Introduction

We may have finally reached the last iteration and production run of motherboards for AMD's AM4 socket. We were first introduced to the Ryzen Zen CPU in 2017. This was quickly followed up by Zen+. Next, with the Zen 2 launch, came a new X570 chipset to extend the AM4 socket lifespan. Using the same X naming convention as the follow-up to X470, its largest change came in the form of a new x4 PCIE 4.0 uplink to the CPU. This upgrade allowed for more USB ports, M.2 sockets, and PCIE slots using the X570 chipset.

The technology sector has been booming with innovation as AMD and Intel trade blows for the performance crown. Intel's 12th Gen Core Processors are certainly a worthy adversary to AMD's Ryzen lineup. This does not mean it is all or nothing. In real-world use cases, the AMD Ryzen 5000 series (Zen 3) still has its share of advantages for those who pick an AMD-based system.

After the highly successful B550 chipset launch in 2020, marketed and priced to be more budget friendly while still maintaining PCIe 4.0 support. Some may find themselves upgrading to a new motherboard or waiting for the perfect time to buy and replace an older system. Waiting for the perfect moment to upgrade can pay off, especially as prices decrease and bugs are worked out over multiple revisions. Motherboard manufacturers have an opportunity to refresh the X570 lineup yet again with new features, including Wi-FI 6E, USB 3.2 connectivity, Thunderbolt 4, and higher supported memory frequencies that just weren't available three years ago.


Que ASUS! The R&D team understands exactly what it takes to go all-in and produce something worthy of the ultra-high-end market. The Crosshair family serves as ASUS's premium line for AMD motherboards typically comprising four models: Hero, Formula, Impact, and Extreme. The aforementioned ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme is the pinnacle of the Crosshair series with the newest technologies available and does not hold back on premium looks, features, and build quality.

The ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme features a powerful 18+2 VRM solution with 20 Texas Instruments power stages rated for 90 A. The jaw-dropping specifications do not stop there, either. Built upon ASUS's excellent BIOS, the included EZ mode provides an optimal, stress-free experience for configuring the system. The Crosshair VIII Extreme also offers great connectivity with not only WiFi 6E and 10 Gb/s Ethernet, but Thunderbolt 4, and five M.2 slots round out this list. There is just too much to list in a single paragraph. ASUS has even outdone themselves and placed a 2" LiveDash OLED screen on the motherboard. But enough with the hardware teasing, it is time to jump right into the review and take an in-depth look at the best ASUS has to offer.

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The front of the ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme box has a matte black finish with red accents in the truest of ROG fashion statements. The product name is in embossed foil to gives it that extra premium look. Across the bottom, some important tidbits are shown, such as the Windows 11 Ready, NVIDIA SLI, WiFi 6E, AURA RGB Sync, and GameFirst logos.

On the back of the box, a few features are highlighted, such as the 2" OLED screen, Thunderbolt 4, and five m.2 sockets in total thanks to the DIMM.2 expansion slot. Below the depiction of the motherboard is a list of motherboard specifications, which is always a welcome addition on such a box.


ASUS starts things off with a multi-layered box containing compartments for all the goodies inside.



Each compartment has something of interest. As expected, the standards are included, with an RGB extension cables, WiFi antenna, SATA cables, and manual. A nice addition is the USB flash drive for driver and software installation.

ASUS has gone the extra mile with a ROG fan controller that doubles as an additional RGB hub with more headers. A Clavis USB ESS 9281 PRO DAC is also included, and it is compatible with mobile phones, PCs, Macs, the PlayStation 4/5, and Nintendo Switch. While I only briefly used the USB DAC, the audio clarity was on par with what I am used to. No information about the officially supported audio modes is listed, but I was able to enable 24-bit 384 kHz in Windows, which is still somewhat uncommon.

The full list of accessories includes:

• 1-to-3 ARGB splitter cable
• 2x 1-to-4 fan splitter cable
• RGB extension cable
• 3x ROG weave SATA 6G cables
• 3-in-1 thermistor cables pack
• ROG fan controller
• Fan EXT PWR cable
• ARGB input cable
• USB input cable
• ROG fan controller 3M mounting tape
• Fan controller manual
• ROG DIMM.2 with heatsink
• M.2 pad for ROG DIMM.2
• 2x M.2 screw package for ROG DIMM.2
• ASUS Wi-Fi moving antennas
• M.2 SSD screw package(s)
• Q-connector
• ROG CLAVIS DAC
• CLAVIS DAC manual
• ROG key chain
• ROG logo plate stickers
• ROG screwdriver
• ROG stickers
• ROG thank you card
• ROG graphics card holder
• USB drive with utilities and drivers
• User manual

Board Layout

The ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme is a sight to look at, partially because of the E-ATX form factor, but mainly due to the PCB being covered from top to bottom. The entire lower half is comprised of two heatsinks for the M.2 drives, X570 chipset, and other components that require passive cooling. The top half is equally jaw-dropping with a massive heatsink surrouding the AM4 socket.


Getting a closer look at the socket area, it can certainly be a challenge to install some CPU coolers. The tall VRM heatsinks do not help the situation. It can be frustrating to deal with. Luckily for most, it is a one-time affair when installing an AIO or air-cooler.


The ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme has three PCIe slots in total. The top two slots support PCIe Gen4 and can be configured in either a single 16x slot or split into x8/x8. This leaves a single 1x PCIe Gen3 slot on the bottom.


ASUS placed three M.2 Gen4 x4 sockets on the motherboard. To use all populated M.2 sockets at once requires a bit of trickery since only 20 lanes are provided by the CPU. To use either the second or third socket, the second PCIe slot is disabled, and the primary slot interface drops to 8x Gen4. These additional sockets are disabled by default and must be manually enabled in the BIOS.



One of the more premium features this motherboard includes is ASUS's exclusive DIMM.2 slot. This daughterboard has additional M.2 sockets that can be slotted in next to the memory. The full bandwidth comes from the X570 (PCH) and does not disable anything else when in use.


Of the five M.2 sockets, three have ASUS Q-latches, which is a screwless design. It makes swapping M.2 drives without worrying about losing screws a breeze.


The board has a total of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports on the side, angled 90 degrees from the board.


ASUS placed a number of voltage read points above the DIMM slots. These include Vcore, MB_SOC, DRAM, 1.8 PLL, and SB.


Along the right side of the motherboard is the on-board power button followed by the ASUS flex key. This flex key can be customized to be a Safe Boot, Direct BIOS or reset button. It comes in handy when overclocking as there's no need to clear the CMOS if stuck. Underneath the plastic, two fan and ARGB Gen2 headers at a 90 degree angle are found.


A slew of headers, buttons, and switches have been placed across the bottom. It can be overwhelming to look at. Some honorable mentions are the water-flow header, LN2 mode jumper, and slow-mode switch. These of course are premium features that generally go unused, but are there just in case.


The ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme has a fantastic feature set including Wi-Fi 6E, Dual LAN, a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, and numerous USB 3.2 Type-A ports.

• 2x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB Type-C® port(s)
• 8x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port(s) (8x Type-A)
• 2x DisplayPort IN ports for Thunderbolt™ 4
• ASUS Wi-Fi Module
• Marvell® AQtion AQC113CS 10Gb Ethernet
• Intel® I225-V 2.5Gb Ethernet
• 5x LED-illuminated audio jacks
• Optical S/PDIF Out port
• BIOS FlashBack™ button
• Clear CMOS button

VRM Overview