ROG CROSSHAIR VIII HERO (Wi-Fi) Review
WEB: ( ASUS ) MSRP: U$379.99 | ZAR 8,469 AUTHOR: Neo
Finally, it’s here. AMD’s much vaunted X570 chipset arrives with a new generation of Zen micro-architecture CPUs in the Ryzen 3000 family. The combination of this new chipset and CPU family bring with them great advancements not only in platform features, but in power savings and of course performance.
That said, here I will be focused on the chipset and more importantly the motherboard that is possibly the most anticipated of them all, the ROG Crosshair VIII Hero, the Hero (Wi-Fi) to be exact. This is the quintessential Ryzen motherboard just as the previous iterations were for the respective Ryzen CPU generations.
Given just how well received the Crosshair VII was, it was always going to take a lot for the engineers at ROG to improve on what is an already refined motherboard. Fortunately, the ROG engineers have risen to the challenge and produced a spectacular motherboard that is well worth the Crosshair legacy. What follows is an overview of the motherboard, not only in features and layout but more importantly performance. As with most high-end ROG motherboards, performance and is at the forefront and the Crosshair VIII Hero is a true testament to this as you will see.
| Specifications | ||
| Socket | CPU | Socket 1331 | AMD AM4 3rd, 2nd & 1st Gen AMD Ryzen with VEGA Graphics | |
| Chipset | AMD X570 | |
| Memory Support | 4xDIMM DDR4 2133 – DDR4 4600+(O.C.) (Dependent on CPU generation) | |
| Storage | 6x SATA 6Gbps, 2x SATA 6Gbps (ASM1061), 3x M.2 x4 (2x 2280, 1x 22110) | |
| Audio | ROG SupremeFX, ALC S1220, ESS ES9023P DAC, Sonic Radar III | |
| Expansion Slots | 2x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4 Electrical), 1x PCIe 4.0 x1 | |
| Connectivity | Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, BT 5.0, 1x 2.5Gbps LAN, 1x Intel Gigabit Lan (I211-AT) | |
| Rear Panel I/O | 8x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (1x Type-C, 7x Type-A), 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x Clr CMOS, 1x BIOS Flashback, 2x RJ-45 with LED, 1x 2×2 Wi-Fi Module | |
| Total Fan Headers | 9x 4-pin (PWM/Voltage) | |
| Power Connectors | 1x 24-pin EATX, 1x 8-pin 12V, 1x 4-pin 12V | |
| Form Factor | ATX Form Factor: 12.0-in x 9.6-in, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm | |
The Crosshair brings with it a few interesting features here, including a host of USB 3.2 gen 2 ports, 2.5G LAN and of course PCI express 4.0 compatibility. Not relevant for any graphics cards right now, but there are M.2 drives which benefit immensely from the increase in throughput. As a high-end board, it’s decked with every feature you can think of and by this alone makes a grand impression.
