When it comes to ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) Crosshair Extreme boards we’ve only seen one, and that was with the X370 chipset. Even with the introduction of high-end X570 chipset, which really put AMD on top in terms of features we did not see a Crosshair Extreme board. As we are seeing a sort of refresh of X570 motherboards we are finally getting one! Today we are checking out the ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme which will sit as their new flagship X570 motherboard, and it definitely deserves it as it is jam-packed with features! You are going to get an 18+2 power phase design, room for up to five Gen4 M.2 drives, 10G and 2.5G Ethernet, WiFi 6E, USB 3.2 gen 2×2, Thunderbolt 4, a 2-inch OLED display, and a slew of ASUS-exclusive features! This is going to be one of, if not the premier X570 motherboard, but is it worth the $799 price tag? Read on as we find out!
Special thanks to ASUS for providing us with the ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme Motherboard to review.
Features
AMD AM4 socket: Ready for AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series, 5000 G-Series, 4000 G-Series, 3000 Series, 3000 G-Series, 2000 Series and 2000 G-Series desktop processors; also supports up to two M.2 drives and features USB 3.2 Gen 2 and AMD StoreMI to maximize connectivity and speed
Comprehensive thermal design: Enlarged VRM heatsinks plus integrated aluminum I/O cover, high-conductivity thermal pad, five M.2 heatsinks with embedded backplates and ROG Water-Cooling Zone.
Robust power delivery: 18+2 power stages rated for 90 A, ProCool II power connectors, microfine alloy chokes and 10K Japanese-made black metallic capacitors
High-performance connectivity: USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 front-panel with PD3.0 60W fast charging, onboard WiFi 6E, Marvell® AQtion 10 Gb Ethernet, Intel® 2.5 Gb Ethernet, and ASUS LANGuard.
Industry-leading gaming audio: ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 with ESS® ES9018Q2C DAC and the bundled ROG Clavis USB digital-to-analog converter for high-fidelity sound.
Unmatched personalization: 2ʺ LiveDash OLED, ASUS-exclusive Aura Sync RGB lighting, including one RGB header and three addressable Gen 2 RGB headers
DIY-friendly design: Bundled ROG Fan Controller, pre-mounted I/O shield, V_Latch switch, BIOS FlashBack™, M.2 Q-Latch, Q-Code, FlexKey, Q-Connector, SafeSlot and Graphics Card Holder
Renowned software: Bundled 1-year AIDA64 Extreme subscription
You can check out a full list of specifications HERE.
Packaging
The ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme comes in ASUS’s typical retail packaging for their motherboards, but that box is definitely larger than most. On the front it says “ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme” with a large ROG logo. On the back many of the features of the board are detailed.
This motherboard has the most accessories I’ve ever seen shipped with a board before. We have our manuals, six SATA cables, ARGB splitter, RGB extension cable, fan splitter cables, ROG fan controller, ROG DIMM.2 module, ROG Clavis DAC, WiFi Antenna, Q-connector, ROG keychain, ROG screwdriver, ROG stickers, ROG USB flash drive (drivers included), ROG thank you card, ROG case badge, and M.2 screws.
Some of the accessories that really stand out are the ROG fan controller, ROG Clavis DAC, and ROG DIMM.2 module. The ROG fan controller is a small device that you can mount inside your system which supports up to six fans (both power and ARGB connections) as well as two thermal probe connections. It is powered by a single SATA power connection and uses USB header to communicate with your motherboard for software control.
The ROG Clavis is a USB-C to 3.5 mm gaming DAC with AI Noise-Canceling Mic, MQA rendering tech, ESS 9281 QUAD DAC, audio amplifier and Aura Sync. It is not only compatible with your PC, but also mobile devices.
The DIMM.2 module looks like a memory module, but it is actually a specially made piece of tech that plugs into the special DIMM.2 slot in your motherboard. Taking it apart it supports up to two 110 mm NVMe or SATA M.2 drives.
