Why would anyone buy this over 870E for less?
I'm not sure. I forgot how the lower tier X870 is related to X670
I would compare it to my existing ASUS Prime X670-P Mainboard. More Input/Output (ports) with certain ASUS bugs for less price.
Why does this have 7.1 audio but only a single line-out and a S/PDIF out? Is there an optional dongle for the other channels or a coaxial connection?
Some people, including myself above wrote that several times already. For several different mainboards. It seems newer mainboard comes with less Audio ports as usual. I do not get it why the author of those reviews never make a negative point about that. (i referenced the backpanel audio section of my previous MSI B550 gaming edge wifi for comparision purposes)
Does these Asus mobos still damage x3d cpus?
Not with recent UEFI updates as far as I know.
I know for certain that certain article writers claim that asus damage graphic card ports. this is a valid claim. a bad implementation of a card release feature for the graphic card slot.
HXL/9550pro and HardwareLuxx's Andreas Schilling shared evidence of the ASUS PCIe Q-Release Slim—the manufacturer's latest ejection mechanism—causing damage to graphics card PCIe connectors. Recent feedback suggests that repeated usage can scrape or grind off material present on a card's...
www.techpowerup.com
I would not buy an asus board because of damaged graphic cards. The many uefi bugs I experience is another issue.
One bug is hard to tell who's fault it is. Is it's intel AX210 WLAN fault for requiring disabling hole powersaving feature in the asus mainboard to work properly? Else the hole machine crashes when the AX210 wifi is used. I can not check with another mainboard brand if it'S ASUS mainboard related power saving bug or intel bug.
When I check the other bugs i experience, I'm more convinced it's another ASUS uefi - firmware bug.
The biggest thing I hate about my ASUS mainboard, only one, a single USB port is able to boot from. Some sort of uefi error. Disconnect the usb drive - reconnect to any other or the same usb port fix that boot issue for that particular warm or cold boot. Not a permanent fix.
Getting only half the uefi and security updates for ASUS mainboards is another reason to stay miles away from asus mainboards.
Reference -> google hardwareluxx.de + am5 + uefi + update list. Check yourself. ~30% of those boards hardly get an update.