How-tos
Month: April 2017
Motherboards
ASUS ROG Strix Z270I Gaming Motherboard Review
It was only a matter of time before we got our hands on the small, mini-ITX versions of the Z270 chipset. Our first look at these micro power houses is from ASUS, their ROG Strix Z270I Gaming. The board, even in its tiny mITX size, looks to bring you all the features and performance of the larger boards but in a package that can fit into a small form factor. Let’s take a look and see what the board has to offer!
Processors
AMD Ryzen 5 1500X and 1600X CPU Review
Coming in swiftly behind big brother we have Ryzen 5. This is AMD’s offering for the more budget-minded PC user. Today we’ll be looking at the hex-core 1600X and the quad-core 1500X. These CPUs both have the XFR technology we’ve seen from the Ryzen 7 1800X and 1700X allowing for boost speeds over their typical max. Without further adieu, on to the main show.
Motherboards
ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero Review
Today we’ll have a look at the ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero which, at this time, is ASUS’ top of the line performance board for the AM4 socket. From the early days of socket AM2/AM2+ with the introduction first ASUS Crosshair, in AMD land, the name has always been synonymous with performance. Over the years, I have had four different Crosshair motherboards and can say I have never been disappointed. Today I have my fifth Crosshair sitting in front of me and just by the look and feel of it, I can tell the quality is there.
The AMD Ryzen CPU and AM4 platform are still new and as such you should expect a few growing pains. That being said, I’m certain given a bit more time most, if not all, of the bugs will be worked out and setting up this platform will be as easy as any other. At present there are some limitations with memory timings, this is driven by AMD not the motherboard manufacturers. This will be addressed in future AGESA updates delivered with your motherboard’s BIOS.