There is absolutely doubt in my mind that AMD’s Ryzen 7 CPU and AM4 chipset launch is nothing short of a success; there have been some hiccups, some bigger than others, but now that things are settling down a bit, it’s clear for all to see. ASRock has a very illustrious Fatal1ty range of motherboard across multiple platforms, but today is the turn of the X370 Fatal1ty Professional Gaming which is ASRock’s top gaming AM4 solution.
Performance
The one aspect where I would have expected this motherboard to dominate is all out performance; it does very well, but I was hoping for a little better. The biggest issue I had was memory compatibility with our Ballistix 3000MHz DDR4 memory and although I did manage to get it set in the end, it did take a considerable amount of tweaking in comparison to the ROG CROSSHAIR VI HERO. That being said, once it was set, the board performed well and although it doesn’t sit at the top, the benchmarks ran are generally so close to call, only boards with results WAY OFF from the recorded results could really be deemed bad. The ASRock X370 Pro Gaming has lots going for it from the superb onboard audio with Creatives software, all the way to the 5 Gigabit dual RJ45 ports.
I personally prefer other brands UEFI BIOS to ASRocks, but it still does the job, looks good and has everything you would need; my issue isn’t so much the function, it’s more the layout and I can’t honestly say I’m used to ASRock’s UEFI layout. As I say this, I actually do like it and don’t want to be misinterpreted by saying what I just said, but a review is all about facts and opinions…and this is just my humble opinion.
ASRock have crammed as many power phase onto the board as they can, but without the release of a OCF/MOCF version currently released, or to my knowledge, even planned…this is the board you will want to use if you’re planning on doing aggressive overclocking or even making the plunge into sub-ambient solutions. The X370 Professional Gaming is high spec and performs as such and to me, that means the most especially given the high-end price tag.
Design
The design of a staple component as important as a motherboard is becoming more apparent and having a decent looking system can be even more important to some users. ASRock has the overall look correct in my opinion, but having bright red heat sinks and RGB just doesn’t mix as well as it could have. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking ASRock for their design or even implementing RGB into their motherboard here, I’m just unhappy with the execution. You can change the colour of the LEDs which is cool, but you can’t change the colour of the heatsinks outside of spray painting, so can you really fully customise the look? The answer is no…
Aside from the red heat sink and RGB implementation, the board looks great and if you’re putting together a red and black themed system, this is the motherboard you want…especially if you want top performance, tons of rear I/O real estate and dual RJ45 Ethernet ports. Even the slots have steel armour which looks great and although a little gimmicky, having them there makes the board look better and that’s only a good thing in my opinion.
Value
Now as you may or may not ask yourself, can you even comprehend calling a £268 top end motherboard good value? Well, I believe in the case of the ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming that a top end expensive motherboard can INDEED be good value for money. From the AQUANTIA 5GB/s ethernet ports, the dual M.2 slots, 10 x SATA3 ports, 8 x USB 3.0 ports all the way to the built-in Wi-Fi, there is tons of things to like about this particular motherboard. £268 isn’t a bad price at all things considered and although it may be out of the price range of some, it’s a fantastic companion for your AMD Ryzen 7 processor, that’s for sure!
Final Thoughts
The ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming AM4 motherboard is one of the most well-rounded Ryzen CPU compatible motherboards you can buy and even though it’s one of the most expensive, it’s certainly one of the best. Now some may or not think I am being too picky here, but the glaring red heat sink/RGB design issue got to me a little bit and I did indeed have to down score the board for this fact; still above average in score though so not too much. What this did however was drop the board from Gold down to Silver, but hopefully, if you have actually digested what I have said in the video/in the written section, you will understand I have been fair and foremost about my experience with the board.
I will say this however, if you’re looking for the best red and black themed (with RGB) motherboard for your new AMD Ryzen processors, then the ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming is most definitely the board I would pick up for my high-end system!
Huge thanks to ASRock for sending the X370 Professional Gaming motherboard in for review
-
Performance
-
Design
-
Value
Summary
Pros:
– Good all-around performance
– Looks great despite my thoughts on the RGB/red heatsinks situation
– Tons of features, ports, inputs and rear I/O connection options
– 5GB/s RJ45 Ethernet ports are a great option for those that require it
– As far as red and black themed motherboards go, this is awesome
– Perfect companion for users looking to use their motherboards for more than just gaming
Cons:
– Red heatsinks and RGB is a little silly in my opinion; be better implemented with monotonal colours like black or grey
Sorry, the real overall value is 4,3 because it has the more features than the Asus Crosshair Vi Hero x370 and the better performance. The personal dislike of a colour theme must not result to an unbalanced valueing.
The real overall value is 4.3? No, the real overall value is my opinion and mine alone. How would your personal opinion being different to mine make me wrong? The Crosshair VI Hero performs better than the Professional Gaming and with the added support for AM3 coolers, it could actually make it cheaper overall. I never said I disliked the colour scheme? I think it’s stupid to have RGB lighting when the colour of the heat sink ALWAYS remains the same. If it had been black or white and more of a neutral colour, it wouldn’t be so much of a problem…but if you wanted your RGB lighting say green, it’s not going to look great with big red heat sinks. I appreciate your comment however…