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ASUS RoG STRIX X570 Crosshair VIII Hero WiFi Motherboard Preview & Unboxing

X570 Crosshair VIII Here

The AMD Ryzen 3rd Gen CPUs are almost here, which also means new motherboards. We’ve already been busy bringing you a wealth of quick look previews and unboxings of the new X570 motherboards, which you can read here. However, it’s now time for the upcoming STRIX X570 Crosshair VIII. The Crosshair series has been a huge hit for PC gamers for many years now. I mean, it’s already up to version VIII, so it’s obvious that ASUS are keen to keep it alive too. So, what can we expect from their latest motherboard? Let’s take a look!

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 aluminium heatsink and ROG Cooling Zone.
High-performance networking: integrated 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.

Crosshair VIII Design

The Crosshair series has always been known as a good looking range of hardware. The Crosshair VIII is no exception to this rule either, with a stunning monochrome design that manages to look both sleek and aggressive at the same time. The matching deep cut angles in the heatsinks, the oversized chipset heatsink, and armoured components all look stunning. I’m sure this would look right at home in any high-end PC build.

Power

The aesthetics are on point, but what about the hardware? Well, with an 8+4 Pin power setup, you’ll find more than enough overhead to power (and overclock) even the flagship Ryzen 9 CPUs. All of that power feeds through their latest Procool II hardware, with 16 IR3555 PowIRstages rated at 60A each. There are plenty of their high-end Alloy Chokes, as well as 10K Japanese-Made Black Metallic Capacitors too. That should mean clean and stable power delivery to ensure a premium overclocking experience.

Cooling

ASUS aren’t taking any chances here either. The VRM features a massive two-part heatsink design, linked together with a rather chunky heatpipe to ensure even heat distribution. There’s also an absolutely massive heatsink design around the chipset, where you’ll find the X570’s active cooling fan to help keep things in check. The heatsink also extends into the two included PCIe 4.0 M.2 drive mounts. Not only does it look aesthetically pleasing, it should also help with overall cooling performance too.

AURA Sync

The motherboard features a nice strip of RGB lighting on the rear I/O guard, but also down on the lower right of the chipset heatsink. It’s not plastered in RGB, which I like. However, there are four RGB headers for LED and ARGB expansion. Of course, with AURA Sync, you can control your compatible RGB memory, fans, and even your peripherals from one software suite.

Audio

The audio hardware is as good as it gets too. Featuring the ROG SupremeFX S1220 chipset, paired up with an ESS ES9023P DAC for high-resolution processing.

PCIe 4.0

Of course, with PCIe 4.0, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the latest NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 drives on this motherboard. Of course, there’s also future proofing for any GPUs and other hardware that uses PCIe 4.0 in the future.

Connectivity

When it comes to networking, you’re spoilt for choice here. There’s a standard Intel GbE LAN port. However, there’s also the 2.5 Gbps Ethernet and both support LANGuard and GameFirst V. Since this is the WiFi version, you also get the latest WiFi 6 802.11ax with MU-MIMO for ultra-fast wireless connectivity, and Bluetooth 5 too. One of my favourite features, however, has to be the plethora of USB 3.1 Gen 1 and Gen 2 ports, as well as Type C. You’ll not be left short of USB ports here!

3rd Gen Ryzen Support

This is an AM4 socket motherboard, so pretty much any Ryzen CPU will fit. However, you’ll only get life out of 2nd and 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs. Unfortunately, X570 has no 1st Gen Ryzen support, as we covered in our X570 Buying Guide here. Of course, there are benefits to 3rd Gen that you can only get on X570, such as PCIe 4.0 functionality.

Performance

Unfortunately, there are no figures we can show you at this time. We’re allowed to test them on our test bench, but you will have to wait for the NDA to pass before we can share those figures. Of course, we’ll have a review for you soon enough. For now, though, you can check out our X570 Buying Guide, Ryzen 3rd Gen Buying Guide and why not also check our Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT Buying Guide while you’re at it!

Show me More!

Check out our other AMD X570 Motherboard Previews below:

For further information, please check out the official AORUS product page here.

Peter Donnell

As a child in my 40's, I spend my day combining my love of music and movies with a life-long passion for gaming, from arcade classics and retro consoles to the latest high-end PC and console games. So it's no wonder I write about tech and test the latest hardware while I enjoy my hobbies!