THEOVERCLOCKER PRESENTS
The X570 AORUS MASTER
W
hat’s this you ask?
Well it’s “TheOverclocker
presents” - series. What that means
is exactly what you see here. A single
product/event or feature magazine
that is not only way more fun for us to
work on, but hopefully more digestible
for you as well (A lot less waffle). This
format allows us to still do what we
love, but without the difficulty of putting
together an entire magazine.
...this reduced format allows
a more sincere editorial,
similar I hope to how one
would interact with a friend....
So now that I’ve told you what this is all
about. Let me tell you about this
particular X570 AORUS MASTER which
helped inspire this move instead of
ending entirely as was the plan. Usually
when one has to review a motherboard,
CPU, etc. you have a fixed amount of
time with that product or component
before it needs to get written, laid out
etc. The issue with this is that products
change over their life cycle. Some
motherboards see dramatic changes
while others do not. There’s no way to
know this until you actually test at the
time to see what has changed if anything.
Since my opinion is based squarely on
what one perceives of a product at the
time of testing, it can end up being an
unreliable representation of what the
product actually is. These changes can
happen literally while you’re in layout.
So, you’re aware what you have here isn’t
true anymore, but because of the nature
of publishing, you must put it out as is.
Easier to fix on video or website, but
annoying in print.
Take for instance the chipset fan on the
X570 AORUS MASTER. Earlier in the
board’s life cycle, this operated at a fixed
speed. It was unbearably loud, yet this
changed with subsequent UEFI updates
(added fan speed control). By the time
this happened though I had already
written the web review of the board.
That’s but one example. Another
instance of this relates to DRAM support
and/or overclocking. Again, when I
initially tested the motherboard, I had
issues operating the IF clock at anything
past 1833MHz. Even then, it wasn’t
always able to finish the POST. Naturally
this meant all results were limited by
these issues. Does it make a difference
under LN2 or in my case, Dry Ice? Nope
not in the least, but it was a particular
behavior of the motherboard at the time.
So, if you read the web review now, it
doesn’t reflect what the X570 AORUS
MASTER is capable of today This is why
this format works, as it literally allows
one to take a second look a reasonable
amount of time later and evaluate the
overall product/component experience.
Past the specifications & benchmark
figures of a high end gaming notebook
for instance, is it something one can live
with? That's what this format is about.
The nature of that kind of editorial is
longer lasting therefore more
appropriate for this format.
All that aside, it allows a more sincere
editorial, similar I hope to how one would
interact with a friend. There’s no need to
run through all the features, etc. One
can easily find those on the website and
having myself simply add words between
a specifications sheet ( which tends to
happen with web reviews) isn’t how you’d
tell a person about your experiences with
a product. Since this is the 1st, it may
still be a little formal, but as it goes on,
here’s hoping I can get into the groove
and really express what living with a
product or component is actually like
rather than telling you what it is only.
I do find this a lot more comfortable and
I can better utilize the fixed word count
budget. One can only hope that is this
more candid way of approaching the
subject is as appreciated if not more so.
One can still read the web review and
get the numbers from it,
but with this series,
I hope you get a more rounded
more transparent opinion
rather than purely what
the motherboard
can and cannot do
technically.
With that said,
see you in say
three weeks or
four (crazy right?)
TheOverclocker Presents
X570 AORUS MASTER