B650e or x870

[FireflySparkles]

Hi,

I'm gathering parts to build a gaming PC. 

I am using an R7 9700x CPU. I'm a bit confused on what motherboard to get. A lot of online posts suggest just a b650 board would be fine, but ideally I'd like a board which would be future proof. 

I'm looking at:

Asus Rog Strix B650e-F (or -E) Gaming WiFi 

Asus TUF x870 Gaming Plus WiFi 

I will be using 2 Samsung 990 Pro Nvme drives. One for Os (1TB) and the other for games (2TB). 

I've been looking at loads of information online and some say with the x870 board I listed above, using drives in specific slots cause the PCIE 5.0 slot to run at x8, and I also don't understand the whole CPU and chipset way of connecting the nvmes drives. 

Please forgive my lack of knowledge, but hence why I've joined and would like opinions on whether to go for the b650e -F/E board or the x870. And if someone could explain what the differences would be when using 2 nvmes and whether there is any detriment or if they would run slower or cause other components to run slower if put in certain slots etc.

Thanks...

(Also, please forgive me if I've put this in the wrong section and feel free to move it)

[nemen]

this is a really solid board, i have 1 in my other build.its basically an x870 board in disguise ROG...

[FireflySparkles]

Thanks, but I was looking at ATX. I'm now looking at a Asus Rog Strix x670e-f as it seems to allow two M2 from the CPU without slowing the GPU slot.

[nemen]

its available as atx pal, you scroll to bottom of the page and all the different sizes are there

[FireflySparkles]

Oh, thank you. Apologies, as I said I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to this. I will take a look at it! 🙂

[nemen]

these boards were only released in January 2025 and are newer than x870, you always want the latest sku if you want to be future proofed. 

[FireflySparkles]

Thanks. I am looking at the Rog Strix b850-A model against the Asus Rog Strix x670e-F. I don't really know which one to go for as this point. The b850 is newer, but has less M2 5.0 slots, and the x670e-F does have the two slots, but is older. I'm torn now. Haha

[nemen]

ROG STRIX B850-E GAMING WIFI | Gaming motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global.                   thats what i would go for, 3 gen 5 ssd drives, usb4 which is thunderbolt for amd, wifi 7. its the best one there

[FireflySparkles]

Thank you kindly.

[Heliconseo]

B650E works great for gaming, X870 offers newer features like PCIe 5.0 and Wi fi 7. Both handle dual NVMe drives fine OS on CPU slot, games on chipset slot, No slowdowns