Taipei, Taiwan (2nd March, 2017) — ASUS and ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced a brand-new lineup of AM4-socket motherboards designed to maximize the potential of the latest AMD® Ryzen™ processors.
The exciting new motherboards include ROG Crosshair VI Hero and ASUS Prime X370-Pro, B350-Plus and B350M-A, all loaded with exclusive technologies to enable users to achieve the perfect balance between overclocking and cooling to extract every ounce of gaming performance from AMD’s powerful new CPUs.
The all-new ASUS and ASUS ROG AM4-socket motherboards also offer multiple customization and personalization options, heralding a new era for PC DIY. These include ASUS Aura Sync, the world’s first motherboard-synced RGB illumination technology for synchronization with Aura Sync-enabled devices, and 3D-printing-friendly designs that make it easy for users to print and fit their own custom parts to improve both aesthetics and performance.
Commenting on the new AM4-socket motherboards Joe Hsieh, ASUS Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Motherboard Business Unit said: “For years ASUS has had a consistent and evolving relationship with AMD. This partnership is based on leveraging each other’s leading technological capabilities to enable an outstanding user experience on the AMD platform. For this generation we’ve innovated in the field of customization, adding personalization options like 3D printing and Aura Sync RGB lighting, so users will never again have to stare into a drab, unexciting computer case. It’s time for users to fully unleash their imaginations and the power of AMD Ryzen processors — and the blazing overclocking performance of a new ASUS ROG Crosshair Series or Prime Series motherboard is the perfect way to do just that!”
ROG Crosshair VI Hero: Return of the Hero
Crosshair VI Hero is the latest high-performance gaming motherboard from the ROG stable, engineered with ASUS-exclusive T-Topology technology to minimize coupling noise and signal reflection. T-Topology’s innovative equidistant memory channels delivers the most balanced control for powerful overclocking potential — enabling Crosshair VI Hero to drive overclocked DDR4 performance up to or even beyond 3200MHz in a four-DIMM configuration. ROG also works with almost every DDR4 memory vendor to ensure the best compatibility.
By pushing the limits with extreme cooling, Crosshair VI Hero fitted with a Ryzen 7 1800X processor reached new heights on Cinebench R15, scoring 2454 cb. For CPU frequency validation, it reaches 5802.93MHz by enabling the eight cores and 16 threads of the processor.
Crosshair VI Hero is also loaded with the latest ROG SupremeFX exclusive S1220 codec, delivering an exceptional 113dB signal-to-noise ratio on the line-in connection and 120dB on line-out. Plus Sonic Studio III’s all-new routing feature ports streams to different outputs, while gamers are able to dominate the battlefield with the newly upgraded Sonic Radar III overlay. Also, ROG GameFirst IV optimizes network traffic for faster and lag-free online gaming, while enabling the bandwidth of up to four networks to be teamed.
ROG’s innovative Water Cooling Zone allows users to monitor system cooling like never before, with dual water-temperature headers and a flow-rate header feeding information directly into ROG’s intuitive Fan Xpert 4 utility
Crosshair VI Hero offers backward compatibility with existing AM3 coolers, enabling users to upgrade easily. The new motherboard also has an onboard USB 3.1 front-panel connector and PCI Express® 3.0 32Gbps M.2 for ultra-fast connectivity and data transfers.
ASUS-exclusive 5-Way Optimization dynamically optimizes essential aspects of Crosshair VI Hero systems based on real-time use, including the all-new Stress Test Distribution feature that allows users to adjust the proportion of CPU and DRAM stress for the best overclocking performance. As well, the latest-generation Fan Xpert 4 allows users to monitor the GPU temperature to ensure cooler usage scenarios when the graphics card[1] is under heavy loads, such as during 3D content creation or when gaming.
Crosshair VI Hero also embraces the growing trend for customization, with its 3D-printing-friendly design. ASUS has always strived to make it easier for users to customize the cosmetic appearance of their PC components, and now ROG has become the world’s first motherboard brand to support 3D-printed components — making it easy for users to print their own parts to customize the Crosshair VI Hero’s appearance, improve system performance or manage cables. Dedicated onboard 3D mounts that use the same screws as M.2 and standard motherboard mounting holes make fitting 3D-printed parts easy, so users can quickly add cable covers, or even an M.2 fan holder to lower M.2 temperature by up to 30°C — preventing throttling.
ROG has also designed a series of 3D-printable accessories, including a 2-way SLI™ bridge cover, fan grille, ROG-font letters and all sizes of cable combs, adding style to any build.
ASUS Prime X370-Pro, B350-Plus and B350M-A: Primed to outclass
ASUS Prime X370-Pro, B350-Plus and B350M-A represent the next evolution of the ASUS motherboard, born of a pedigree that stretches all the way back to 1989. Our team of world-class engineers are passionate about empowering everyone to enjoy the benefits of customization and tuning, and the driving force behind the development of Prime is to make advanced enthusiast controls easily accessible — maximizing performance, stability and compatibility for the very best DIY PC experiences.
Prime X370-Pro features ASUS-exclusive 5-Way Optimization for one-click full-system tuning, with upgraded auto-tuning easily overclock up to 4.07GHz and beyond, plus the newly upgraded Fan Xpert 4 with the ability to monitor GPU[2] temperatures for cooler gaming. Third-gen T-Topology pushes DDR4 up to 3200MHz and beyond, with ultra-consistent quality and minimal crosstalk.
Prime X370-Pro also delivers refined audio experiences with the exclusive S1220A codec. Designed in close collaboration with Realtek®, the codec improves performance to provide 120dB signal-to-noise ratio for the stereo line-out and 113dB SNR for the line-in, to capture pristine audio; and has an impedance-sensing circuit that automatically adjusts the gain to ensure the optimal volume range for headphones.
Ultra-fast connectivity is also a key theme of the all-new Prime X370-Pro, with an M.2 slot to tap into 32Gbps of PCI Express bandwidth, and USB 3.1 Type-A and reversible Type-C™ front-panel connector. Prime X370-Pro also includes ASUS SLI HB Bridge (2-Way-M), a quick-to-fit expansion card that doubles the available transfer bandwidth to provide silky-smooth surround gaming, and which is compatible with NVIDIA® Titan X, GeForce® GTX™ 1080 and GeForce GTX 1070 graphics cards.
Prime X370-Pro, B350-Plus and B350M benefit from 5X Protection III’s multiple hardware safeguards, now enhanced with SafeSlot Core — the ASUS-exclusive PCI Express slot. With a fortified design that is anchored to the motherboard by a special hook, SafeSlot Core provides 1.6X-stronger retention and 1.3X-greater shearing resistance than standard expansion slots. 5X Protection III also includes LANGuard for safer Ethernet connections, Overvoltage Protection to prevent damage from voltage spikes, the Digi+ voltage-regulator module (VRM) for smooth power delivery, DRAM Overcurrent Protection with resettable fuses, a stainless-steel rear I/O panel to prevent corrosion, and ESD Guards to fend off electrical spikes and surges.
Outshine the Competition: Aura Sync RGB illumination
ASUS Aura Sync is the world’s first motherboard-RGB-synchronization technology, and is a feature of both ROG Crosshair VI Hero and Prime X370-Pro. It delivers distinctive light shows across Aura Sync-capable motherboards, graphics cards and peripherals for up to nine effects — all controlled via the simple and intuitive Aura app.
The all-new Music mode is also able to pulse synchronized LEDs in time to the user’s favorite tunes. Users are able enhance their illumination still further, either via the integrated 4-pin/12V Aura RGB header or the included extension cable. Aura offers a brilliant spectrum of colors, and can even change shades to reflect the CPU temperature, providing valuable information at a glance.
AVAILABILITY & PRICING
ASUS Prime X370-Pro, B350-Plus, B350M-A and ROG Crosshair VI Hero will be available immediately in the UK from leading retailers. Please contact your local ASUS representative for further information.
[1] Supports ASUS GTX700 or later graphics cards
[2] Supports ASUS GTX700 or later graphics cards
