ASUS Launches Six AMD X470 Motherboards For Zen+ 2nd Gen Ryzen Family

With AMD's second-generation Ryzen CPUs set to land on April 19, we're beginning to see the inevitable flood of supporting motherboards coming from AMD's close partners. As has become tradition, ASUS has plenty of boards to choose from, right out-of-the-gate. That includes five boards from ASUS' Republic of Gaming series, and another under the TUF brand.

The flagship in this new line-up is the ROG Crosshair VII Hero, which features a second SKU that adds Wi-Fi into the mix. As the flagship, this board has all the bells and whistles, and generally speaking, it's likely to be the best suited for those with grand overclocking ambitions. The Strix takes the ROG featureset to a more affordable level, while the Strix X470-I shrinks down to an ITX form-factor.

The other boards include the Prime X470-PRO, which doesn't target gamers or anyone in particular, but is still a full-featured all-around motherboard. Those who demand the longest-lasting components and generally robust stability will want to eye the TUF X470-PLUS, a "military grade" option that targets the gamer with its "TUF GAMING" motif.

All of these motherboards have auto-overclocking features built in. On all but the TUF board, a 5-way optimization utility can be used that calibrates the fans, and tests the safe limits of your CPU through automated overclocking. The TUF board has a separate dedicated overclocker utility in its UEFI.

ASUS' ROG Crosshair VII Hero Wi-Fi

For memory, most of these boards support up to 3466 speeds officially, with the TUF board backing that down to a still very respectable 3200. Of course, speeds can go higher through overclocking, but your mileage will vary. It's also worth noting that two of these boards have Wi-Fi options, which are the VII Hero and Strix X470-I. Shared features include USB 3.1 gen2 support across the board (no pun), and at least two M.2 slots, with at least one being x4 speed.

ASUS' ROG Strix X470-I

If you want to dive into the second-gen Ryzen with ASUS' least-expensive option, that'd be the TUF X470-PLUS Gaming, priced at $159.99. The ITX form-factor Strix X470-I Gaming is priced at $209.99, while the big boy Crosshair VII Hero is priced at $279.99, or $299.99 for the board with the Wi-Fi option.