ASUS Prime X370-Pro AMD Ryzen AM4 DDR4 DP HDMI M.2 USB 3.1 ATX X370 Motherboard with Aura Sync RGB Lighting

Start out from the top,The board came in quickly, I actually had to downgrade to this board from the Crosshair VI because the Crosshair was taking so long to ship. The board posted immediately when I installed it with my Ryzen1700x and 1070SC Black Edition. I used 16 gb of Gskill Trident Z (F4-3200C14D-16GTZ) ram with a couple SSD's and it has been a very solid combo from the start. When the board first arrived the ram clocked at 2666 and nothing more, but this was expected because of the new Ryzen release, and the lack of proper microcode for the Bios. Two bios updates later and the ram runs flawlessly at 3200 stock voltage. Ive overclocked my Ryzen 1700x to 4.0ghz stable with a very small bump in voltage, and minimum heat output. One thing to remember is the heat is still registering 20 degrees higher than the actual temperature in HWMonitor on the Ryzens, but if you have a Corsair H110i cooler with corsair link than you can get a close to actual reading from the temperature sensor in the cooler unit. My idle temperatures stay around 30 with a 3.9ghz overclock and 3200mhz ram. With the Intel burn in test running I don't see temps above 65 and the results are a very stable overclock. I know I could push things harder with plenty of room but with this setup I can play any game I want to with 60-100fps no problem. I've had none of the expected hiccups that others are having, and when you get a little too heavy handed on the Overclock the board reboots a couple times, lets you know the overclock failed, and kicks you right back to the BIOS options. After looking at this and the Crosshair, for $100 most of the options I lost (which was very few in the first place) were ascetics and not needed for function anyways.Im very happy with the decision to go with the Prime X370. This board is a great deal for the price.The board has a nice little LED feature, all the USB's work flawlessly, the Bios has tons of overclocking options and boots quickly and flawlessly. The sound is good quality, and I have nothing to complain about. Build Specs below.-ASUS X370 Prime MOBO-AMD Ryzen 1700X CPU- Corsair H110i cooler- 2x Samsung 850 EVO SSD-1x WD Blue Slow but large HDD- EVGA GTX 1070 SC ACX 3.0 Black Edition GPU- 16gb G. SKILL Trident Z 3200 DDR4 (F4-3200C14D-16GTZ)- EVGA Supernova 650 8-+ Platinum Power Supply- TP Link Archer 1900 AC Wireless PCI card- Thermaltake Core X5 caseStable Overclock to 4,0GHz with 3200MHz ram, temps 65 Celsius and below.

I have very few complaints about this motherboard, and it is a rather impressive and aesthetically pleasing piece of hardware. I guess a pros and cons list is better for those looking to buy, so here:Pros:- Manual was very easy to read and understand, considering this was for my second build and I had very little experience actually assembling computers; incredibly informative if you really want to learn the inner workings of the board as opposed to scouring the product website like I've had to do in the past (like with my Gigabyte board on my previous build).- As with any Asus motherboard, you're getting quality. The packaging, the contents (4 SATA cables was more than plenty for me), all of it felt secure.-Back panel shield (I think Asus dubbed it the "Q Shield") feels very stable. Instead of a single plate of metal like you may get with most motherboards, unless you get top tier and spare no expense, the Q Shield is two thin sheets of metal with a foam cutout sandwiched in between. Again, feels like quality, and once you actually install it and the board, it makes for a secure and impenetrable little panel.-Setup was very easy with the BIOS. I don't know what people had to do in the past, but it's very user friendly, with basic and advanced modes for those who like to tweak every minute voltage setting. I don't do much anything to tweak performance, but just navigating it is fun when Asus provides helpful tips and explanations for what everything does, in case you decide later on to do some overclocking.-Had this board on my current build since June or July, 2017, which makes this 4 or 5 months from the time I'm writing this. Haven't had any issues with it at all after setting everything up.Cons:- During installation, actually setting the board in place and fitting it with the Q Shield takes significant force. While I know the board itself is durable, it is quite nerve racking because one slip and you could rip out any number of components on the board itself. I wouldn't consider this a real problem since it causes no issues after installation, but just wanted to mention it so you can be expecting some "resistance" with it if you do decide to purchase this wonderful thing.- Installing Windows 7 is a royal pain, but that is partially my fault for getting this chipset for a newer CPU. Windows 10 is the new norm and has been mainstreamed considerably, but installing older OS's like W7 is not impossible, just bloody difficult. Be prepared to tear your hair out over the process if you're adamant about using Windows 7 like I am. But you won't be able to receive new updates for it and updates even on older systems will stop coming out by 2020. Not relevant here, but for the few who are interested, I guess.- The RGB lighting system is...annoying. Without Asus' separate software that allows you to alter the color and pattern of the lighting on this board, it stays with the fluctuating rainbow pattern, and while you can turn this off in the BIOS, you cannot change the color. Only using the software on Asus' website can you alter the pattern and color, which I'd like to keep at a straight white, but that somehow causes it to give a more greenish hue than anything. And, even with changing the option to turn off the lighting after powering off (uses what little voltage is being given to the system to power the lights), installing Asus' software somehow bypasses that option and it will display in the rainbow pattern while the device is off (I don't mean soft-off either). I will say, though, it's a nice little night light when I turn my system off for the night. Silver lining I guess.Don't know how helpful this review was, but hopefully it'll help you to appreciate its little details that you may not be aware of. I didn't want to touch on the amount of ports in the I/O panel, or the design, or color scheme because that's pretty obvious to see from the images, which are accurate to the product, and it's a matter of personal preference. If you want to save a few bucks and skip out on fewer features that you may not even use but are set on using the AM4 chipset for Ryzen, go with the B350 version, but I'd still use Asus. They are well known for their quality motherboards and their work speaks for itself. The B350 can come anywhere between $50 to $150 cheaper than the X370 and will work just as well with less features.

Typical ASUS quality. Easy to use UEFI. AI Suite optimization gives you a quick and easy overclock. Of course, memory compatibility could be better. It needs a clear CMOS button, I've had to use the jumpers after many failed memory "overclocks". Post time could be faster. I have two of these and both run stable with no issues, besides RAM not running at rated speeds.Great value for an x370 board, it does everything I need to do and has all the ports and accessories I need.**Update, New RAM used**Swapped out Corsair Dominator Platinum 3000 running @ 2333MhzNow using G.Skill FlareX 3200, working out of the box with the DOCP RAM profile.This Motherboard has been running stable, no problems, no crashes and is blazing fast with the right RAM. Upgrading the score to 5 stars.