Question AM5 Mobo for 7950X... ROG Strix X670E-A and alternatives ?

[Pyrostemplar]

I'm considering building a new system to replace my rather old 4770k (basically a 10yo CPU), and I've decided to go for a 7950X or the upcoming 7950X3D - if I meanwhile don't change my mind. And I'm hesitating between 32 or 64 GB of 6000MTs of CL36 or lower DDR5 on a dual kit.

But one of my main troubles is selecting a motherboard. Guess I'm not the first, and AM5 mb prices don't make it easy. Anyway, my general "requirements" are:
-Support for power demanding CPUs - I'll be setting up a custom watercool system (probably 2 360 rads and a 240 one), and don't want to be restrained on the power delivery side for slight overclocks (PBO and setting power to maximum)
-standard NIC and USB features, like 1gb+ (2.5 seem to be common, but the rest of my network is 1gb - quite enough for me). No need for WiFi,
-At least 3 nvme slots, with one of them being pcle5
-Audio features are irrelevant, unless they are markedly better than a Sound blaster Z pcie card (salvaged from my current system)
-At least 3 SATA ports, 1 pcie5 x16 (for the future gpu) and a pcie something for the soundcard
-Good looking, white style preferred
-As inexpensive as possible, ofc

I set my eyes on a Asus ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming WiFi (long name...),namely because it seems to meet all the criteria and is on the white side. On the other hand it is at the limit of what I'm willing to spend (400euros/usd), having some features that are not really required.

Any ideas or alternatives? Experience with this (or other) board with a 7950x and /or 2x32GB of RAM?

Btw, the system will probably be used for casual playing,surfing the web and personal stuff - all my work is done on the company laptop. Yes, I know I'm overspeccing it, but may it last a decade as my current one.

Thanks in advance,

Pyros

P.S. English is not my native language, so please disregard any occasional grammatical issue.

 

[alceryes]

Gigabyte's B650E Aorus Master is one of the best, IMHO. It's got almost all the benefits of the X670E boards.

After researching, it's the one I decided to go with and am very happy with my decision.

 

[Pyrostemplar]

Gigabyte's B650E Aorus Master is one of the best, IMHO. It's got almost all the benefits of the X670E boards.

After researching, it's the one I decided to go with and am very happy with my decision.

Thanks, for the input - I'm pretty sure that the B650E Aorus Master is a very good board. Problem is is that it is more expensive to me than the (already very quite expensive) Asus ROG Strix 670E-A - I know it is probably due to some local market thing (in the US the Aorus should cost 350USD and the Strix 420USD, making your suggestion a great one). Unfortunately, in the local market (europe) the Aorus costs a minimum of 450€ (VAT included) while (for some strange reason) the X670E Strix just 410€ (also VAT included). Last week it was 390€, so it is rising.

Now, I'm hesitating between the increasingly expensive Strix (410€), the 670E PG Lightning (310€), the Prime X670-P (270€). I also considered the Asus PRIME X670E-PRO WIFI (340€) but the online reviews from shoppers (Amazon...) were discouraging, apparently due to BIOS issues...

 

[alceryes]

Is this a board you plan to keep for 5-10 years? Remember that the 'E' versions of the X670 and B650 should have both a PCIe 5.0 GPU slot AND PCIe 5.0 NVMe slot(s). The non-E versions will have PCIe 5.0 NVMe only. The GPU slot will be PCIe 4.0.

Does it make a difference now? Not at all, but it's something to think about as PCIe 5.0 presumably becomes more popular (and maybe even needed for top performance) 5+ years from now.

 

[Pyrostemplar]

While my current PC (a 4770k) is over 9 years, it is an outlier in that regard. Anyway, the new one is intended for 5 years+. Just the watercooling is a bit of work - and expense - to set up