ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Formula review - 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