ASUS silently updated its socket sTRX4 motherboard lineup with the ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming. Whispers of this board along with a "Prime TRX40 PRO-S" model date back to February, when a Hardware Info report described them as near-identical successors of the ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming and Prime TRX40-PRO, with upgraded CPU VRM setups, as ASUS probably felt the two needed an improved VRM to cope with the rigors of a 64-core/128-thread Ryzen Threadripper 3990X processor, particularly overclocking it.

The company had already upgraded its flagship ROG Zenith II Extreme to the beefed-up Zenith II Extreme Alpha. The ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming is identical to the original ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming, right until you pop open its VRM heatsink. ASUS is using beefier 70 A phases with the XE, carried over from the original ROG Zenith II Extreme. The Extreme Alpha which now tops the lineup, uses even stronger 90 A power stages. The original ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming still very much does support the Threadripper 3990X, including overclocking it, though not as well as the ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming. The Prime TRX40 PRO-S remains elusive. ASUS is pricing the ROG Strix TRX40-XE Gaming at USD $549.