Overclock.net banner

ASUS ROG CROSSHAIR X870E APEX Overclocking & Discussion Thread

22 reading
240K views 3.3K replies 176 participants last post by  DvL Ax3l  
#1 · (Edited)
Link to the motherboard @ ROG CROSSHAIR X870E APEX | Gaming motherboards|ROG - Republic of Gamers|ROG Global

AMD CPUs and the legendary Apex series combine forces for the first time in the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex

Technology Silver Electronics


Back in 2017, we debuted a new series of motherboards laser-focused on giving enthusiasts an impeccable platform for record-breaking performance. Bearing the name “Apex,” these boards have shattered overclocking records generation after generation. Yet for all the trophies that this motherboard series has amassed, there’s one frontier that it has yet to cross. To date, no Apex motherboard has supported AMD CPUs. But all that is changing. Today, we’re ready to announce the all-new ROG Crosshair X870E Apex.
That’s not all. While we’re not ready to share as many details, the Apex isn’t the only new motherboard joining the ROG Crosshair X870E family in 2025. We’re currently developing the ROG Crosshair X870E Extreme, a no-holds-barred EATX motherboard that will set new standards for the series in performance, connectivity, and personalization.

Built for extreme memory overclocking
The ROG Crosshair X870E Apex is still in development, so consider this a sneak peek. The current plan is to finalize its design, put it in the hands of professional overclockers, and then release it for general availability by the end of Q1 2025. We'll keep you updated as we get closer to launch. For the latest news on the Apex and other upcoming products, as well as a friendly place to chat with other PC building enthusiasts, consider joining the ASUS PC DIY Community or the ROG Discord channel.
But even now, we’re able to pull back the curtain on many elements of the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex. If the Apex series has a calling card, it’s the memory layout. In order to reduce interference to the IMC, Apex motherboards run two DIMM slots instead of four, sacrificing raw capacity to attain record-breaking frequencies.

Electronic device Technology Silver Electronics


Given the rich history of the Apex series, we had to deck this motherboard out with the advanced features that overclockers need for exotic cooling. It features our Extreme OC kit, including LN2 Mode. The ReTry button streamlines the process of rebooting during extreme overclocking in order to achieve a successful POST, while the customizable FlexKey button provides quick access to a variety of functions. And a wealth of Probelt measurement points arms enthusiasts with the information they need about voltages.
The ROG Crosshair X870E Apex’s overclocking capabilities aren’t merely academic — it’s already proving itself as a contender in the quest for world records.

Text Font Screenshot


Professional OC-er SAFEDISK has already achieved eight Global First Place records using the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex and an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X. There’s more, and it’s sure to attract the attention of anyone with memory-sensitive workloads. We installed a particularly choice 48GB DDR5 memory kit from G.SKILL, and ran the show with an AMD Ryzen 5 8500G CPU. We were able to push the memory kit all the way up to 10,200MT/s — using air cooling.

Staying cool under pressure
Given the performance ambitions of the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex, this motherboard needs an impeccable set of cooling hardware. Tall and thick heatsinks joined with an L-shaped heatpipe absorb heat from the board’s robust power solution, and these sinks are integrated with the I/O cover to increase the surface area for heat dissipation.
A rich selection of fan headers lets you hook up a substantial cooling system in your chassis. In addition to a standard 4-pin AIO Pump header ready for convenient AIO CPU liquid coolers, you’ll find a W_PUMP+ header with the extra amperage often necessary for custom liquid cooling loops.
If you’ve dialed in an aggressive overlock for your CPU and memory, you might want some additional air movement across your memory sticks and VRM heatsinks. In the box, you’ll find an ROG Memory Fan Kit. This optional accessory attaches easily to a convenient mounting point on the board and directs a stream of air that runs parallel to your DIMMs.
Flip the Apex over, and you’ll see a key element of its arsenal of cooling technologies. Nearly the entire rear side is sheathed in metal armor, providing structural rigidity and passive cooling.

Ready for next-gen hardware
The ROG Crosshair X870E Apex’s robust toolkit for CPU and memory overclocking claims center stage, but its comprehensive support for cutting-edge graphics card and storage deserves some attention, too.
The motherboard features two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots ready for the fastest graphics cards on the market. While multi-GPU setups are a thing of the past when it comes to gaming, creators and AI enthusiasts can often take advantage of more than one graphics card for their workflows. Accordingly, the Apex’s two PCIe x16 slots can be run in an x8/x8 configuration.
The latest PCIe 5.0 SSDs offer dazzling transfer speeds, and the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex is equipped to let you take full advantage of them. Featuring not one but three PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots, this board empowers you to build a blazing-fast storage array. Our M.2 Q-Latch system allows you to install drives without fiddling with a tiny screw, and the beefy M.2 Heatsink for the primary slot offers tool-free installation, as well.
Need even more storage options? In addition to the three PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots, this motherboard offers two PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots on the bundled ROG DIMM.2 Card and four SATA 6Gbps ports.

Versatile, high-speed connectivity
WiFi 7 has arrived, and this is a bandwagon that you won’t want to miss. WiFi 7 boasts a massive speed increase over WiFi 6 along with congestion-busting tech tailor-made for today’s connected homes. The ROG Crosshair X870E Apex gives you a 2x2 WiFi 7 module, and it supports 320MHz channels to let you get the most out of the 6GHz band. The ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna makes sure you get a great connection, and we give you comprehensive support on the software side, too. AI Networking II, integrated into the Armoury Crate App, uses AI-enhanced identification and boost technology to ensure faster and smarter network optimization. The new Traffic Monitor feature tracks your current WiFi channel usage and makes it easy to switch to a less-congested channel.
The next-gen bandwidth of PCIe 5.0 connectivity allows us to deck this motherboard out with a premium selection of USB ports. Its selection is headlined by two 40Gbps USB4 ports on the rear panel. These versatile ports are your go-to choices for connecting high-speed external storage devices, high-resolution displays, and more. Eight more USB ports in a variety of speeds make it easy to connect the rest of your battlestation.
Convenient front-panel connections make for an easy everyday experience with your PC. With the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex, you’ll find a header ready to hook up a front-panel USB 20Gbps port with Quick Charge 4+ support. Ready for up to 60W fast charging, it’ll make it easy to keep your smartphone and other devices topped off while you’re using your PC.

More information to come
As we get closer to the launch of the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex and the ROG Crosshair X870E Extreme, we’ll have more information to share about their cutting-edge feature sets and support for extreme overclocking. But one thing is sure: these boards will stand out from the competition as premium picks for your AMD Ryzen 9000 Series CPU. Currently, we plan to release these boards by the end of the first quarter of 2025. Stay in touch with us here and on social media for further updates.
For more information on the pricing and availability of the ROG Crosshair X870E Apex in your region, please contact your local ROG representative.

 
#47 ·
While I want this board, does it make sense for CCD based CPUs? 8000 - 8400 really does not pick up much steam at all. The board can easily support 9000 M/Ts, but the CPUs don't and even if you tune 8400-8600 you get very marginal throughput, etc. So, cool, yes, but other than an APU based CPU for OC records, is there even a point to this board?
 
#49 · (Edited)
Most of what we (overclockers) do is pointless. We do it for pleasure, because we can and because we want to. It is not because it makes the world a better place. We can apply that same argument to all hobbies. Gaming, cars, motorcycles woodworking, etc. The value is the pleasure one derives from doing it more than anything else. In the end it's all gonna burn.
 
#50 ·
For sure. I have a 1000 hp bmw i totally get overkill. But if a car makes 600 HP at 28 psi, and 615 HP at 38 psi... It's like... Well, why bother? Temperature is going to be higher and more on the ragged edge. That's the issue with AM5 and memory speeds like yes we know we're chasing the last 1% but AM5 hits the wall hard on memory bandwidth compared to RPL or ARL while sure a 1 dpc motherboard can improve situations be it voltage or timings, at least on the other platforms going from 7200 to 8600 was a huge improvement and worth it (to people like us) to grab an Apex.

I've had the z790 and have z890 Apex I only wish the Dimm circuitry was the issue with AM5 memory scaling.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: MrFox
#54 ·
Using more than 1 m.2 on board will handicap PCIe to 8x though iirc.
 
#56 · (Edited)
Did you use USB type-c ports for IGPU ?
No, i mean IGPU as inside the raphael cpu
I remembered wrong, it was on the X870E HERO i used IGPU connected through the HDMI port on the motherboard
Still same BCLK limit applies

Since it is placed very close to dimm slots, I wonder if using any m2 with ROG DIMM effects memory overclocking ? or you made all your tests with an m2 installed on ROG DIMM andd you dont know what happens if you dont use it?:)
On the GENE i always used 1x m.2 slot on motherboard and 2x m.2 slots on ROG DIMM, so cant really tell anything about before/after.
Can only say that i had no issues running that setup, and i expects the same with APEX
 
#57 ·
I remembered wrong, it was on the X870E HERO i used IGPU connected through the HDMI port on the motherboard
Still same BCLK limit applies
Oh ok i got.
But i am still not sure why apex boards chose not to include hdmi/display port. does it have any effect on signal integrity. interesting, that is a topic i have no idea about.

On the GENE i always used 1x m.2 slot on motherboard and 2x m.2 slots on ROG DIMM, so cant really tell anything about before/after.
Can only say that i had no issues running that setup, and i expects the same with APEX
Thank you nice explanation, but when i get my hands on the apex, looks like that will be one of the first things i am going to find out :)
 
#58 ·
Ehehhe. I have the gene and thinking about the apex too but let’s see. Price will tell
 
  • Rep+
Reactions: MrFox
#66 ·
No more doubt ...

In my mind fclk was fixed and immovable :p 2200 set and forget.

So my limit on bclk was 100,12 because my CPU can not handle more than 2202.64 fclk.
Yes very likely
But if you lower FCLK and allow BCLK to increase it as long as you lower FCLK enough to stay at or below 2202 that should work, shouldn't it? The nice thing about FCLK being adjustable is you would not have your FCLK limit necessarily limit your BCLK. Unless I am seeing something incorrectly.
 
#67 ·
Yeah, that is my understanding too. For example, I'll want to keep my 2200 fclk ... with blck would be 2200/21,66=101.56

If my other **** can do 101,56 (M.2, Video), I would have an UCLK 20x101,56=2031 - MCLK 4062 - RAM speed 8124 Mt/s

CPU would increase also, so I'll have to lower CO as well, probably boost clock ...
 
  • Rep+
Reactions: MrFox
#68 · (Edited)
One of the main reasons having a separate BCLK generator is beneficial so you can push the CPU core clock beyond the silly fused core ratio limit without causing everything else to become unstable in the process. If there wasn't a fused limit capped below an attainable clock speed the value of having it would not be as great. 5750+200 (CCD0) and 5450+200 (CCD1) are not really all that impressive. Not sure why that is set so low. Too bad there is not an XOC override for that.

Question for Brother @domdtxdissar about the Apex. Is it the first AM5 motherboard that has dual BIOS? Is that accurate? I have previously searched for (and disappointed that I never found) an AM5 motherboard with dual BIOS. I see it listed in the specs ROG CROSSHAIR X870E APEX | Gaming motherboards|ROG - Republic of Gamers|ROG Global

White Font
 
#71 ·
Has anyone heard anything about this issue on the Apex? I did not find anything in a Google search and the person stating this did not provide a point of reference or link.
Text Screenshot Font Number Web page
 
#73 ·
#74 · (Edited)
@MrFox

I think that post is in reference to ASUS PCIe Slot Q-Release Slim.
also @MrFox

Thanks, guys. I just found this as well: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...rds/asus-q-release-slim-feature-is-reportedly-damaging-some-gpu-pcie-connectors

Definitely not ideal. I wouldn't call it "breaking" GPUs as I saw being said but, best case scenario, causing physical damage like that is undesirable and unaesthetic. If a person took their GPU in and out of the slot on a frequent basis it could hurt the resale value of the GPU or void its warranty with the GPU manufacturer having it all scratched up like that courtesy of A$$zeus. What would be humorous is if the motherboard and GPU are both made by ASUS and they end up having to foot the bill for replacing both under warranty. My 4090s will be out of warranty long before any surface scratches on the PCB ever matter. It's good that the contact fingers are not being affected by that ridiculous retention mechanism the clowns at ASUS decided to make. Things like that are truly worthy of severe punitive legal action. It's sad how all of the big names in tech act first, think later and just don't care. I'm starting to grow numb to how we are getting screwed over at every turn. AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, ASRock... all of them. All shady and greed-driven self-centered entities that ultimately don't really care about the quality of their products, the people hired to make them or the people that purchase them. The joke is on us for thinking anything different.
 
#75 ·
@MrFox

I can agree with your sentiment.

AM5 hadn't excited me enough to get until 9800X3D came out with flipped CCD stack. Then seeing flat clocks across all cores in W1zzrd's review link. I was like get AM5, wanna try one of these. I started scouting for AM5 boards.

I was somewhat disappointed by Crosshair X870E Hero. It lacked the Probe-It points for convenient DMM usage, which all Hero's on AM4 back to VI had. I thought ok, PCB is busier, it's been knocked off and I used that feature at times, but not a deal breaker.

Then I noted the "water cooling zone" had disappeared also. This was more disappointing, on past ASUS boards I've used the T-Sensor for say air temperature, then the water in/out T-Sensors on loop where say water has exited all rads and components, to see if there is variance on water temp (noted it occurs at times, depends what kit in use, etc), then I like the tachometer connection also. As I log all this data in HWINFO to reference later. Yeah could go Aqua Computer/Suite, but water cooling zone had all I wanted, so saw it as a plus on ASUS boards with it.

Then when I saw how PCIe Slot Q-Release Slim was, I was like come on must cause some damage on PCI-E fingers of GPU on repeated use. I may not swap around GPU as many times as say DIMMs, but GPU is expensive item to damage.

This lead me to buy the X670E Hero, as it still had water cooling zone and PCIe Slot Q-Release used cable/button to release GPU.

APEX is interesting me, nice to see Probe-It points are back, but no water cooling zone and the PCIe Slot Q-Release Slim is off putting to me. I can see APEX for XOC is pinnacle, but I'm not that kind of a user.
 
#78 ·
I think I read they are fixing the GPU quick release on Asus boards with newer versions.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: MrFox
#81 ·
Could someone on here please tell me when we think the X870E Apex will become available for purchase in the US? I want one..lol. I currently have the x870e Hero.

thank you
Early March is the rumor,.. same as the X870E Extreme. Seems like a long wait, but now seeing AMD has confirmed Zen 6 Medusa will be AM5 socket,... I plan on upgrading my X670E Gene to the X870E Apex.

View attachment 2695316
I am hoping to snag one as well, but in addition to the Gene rather than a replacement for it.

I am not seeing any point to buying an X3D unless a 9950X3D overclocks better than a 9950X. I care more about higher overclocked benchmark scores than I do getting a few more FPS in games where I don't need any more game FPS.
 
#83 ·
I really love it if they released one with 12 cores per CCD, dual CCD, for a total of 24C/48T.
 
#84 ·
by the time we get the zen 6, i guess a new apex is released :) if you want to buy the apex for future proof for zen 6 i would say to wait though ... :) lessons learned on this first version of Apex will pass to the newer ones when zen6 comes.
 
#87 ·
I'll take my chances with the first ever AMD Apex,.. ;)

View attachment 2695444
Yup, me as well. I might change my mind if the price is so absurdly high that the value in owning one can no longer be identified. But, I definitely want one and will buy one if the price is in line with what we saw for the Z790 Apex. We will have to wait and see how much personal lubricant A$$zeus expects us to apply to know if it makes sense. If they pull an Astral "Asstroll" move on us, I might have to say no to the nonsense.
 
#85 ·
Yeah, matter of time before they launch Apex Encore X870E (or X970E, by that time).

Tbf, first Apex releases have been poopy most of the time.
 
#91 ·
I think for a long time on Ryzen it has always been CPU IMC which is limiting factor.

I initially started my Ryzen journey on Crosshair VI Hero WiFi back at launch in 2017. A lot thought the board may be limiting factor, it had T-Topology. As platform developed and later CPU series came out it was evident the board was not a limitation.

I got given the Crosshair VII Hero WiFi by ASUS as was 1 of 3 top posters in C6H thread. The C7H had daisy chain topology, favouring 2 DIMMs vs T on C6H which favours 4 DIMMs.

1000 series was poorer for RAM compatibility, Samsung B die was way to get best from it. 2000 series got the RAM MT/s a bit higher, but again Samsung B die was way to roll. It was only when 3000 series came out did some what it become other RAM IC were also reasonable also. Again 3000 series got some gains on MT/s. 5000 series was pretty much the same, but by then platform as a whole had vastly developed.

People were saying the C6H would die from FW support, when C6E and other later boards came out, It hasn't. It isn't getting as many or as quick FW rollout as when new, but it's not getting gimped from what I see.

Then also the C6H isn't lagging behind later AM4 boards for say CPU OC/RAM OC, it's on a par, if not better then some later boards. Again pointing to CPU is more of a limitation then the board itself.

PBO got introduced when 2000 series came out, wasn't much to shout and scream about. 3000 series was a bit better for PBO. But in my opinion only 5000 series had best tuning from PBO.

I posted why I got X670E TUF/Hero, I still see have not seen online any reasoning to think 800 series board has better RAM tracing then 600 series to enhance RAM tweaking.

Only yesterday I saw someone share settings log from ASUS Crosshair X870E Hero. When I checked ASUS Crosshair X670E Hero it also had same setting, so like boards are not being gimp'd from what I'm seeing.

When Zen6 comes out and new motherboards comes out, based on my past experience I won't be rushing out to get a new board. Unless see real evidence online from user shares it has a benefit over 600 series.
 
#92 ·
Not relevant to Apex, but due to above post and some discussion about AM5 Zen6, etc.

Recent interview TPU did with David McAfee Corporate VP and GM of the Client Channel Business, highlights AM4 is still 50% of CPU sales for AMD.

Source link.

TechPowerUp
: Right now, the volumes are heavily skewed toward X3D.

David McAfee: Not really. You'd be surprised. On a global scale, the split between AM4 and AM5 is not far off from 50/50. Different markets have different preferences. North America and Western Europe skew toward higher-end AM5 builds.
 
#94 ·
Mars they said...
 
  • Rep+
Reactions: UTVOL06
#108 ·
The loss of performance on RTX 5090 is ~1% on PCI-E 5.0 8x, link.

On past AMD ASUS boards disabling WiFi/Sound/LAN doesn't make changes to PCI-E lanes allocation. As they don't tend to be the things that effect say PCI-E slot lanes allocation.

The AMD ASUS high end boards PCI-E 16x slots tend to go 8x/8x, I think as aiming for people who may want multi GPU for productivity or other PCI-E card that needs lanes, like M.2 addon cards.

Yesterday did look at some 800 series BIOS and couldn't see an option to disable USB4. I did see MSI had this option on a board, so a M.2 slot got full bandwidth.
 
#111 ·
@MrFox

From what Dom says, what lanes are available from CPU/chipset, it's going to be like how X870E Hero is.

Upper 16x and lower 16x are sharing 16x 5.0 lanes from CPU. If only upper 16x used then it is 16x.

When upper and lower 16x are used, they will be 8x each.

2 of the 3 M.2 5.0 slots will share lanes from lower 16x slot. If one of those is used, lower slot becomes 4x and 4x go to M.2 and upper 16x slot is still 8x. If you use 2 of the M.2 which share lanes with lower 16x slot, the slot will become disabled, each M.2 gets the 4x each that the slot was going to get, the upper slot will still be 8x.

There is only 1 M.2 5.0 which does not share lanes with anything else.
 
#112 · (Edited)
@MrFox

From what Dom says, what lanes are available from CPU/chipset, it's going to be like how X870E Hero is.

Upper 16x and lower 16x are sharing 16x 5.0 lanes from CPU. If only upper 16x used then it is 16x.

When upper and lower 16x are used, they will be 8x each.

2 of the 3 M.2 5.0 slots will share lanes from lower 16x slot. If one of those is used, lower slot becomes 4x and 4x go to M.2 and upper 16x slot is still 8x. If you use 2 of the M.2 which share lanes with lower 16x slot, the slot will become disabled, each M.2 gets the 4x each that the slot was going to get, the upper slot will still be 8x.

There is only 1 M.2 5.0 which does not share lanes with anything else.
Thank you. From what you explained it seems the X870E Apex will be totally unfit for my intended application and I should just stick with what I have if I want to remain happy. The Gene is fine. The only thing I wish were different is the bottom slot is X1 so the four NVMe SSDs installed in it run at less that maximum speed (but still fast enough to get the job done). But, that's a real bummer. I really was excited about the X870E Apex and finding out how idiotic the PCIe lanes were allocated is rather discouraging. Even with AM5 growing in popularity it is harder to find intelligently designed AM5 motherboards compared with Intel options. It really calls into question the intelligence of the board design architects. It's super stupid how few 2-DIMM motherboard options there are now, so the intelligence of motherboard designers in general is questionable. This just represents an elevated level of stupidity in design and is not very confidence-inspiring. ASUS should have just stuck with one PCIe Gen5 M.2 slot or made them all Gen4 and only the GPU slot Gen5.

I may end up having to stick with Intel to get motherboards that are designed the way I want them.
 
#117 ·
Amd should have mandated X800 chipset accept Gen5, so we get a new prom22 chipset and all Gen5 in new boards and a reason to upgrade from X600.

Instead we got lanes stealing USB4 chipset

I would have made X870E with 16X + 4X Gen5 mandatory + 8X Gen5 or 16X Gen4 optional. We could see more differentiation board choices