CONCLUSION

   When I checked the early pictures and specifications for the X570 DARK many months ago I have to admit that it felt just as good as the Z590 DARK model. Unfortunately, however unlike Intel motherboards AMD has chosen to “link” RAM performance directly with their CPUs and so anything over 4GHz needs way too much tweaking to use (both in terms of voltage and timings). Curiosity got the better of me and so i did try with the Faye 16GB 5GHz kit by Neo Forza but even 4400-4600MHz was very hard to achieve (again, much higher voltage needed with higher CAS latency – was unable to go any higher – didn’t push the motherboard a lot however). Of course, with a very fast CPU like the Ryzen 5900X even 4GHz is extremely good (lower timings matter quite a but too) but i truly hope AMD improves things with their upcoming line. As for everything else well not much i can say, the X570 DARK scores high all across the board and even though for the most part it exchanges blows with the GIGABYTE X570S Master overall it’s slightly better (VRM and CPU temperatures were also less so you should be able to squeeze even more in terms of performance).

   With 2 days left until Christmas the X570 DARK motherboard by EVGA retails for no less than USD689.99 inside the USA (evga.com) and that’s pretty much it’s sole downside. Of course, the X570 DARK is not alone in that price segment but even so this isn’t what I’d call an affordable motherboard. That being said however the EVGA X570 DARK is probably the best overclocking motherboard in the market today so if that’s your goal you simply can’t go wrong with it and that’s why it gets the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- OC Potential (Actively Cooled 17 Phase Digital VRM)
- 2 Reinforced & EMI Shielded PCIe 4.0 slots
- OC Features (PCIe Disable Switches / Slow Mode / Safe Boot / Triple BIOS / Dual Clear CMOS Buttons / USB BIOS Update Port)
- Dual M.2 PCIe 4.0 Slots
- ARGB Lighting
- Available BIOS Settings
- NU Audio Amplifier
- Angled Connectors
- Dual 2.5GbE Ports
- Bundle
- 3 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Dual DIMM Design (For Some)
- Only 3 PCIe Slots
- Supported RAM Speeds