AMD AM5 by stefan @ 2022-10-31
The X670E VALKYRIE board from BIOSTAR is a solid offering, coming with support for latest technologies such as PCIe Gen 5, integrates a solid VRM for handling the new power-hungry Ryzen 7000 processors, no less than four M.2 slots for storage which minimizes the need of using SATA drives on the same system, onboard buttons for easy Power/Reset/CMOS Reset actions and decent memory overclocking support.
At first we would like to thank BIOSTAR for offering their X670E VALKYRIE AM5 Motherboard for testing and reviewing.
“In 1980, the IT industry was growing at a phenomenal rate. With wide experience in buying and selling electronic parts as well as researching on future demands for mainboards and add-on cards , the founder of BIOSTAR GROUP, established BIOSTAR MICROTECH INTERNATIONAL CORP in 1986.
In the early years, BIOSTAR concentrated on the manufacture of mainboards built for XT form factor. To maintain steady business growth, BIOSTAR managed to keep a large portion of its capital and manpower invested on the design and development of new products, which at the same time has enabled it to stay competitive in the rapid evolution of the computer industry.
BIOSTAR has enriched its competence in the design and manufacture of products such as add-on cards, multi-media and system products to develop the market and meet the demands of customers for more integrated solutions. In order to expand its capacity to meet customer demand globally, BIOSTAR was the first to establish a manufacturing facility in China in 1990. In 1998, its sales revenues exceeded US$130 million and it ranked 227th among the top 1000 enterprises in Taiwan. Furthermore, BIOSTAR obtained an ISO 9001 certification in 1999 and became a publicly listed company in the same year. BIOSTAR’s future has limitless possibilities.”
VALKYRIE 22 PHASES POWER DESIGN
The X670E VALKYRIE features 18 VCORE phases with 105A Dr.MOS, ready to push the AM5 Ryzen 7000 Series processors to their limits
Digital PWM
Increases system efficiency
Has faster transient performance
Delivers stable power and reliability
105A Dr. MOS
Makes you overclock smoothly
Improves thermal performance
Delivers superior efficiency and performance
DDR5
Support AMD EXPO (Extended Profiles for Overclocking) & XMP
Made of imported special SMT to increase compatibility and stability
Support dual channels and lower power consumption
PCIe 5.0 & Iron Protection slot
The introduction of new hardware technology design
It can support the precise high-speed signal required by Gen5 graphics card data
PCIe 5.0 M.2 &M.2 cooling
PCIe 5.0 M.2 is the latest storage interface, it delivers the highest bandwidth and lower latency
It's 2 times faster compared with PCIe 4.0 M.2
8-Layer Low-loss PCB Design
Providing stable power and higher energy efficiency, it's able to offer the best overclocking experience
LED ROCK ZONE
Offers more colorful lighting options
Supports to a wide array of peripherals
Comes with the RGB 12V LED header and ARGB 5V LED header
CPU OPT Header
Keep your computer stable
Connect any kind of water coolers
Enjoy awesome liquid cooling system
SMART BIOS UPDATE
The easiest way to update the BIOS is provided
Connect the USB driver to the SMART BIOS USB port to update
Fully Covered Heatsink
With more cores CPU, thermal solution and power design is more important to make sure the temperature keep lower
AURORA Utility
Adjusting the color of LED and changing system colors by VIVID LED DJ will make you fully enjoy the process of PC modding developing your personal style
A.I FAN utility smartly allows users to have more customizability of fan operating modes and automatically detects different temperatures
H/W Monitor tab allows you to monitor hardware voltage, fan speed, and temperature
AMD X670E cipset
When only the fastest will do, an AMD X670E motherboard delivers. Featuring dual-channel DDR5 memory, AMD EXPO™ technology and PCIe® 5.0 support for both graphics and NVMe, you can play the most demanding games and deliver your biggest projects with the revolutionary performance of an AMD X670E motherboard and AMD Ryzen™ 7000 Series processors
Audio
HD Audio
Provides high quality sound with minimal loss of audio fidelity
Hi-Fi Ground
BIOSTAR Hi-Fi Ground (Golden Line) is noise-blocking multi-layer PCB design to isolates analog audio signals from digital sources. Unique PCB layout is ideal for exceptional clarity and high-fidelity sound
Hi-Fi AMP
The built-in amplifier can drive major high-end headphones with over 100dB loads and offer wide bandwidth, low noise, high slew rate and low distortion audio source from front panel I/O. Gaming enthusiasts can enjoy a fuller range of dynamic sound with crisper details and less distortion
Smart Ear
Smart EAR is a windows-based audio utility which allows you to easily adjust system volume. With its user-friendly GUI, you can also increase or decrease impedance setting (Low/High Gain) to optimize your headphone performance. You can easily enjoy high-quality and awesome sound
Hi-Fi Cap
Hi-Fi Cap delivers low noise, low distortion, and wide bandwidth to achieve the highest sound resolution and sound expansion. It ensures the most realistic sound effects to gaming enthusiasts
Video
DisplayPort
DisplayPort is a digital display interface developed by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor, though it can also be used to carry audio
DX12
DirectX 12 introduces the next version of Direct3D, the graphics API at the heart of DirectX. Direct3D is one of the most critical pieces of a game or game engine, and we've redesigned it to be faster and more efficient than ever before. Direct3D 12 enables richer scenes, more objects, and full utilization of modern GPU hardware
HDMI 2.1
HDMI 2.1 supports true 4K resolution- 4096*2160@120hz. A significant increase in bandwidth is up to 18mbps, and significant enhancements are added to support the continued increase consumer demands on video and audio experience
2.5Guard
2.5GUARD features 2.5G having higher data transfer speeds and can strengthen electrical stability and prevent damage from lightning strikes and electrical surges. It's 2.5X improvement than standard Ethernet connections
Chipset: AMD X670E
CPU SUPPORT: Socket AM5 support AMD Ryzen™ 7000 series Processors, support for future AMD Ryzen processors with BIOS update
MEMORY: Supports Dual Channel DDR5 6000+(OC)/ 5800(OC)/ 5600(OC)/ 5400(OC)/ 5200(OC)/ 5000(OC)/ 4800, 4 x DDR5 DIMM Memory Slot, Max. Supports up to 128 GB Memory
Each DIMM supports non-ECC 8/ 16/ 32 GB DDR5 module
INTEGRATED VIDEO: Supports DX12, supports HDCP
STORAGE: 6 x SATA III Connector (6Gb/s), supports AHCI & RAID 0, 1, 10
Total support 4 x M.2 Socket and 6 x SATA (6Gb/s) ports
1 x M.2 (Key M) Socket (M2M_CPU_1): supports M.2 Type 2280 SSD module, supports PCI-E 5.0 x4 (128Gb/s)/ 4.0 x4 (64Gb/s) - NVMe/ AHCI SSD
1 x M.2 (Key M) Socket (M2M_CPU_2): supports M.2 Type 2260/ 2280/ 22110 SSD module, supports PCI-E 5.0 x 4 (128Gb/s) / 4.0 x 4 (64Gb/s) - NVMe / AHCI SSD
1 x M.2 (Key M) Socket (M2M_SB_1): support M.2 Type 2260/ 2280 SSD module, support PCI-E 4.0 x 4 (64Gb/s) - NVMe / AHCI SSD
1 x M.2 (Key M2) Socket (M2M_SB_2): supports M.2 Type 2280 SSD module, supports PCI-E 4.0 x 4 (64Gb/s) - NVMe / AHCI SSD
LAN: Intel i225V (2.5G): 10/ 100/ 1000/ 2500 Mb/s auto negotiation, Half / Full duplex capability
AUDIO CODEC: ALC1220, 7.1 Channels, High Definition Audio, Hi-Fi
USB:
2 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port (1 on rear I/Os and 1 via internal headers)
11 x USB 3.2 Gen2 port (9 on rear I/Os and 2 via internal headers)
4 x USB 2.0 port (4 via internal headers)
EXPANSION SLOT:
2 x PCIe 5.0 x 16 Slot (x16 or x8 mode)
1 x PCIe 4.0 x 16 Slot (x4 mode)
REAR I/O:
2 x WiFi Antenna Port
1 x BIOS update Button
1 x HDMI Port (HDMI2.1)
1 x DP Port (DP1.4)
1 x USB 3.2 (Gen2x2) Type-C Port
9 x USB 3.2 (Gen2) Type-A Port
1 x 2.5G LAN port
5 x Audio Jack
1 x SPDIF_Out
INTERNAL I/O:
6 x SATA III Connector (6Gb/s)
1 x M.2 (E Key) Socket: supports 2230 type Wi-Fi & Bluetooth module
2 x USB 2.0 Header (each header supports 2 USB 2.0 ports)
1 x USB 3.2 (Gen2) Header (each header supports 2 USB 3.2 (Gen2) ports)
1 x USB 3.2 (Gen2x2) Type-C Port (each header supports 1 USB 3.2 (Gen2x2) port)
2 x 8-Pin Power Connector
1 x 24-Pin Power Connector
1 x CPU Fan Connector
1 x CPU water cooling connector (CPU_OPT)
4 x System Fan Connector
1 x Front Panel Header
1 x Front Audio Header
1 x Internal Stereo Speaker Header
1 x Clear CMOS Switch Button
1 x Power Switch Button
1 x Reset Switch Button
1 x COM Port Header
1 x TPM Header
1 x Thunderbolt Header
2 x LED Header (5V)
1 x LED Header (12V)
1 x IO LED Header
1 x SB LED Header
H/W MONITORING:
CPU / System Temperature Monitoring
Smart / Manual CPU Fan Control
CPU/DDR Voltage Monitoring
DIMENSION: ATX Form Factor Dimension: 30.5cm x 24.4cm (W x L)
OS SUPPORT: Supports Windows 10 (64bit) / 11(64bit)
ACCESSORIES:
4 x SATA Cable
1 x DVD Driver
1 x User Manual
1 x Smart Connector
BIOSTAR is never late when it comes to releases of motherboards from the latest generation, for both Intel and AMD platforms. One of the latest products is the X670E VALKYRIE board involving the AM5 Ryzen 7000 generation, which brings DDR5 and PCIE Gen5 support for the first time on AMD setups, no less than four M.2 storage slots, 2.5Gbit LAN and more!
The board is offered inside a regular cardboard enclosure with the revised BIOSTAR box art, highlighting the latest standards right from the top cover. The AMD X670E chipset is meant for high-end platforms, supporting 1x16 or 2x8 PCIe 5.0 graphics, 1x4 PCIe 5.0 plus 4x PCIe GPP regarding storage, a total of 44 PCIe lanes which can be up to 24 PCIe 5.0, up to 12 SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps interfaces, up to two 20Gbps USB SuperSpeed interfaces and a maximum of 8 SATA ports.
This is the first time we are seeing a dual-chipset solution; we do have the main Prom21 chipset which is connected directly to the CPU, while the secondary Prom21 is linked to the first chipset, in daisy-chain style. It has been noted that this solution is more cost-effective than a single chipset as we have seen with the X570 and can be ran fully passive since one Prom21 consumes about 7W.
On the back side, BIOSTAR does highlight the main board features, along with the technical specifications and the I/O layout:
After lifting the top cover, we will learn that the board is wrapped inside an anti-static bag, but also surrounded by a protective cardboard layer:
The bottom layer does include the accessories:
Besides the User’s Manual, we will receive a set of stickers, a driver disk, an adapter but also four SATA cables:
The manual is very handy to use to learn about the new features of the platform, but also the pinouts!
We do get quite a bit of catchy VALKYRIE case stickers!
A DVD with drivers and apps is supplied with the motherboard, but we always recommend installing the latest version from the website:
The so-called Smart Connector is an adapter for installing the Frontal IO buttons of the case and LEDs with ease:
Versus the previous iterations of the VALKYRIE, the X670E has a more toned-down design, aiming at a more professional look rather than a “Transformers”. The components are carefully spaced and we can see transparent protective films on the chipset sink but also on the I/O and VRM shroud:
The board comes with an 18 + 2 + 2 VRM layout, which is covered by hefty black sinks:
A closer look on the top left side of the PCB will reveal two ATX 12V 2x4 pin headers:
Moving further down on the left, we will note the CMOS battery but also the LED interface for the I/O shroud:
Clearly visible we will note a RAA 229613 VRM controller:
The ASMedia ASM1012 assists with the Smart BIOS Update function:
The audio / LAN section is covered by a heatsink; for the audio we have the well-known ALC 1220 from Realtek, while the LAN controller is an Intel i225V:
The bottom area comes with plenty of interfaces:
After a closer look, we will note the Frontal Audio header, two System Fan headers, a COM header, a Thunderbolt header but also an USB 2.0 header:
Moving on, we will find the secondary USB 2.0 header, an USB 3.2 10Gbit header, a LED display with two digits for signaling error codes, but also the F_Panel header:
In the lower right corner, we will find the header for the optional speaker, the CLR_CMOS button, the Clear CMOS jumper, the LN2_SW switch but also the chipset LED populated header:
Next, we do have no less than 6 SATA ports:
WE will get another System Fan Connector near the USB 3.2 Type-C 20Gbit header:
The ATX 24-pin power connector but also the Power and Reset LEDs do share the color scheme of the board:
In the top right corner, we will note two 5V RGB headers, but also one 12V header, which are accompanied by three more fan headers (the one meant for water pumps, the main one for the CPU but also one for system fan, which usually goes to the fans which cool the water radiator):
The RAM slots are reinforced and are not color coded; as usual, the manufacturer recommends using slots 2 and 4 if you are installing a kit composed of two modules:
Between the CPU socket and the first PCIe x16 slot, where on other mobos we are seeing a M.2 slot, the X670E VALKYRIE has installed the TPM_SPI header, the JSPI header but also the two BIOS chips, the corresponding LEDs but also the switch for moving from one BIOS chip to the other:
The new AM5 socket is using the same plastic clip adapters as we have noted on the AM4 platform , while the socket includes a plastic cover, as with the usual LGA Intel sockets:
For expansion purposes, we do have the main two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots which can function in both x16 and x8 modes, while the bottom one is PCIe 4.0 x16 slot which is x4 electrical:
The M.2 slot covers are quite thick and come with thermal pads preinstalled, to help with the NVMe/SATA drives cooling:
The M.2 (E-key) slot does support installation of 2230 WiFi & Bluetooth cards, while the antenna cables are preinstalled:
The top two M.2 (M-key) slots do come with PCIe 5.0 x4 support, but here we can install PCIe 4.0 NVMe / AHCI SSDs; these are linked directly to the CPU:
The bottom two M.2 (M-key) slots are linked to the chipset and offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity for both NVMe and AHCI SSDs:
Nearby we will also find the SuperIO chip, an ITE IT8625E:
On the I/O we do have plenty of connectivity options as well:
-a DisplayPort which can drive up to 5120x3200@60Hz, following the DP 1.4 standard
-a HDMI port which functions with Fixed Rate Link, the maximum resolution being 8K@60Hz
-a Smart BIOS Update button
-4x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A ports
-an USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port coupled with an USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A port
-2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A
-2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A coupled with a 2.5Gbit LAN port
-the antenna ports (gold-plated)
-the audio ports (including an Optical S/PDIF interface)
On the back side the PCB we will find a themed backplate, which reinforces the entire assembly:
The drive installation is straight forward:
Same goes with the CPU installation; we will use a retail 7600X Ryzen 5:
In our case, we are using a be quiet! Pure Loop 240mm AIO, which its own fixing brackets, but uses the stock backplate, so it is fully compatible with AM5:
In terms of memory, we went ahead with a Sabrent Rocket 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 Memory Kit, which is JEDEC-profiled at 4800MHz, with no XMP.
The RGB elements from the VALKYRIE X670E look great, thanks to the increased subtility:
We took the following two photos with the VGA card removed; with most VGA cards installed, the chipset area will be mostly covered:
One thing to mention is that the BIOS indicator (red LED) in the middle of the motherboard will remain lit continuously, during operation but also when the system is turned off:
The UEFI interface for the X670E VALKYRIE does sport a familiar look, which is easy to navigate. On the left side we will note important monitoring details such as the current CPU frequency, the operating voltage, the DRAM speed and operating voltage, the CPU temperature but also the date/time. The Main menu does show detailed information on the BIOS release, the installed RAM and its profiles, but we can also adjust the interface language along with the system date/time:
The Chipset area features several sub-sections as well:
The Boot menu comes with the usual options:
In the Security menu we also have the settings for Secure Boot:
Tweaker is the area to go for in case you are looking to adjust the system performance; the areas to check are CPU Ratio, Memory Clock Mode, Memory Frequency, UCLK DIV1 Mode, DRAM Timings, DIMM VDD/VDDQ but also DIMM VPP in case you are attempting RAM overclocking:
RAM timings can be tuned in detail:
The Save & Exit area does come with several profiles we can save our preferences, depending on current configuration:
The UEFI BIOS does also feature an EZ mode:
A separate section is allocated for adjusting the curve for the fan headers:
RGB setup can be configured via the Vivid LED DJ options as well:
The test system did incorporate the following:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X @ Stock
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Loop 240mm AIO
Motherboard: currently tested mobo
RAM: Sabrent Rocket 2x16GB DDR5 4800MHz (no XMP)
Video: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700
Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W
SSD: Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus NVMe 4.0 2TB
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
With the help of the AIDA64 system reporting/benchmarking utility, we have extracted some more information regarding the system:
After testing the Sabrent Rocket DDR5 4800 kit at stock JEDEC timings (40-40-40-76), we went ahead and increased the frequency up to 6000MHz and the same timings, the specs we have tested as being stable on the Alder Lake platform. The system ran without issues, and we made sure Uncore frequency was 1:1 with the RAM frequency:
BIOSTAR has adapted their well-known AURORA tool for the VALKYRIE motherboard; the main sections are available on the left, beginning with the System Information:
Smart Ear section will allow the user to adjust the audio volume levels but also the gain level:
The GT Touch menu places at the users’ disposal three different preset profiles, regarding system performance:
The included RGB header LED lighting effects can be configured from Vivid LED DJ menu, that is also available from the UEFI interface:
A.I Fan section allows fan curve modification, or we can simply choose from one of the available presets:
H/W Monitor does simply display monitoring data:
The OC/OV area does not allow Overclocking, but we can do Overvoltage adjustments:
The last tab informs the user on the software version of the application:
Test Setup 1: Ryzen 5 5600X / BIOSTAR B550GTA / 2x16GB DDR4 3600 19-22-22-42
Test Setup 2: Ryzen 5 7600X / BIOSTAR X670E VALKYRIE / 2x16GB DDR5 4800 40-40-40-76
Test Setup 3: Ryzen 5 7600X / BIOSTAR X670E VALKYRIE / 2x16GB DDR5 6000 40-40-40-76
Memory
CPU Queen
CPU PhotoW
CPU Zlib
CPU AES
CPU SHA3
FPU Julia
FPU Mandel
FPU SinJulia
FP32 Ray-Trace
FP64 Ray-Trace
The ALC1220 CODEC implementation on the X670E VALKYRIE is of decent quality, as it can be seen from the following RMAA results:
The X670E VALKYRIE board from BIOSTAR is a solid offering, coming with support for latest technologies such as PCIe Gen 5, integrates a solid VRM for handling the new power-hungry Ryzen 7000 processors, no less than four M.2 slots for storage which minimizes the need of using SATA drives on the same system, onboard buttons for easy Power/Reset/CMOS Reset actions and decent memory overclocking support.
Before starting testing with the board, we noticed a high initial boot time, but just after we have flashed the UEFI version from October, the boot-up speed has been boosted significantly! After finalizing testing with the Sabrent Rocket 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 4800MHz which we could use at 6000MHz with C40 timings, we went ahead and tried the Neo Forza TRINITY JETBLACK DDR5 6000 64GB (2x32GB) as well; to our surprise, the kit was only TM5 stable until 5400MHz, while on our Alder Lake test system we could do 6000 at XMP. By trying the same XMP on the AMD system, the attempt only resulted in a non-bootable system. We do expect that the memory overclocking section will improve with the future AGESA updates from AMD and BIOSTAR was quite fast lately providing UEFI updates with the latest fixes.
We do appreciate the cleanness of the board design, including the option to have individual heatsinks for the M.2 slots. The cooling system can become quite heavy so a solid backplate has been installed on the back of the PCB.
To drive the costs down, BIOSTAR has chosen to go with a more usual 2.5Gbit LAN (instead of 5Gbit or 10Gbit) controller, the WiFi card was not installed, while on the audio side we have the usual ALC1220 CODEC (instead of a newer Realtek ALC4082) but with no extra DAC present such as the ESS SABRE9218.
In terms of the UEFI BIOS, we have a good organization of the options, but you won’t find as many CPU-overclock related options as on ASUS boards for example; given the fact that the new generation automatically overclocks itself based on the chosen cooling solution, unless you aim for the absolute high-end, this should be a non-issue.
The new X670E boards for Ryzen 7000 processors are not exactly cheap and the BIOSTAR X670E VALKYRIE is not an exception. Considering that we are getting plenty of connectivity options such as three PCIe x16 slots and four M.2 slots, plenty of USBs, we do consider that the X670E is priced fair at about 506 Euros.
We would like to thank BIOSTAR for making this review possible!