TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
It's mind-boggling $1,200 price tag is thankfully matched by its stunning design, staggering feature set and imposing presence. This is undoubtedly one of the most impressive motherboards ever made.
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If you thought the ASUS Crosshair Hero motherboards were as extreme as it gets, the latest ultra high-end motherboard from ASUS takes things to another level. The ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial has a mind-blowing feature set and would keep any PC enthusiast busy with weeks of fun tinkering, but just as importantly, this is the first time this model has appeared on an AMD platform, highlighting just how dominant the company's CPUs are on desktop right now.
This flagship Socket AM5 motherboard won't disappoint either. Its massive EATX form factor barely has any free space, whether it's thanks to a lavish five-inch display, enormous heatsinks or extensive shrouds or unique DIMM.2 SSD expansion slots. You don't need a watercooling system to get the most out of it either as this model's VRMs are air-cooled. Obviously it's limited to a select few that can afford it, but it's always fun to dream. Let's take a look.
As its name suggests, there's only a white version of the ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial, but any white hardware fans will undoubtedly love it. Much of the PCB is covered in removable heatsinks or shrouds, hiding unsightly ports, but they can be removed to aid cable tidying with most being held in place using magnets. This includes the large cover sporting the ROG logo, which you'll likely want to remove as it covers the primary PCIe slot.
It doesn't just go back in the box, though, as it can attach magnetically to your case. The enormous M.2 heatsink above it features a heatpipe to aid cooling while an even larger one sits underneath the ROG-themed shroud below and cools two further M.2 ports. The eagled-eyed might have noticed the specifications indicate the presence of seven M.2 ports and just three of those are on the PCB, including two that are PCIe 5.0-capable.
Socket
AMD Socket AM5
Chipset
AMD X870E
CPU compatibility
AMD Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 desktop
Form factor
ATX
Memory support
DDR5-4800 to DDR5-9600 (OC), up to 256 GB
Storage
7x M.2, 4x SATA
USB (rear)
2x USB4 Type-C 40 Gbps, 4x USB 3.1 Type-C 10 Gbps, 8x USB 3.1 Type-A 10 Gbps
Display
2x DisplayPort over Type-C
Networking
Realtek 10G LAN, Wi-Fi 7
Audio
Realtek ALC4082
Price
$1200| £945 | $AU 1,949
✅ You want the most desirable AMD Ryzen motherboard ever made: The crazy specifications are matched only by the board's price tag and visual prowess and would impress any enthusiast.
❌ You haven't already maxed out the rest of your PC: This is the ultimate in PC extravagance, but a board costing 80 percent less would still handle high-end hardware perfectly fine
The other four are located in pairs on both a DIMM.2 module next to memory slots and on a PCIe expansion card. The former houses a pair of PCIe 4.0 M.2 ports while the latter has two PCIe 5.0 M.2 ports that are cooled by a single massive heatsink. Sadly, you'll need to drop your GPU's PCIe lane count to eight if you want to use the expansion card and of the two PCIe 4.0 M.2 ports on the additional DIMM.2 card, one only has two lanes.
The five inch screen is configurable in the board's software, both with preset displays offering animated graphics and system sensor data or with your own designs. It can also slide forwards to make room for rear case fans. It's one of the largest displays we've seen on a motherboard and looks absolutely stunning too. On the other side of the board is a small removable fascia that hides a magnetic mount for a memory cooling fan. It's cable-free and uses contact pins for speed and power while being tuneable in the software or EFI as normal.
Other perks of the monstr...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
PC Gamer's got your back
Our experienced team dedicates many hours to every review, to really get to the heart of what matters most to you. Find out more about how we evaluate games and hardware.
If you thought the ASUS Crosshair Hero motherboards were as extreme as it gets, the latest ultra high-end motherboard from ASUS takes things to another level. The ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial has a mind-blowing feature set and would keep any PC enthusiast busy with weeks of fun tinkering, but just as importantly, this is the first time this model has appeared on an AMD platform, highlighting just how dominant the company's CPUs are on desktop right now.
This flagship Socket AM5 motherboard won't disappoint either. Its massive EATX form factor barely has any free space, whether it's thanks to a lavish five-inch display, enormous heatsinks or extensive shrouds or unique DIMM.2 SSD expansion slots. You don't need a watercooling system to get the most out of it either as this model's VRMs are air-cooled. Obviously it's limited to a select few that can afford it, but it's always fun to dream. Let's take a look.
As its name suggests, there's only a white version of the ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial, but any white hardware fans will undoubtedly love it. Much of the PCB is covered in removable heatsinks or shrouds, hiding unsightly ports, but they can be removed to aid cable tidying with most being held in place using magnets. This includes the large cover sporting the ROG logo, which you'll likely want to remove as it covers the primary PCIe slot.
It doesn't just go back in the box, though, as it can attach magnetically to your case. The enormous M.2 heatsink above it features a heatpipe to aid cooling while an even larger one sits underneath the ROG-themed shroud below and cools two further M.2 ports. The eagled-eyed might have noticed the specifications indicate the presence of seven M.2 ports and just three of those are on the PCB, including two that are PCIe 5.0-capable.
Socket
AMD Socket AM5
Chipset
AMD X870E
CPU compatibility
AMD Ryzen 7000/8000/9000 desktop
Form factor
ATX
Memory support
DDR5-4800 to DDR5-9600 (OC), up to 256 GB
Storage
7x M.2, 4x SATA
USB (rear)
2x USB4 Type-C 40 Gbps, 4x USB 3.1 Type-C 10 Gbps, 8x USB 3.1 Type-A 10 Gbps
Display
2x DisplayPort over Type-C
Networking
Realtek 10G LAN, Wi-Fi 7
Audio
Realtek ALC4082
Price
$1200| £945 | $AU 1,949
✅ You want the most desirable AMD Ryzen motherboard ever made: The crazy specifications are matched only by the board's price tag and visual prowess and would impress any enthusiast.
❌ You haven't already maxed out the rest of your PC: This is the ultimate in PC extravagance, but a board costing 80 percent less would still handle high-end hardware perfectly fine
The other four are located in pairs on both a DIMM.2 module next to memory slots and on a PCIe expansion card. The former houses a pair of PCIe 4.0 M.2 ports while the latter has two PCIe 5.0 M.2 ports that are cooled by a single massive heatsink. Sadly, you'll need to drop your GPU's PCIe lane count to eight if you want to use the expansion card and of the two PCIe 4.0 M.2 ports on the additional DIMM.2 card, one only has two lanes.
The five inch screen is configurable in the board's software, both with preset displays offering animated graphics and system sensor data or with your own designs. It can also slide forwards to make room for rear case fans. It's one of the largest displays we've seen on a motherboard and looks absolutely stunning too. On the other side of the board is a small removable fascia that hides a magnetic mount for a memory cooling fan. It's cable-free and uses contact pins for speed and power while being tuneable in the software or EFI as normal.
Other perks of the monstr...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?