ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula review

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Introduction

ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula motherboard

We check out the new Crosshair VIII Formula motherboard from ASUS with a Ryzen 7 3700X processor, AMD prepped the X570 chipset, that offers a more fine-tuned experience for your Ryzen Generation 3 processor. The new Formula has embedded liquid cooling blocks, 5 Gbps Ethernet and AX WIFI. The X570 motherboard is residing in the high-end motherboard spectrum for the 3rd generation AMD Ryzen processors. With this release, you will spot a breathtaking motherboard loaded with features, DDR4 A-XMP functions, and PCIe 4.0 PCI slots and multiple PCIe 4.0 connected M.2. slots, with a massive heatsink. 

AMD has been going strong over the past year, rattling all the cages with an Intel logo on them. From top to bottom they have been able to compete with Intel. With Zen2 (codename 'Matisse') AMD is introducing a new line of processors starting at hexacore processors in the entry-level to mainstream segment (yeah, you read that right), eight and twelve cores for the mainstream to high-end, and up to 16-core Ryzen processors for the enthusiast level. It is batpoop crazy when you think about what AMD has accomplished in, what has it been, two years time? Sure, the initial ZEN Ryzen processors had a bit of a rocky launch with the inter-core latency discussion, 1080p gaming performance as well as memory support. But the tide turned with each month that passed, and over time more and more people would actually consider an AMD processor-based PC for their next purchase. That shift in the paradigm is big when you think about Intel's monopolized position in the desktop processor market. When AMD launched the 12nm update of Zen, called Zen+, the memory compatibility issues were mostly all gone, of course, and with the launch of Ryzen 3000, the 3rd generation Ryzen products, AMD is about to rattle the cages once again with a massively strong and competitive processor lineup. A topic of discussion has been chipset compatibility. Basically, in short, if you have a Series 300 or 400 chipsets AMD motherboard, you should seek a BIOS/firmware update from your motherboard's manufacturer. Ryzen 3000 processors will (read: should) work fine, with one distinction, you have reverted back to PCIe Gen 3.0, and that also goes for the x4 PCIe based interlink between the CPU and chipset. When we reverse the situation (use a Ryzen Series 1000 or 2000 on X570) we see a similar condition, most of the older Ryzen processors will work fine on X570, just not with PCIe 4.0 and dandy features like optional AX Wi-fi 6


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The ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
Anything Crosshair Formula ends up being the ASUS flagship AMD motherboard and is priced as such, at roughly 599 EUR/USD you do get something special though. You'll notice ROG themed aesthetics while the Formula even uses EKWB heatsinks that you may connect to a custom water cooling loop for better power delivery temperatures. Not that it is needed as even passive cooled the temps are fine. The Formula has a CPU power delivery circuit comprised of 14 power stages teamed across 7-phases to fuel all the CPU cores.
The board is obviously based on the X570 chipset and thus its feature set. This socket AM4 motherboard offers extensive DDR4 memory support (as well as all other modern usual suspects like USB 3.2 Gen1 and 2, NVMe protocol 1.3 based M.2 support over PCI-Express Gen 4.0 and of course generic PCI-Express Gen 4.0 mechanical slots. You'll spot gear like a LiveDash OLED screen displaying status codes and temperatures. Even the backside has a huge backplate, armor if you will. where things get more exquisite is networking as an Aquantia AQC111 5 GbE controller is complementary built into the motherboard and a secondary Intel I211AT gigabit chip offering you dual LAN. Equally impressive is WIFI, ASUS includes Wi-Fi 6 by making use of an Intel AX200 2x2 Wi-Fi adapter. The 802.11ax protocol and can broadcast fast signals up to a theoretical peak of 2400Mbps. The motherboard is a very feature-rich product that will look awesome in any DIY PC build. The dark styled PCB comes with shielding and very subtle light accents. Features wise you may expect triple x16 PCI-Express slots (16x/8x/4x), an 8-channel Realtek SupremeFX S1220 HD audio codec solution. The list goes on and on, so let's start up an overview and have a peek at this board shall we?

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