Introduction
In our most up-to-date motherboard review, we introduced ASRock’s latest tier of boards, the CHALLENGER. This motherboard group was first released in July of 2025 for the AMD B850 chipset. It was developed to supply a full-featured entry-level gaming-centric motherboard group, providing a board that was easy on the budget. The boards are also without fancy lighting and a few EZ DIY features. It now includes the X870 and X870E in addition to the Intel B860. Within the ASRock scheme of things, the ASRock X870E CHALLENGER WiFi represents the entry level, placed just under the Phantom Gaming X870E NOVA and the top-of-the-line X870E TAICHI. Although the X870E CHALLENGER WiFi is billed as a budget-friendly board, we are going to see that it’s feature-rich and has all of the connectivity and functionality defined by AMD to represent the X870E class. Currently, the ASRock X870E CHALLENGER WiFi is listed at $229 on Newegg and carries a three-year warranty. We are going to dig into the small print, benchmark this board, and see what it offers.
ASRock X870E Challenger WiFi White AM5 AMD X870E ATX Motherboard
Packaging and Contents
The motherboard was shipped directly from ASRock. This can be a full retail package. We found the standard packing format. The board was placed inside an anti-static bag and guarded by cardboard inserts. The wifi antenna was packed on top, and the accessories underneath. The accessories included: booklets, a sheet of stickers, two SATA cables, and a case badge.
ASRock X870E CHALLENGER WiFi Features
This board is a full-sized ATX motherboard outfitted in all black with either white or gold lettering. The I/O heatsink, M.2 heatsink, and chipset heatsink have been given some extra detailing in comparison with the X870 version we just reviewed. Overall, this can be a very clean-looking board. The motherboard PCB is fashioned from 8-layer server-grade material; it’s solid and has no bend or flex. The heatsinks are equivalent to what we saw on the X870 version. The first M.2 has an EZ release function. There are 4 M.2 slots on the board. Slots 2,3 and 4 would require a Phillips screwdriver to access. All of the M.2 applications are tool-less using rotary clasps. The first PCIe slot is reinforced. The PCIe slots utilize standard clasps. There isn’t any digital de-bug or power button on the board. There may be an LED panel at the highest right which has 4 functions to help in troubleshooting. Fancy lighting is absent from this motherboard. There are the standard RGB headers, which may be controlled by Polychrome Sync software.
The ASRock X870E CHALLENGER WiFi does have abundant connectivity. There are 4 M.2 slots, one Gen5 and three Gen4 (all of that are x4 speed with none BIOS adjustments). The rear I/O panel is well equipped with ten USB-A (three 5Gb/s, five 10Gb/s, and two 2.0) and two USB-C (40Gb/s) ports. Also, there are HDMI, 5Gb/s RJ-45, WiFi ports, 3.5mm audio jacks, SPDIF, and a Clear CMOS and BIOS flashback button. Audio is RealTek ALC4082, ethernet is RealTek 8126, and WiFi is RealTek RTL 8922AE.
Power Delivery
ASRock states the X870E CHALLENGER WiFi has 20+2+1 power phase support. VCore power is 110Amps DRMOS. All in all, the facility delivery here appears to be greater than adequate. The ability is delivered via two 8-pin CPU connectors, top-left. The VRM heatsinks are quite heavy. There don’t seem like any heatpipes. ASRock also employs black heavy-duty capacitors. The PCB is constituted of 8 layers with inlaid copper. Overall, the board feels sturdy with none flex or bending.
CPU Socket, Memory, and Storage
The ASRock X870E CHALLENGER WiFi supports socket AM5 CPUs within the Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 series. There may be ample space surrounding the socket to put most, if not all, CPU coolers. Our MSI AIO MAG Core 360I gave us no mounting issues. Memory supported includes DDR5 DIMMs as much as 256 GB in total. Frequencies are advertised as much as 8200MT/s (OC). XMP and Expo profiles are supported for 1-click overclocking. The memory slots are dual-latch. The spacing seems adequate for big CPU coolers. The one issue here could also be tall DIMM heatsinks in slot A1 and low cooling fins on an air-cooled heatsink.
As was mentioned above, there are 4 M.2 slots on this board. The first M.2 is derived from the CPU and is Gen5 x 4 (128Gb/s). M.2_2, M.2_3, and M.2 _4 are Gen4 x 4(64Gb/s) with lanes derived from the chipset. The first slot has the ASRock EZ-Release heatsink and a thermal pad placed on the bottom of the slot. The opposite three slots are bare, supported by a rubber bumper, and have thermal pads only on the highest of the heatsink. The position of M.2_2 and M.2_3 is just under the first PCIe slot. These “may” be fully usable if the native heatsink just isn’t too tall. Even then, you would need to forego the motherboard heatsink. There simply just isn’t enough space. Nonetheless, heat from a big GPU could also be an issue. Slot M.2_4 is somewhat out of the best way, just adjoining to the chipset heatsink. It ought to be fully usable together with a big GPU. That being said, our ASRock RX 7600 XT Steel Legend video card is a 2.5-slot card, and it covers every M.2 slot aside from the first. There are also 2 SATA 6Gb/s ports on the lower right side.
Expansion
Expansion on this motherboard consists of two full-length PCIe slots and one PCIe x1 slot. There are only standard clasps. The first PCIe slot is metal-reinforced. The first PCIe slot supports Gen5 x 16 speed, while the second slot is Gen3 x 2. The smaller slot supports x1 speed. As we stated, you’ve got no EZ benefits in terms of the discharge of the GPU in either slot, and the tolerance is tight. When the GPU is installed, you’ve got only in regards to the outer half of the clasp to make use of to release it.
I/O
The rear I/O of the ASRock X870E CHALLENGER WiFi is well outfitted. The backplate is embedded as we’ve got come to see on nearly every motherboard currently. Working from left to right: clear CMOS and Quick Flashback buttons, WiFi ports, HDMI port, 2 USB-A Ultra Power ports, (5Gb/s) and a pair of USB-A Lightning Gaming ports(10Gb/s low latency), 2 USB-A 2.0 ports, 2 USB-A 10Gb/s ports, USB-A 10Gb/s and USB-C 40Gb/s, 5G RJ-45 LAN, USB-A 5Gb/s and USB-C 40Gb/s, finally SPDIF and two 3.5mm audio jacks.
On the foremost board, there are a complete of seven 4-pin fan headers, three top-board labelled AIO_Pump, CPU_Fan 1 and CPU FAN 2, 4 on the underside row, certainly one of which is labelled Water Pump. All fan headers may be controlled by either Fan-tastic within the BIOS or Fan Control within the ASRock motherboard utility. The best side of the board houses two ARGB headers, 24-pin power, USB-A 5Gb/s front panel header, USB-C 10Gb/s front panel port, and a pair of SATA ports. The underside row has the front panel header, 4 fan headers, a USB-A 5Gb/2 front panel port, two USB 2.0 headers, one other ARGB header, one 12V LED header, and the audio header. RGB may be controlled by ASRock Polychrome SYNC software.
