When it comes to AMD motherboards the Republic of Gamers Crosshair boards have always been some of the best out there. If you didn’t know ASUS actually launched the Republic of Gamers line with the Crosshair AM2 motherboard and the first AM4 motherboard I ever reviewed was the ROG Crosshair VI Hero. Two generations later we have the X570 chipset which brings with it quite a lot of performance and features. The ROG Crosshair VIII from ASUS features a very sleek design, USB 3.2 connectivity, two PCI-Express 4.0 M.2 slots, a load of USB 3.1 ports, 802.11ax WiFi plus 2.5G LAN, a 7+1 power phase design, and of course RGB lighting. Is this the ultimate board for your Ryzen 3000 series build? Read on to find out!
Special thanks to ASUS for providing us with the ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (WiFi) Motherboard to review.
Features
– AMD AM4 socket: Ready for 2nd, and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ processors and up to two M.2 drives, USB 3.2 Gen2, and AMD StoreMI to maximize connectivity and speed.
– Comprehensive thermal design: Active PCH heatsink, M.2 aluminum heatsink and ROG Cooling Zone.
– High-performance networking: On-board Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with MU-MIMO support, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet, both with ASUS LANGuard protection, and support for GameFirst V software.
– 5-Way Optimization: Automated system-wide tuning, providing overclocking and cooling profiles that are tailor made for your rig.
– DIY Friendly Design: Pre-mounted I/O shield, ASUS SafeSlot, BIOS flashback and premium components for maximum endurance.
– Unmatched personalization: ASUS-exclusive Aura Sync RGB lighting, including RGB headers and Gen. 2 addressable headers
– Industry-leading ROG audio: ROG SupremeFX S1220 is combined with the venerable ESS® ES9023P to deliver high-fidelity audio to headsets and exotic cans.
Packaging
The ROG Crosshair VIII Hero comes in a very nice retail box. On the front of the box it lets us know we do indeed have the ROG Crosshair VIII Hero and that it is the WiFi version. There is of course a non-WiFi version which lacks the 802.11ax networking capability.
Flipping over to the back we have a full overview of the board and a full list of specifications. Also many of the main features of the board are detailed.
Opening the box up besides the motherboard inside you’ll find a set of ROG stickers, WiFi antenna, 4 SATA cables, Q-connector, RGB extension cables, an ROG coaster, 20% off cablemod cables coupon, software and driver CD, and a user’s guide.
