ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced ROG Strix Scope, the mechanical gaming keyboard with Xccurate Design - an extra-wide Ctrl key for enhanced precision on FPS battlefields. The Control (Ctrl) key is crucial to success in modern first-person-shooter games. With this in mind the ROG R&D team carefully examined the play style of FPS gamers, applying their findings to create a Ctrl key that's more than 2X wider than traditional Ctrl keys as well as a shortened left Windows key that's designed to be less of a target.

For gamers wanting to switch things up a bit, the all-black look of Strix Scope can be punctuated by four silver-colored caps for the vital WASD key group. Included with Strix Scope, these alternative caps create a striking contrast to the rest of the keys - a standout look that benefits both form and function. A special keycap-puller tool is also bundled for easy removal and customization of the most-used keys.

ASUS today unveiled the obscenely wide ROG Strix XG49VQ 49-inch curved gaming monitor, with an aspect ratio of 32:9, or what you'd get if you put two 16:9 monitors side-by-side. With a resolution of 3840 x 1080, or half the pixels of 4K UHD, the monitor features an 1800R curvature. There are two notable branded features associated with this display: VESA DisplayHDR 400, and AMD FreeSync HDR. There are some impressive display specifications on tap, too, such as 144 Hz maximum refresh-rate, 178°/178° viewing-angles thanks to its VA panel, 4 ms (GTG) response time, and 450 cd/m² maximum brightness. Display inputs include DisplayPort 1.2a, and two HDMI 2.0 ports. The monitor features the full suite of ASUS GameFirst OSD utilities. You also get 5 W stereo speakers a 2-port USB 2.0 hub. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Phanteks today announced the launch of two new Glacier series GPU blocks, corresponding backplates, a vertical GPU bracket and flat riser cables to add to their product portfolio. This includes the Glacier G2080Ti XTREME and the Glacier G2080Ti STRIX for the Gigabyte AORUS Extreme RTX 2080/2080 Ti and the ASUS Strix RTX 2080/2080 Ti respectively. Both of these blocks use a minimalist design that extends the length of the PCB, allowing for a full cover fit to cool the GPU, VRAM and VRMs alike. Integrated digital RGB lighting coupled with an anodized or chrome-plate cover plate, a polished acrylic top, and a nickel-plated copper cold plate round off the aesthetics.

Phanteks made sure to give some love to the NVIDIA Founders Edition RTX 2080(Ti) cards as well with Glacier G2080Ti backplate that is designed to work with their own Glacier G2080TiFE water block, since the AIC cards come with their own backplate that can be re-used with the GPU blocks mentioned above. We get two color options here, and the backplate extends the entire length of the PCB again. The GPU blocks will be available for $149.99 each and the backplate costs $29.99/39.99 for the black/chrome versions towards the end of this month. Read past the break for more on their new accessories.

ASUS dabbled with cases from time to time, and its latest creation is the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Strix Helios, an ATX mid-tower to go with your other ROG Strix-branded hardware. Built with brushed-metal finished steel and tinted tempered glass, the Strix Helios features an elaborate aRGB LED illuminated front embellishment that includes the ROG logo, which can be directly plugged in to the 3-pin aRGB header of your motherboard. It also comes with four USB 3.1 front-panel ports, one of which is type-C, all of which plug into your motherboard's standard USB 3.1 headers. You also get LED and fan-controls.

Although marketed as a mid-tower, the ROG Strix Helios is large, measuring 249 mm x 564 mm x 592 mm (WxHxD), and supports E-ATX motherboards in addition to smaller form-factors. Inside, you get a horizontally partitioned layout. Storage areas include two 3.5-inch/2.5-inch trays, and four additional 2.5-inch mounts. Among the cooling features are three 140 mm front intakes, which come with three factory-fitted fans, two 140/120 mm top vents that are vacant, and a 120 mm rear exhaust, which has a factory-fitted fan. In addition to 8 expansion slots, you get 2 vertically oriented slots so you can show off your graphics card better (PCIe riser cable not included). The company didn't reveal pricing.

ASUS at CES showcased their upcoming lineup of ROG Strix gaming monitors specifically crafted for usage with AMD's FreeSync 2. The new monitors look to cater to most of the market with their diagonals and resolutions. These are premium solutions, with the smallest, the XG32VQR, sporting a 32" 1440p panel, 144 Hz native refresh rate, and VESA's HDR400 certification. The XG438Q ups the ante to a 43" panel and 4K resolution screen, with a 120 Hz base refresh rate (overclockable up to 144 Hz) and HDR 600, while the XG49VQ is of the ultra wide variety, featuring a DFHD (3840 x 1080) resolution, 144 Hz base refresh rate, and HDR 400.

All monitors feature a FreeSync 2 range of 48-120/144Hz, all employ a VA panel and a 4 ms response rating. The 43-inch sports 10-watt speakers, the 49-inch model has a pair of 5-watt speakers and the 32-inch XG32VQR lacks the completely. No pricing was available at time of writing, but these are ASUS' premium offering s for the FreeSync ecosystem, and with those specs, they likely won't come cheap.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OC Call of Duty : Black Ops 4 Edition graphics card, an exclusive limited-edition version that's restricted to a production run of just 500 units and available only in selected territories. Decorated with the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Edition insignia, the card pairs the NVIDIA A-list GPU with gargantuan power delivery and cooling, and boasts out-of-the-box Boost clocks up to 1665 MHz to ensure performance stays silky smooth during frantic action.

ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OC Call of Duty : Black Ops 4 Edition keeps Turing cool by adopting a 2.7-slot design and devoting most of that real estate to a large heatsink that has 20% more surface area than previous-generation cards. The massive fin assembly allows completely passive operation during light gaming, and when active cooling is needed, it's provided by three IP5X-certified Axial-Tech fans developed specifically for the task. Featuring a smaller hub and longer blades surrounded by a barrier ring to increase structural integrity and static pressure, the new fans shift more air and generate less noise.

ASUS has a new premium display about to be released: the 32-inch ASUS ROG Strix XG32VQR is already listed on its website, and it is an evolution of its existing ROG Strix XG32VQ. Both share 1440p resolution, VA panel, 4ms grey-to-grey response time and 1800mm curvature. The difference between both is the HDR support: the new XG32VQR has both DisplayHDR 400 and FreeSync 2 HDR certifications. The latter offers improvements in usability but also in gaming scenarios that are not covered in the VESA DisplayHDR specifications.

The peak brightness of the new monitor also goes further than its predecessor and goes from 300 to 450 nits. The display has support for a range of FreeSync refresh rates ranging from 48 to 144 Hz, which allow it to work seamlessly with Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) technology from AMD. Company spokepersons clarified a few weeks ago the confusion with the FreeSync 2 certification, and explained that "it is possible for a display to meet the FreeSync 2 HDR requirements but fail the DisplayHDR 600 minimums. Such a display may have the DisplayHDR 400 logo and the FreeSync 2 HDR logo, but it would be exceeding the minimum requirements of DisplayHDR 400".

With multi-GPU on the decline, AMD Ryzen platform buyers are drawn to the mid-range AMD B450 chipset-based motherboards as the chipset still offers CPU overclocking features not available on its Intel counterpart, the B360 Express, helping buyers save money over X470-based products. Motherboard vendors, seeing a potential for enthusiasts seeking out B450, have each launched quasi-premium motherboards based on the chipset, such as the GIGABYTE Aorus B450 Pro, MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon, and ASUS ROG Strix B450-F Gaming. ASUS is taking this concept further with the better-endowed new ROG Strix B450-E Gaming. This product is interesting, because ASUS hasn't yet launched a Strix-E SKU based on the AMD X470. The company included a mention of the product in its launch reveal for its AMD B450 motherboard series, and is beginning to roll the product out.

The ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming features a more premium CPU VRM than even the Strix X470-F, with a "12-phase" (likely blind-doubled 8-phase CPU with either blind-doubled 4-phase vSOC or 2+1+1), compared to the B450-F, with its 8-phase (4 CPU + 4 SOC) design. The component quality is a step up from the Strix B450-F, and so are the VRM heatsinks. ASUS added metal reinforcement for two of the board's three PCI-Express x16 slots, although the second and third slots are x4. You also get two M.2-2280 slots, one of which comes with SSD heatsink. Intel i211-AT wired 1 GbE and Intel 9260 802.11ac + Bluetooth 5 WLAN, take care of networking. The onboard audio solution is unchanged from the Strix B450-F. The ROG Strix B450-E Gaming is priced around 149.99€.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the ROG Strix Radeon RX 590, an all-new gaming graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon RX 590 GPU and engineered with advanced cooling, reliability, performance, and customizable lighting.

ROG Strix cards take cooling to the next level, keeping temperatures low and dB levels quiet. It starts with MaxContact technology, which uses precision machining to create a heat spreader surface that makes up to 2X more contact with the GPU chip, helping to improve thermal transfer. As heat passes into the heatsink, three powerful Wing-blade fans spin up when GPU temperatures exceed 55 Celsius. Wingblade fans are a patented design that offers 105% more static pressure than traditional axial designs, ensuring air is dispersed through the entire cooling array.

ASUS, via its Republic o Gamers branding, today announced the Strix GL10CS gaming desktop, which fits full-size power into a compact 27-liter case that uses futuristic armor and ROG's obsession with speed as design inspirations.

Customizable Aura Sync RGB lighting can be controlled from Armoury Crate, a single utility that provides all-access configuration and monitoring of the GL10CS. GL10CS is equipped with up to a 6-core 12-thread Intel Core i7-8700 processor, capable of handling multiple concurrent workloads such as gaming, streaming and running voice communication for teammates. With up to 32GB of DDR4 memory, GL10CS effortlessly switches from productivity tasks to more demanding workloads provided by multi-threaded applications used by content creators.

ASUS has revealed their entire lineup, interpreting NVIDIA's RTX 2070 silicon (and its TU106 die, a first - remember that **70-class cards previously featured cut-down versions of the full NVIDIA chip). There aren't many surprised here - ASUS has already spent enough R&D in previous years so as to only need to minimally iterate on their designs for each new generation.

The ROG Strix graphics cards sit at the top of the heap, featuring the company's DirectCU III cooling tech (triple fan) in a 2.5-slot design. RGB lighting and dual BIOS support are par of the course by now, as are some of the other features - backplate and metal brace included. Connectivity-wise there are 2x HDMI 2.0b ports, 2x DisplayPort 1.4 outputs, and 1x USB Type-C port for VirtuaLink. The graphics card draws power from the 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors and will be available in three versions (Gaming OC, Gaming Advanced, and Gaming) according to factory overclocks.

It's not just GIGABYTE, even ASUS has several of its graphics cards leaked to the web. We see pictures of at least three products by the company, an ROG Strix-branded RTX 2080, a cheaper RTX 1080 Dual, and a rather basic-looking RTX 2080 Ti. The new-generation DirectCU III cooler introduced with the ROG Strix RTX 2080 looks more menacing than ever. The 2.5-slot cooler appears to feature two large aluminium fin-stacks, ventilated by three 100 mm spinners, with up to 5 copper heat pipes making direct contact with the GPU at the base. The RTX 2080 Dual features a much simpler fin-stack cooler, ventilated by just two 90 mm spinners. The RTX 2080 Ti Turbo features a lateral-blower cooler, and may be priced on par with NVIDIA's reference design.

If you've been dreaming of an external HDD that could sync its RGB goodness with that of your PC case for the ultimate in bling synchronicity, ASUS has you covered. Its new FX external HDD lineup does just that - deliver a Strix-like design with a very angular base, with detailed accents etched onto the brushed aluminum enclosure. And did I mention there is full AURA Sync support?

The FX external HDDs boast of secure 256-bit AES encryption and data compression, and has a built-in back-up software solution. Connection (both for data transfer and AURA Sync) is done via a USB 3.1 Gen1 x 1 connector via the ASM1153E controller. The FX external HDDs measure 128 x 80 x 16.3 mm and only weigh 145 grams in 1TB and 2TB capacity, while the EHD-A2T model provides 2TB of storage.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced Strix GL503 and Strix GL703, a pair of advanced 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch gaming laptops powered by up to the latest 8th Generation Intel Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-Series graphics. Designed for esports, GL503 and GL703 feature the patented Anti-Dust Cooling (ADC) system to cope with the grueling demands of gaming marathons, while ASUS Aura Sync lighting lets gamers customize and sync the colors of their gaming setup. These slim and lightweight laptops have an eye-catching design with a black brushed-finish aluminum lid incorporating an illuminated ROG logo, and deep-red thermal fins.

Desktop-grade firepower to go
GL503 and GL703 provide desktop-grade firepower in a compact and lightweight chassis that's barely an inch thick. They are powered by up to the latest 8th Generation Intel Core i7 quad-core processors that provide 23% more performance than the previous generation, and can be specified with up to 32GB of dual-channel DDR4 SDRAM to allow gamers to play games, stream videos, and surf the net simultaneously.

The folks at VideoCardz received a picture of a soon-to-be-released ASUS X470 motherboard from an unnamed sender. Judging by the motherboard's aesthetics and design, we suspect that it belongs to the Strix Series. Although there are no signs of the Strix branding on the motherboard, the rear I/O cover and the 8+2 phase VRM resemble the ones used on the ASUS ROG Strix X370-F Gaming motherboard. Initially, the "Republic" marking threw us off as ASUS isn't known for placing the Republic of Gamers branding on their previous Strix motherboards. The "Hybrid" marking remains a mystery though. The Chinese characters 玩家 that are located beside one of the memory slots literally translates to "Players", which certainly suggests that this will be a gaming-oriented motherboard. As of the time of this article, there are five confirmed X470 motherboards from ASUS: Prime X470-Pro, ROG Strix X470-F Gaming, ROG Strix X470-I Gaming, ROG Crosshair VII Hero, ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WI-FI), and TUF X470-Plus Gaming.

EK Water Blocks, the Slovenia-based premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is further expanding its RGB portfolio by releasing the EK-FC1080 GTX Ti Strix RGB water block that is compatible with all the current ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti models on the market. A while back, the GPU manufacturer had slight changes to the GPU PCB and now this full cover water block is compatible with all the PCB versions that are on the market.

This water block directly cools the GPU, RAM as well as VRM (voltage regulation module) as water flows directly over these critical areas, thus allowing the graphics card and it's VRM to remain stable under full load and high overclocks. EK-FC1080 GTX Ti Strix RGB water block features a central inlet split-flow cooling engine design for best possible cooling performance, which also works flawlessly with reversed water flow without adversely affecting the cooling performance. Moreover, such design offers great hydraulic performance allowing this product to be used in liquid cooling systems using weaker water pumps.

EK Water Blocks, the Slovenia-based premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is releasing EK-FC Radeon Vega Strix water blocks that are compatible with the ASUS ROG Strix RX VEGA64. This kind of efficient cooling will allow your high-end graphics card to reach higher boost clocks, thus providing more performance during gaming or other GPU intense tasks.

This water block directly cools the GPU, HBM2 memory, and VRM (voltage regulation module) as water flows directly over these critical areas thus allowing the graphics card and it's VRM to remain stable under high overclocks. EK-FC Radeon Vega Strix water block features a central inlet split-flow cooling engine design for best possible cooling performance, which also works flawlessly with reversed water flow without adversely affecting the cooling performance. This kind of efficient cooling will allow your high-end graphics card to reach higher boost clocks, thus providing more performance during gaming or other GPU intense tasks. Moreover, such design offers great hydraulic performance allowing this product to be used in liquid cooling systems using weaker water pumps.

ASUS is looking to introduce another keyboard solution to the market in the form of the Strix Flare RGB keyboard. The Strix Flare doubles down on the RGB goodness that has consumers diving for such products. It uses Cherry MX RGB switches (RGB Silver, Silent RGB Red, Silent RGB Black, Silent RGB Nature White); there's a white diffuser platform under the switches to more homogeneously spread the lighting effects; and the left and right sides of the keyboard sport LEDs that glow on users' desks. The clear plastic on the top right of the keyboard also basks in RGB goodness, and there are a couple of ASUS-branded stickers, and a single user-customizable one, that users can install there to achieve a desired RGB logo effect. All of this RGB goodness can be calibrated and individually controlled via ASUS' proprietary AURA Sync app.

Lighting and macros are adjustable and selectable on the fly; there are various media-dedicated controls on the left side of the keyboard, and there's profile configuration with ASUS' Armoury utility. The Strix Flare sports a detachable palm rest, USB pass-through, and is a wired affair that weighs in at 1,2 Kg with the cable, and should be available soon.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced Strix GL12, a gaming desktop with a unique combination of extreme gaming performance and striking, unconventional design. Strix GL12 is powered by up to a factory-overclocked 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics for unmatched gaming prowess. It features an esports-ready, easy-swap 2.5-inch SSD tray that can be taken out and replaced in seconds, all without having to shut down the system. Strix GL12 has aggressive, angular 'slashes' across the front of the chassis, a transparent side panel, and customizable ASUS Aura Sync lighting effects.

Strix GL12 is powered by up to an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8700K processor, with every processor having been tested and handpicked by ROG engineers to ensure the very best performance. When combined with Turbo Gear, these top-of-the-line processors can be overclocked to speeds of up to 4.8 GHz (hexa-core) - that's up to 50% faster than previous-generation processors. It's also even faster than Intel Turbo Boost, which overclocks to a maximum speed of 4.3 GHz (hexa-core).

ASUS introduced the Republic of Gamers (ROG) Strix Fusion 500 gaming headset, a step up from the Strix Fusion 300 the company launched last September. The headset essentially retains the design of the Fusion 300, but steps it up with gold-metallic body panels around the cans, RGB multi-color LED diffusers replacing the red LED accents, which you can control via ASUS Aura Sync RGB software; and under the hood enhancements.

The headset uses a higher quality ESS Sabre 9018 DAC combined with ESS 9601 amplifier. The DAC has a high SNR, and puts out 24-bit/96 kHz audio. The enhanced audio setup is mated with 50 mm ASUS Essence drivers, and improvements made to the passive acoustic dampening material around your ears. ASUS included game-specific virtual-7.1 surround DSPs with this headset. Available now, the ASUS ROG Strix Fusion is priced at USD $179.99, about $50 pricier than the Fusion 300.

ASUS has seemingly revised the PCB design of their ROG Strix GTX 1080 Ti graphics card in such a way that it has introduced compatibility issues with already-released custom waterblocks. The warning from Ek WaterBlocks (a silent one as well) comes via an update to their EK-MLC Phoenix GPU Module FC1080 GTX Ti, and EK-FC1080 GTX Ti waterblock modules product pages, where EK wrote that "Due to changes in the PCB design, ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards in the following S/N range are not compatible with EK-FC1080 GTX Ti Strix full cover water blocks: HBYVCM064817- HBYVCM999999; HCYVCM000001- HCYVCM059975".

Product revisions are a dime a dozen (particularly in motherboards). However, it's relatively rare that changes are enough to render cooling solutions completely incompatible with the new design. Granted, ASUS saw something worth some additional engineering, and went on to do it, so users looking towards the acquisition of a new GPU waterblock for their ASUS ROG Strix GTX 1080 Ti graphics card should just look closely to the serial numbers on their graphics card packaging. Based on the range of serial numbers, graphics cards manufactured on or after November 2017 are the ones rendered incompatible with EKWB's purpose-built GPU waterblocks, so users purchasing graphics cards after this time-frame should take particular heed.

Four months of silence after what can only be classified as a premature announcement, ASUS has finally put up the product pages for their custom RX Vega 56 and 64 graphics cards, marketed under the Strix branding. Yield and packaging issues, as well as differing chip characteristics between different AMD packaging partners, have greatly affected TTM on RX Vega's custom designs, which were sorely needed so as to improve on some of the reference cards' shortcomings. Sadly, the product pages are just that - product pages - and lack the holy trinity of graphics cards important information - clock speeds, pricing, and availability.

ASUS has introduced a new ROG Strix monitor to its lineup, the XG35VQ, which brings with it UWQHD resolution (3440 x 1440) in a 21:9 aspect ratio and a 35" diagonal. It's a curved affair - 1800R at that - and ASUS says the VA panel offers 100% sRGB coverage, plus 2500:1 contrast and 300 cd/m2 brightness. Viewing angles stand at an almost perfect 178° - a standard spec in recent times.

The most interesting selling point for this monitor, however, is that it can deliver a 100 Hz refresh rate, with FreeSync support up to that frequency. A 4 ms response time means reduced ghosting, and the panel also applies ASUS' version of Extreme Low Motion Blur mode, which strobes the LED backlight to lower persistence, much like a VR display. This mode uses a fixed refresh rate, so ASUS recommends it for fast-paced games where users can comfortably maintain high frame rates.

ASUS rolled out a special variant of its Republic of Gamers (ROG) Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card commemorating "Assassin's Creed: Origins." The card features a special cooler shroud with bronze-gold die-cast color forming the top half, and a groovy hieroglyph print with ROG and Assassin's Creed logos, on the back-plate, again in bronze-gold. The SKU includes a coupon to the standard edition of "Assassin's Creed: Origins," redeemable on UPlay.

The card is otherwise identical to the ROG Strix GTX 1080 Ti OC, including its out of the box clock speeds of 1569/1683 MHz (core/boost), and an untouched 11 GHz (GDDR5X-effective) memory. It also retains the RGB LED lighting along inserts on the cooler shroud, and the ROG logo on the back-plate. This card could be priced at a slight premium over the ROG Strix GTX 1080 Ti OC.

Mini-ITX boards are among the most difficult to produce. Their diminutive 6.7" x 6.7" dimensions leave little real estate for slots and ports, let alone the extra features that make ROG unique. We're not willing to compromise your experience for a compact footprint, so it takes some time and creativity to make everything fit. But it's worth the effort, because our new Strix X370-I Gaming and Strix B350-I Gaming motherboards for Socket AM4 raise the bar for small-form-factor Ryzen builds. They match the cutting-edge features of their full-sized siblings, including liquid-ready cooling and addressable RGB lighting, and they combine an M.2 SSD heatsink and amped-up audio on an innovative riser card.