ASUS will upgrade existing X399 motherboards to add Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Gen WX OC support

ASUS to upgrade existing X399 motherboards to support overclocking Ryzen Threadripper WX processors

ASUS will upgrade existing X399 motherboards to add Ryzen Threadripper 2nd Gen WX OC support

Yesterday, we gave you a look at MSI’s upcoming MEG X399 Creation motherboard, a premium mainboard design with an insane 19-phase power design, which is intended for extreme-grade overclocking with Threadripper series processors. 

With ASUS, we see a conflicting design philosophy. Why create new X399 motherboards for second-generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs when existing models only need minor modifications? According to 4gamers, ASUS plans to release upgrade kits for their existing X399 motherboards to support “maximum OC performance” on Threadripper WX series processors.     

MSI decided that they needed a new flagship motherboard for Threadripper 2nd Generation, whereas ASUS believes that their existing X399 motherboards are already good enough, requiring relatively minor design tweaks to support next-generation overclocking. This upgrade includes the addition of an extra heatsink as well as the addition of a new cooling fan over the processor’s top VRM heatsink. 

BIOS updates will also be required to support new Threadripper 2 series processors, though 4gamers‘ report has also claimed that ASUS will ship newly made X399 motherboards with supported BIOS files and heatsink upgrade kits pre-installed. 

 

ASUS to upgrade existing X399 motherboards to support overclocking Ryzen Threadripper WX processors

According to the ASUS slides above and below, upgrade kits will become available for ASUS’ ROG Zenith Extreme first sometime in August, with upgrade kits for their X399-A Prime and X399-E Strix motherboards releasing later.  

These upgrade kits are reportedly available through a product registration program, though ASUS is reportedly considering the separate sale of these cooling upgrade kits. 

  
ASUS to upgrade existing X399 motherboards to support overclocking Ryzen Threadripper WX processors

Users of ASUS’ X399 motherboards can rejoice, because it appears that ASUS has kitted out their existing motherboards with VRMs that are more than capable of handling Threadripper 2 series processors, with these marketing slides stating that these cooling upgrade kits are designed to maximise overclocking performance, implying that stock operation is fine without them. 

You can join the discussion on ASUS’ planned Threadripper 2nd Generation upgrade kits for existing X399 motherboards on the OC3D Forums. Â