ASUS Pro WS TRX50-Sage Wi-Fi:
As we said in the introduction, we’ve just received a copy of the ASUS Pro WS TRX50-Sage Wi-Fi motherboard. Currently, it’s the only board in the ASUS catalog built around this chipset.
The bundle:
A quick look at the bundle for this ASUS Pro WS TRX50-Sage Wi-Fi to see if it benefits from “special accessories”. As this is a motherboard intended for professional use, the bundle should be small and different from what we’re used to finding on consumer boards.
Finally, we find a fairly classic bundle reduced to its simplest form, with SATA cables, Q-connector and quick installation guide.
W790 architecture and chipset:
This ASUS Pro WS TRX50-Sage Wi-Fi is built around the AMD TRX50 chipset. It features a new socket with the reference sTR5. As you’ll see, the socket size is larger than what we’re used to seeing, especially with the current AM5 socket on consumer motherboards.
What’s immediately striking are the imposing radiators at the top of the motherboard. In fact, this is a common feature of the various motherboards announced by the brands for this TRX50 chipset. It therefore seems necessary to be able to dissipate the heat from the power supply stages efficiently. On the rear of the motherboard, there’s nothing special – no additional heatsinks.
The TRX50 chipset naturally supports PCIe 5.0, offering higher storage performance than the previous generation, as well as DDR5 support. Speaking of DDR5, the TRX50 chipset supports a maximum of 4 memory slots, compared with 8 for the WRX90. ASUS does not yet specify memory support on its website, but you should know that it’s not DDR5 kits as we’re used to, but DDR5 RDIMM(Registered DIMM).
The various heat sinks :
The dimensions of the board are 305 mm x 280 mm, which corresponds to the CEB format. If you acquire this motherboard, don’t forget to check that your case is compatible with this format, at the risk of having to leave it on its box.
The dominant color on the PCB is black, which contrasts with the two metallic gray radiators. ASUS has chosen to keep the color neutral. The design is rather unusual in that the memory slots are above and below the socket, whereas if you remember the ROG Zenith II Extreme TRX40, the memory slots were on the left and right of the processor.
Let’s start with the radiators, of which there are four, yes, that’s right! First of all, the two imposing radiators on either side of the socket, covering the power supply stages. The third, which joins this duo via a heatpipe, is also responsible for cooling some of the components in the power supply stage. We’ll have a better idea of the PCB construction once we’ve taken them apart.
Oh, but what a surprise, in fact, the two metal plates conceal two 40 mm fans responsible for keeping the power supply stages cool. At first glance, we might have thought the board was entirely passive, but that’s not the case at all. Personally, we think the board looks better without the metal covers.
Last but not least, the fourth one covers the chipset – more on this later in the article. The height is low, to allow easy installation of the graphics cards.
The socket and PCIe :
The space around the socket is quite limited, which is quite logical given its size and the various heat sinks that surround it. This ASUS Pro WS TRX50-Sage Wi-Fi can accommodate a maximum of four DDR5 memory modules. Unfortunately, we have no information on the specifications of these slots. What we can say is that the kit we received for testing is a 128 GB, 6400 MT/s G.SKill ZETA R5 EXPO.
There are no less than five PCIe slots: three are 5.0 16x and two are 4.0 16x. To power all this, the board has two 24-pin and four 8-pin connectors. This means you can connect up to two power supplies if required. AMD recommends a minimum power supply of 1600 watts for the Threadripper 7980X.
Some power connectors have a cover, so you don’t confuse them with the ones that need to be powered if you’re only using one power supply!
Three M.2 SSD slots:
The first M.2 SSD slot is located beneath the two PCIe 5.0 x4 ports. The other two, more difficult to locate, are actually under the radiator covering the chipset. The two M.2 5.0 x4 SSDs are 2242/2260/2280-compatible, while the third, 4.0 x4, can accommodate the 2280 format.
All M.2 SSD slots benefit from thermal pads, and all feature the quick-clamping system already present on a large part of the mainstream motherboard range.
Clocker tools :
Let’s start with the elements inserted on the PCB, which can prove to be interesting tools for overclockers. There are quite a few on this model, which is perhaps surprising on this type of motherboard. This confirms Asus’ desire to offer a professional board with overclockingtools.
- The power button: powers up the motherboard.
- FlexKEY (reset): restarts the motherboard in the event of failure. The button can now be assigned to another task, such asSafe Boot or disabling the backlight.
- Safe Boot: allows the board to be rebooted even if the parameters selected in the bios do not allow boot. This avoids having to perform a CMOS Clear to reboot and thus lose your encoded parameters.
- ReTry Button: when testing in cold conditions, sometimes the OS freezes and a reset can’t restart the motherboard: the only solution is to hold down the START button for 6 or 7 seconds. The ReTry button restarts immediately.
- LN2 jumper: enables LN2 profiles in the BIOS.
- Q-LED: 4 LEDs (CPU – DRAM – VGA – BOOT) to diagnose errors when the board is booted . The one that stays lit corresponds to the problem.
- Q-Code: displays a code corresponding to the component responsible for the boot error. This is now displayed on the OLED screen, and the list of codes can be found in the manual.
- CMOS CLR: clears BIOS settings to return to default.
- ProbeIT: allows you to measure voltages with a multimeter directly on the PCB.
- Slow Mode: allows you to boot with a coefficient of 16x, and once in the OS to reset the coefficient chosen in the bios. Mainly for max screens.
- RSVD: when activated under cold conditions (-120°C), prevents cold boot bugs.
PCB:
Our ASUS Pro WS TRX50-Sage Wi-Fi is based on an 18×2 (vcore) 3 (vdd11) 4 (vddio) 4-phase (vsoc ) power supply. This is the motherboard with the largest power supply stages we’ve ever had! The part in charge of the CPU is made up of 36 phases, but actually uses a new organization called “Teamed”. ASUS explains this choice by the possibility of offering an essential boost when the power supply has to cope with a heavy load.
The mosfets, Infineon PMC41430, in the power stages generate the most heat, as they are responsible for voltage conversion and delivery to the CPU from the 12-volt EPS connector. The board features two Digi ASP2205 controllers on the rear of the PCB for the vcore phases. These are the same controllers used on the ROG Crosshair X670E Gene. It will therefore be necessary to keep them cool by means of the imposing heat sinks fitted to this ASUS Pro WS TRX50-Sage Wi-Fi.
Connectors :
The rear panel features the following elements. First of all, the Clear CMOS and the button for flashing the BIOS from a USB key. These are indispensable tools, and are present on virtually all ASUS models.
In terms of USB ports, this ASUS Pro WS TRX50-Sage Wi-Fi has two USB 2.0, six USB 3.2 Gen 2 type A and one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 type C. There are also two Ethernet ports, one Intel 10Gb and one 2.5Gb. Finally, there are audio outputs and support for Wi-FI 7.
