The Motherboard

The ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme is the successor to the previous-gen X399-based Zenith Extreme and maxes out the connectivity options of the AMD TRX40 chipset. These include PCIe gen 4.0, a reliable USB 3.1 gen 2 implementation, and support for up to DDR4-4733 memory in quad-channel mode over eight memory slots. Powering the processor is a 16-phase VRM. Also featured is a Live Dash 1.77-inch color OLED display. This board is designed to be the best in the business for this platform. The form factor remains the same as with the original Zenith Extreme, E-ATX.


Network functions are provided by the Aquantia AQC107 10-gigabit Ethernet controller, Intel I211-AT gigabit controller, and Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface The storage subsystem includes three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots—each slot is equipped with a heatsink. The DIMM.2 riser lets you connect two more PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2, which means users can install five PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives that will simultaneously work in PCIe 4.0 x4 mode. Individual PCIe mode settings are present for each drive, so I can easily combine the Samsung 970 PRO and AORUS NVMe Gen 4 in one system. To install M.2 drives, you do not need to remove the video card, which greatly simplifies the assembly or replacement of elements in the configuration.


The star attractions of the storage subsystem of memory do not end there as the board contains eight SATA ports, four of which come from the chipset and have support for RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays and the remaining four are controlled by a pair of ASMedia SATA controllers. There are four full-size, reinforced, and processor-controlled PCIe 4.0 slots that run on x16 / x8 / x16 / x8.


Probably the most important component of any motherboard is VRM. In the case of the ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme, it consists of 16 phases handling Vcore, 4 phases for vSoC (for the IO die), and 2 phases for the memory AB and CD channels. MOSFETs featured are the Infineon TDA21472 with an output current capability of 70 A at a T-junction of 25°C. This is an important piece of info reviewers are not even aware of. In practice, this value is several times smaller, and the total maximum performance of MOSFETs for the CPU subsystem is about 560 A, which is quite enough to break any records, and probably for the upcoming 3990X 64-core processor. The ASP1405I controller operating in 8+0 mode acts as the PWM controller for the CPU, while additional, independent controllers handle SoC and memory domains.


ASUS runs its phases in teamed instead of doubled mode, which helps reduce the transient response and does not require doublers. PWM signal duplication with a higher frequency relative to the CPU PWM controller is provided by a proprietary controller. Without going into too many details, the signal from the CPU for the PWM controller goes in parallel to two physical phases per signal from the controller. At the same time, power is supplied from two EPS12Vs per cycle. A large heatsink with two fans cools the VRM. These fans were barely audible in my two weeks of hard testing. Even the chipset fan is very quiet, and the average temperature did not exceed 55 degrees throughout my testing.


The picture above shows Prime 95 in stress test mode. For the processor, PBO mode without limits was specifically selected, while power consumption reached 400 W. In addition to two EPS12V inputs, another auxiliary 6-pin PCIe is used to stabilize the +12V domain throughout the board. If the system uses several video cards, you will need to connect an additional power connector called EZ-PLUG (ordinary Molex-pin). The DRAM subsystem is equally impressive with support for overclocking DRAM up to DDR4-4733 MHz, although in reality, I only managed to use 4333 MHz quad-channel modules without any problems, which is not too shabby for a HEDT-level board. Users can install ECC memory, but not buffered. Most common PC memory modules are non-ECC UDIMMs. During testing, the 10-layer PCB and Daisy Chain topology showed excellent results; three specially selected DRAM sets based on Samsung b-die chips (8 modules) were able to work stable in 3733 C16 fast mode.


This indicates excellent signal line quality. Also, I want to note that the space between the leftmost DRAM module and the VRM zone ensures that the module in that particular slot doesn't overheat, causing memory errors. In my testing, I found that memory modules running above 52°C tend to lose stability on the AMD platform. That is why this engineering step will positively affect overclocking.

The last pleasant surprise is the SupremeFX S1220 audio system with ESS SABER9018Q2C and a rich package. The audio system provides output for up to 7.1 channels. There is a Precise TXC oscillator on the board for accurate DAC operation. The audio circuits on the motherboard use Japanese Nichicon Fine Gold capacitors, which are only used in high-end audio products.

In the package, you will find a branded screwdriver with two heads, a pin for opening the DIMM lock, a Wi-Fi antenna, five M.2 screws, a ROG DIMM.2 module with heatsinks, a USB drive containing drivers, and a software package, six SATA cables, and the ROG fan expansion board. This card allows you to connect six fans with individual PWM/DC control for each connector, three temperature sensors, and three RGB cables. It turned out to be extremely convenient for connecting fans from the radiator and case fans, and also minimized the number of RGB cables on the front side. ASUS did not forget about temperature sensors and RGB extension tubes, which will be very useful for people who like to build physically huge setups.