ASRock X870E Challenger WiFi (AMD AM5)

ASRock is back with the Challenger series for more demanding gamers who still don't want to spend much on features they don't need. As a result, the new Challenger motherboards focus on pure performance, robust power design, and improved cooling. This version features the latest X870E chipset and includes the most important features from top models. I won't share everything in the introduction, but I won't hide that I was surprised by what ASRock packed into this motherboard, considering the quite low price tag.

[...] To conclude this ASRock X870E Challenger WiFi review, we found a board that spends its budget where it actually counts, VRM headroom, verified full-speed connectivity, and a build experience that stays out of your way, rather than on extras that look good on a spec sheet but rarely get used. The VRM is genuinely over-built for anything AM5 will ask of it, and every headline interface (Gen5 storage, USB4, 5GbE) delivered its full rated performance under our testing. What that focus costs you is real: the PCIe latch becomes awkward to reach once a GPU and cooler are both installed, the bundled antennas and accessories are basic, and the UEFI could use a visual refresh. None of that touches the fundamentals, though. For builders who want the full X870E platform with verified full-speed connectivity at the lowest price the chipset currently sells for, the Challenger WiFi is exactly the board it promises to be, and with both black and white variants sharing identical specs at the same price, it fits a white-themed build just as well as a black one.