ASUS Z170 ROG Maximus VIII Hero Alpha Motherboard Review

Intel® Socket 1151 for 6^th Generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™ i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors
Supports Intel® 14 nm CPU
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
* The Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 support depends on the CPU types.
* Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list

Intel® Z170

4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3866(O.C.)/3800(O.C.)/3733(O.C.)/3600(O.C.)/3500(O.C.)/3466(O.C.)/3400(O.C.)/3333(O.C.)/3300(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs.
* Refer to www.asus.com for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists).

Integrated Graphics Processor- Intel® HD Graphics support
Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DisplayPort 1.2 ports
– Supports HDMI with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz
– Supports DisplayPort with max. resolution 4096 x 2304 @ 60 Hz
Maximum shared memory of 512 MB
Supports Intel® InTru™ 3D, Quick Sync Video, Clear Video HD Technology, Insider™

Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology
Supports AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™ Technology

2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8, +gray)
1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x4 mode, +black)
3 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x1

Intel® Z170 chipset :
2 x U.2 port*¹,
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M Key design, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (Supports both SATA & PCIE SSD)*²
4 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s)
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports*³
Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology*³
ASMedia® ASM1061 controller :
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), black, *⁴,

Intel® I219V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s), GameFirst technology
Intel® LAN- Dual interconnect between the Integrated LAN controller and Physical Layer (PHY)
Anti-surge LANGuard

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Supports dual band frequency 2.4/5 GHz
Supports MU-MIMO

Bluetooth V4.1

ROG SupremeFX 2015 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
– Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
– SupremeFX Shielding Technology
– ESS® ES9023P DAC: dB SNR, dB THD+N (Max. kHz/ -bit)
– TI RC4580 2VRMS audio OP AMP(s)
Audio Feature :
– Gold-plated jacks
– DTS Connect
– Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
– Sonic SenseAmp
– Sonic Studio II
– Sonic Radar II

Intel® Z170 chipset :
6 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 4 at mid-board)
Intel® Z170 chipset : *⁵
6 x USB 2.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, , 4 at mid-board)
Intel® USB 3.1 controller :
1 x USB 3.1 port(s) (1 at back panel, black, Type-C)
Intel® USB 3.1 controller :
1 x USB 3.1 port(s) (1 at back panel, red, Type-A)

Start Button
Reset Button
LN2 Mode
ROG Aura
– Aura Lighting Control
– Aura RGB Strip Headers
Extreme Engine Digi+ :
– MicroFine Alloy Chokes
– NexFET™ Power Block MOSFET
– 10K Black Metallic Capacitors
Mem TweakIt
KeyBot II
– One-click Overclocking
– X.M.P.
– DirectKey
– ClrCMOS
– Power On
UEFI BIOS features :
– O.C. Profile
– GPU.DIMM Post
– Tweakers’ Paradise
– ROG SSD Secure Erase
– Graphic Card Information Preview
ROG RAMDisk
GameFirst III

OC Design – ASUS PRO Clock Technology
– Full BCLK range for extreme overclocking performance
5-Way Optimization by Dual Intelligent Processors 5
– 5-Way Optimization tuning key perfectly consolidates TPU, EPU, DIGI+ Power Control, Fan Xpert 3, and Turbo App
ASUS Exclusive Features :
– MemOK!
– AI Suite 3
– Ai Charger
– USB 3.1 Boost
– Disk Unlocker
– Mobo Connect
– PC Cleaner
Remote Entertainment
– Media Streamer
– HyStream
ASUS EZ DIY :
– ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
– ASUS EZ Flash 3
– ASUS USB BIOS Flashback
– Push Notice
ASUS Q-Design :
– ASUS Q-Shield
– ASUS Q-Code
– ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED)
– ASUS Q-Slot
– ASUS Q-DIMM
– ASUS Q-Connector
RAMCache

Windows® 10 , 64bit
Windows® 8.1 , 64bit
Windows® 7 , 32bit/64bit

1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s)
1 x DisplayPort
1 x HDMI
1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
1 x USB 3.1 (black)Type-C
1 x USB 3.1 (red)Type-A
2 x USB 3.0 (blue)
2 x USB 2.0
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
5 x Audio jack(s)
1 x Clear CMOS button(s)
1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button(s)
1 x ASUS Wi-Fi GO! module (Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth v4.0

2 x U.2 port
2 x Aura RGB Strip Headers
2 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 3.0 port(s)
2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s)
1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M Key design, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (Supports both SATA & PCIE SSD)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
4 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
1 x System panel(s) (Q-Connector)
1 x 5-pin EXT_FAN(Extension Fan) connector
1 x MemOK! button(s)
1 x Thermal sensor connector(s)
1 x Power-on button(s)
1 x Reset button(s)
1 x Water Pump header (4-pin)
1 x LN2 Mode jumper(s)
1 x ROG extension (ROG_EXT) header(s)
1 x Safe Boot button
1 x ReTry button
1 x Slow Mode jumper(s)

User’s manual
ASUS Q-Shield
6 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s)
1 x M.2 Screw Package
1 x CPU installation tool
1 x Supporting DVD
1 x ASUS 2T2R dual band Wi-Fi moving antennas (Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n compliant)
1 x SLI bridge(s)
1 x Q-connector(s) (1 in 1)
1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s)
ROG Fan Label
1 x ROG Door Hanger(s)
1 x Extension Cable for RGB strips (40 cm)
1 x Extension Cable for RGB strips (80 cm)

1 x 128 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI3.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 3.0, ACPI 5.0, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 3, CrashFree BIOS 3, F11 EZ Tuning Wizard, F6 Qfan Control, F3 My Favorites, F9 Quick Note, Last Modified log, F12 PrintScreen, F3 Shortcut functions and ASUS DRAM SPD (Serial Presence Detect) memory information.

WfM2.0, DMI3.0, WOL by PME, PXE

Drivers
ROG GameFirst technology
ROG RAMDisk
ROG RAMCache
ROG CPU-Z
ROG Mem TweakIt
Overwolf
ROG Keybot II
ROG Aura (Lighting Control)
Kaspersky® Anti-Virus
DAEMON Tools Pro Standard
ASUS WebStorage
ASUS Utilities

ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )

*1 The U.2_2 shares bandwidth with SATA6G_1234.
*2 The M.2 x4 shares bandwidth with PCIEX4_3.
*3 This function will work depending on the CPU installed.
*4 These SATA ports are for data hard drives only. ATAPI devices are not supported.
*5 2 x USB2.0 ports at mid-board shares with ROG extension (ROG_EXT) port.