ASUS details ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial, Dark Hero, and Strix Neo AM5 motherboards for CES 2026
ASUS is expanding its AM5 lineup with the ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial and ROG Crosshair X870E Dark Hero, plus more ROG Strix Neo boards on X870E and B850.
The Crosshair X870E Glacial is the flagship, built around a 24(110A)+2(110A)+2 power-stage design and a full set of tuning tools, including the Extreme OC kit with LN2 Mode, ReTry, FlexKey, and ProbeIt points. ASUS also pushes DDR5 tuning via AEMP and NitroPath DRAM, claiming up to a 400 MT/s gain in DRAM overclocking headroom depending on the memory kit and system setup, backed by an ultra-low-etch PCB process.
ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial, Source: ASUS
ASUS says the primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot can run at full bandwidth alongside two PCIe 5.0 M.2 drives, and total M.2 support scales to seven slots with the ROG Hyper M.2 and ROG Q-DIMM.2 add-in cards. Cooling and build features include the 3D VC M.2 Heatsink, AIO Q-Connector support for compatible AIOs, up to 13 fan connections via splitters, and a magnetic ROG Memory Q-Fan for airflow across the DIMMs.
On connectivity, the Glacial includes two USB4 ports, twelve 10Gbps rear USB ports, and two 20Gbps front USB-C headers, with one supporting Quick Charge 4+ up to 60W. ASUS also lists dual Realtek 10GbE, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and a 5-inch LCD on the I/O shroud, plus magnetic covers aimed at cleaner cable routing.
ROG Crosshair X870E Dark Hero, Source: ASUS
The Crosshair X870E Dark Hero stays ATX and targets a darker, thermal-focused design with 20(110A)+2(110A)+2 power stages and upgraded power delivery components. It offers five M.2 slots with two PCIe 5.0, two USB4 ports, front USB-C with Quick Charge 4+ up to 60W, WiFi 7, and 10GbE plus 5GbE, paired with Polymo Lighting II and ASUS AI features.
ASUS also confirms the ROG Strix Neo stack across X870E and B850, including the ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi 7 Neo, ROG Strix X870E-A Gaming WiFi 7 Neo, ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi 7 Neo, and ROG Strix B850-A Gaming WiFi 7 Neo.
| Specifications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spec | ROG Crosshair X870E Dark Hero | ROG Crosshair X870E Glacial |
| CPU Socket | AM5 | AM5 |
| Chipset | X870E | X870E |
| Form Factor | ATX | EATX |
| PCB | 8 layers, 2 oz. | 8 layers, 2 oz. |
| Power Architecture | 20(110A)+2(110A)+2 | 24(110A)+2(110A)+2 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, max. 256GB, DDR5 9600+(OC) NitroPath DRAM Technology | 4 x DIMM, max. 256GB, DDR5 9600+(OC) NitroPath DRAM Technology |
| Display Output | 2 x USB4 ports support USB Type-C™ display output 1 x HDMI | 2 x USB4 ports support USB Type-C™ display output |
| PCIe | 2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 | 2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 |
| M.2 | 2 x PCIe 5.0 3 x PCIe 4.0 | 2 x PCIe 5.0 (onboard) 1 x PCIe 4.0 (onboard) 2 x PCIe 5.0 (via ROG Hyper M.2 add-in card) 2 x PCIe 4.0 (via ROG DIMM.2 add-in card) |
| Networking | 1 x 10Gb Ethernet 1 x 5Gb Ethernet | 2 x 10Gb Ethernet |
| Wireless | WiFi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 | WiFi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Rear I/O | 2 x USB4 40Gbps Type-C™ 9 x USB 10Gbps (6 x Type-A and 3 x USB Type-C™) | 2 x USB4 40Gbps Type-C™ 12 x USB 10Gbps (8 x Type-A and 4 x USB Type-C™) |
| Front I/O | 1 x USB 20Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C® with up to 60W PD/QC4+) 1 x USB 20Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C®) 2 x USB 5Gbps headers support 4 additional USB 5Gbps ports 3 x USB 2.0 headers | 2 x USB 20Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C® with up to 60W PD/QC4+)* 2 x USB 5Gbps headers support 4 additional USB 5Gbps ports 3 x USB 2.0 headers |
| Aura | 3 x Addressable Gen2 headers | Support for up to 6 x ARGB with included ARGB splitter cables |
| Cooling | 1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header 1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header 1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header 4 x 4-pin Chassis Fan headers 1 x W_PUMP+ header 1 x AIO Q-Connector | Support for up to 13 fans with included fan splitter cables 1 x AIO Q-Connector |
| Special Features | 3D Vapor Chamber M.2 Heatsink Metal backplate Extreme OC Kit | 3D Vapor Chamber M.2 Heatsink Metal backplate ROG Memory Q-Fan ROG Q-DIMM.2 ROG Hyper M.2 Extreme OC Kit |
| ASUS Q-Design | WiFi Q-Antenna M.2 Q-Latch, Q-Release, Q-Slide Q-Code, Q-LED | WiFi Q-Antenna M.2 Q-Latch, Q-Release, Q-Slide Q-Code, Q-LED |
Source: ASUS
