ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Extreme Review

Up Close – Fine Details

Making sure we miss nothing – the RGB headers we spoke of on the previous page are at the top of this photo, with the 24 pin ATX above an additional 6 pin PCIe power connector.

  

Below those we can have another look at that gorgeous mirrored M.2 heatsink. If you’ve got a case with ALL the USB ports you’ll be pleased to see two USB Type-C headers and two Type-A for all your connection needs. The top Type-C is USB Gen2x2 whilst the bottom is regular USB Gen2 5Gb. Lastly before we get to the bottom edge the six SATA ports for your regular storage and somewhere to put those braided SATA cables.

  

In keeping with such a high end motherboard the bottom right edge of the Crosshair VIII Extreme is dedicated to covering all your watercooling needs, from flow monitoring to radiator fans. Hardcore overclockers will appreciate the three buttons that allow you to either retry your current overclock, revert to safe settings, or swap to an alternate BIOS. All the tools you require to maximise your CPU.

  

Things almost feel serene at the bottom left in comparison. USB 2.0 headers, AURA Sync connectors and an LN2 mode jumper are all you can play with. Focus on polishing that mirror finish instead.

  

Beneath that huge heatsink there is all the power anyone could hope to find. 18+2 power stages with 90A are tied with 10K black CAPs and microfine alloy chokes. We can’t emphasise enough how sturdy this heatsink is. If lockdown has left your arms feeling in desperate need of some gym work, just lift this up and down a few times. It’s a beast.

  

Let’s finish up with a closer look at the M.2 heatsink and full-colour OLED combination. The heatsink is as big as all the others although naturally on top of that there is the screen itself.