X670E Gene only has two memory slots due to its size. There is no question here as to which slots to use. The specifications in the Asus manual state that it is compatible with up to 6400 MT/s (OC). We should have no problems with our GSKill Trident Z5 NEO 6000 MT/s CL30 kit.
AMD, in collaboration with the manufacturers of memory modules, is now offering kits with EXPO technology. This is an alternative to the XMP profile (A-XMP at AMD). As a reminder, XMP allows, via the BIOS, to automatically activate the characteristics of your memory kit: the frequency, the timings as well as the voltage. The AMD EXPO technology will also allow you to overclock DDR5 in a single click in combination with the Ryzen 7000.
Three M.2 SSD slots and PCIe 5.0:
A black aluminium plate with a cut-out that matches the chipset perfectly covers an M.2 SSD slot of type 2242/2260/2280 PCIe 5.0 x4.
But that’s not all, as Asus has used a second generation GEN-Z slot to save space, just like the previous generation. This is the first time we have seen this new generation on a ROG motherboard.
This bracket can accommodate two different M2 2242/2260/2280/22110 SSDs. The GEN-Z.2_1 slot is wired for PCIe 5.0 x4 while the other GEN-Z.2_2 slot is wired for PCIe 4.0 x4. The heatsink that dissipates the heat from these storage drives is also changing and now uses a heat pipe with a heatsink on top to dissipate the heat.
The motherboard has a PCIe 5.0 16x slot as well as a PCI Express x16 PCIe 4.0 slot running at x1. As on the high-end Asus Z690 motherboards, there is a button called Q-Release. When a card is plugged into the first PCIe slot, pressing this button opens the retention system and releases your graphics card. This was a concern we had with the previous generation when a heat sink was too close to the first PCIe slot.
A little RGB :
Yes, there is a very slight RGB backlighting effect on the cover that covers the external connectors. The management of these is set via the in-house AURA software but it is possible to disable them, quite easily, via the BIOS if you wish.
[nextpage title=”The PCB and connectors : “]
The tools for clocking :
Why is this ROG Crosshair X670E Gene going to be one of the best cards for overclocking? First of all, because it comes with many tools inserted directly on its PCB that will make your life much easier.
- The power button: allows the motherboard to be powered on.
- The FlexKey button: by default it allows to reboot the motherboard in case of failure, but you can give it another function via the BIOS.
- Safe Boot: allows to reboot the board even if the settings chosen in the bios do not allow the boot. This avoids having to do a CMOS Clear and therefore losing your settings.
- ReTry Button: during cold tests, sometimes the OS freezes and a reset does not allow to restart the motherboard: only solution 6, 7 seconds by keeping the START button pressed. With the ReTry button, it restarts immediately.
- CLR CMOS : allows to erase the BIOS parameters during a boot failure.
- The Q-Code LED: allows to identify the component responsible for the error during the boot, but also to display the CPU temperature as well as the voltages.
- Status LED : which, depending on their color, allows you to identify a problem or to know at what level the component voltage is.
- ProbeIT: via the cables included in the bundle, you can easily read the different voltages with a multimeter
- Slow mode: allows you to boot with a coefficient of 16x and once in the OS to put back the one chosen in the bios. In cold mode, if you want to reach 6GHz in 60x100MHz, by activating the Slow Mode, you boot in 16×100 and in the OS, hop back to 60×100. It’s mostly for max screens.
- RSVD: when activated under cold conditions (-120°C), it prevents cold boot bugs.
- LN2 Mode: allows you to activate LN2 profiles in the bios.
If you have the opportunity to purchase a multimeter, it is an essential tool to accurately measure the voltage of your processor. Personally, I can’t do without it anymore and it also allows me to see the impact of the ” LoadLine calibration ” which I’ll tell you about in our overclocking tests. With this ROG Crosshair X670E Gene it’s a breeze to take readings thanks to the voltage measurement points on the PCB.
The PCB of this ROG Crosshair X670E Gene :
Our ROG Crosshair X670E Gene is based on a 16 + 2 + 2 phase power supply. The CPU part consists of 16 phases and on this model there is no doubler, but the phases are placed in parallel, so there are really 8 phases. The controller is a Digi+ ASP2205 chip.
The 16 mosfets are all 110A Vishay SIC850s. The mosfets in the power stages generate the most heat as they are responsible for the voltage conversion and delivery to the CPU from the 12 volt EPS connector.
Ultra complete connectivity:
The Crosshair X670E Gene is of course very complete. First of all, there is the Clear CMOS and the button for flashing the bios from a USB stick. One of the particularities of the card is that it has two PS/2 slots to connect a keyboard and a mouse. But why still use this type of connector in 2021 ? Simply because some benchmarks perform better under XP (Super Pi) and the use of non-USB peripherals greatly facilitates the installation of the OS.
Then there are two USB4 Type-C ports, six USB 3.2 Gen2 (5 Type-A and 1 Type-C), two USB 2.0 (Type-A), the tips for the Wi-Fi antennas, a 2.5Gb Ethernet port, an optical S/PDIF Out and the various audio outputs. Now that we’ve had a look at the AORUS X670E Master and its PCB, let’s go to the BIOS to take a look at the available settings and new features.
[nextpage title=”The BIOS : “]
As far as the BIOS is concerned, at first glance, you can tell that we are at Asus. Those who are used to the brand will find it without any difficulty. As a reminder, the tab that will interest us the most is Extreme Tweaker.
Before starting, we remind you that it is essential to regularly update your BIOS. The advantage of a ROG card is that the team of engineers and overclockers behind it is very active. To illustrate this, during the week of testing this Gene, I received no less than five different BIOS. Optimizations and fixes are made very quickly. The bios were captured with the EXPO profile enabled on our GSKill Trident Z5 NEO 6000 MT/s CL30 kit.
The LoadLine calibration is in auto mode for the comparative tests, but we’ll come back to its function when we overclock the Ryzen 9 7950X on page 6. The other sections are present since the previous generations and allow you to flash your motherboard, control the fan speed and create test profiles.
Note the arrival of a very interesting option, eCLK mode, which allows to desynchronize the CPU frequency of the PCIe. It will now be possible to push the frequency of your processor via the BCLK. Also new for an AMD motherboard, the BIOS now indicates a SP for your processor, but also for each core and for the CCDs. The SP is an indication of the overclocking potential of your processor. The higher the value, the better it should perform, for example by requiring less voltage to run. Our Ryzen 9 7950X is rated at SP 118.
We will see in the overclocking section, the most important voltages for the CPU as well as for boosting the DDR5 memory. Finally, saving profiles is highly recommended when testing. This saves time. You can also save them on a USB stick.
There is a LN2 mode, which must be activated via a jumper placed on the PCB. Be careful, this one is really dedicated to cold tests, so don’t activate it for air/water tests as some safeties will be automatically disabled. Once this is activated, there is a LN2 CPU profile.
Once we have finished our tour of the Z690 motherboards in the lab, we will be sure to test our CPUs under liquid nitrogen. Don’t hesitate to ask for advice on our forum and discord if you have any problems setting up your BIOS.
[nextpage title=”The test configuration : “]
Here is the configuration that will be used to test this ROG Crosshair X670E Gene. For the publication of these tests, I used the latest BIOS received although new versions will certainly be available in the coming days. In the coming weeks, we will also be offering several overclocking guides for your processor and memory kit.
- Motherboard: ROG Crosshair X670E Gene (BIOS 0609)
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- Memory : 32 GB GSKill Trident Z5 NEO 6000 MT/s CL30
- Graphics Card: MSI GT710
- Cooling system: Optimus waterblock + 480 mm EK radiator
- SSD: WD SN850 500GB PCIe 4.0
- Power supply: Super Flower Platinum 1600 watts
- Operating system: Windows 11 64-bit
A note that is important! We are going to talk about it because we had this problem on several X670E motherboards. Impossible for the first boot of the motherboard to arrive in the BIOS with 2 memory sticks. We had to boot the first time with only one stick otherwise impossible to access the BIOS. After this first boot, no more problems in dual channel.
A quick tour through CPU-Z to make sure everything is in order before starting our tests. The frequency and voltage are not fixed but are continuously changing. We will see in the following tests if they are well respected.
Let’s go for the overclocking of this Ryzen 9 7950X and our GSKill Trident Z5 NEO 6000 MT/s CL30 memory kit (EXPO) on this ROG Crosshair X670E Gene.
Frequencies respected ?
An important point to check is that the frequencies are respected with the processor we are using. If this is not the case, it could mean a problematic BIOS, because the frequencies of your processor must be reached. It could also be due to your cooling system if it is not efficient enough. The processor will reach too high temperatures and therefore reduce its frequencies. Let’s see what happens with our Ryzen 9 7950X under Cinebench R23 in single core and multi core. According to AMD, our 7950X should reach a frequency of 5.7 GHz on a single core.
Good news as in the Cinebench R23 single core benchmark, we can see our frequency reaching 5825 MHz on core#1. Once all the cores are used, the first 8 cores of CCD0 reach 5325 MHz and the other 8 cores of CCD1 reach 5100 MHz. Our processor is therefore perfectly operational to attack our tests with a CCD0 that performs better than the CCD1.
[nextpage title=”CPU overclocking :”]
So, considering the temperatures obtained at the original frequency under Cinebench R23, 84°C, while we are under a custom watercooling, the overclocking margin might be quite limited. At the same time, this is also good news as our Ryzen 9 7950X will offer excellent performance from the start.
Currently, to overclock our processor, we must either do it directly via the BIOS or via the AMD Ryzen Master software. It is the latter solution that we have chosen for these first tests. A quick note before we start, by default our ROG Crosshair X670E Gene offers less voltage to the 7950X (1.21v) which allows us to have lower temperatures, 84°C against 91°C on the X670E Master (1.36v) on a Cinebench R23 benchmark in multi.
Protocol :
Before starting, it is necessary to have one or more reference scores with your processors at stock frequencies, i.e. without having made any modifications other than having activated the XMP/EXPO profile. It is also very important to have a sheet of paper at hand that will allow you to note all the tests you are going to perform as well as the results or failures. Personally, I have hundreds of sheets of my tests on which I sometimes go back to find out how the processor behaved on a particular motherboard or in a particular test condition. My own little bible.
For H24 overclocking, it will of course be necessary to take more time to fine-tune the voltage in order to provide it with the minimum necessary, but also to adjust each core independently if you want to take advantage of the maximum performance.
Load-Line Calibration:
The idea of modifying the Load Line Calibration is that the voltage chosen should be as close as possible to the load voltage. Asus offers several levels of calibration and recommends a Level 5 for overclocking . Personally, we opted for a Level 7 in order to have as little vdroop as possible. Basically, I want the voltage chosen to be as close as possible to the load voltage. Here is an example of two different readings I took for testing.
The readings are taken with a multimeter on the PCB of the motherboard. It is very important to know the real voltage supplied to the different components but especially to your processor.
Ryzen 9 7950X operation:
Once again, it is via the OS that we are going to start our overclocking tests using AMD Ryzen Master. It is a tool that can be used very easily and is therefore very intuitive provided that you have a good understanding of the structure of your processor and here more particularly that of the Ryzen 9 7950X.
The Ryzen 9 7950X has two CCDs. Each CCD has a single CCX which has 8 cores. In the case of our 7950X, none of the CCX cores are disabled so that there are 8 cores per CCD and therefore 16 in total. The idea is to see how the CCDs behave when all the cores are used. We saw on page 5 that CCD0 performed better than CCD1. It will therefore be possible via Ryzen Master to try to push this one higher than the other.
Finally, you can also decide to vary the frequency of each core. The one with a star is the one that performs best of the 8 and the second best is marked with a disc. To overclock, go to profile 1 and select manual overclocking. This allows you to control either each CCX or each core independently.
Overclocking in different stages:
We will first start testing at 5000 MHz on both CCXs with a voltage in Ryzen Master of 1.15 volts, which when Cinebench R23 multi is launched is set to 1.10 volts. The idea is then to test the stability on several runs of Cinebench R23 multithread . If it’s stable, I increase the frequency by 100 MHz while rechecking the stability. If the benchmark crashes, I increase the voltage slightly in order to regain stability to run the benchmark. The objective is to get a quick idea of the maximum benchmarkable frequency.
First result with a frequency of 5400 MHz on the 16 cores for a voltage of 1.19 volts and a score of 40766. Things get more complicated after that because the CCD1 seems to be really less efficient and therefore limiting. But thanks to AMD Ryzen Master, you can overclock the CCDs independently. So we will continue to push the CCD0. In the end, we were able to benchmark at 5600/5400 MHz (CCD0/CCD1) and achieve a score of 41634 points in Cinebench R23. We also took the opportunity to quickly switch to Geekbench3 at 5550/5400 MHz.
Here is a small summary table of this first series of tests under watercooling with our Ryzen 9 7950x.
Finally, to conclude, and this is excellent news, it is possible to disable the synchronisation between the BCLK frequency and the PCIe frequency via the BIOS. It will now be possible to overclock via the BCLK frequency. We will be back very soon with more cold tests with this GENE.
[nextpage title=”Memory overclocking : “]
Well, let’s start with a theoretical reminder since there are some changes with the arrival of the ZEN 4 architecture as far as memory is concerned. While for the Ryzen 5000, the standard was to keep a 1:1:1 ratio between mclk:uclk:fclk, this will change with the Ryzen 7000. Indeed, these adopt DDR5 memory. The frequency of DDR5 memory is increasing, which means that the ratio will change. AMD now recommends for DDR5 motherboards a 1:1 ratio for the mclk:uclk and to finally leave the fclk in AUTO which will automatically set it to 2000 MHz. Theoretically, this is how it will behave:
- DDR5-4800 will give with the new ratios 2400:2400:2000 MHz (mclk:uclk:fclk)
- DDR5-5200 will work with the new ratios 2600:2600:2000 MHz (mclk:uclk:fclk)
- DDR5-6000 will work with the new ratios 3000:3000:2000 MHz (mclk:uclk:fclk)
Well, it may seem a bit complicated like that, but we’ll explain it all to you. First of all, don’t panic, if you activate your XMP or EXPO profile in the BIOS, everything will be set automatically. The explanations we give you here are for those who want to overclock their memory kit.
fclk, mclk, uclk, a little reminder:
The fclk is the frequency of the Infiny Fabric which can be, since the previous generation, controlled independently via the BIOS settings. By default, this value is set to AUTO and the motherboard will manage its frequency to ensure system stability. Its maximum frequency is around 2100/2200 MHz but it also depends on the quality of your processor, but that’s up to the lottery. The mclk, also sometimes called “memclk”, is the frequency of your memory kit and the uclk is the frequency of the memory controller.
Also be aware that if you exceed 6000 MT/s with your memory kit, automatically the memory controller (uclk) frequency will switch to a 1:2 ratio again to ensure system stability. AMD states that the best performing frequency and ratios are 3000:3000:2000 (mclk:uclk:fclk).
Let’s see what happens if we insert our Teamgroup Delta RGB 6600 MT/s CL34 kit. This is not an EXPO compatible memory kit and we will need to enable the XMP profile. We reboot the motherboard and … … impossible to boot with the XMP profile. In spite of several settings and even by opting for a uclk of half, nothing makes it. You should therefore be very careful when choosing and purchasing your memory kit. We can only advise you to opt for an EXPO compatible kit.
Memory overclocking via BIOS profiles:
This ROG Crosshair X670E Gene has several memory profiles in the BIOS depending on the type of chips in your memory kit. Here we know that on our GSKill kit, it is Hynix chips.
So there are two profiles that we can test. The first one goes through very easily and the second one needs, with our memory kit, a bit more voltage than expected. We had to increase the VDDQ voltage from 1.45 v to 1.5 v. Here are the benchmarks of these two profiles under Geekbench 3.4.4.
And finally, above, the table of the performance gain obtained thanks to these two profiles available in the BIOS.
As you can see, in the end, the two profiles offer almost the same performance. As you know, it is the memory overclocking that is the most delicate and we will see in the coming weeks how to improve on this point.
[nextpage title=”The last word : “]
A little bomb, that’s how we could qualify this ROG Crosshair X670E Gene from Asus. Once again Asus has done an excellent job and it’s a pleasure to welcome the AMD chipset for the first time on the Gene series. As we hinted in the introduction, even though we are on a micro-ATX format, this motherboard has all the makings of a great one and is ultra complete. From an overclocking point of view, all the tools are inserted on the PCB to put you in the best conditions to overclock your Ryzen 7000. Well, if we were to have one regret, we would have liked to have two BIOS.
The brand’s team of engineers and in-house overclockers have been on the warpath for several weeks now to provide BIOS patches as quickly as possible. We have received no less than six BIOSes in one week, each time with visible changes. Tools for overclockers are also already available, such as MemtweatIt for example.
The only unknown at the moment is the price, which in my opinion is likely to be quite high based on the rumors we have heard. On the Asus side, we are told that the recommended price is 669.90 euros. This price is already very high and we will have to compare it to the competition when the shops display the prices of the X670E cards.
ROG Crosshair X670E Gene:
We liked:
- A very powerful power supply
- LN2 mode for testing under liquid nitrogen
- The numerous DDR5 profiles in the BIOS to clock the memory
- The “tools” inserted on the PCB to facilitate extreme overclocking
- The reactivation of Asus to offer new bios to overclockers
- The presence of two PS/2 slots for clocking under XP
- Q-Release button to free your graphics card
- The ROG True Voltician USB oscilloscope
- The micro-ATX format and the presence of two memory slots
We would have liked :
- Two BIOS on this model
- The price ?
It’s a real coup for this little bomb and the first AMD motherboard to enter the “Gene” series. In the end, one wonders why Asus didn’t do it earlier. With this ROG Crosshair X670E Gene, you get all the tools you need to get the most out of your new Ryzen 7000 on a compact board. Asus continues to innovate with each generation and the engineering team is doing a lot of work behind the scenes to deliver new BIOS very quickly. Thanks to Asus France for providing this sample.