ASUS RoG Crosshair VIII Hero (WiFi) Motherboard Review

STRIX X570 Crosshair VIII Hero WiFi While we're flooded with a mighty range of new reviews here on eTeknix today, the Crosshair VIII Hero WiFi is certainly one of the most exciting ones. The Crosshair series has long been a market favourite and we're eager to see what this latest model has to offer. Of course, with new 7nm CPUs, 7nm GPUs, and a LOT of X570 motherboards launching today, it's hard not to get excited about some, if not all of it. It's certainly well equipped when it comes to features, but then again, when has the Crosshair series not been well equipped!? It features the latest PCIe 4.0, USB 3.2 Gen 2, and 2.5Gbps Ethernet (and 1Gbps Ethernet too), so it's certainly not short on connectivity. Plus, with the latest WiFi 6 thrown in, you'll have no issues getting connected. It also has their flagship ROG SupremeFX S1220 audio with an ESS ES9023P DAC for high-end audio, plenty of RGB, and other perks that are sure to make it a big hit with enthusiast system builders. 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 headersIndustry-leading ROG audio: ROG SupremeFX S1220 is combined with the venerable ESS® ES9023P to deliver high-fidelity audio to headsets and exotic cans. CPU Support Please keep in mind that Ryzen X570 motherboards only support Ryzen 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen CPUs. Despite being AM4 sockets, they do not currently work with Ryzen 1st Gen processors. Furthermore, for those wanting to use the full PCIe 4.0 functionality, you'll also need to use the latest 3rd Gen CPUs. 4K Preview and Unboxing Last week we brought you a preview of this motherboard here. Because we did the preview, we've already been over the features on this motherboard like we would in our "A Closer Look" section. So that has been replaced with a "photo gallery" on this review; we don't need to tell you everything twice! Show me More We've got a LOT of new reviews to show you today, check out the entire list of motherboards, CPUs and graphics cards below; Gigabyte X570 AORUS Master Motherboard ReviewGigabyte X570 AORUS Pro Motherboard ReviewASUS RoG Crosshair VIII Hero (WiFi) Motherboard Review ReviewMSI MEG X570 GODLIKE Motherboard ReviewASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus (WiFi) Motherboard ReviewASUS ROG STRIX X570-E Gaming Motherboard ReviewMSI MEG X570 ACE Motherboard ReviewGigabyte X570 I AORUS Pro WiFi Motherboard ReviewGigabyte X570 AORUS XTREME Motherboard ReviewASRock X570 Motherboard ReviewASUS PRIME X570-Pro Motherboard ReviewAMD Radeon RX5700 & 5700 XT Graphics Cards ReviewAMD Ryzen 7 3700X & Ryzen 8 3800X Processor Review Photo Gallery How We Test Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose vital information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of motherboard, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Therefore, your experience may vary. Testing Your Own System Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using our benchmarks and settings where possible. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware we tested to give you a ballpark figure of how much an upgrade this will provide you with. Intel Testbenches Z390 Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Intel Core i9-9900KRAM – Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) 3000 MHzCPU Cooler – Noctua D15SGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit Z370 Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Intel Core i7-8700KRAM – Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) 3000 MHzCPU Cooler – Noctua D15SGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit X299 Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Intel Core i9-7900XRAM – Crucial DDR4 2400MHz Quad-Channel 32GBCPU Cooler – Noctua D15S with dual fansGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit B360 Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Intel Core i7-8700KRAM – Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) 2666 MHzCPU Cooler – Noctua D15SGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit AMD Testbenches X399 (Threadripper) Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Threadripper 1950XRAM – Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) 3000 MHzCPU Cooler – Noctua D15SGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit X570 Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Ryzen 9 3900XRAM – G.Skill 3400MHz Dual Channel 16GBCPU Cooler – Noctua D15S with dual fansGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit X470 Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Ryzen 7 2700XRAM – G.Skill 3400MHz Dual Channel 16GBCPU Cooler – Noctua D15S with dual fansGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit X370 Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Ryzen 7 1800XRAM – GeIL DDR4 2977MHz Dual Channel 16GBCPU Cooler – Noctua D15S with dual fansGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit B450 Motherboard – Changes Per ReviewCPU – Ryzen 7 2700XRAM – G.Skill 3400MHz Dual Channel 16GBCPU Cooler – Noctua D15S with dual fansGraphics Card – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 TiPower Supply – BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 850 WattMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBChassis – Lian Li T80 Test BenchOperating System – Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit Games and Settings Used All games are tested on a 60 Hz display with V-Sync off for all tests. Rise of the Tomb Raider (Steam)DX12 Medium PresetPure Hair OffDeus Ex (Steam)DX12 Medium PresetGhost Recon: Wildlands (Uplay)Medium PresetTurf Effects OffFar Cry Primal (Uplay)Normal Preset Software Used 3DMark Fire Strike (download)FireStrike (1080p) BenchmarkUnigine Superposition (download)1080p Extreme BenchmarkPCMark 10 Professional (download)Express BenchmarkWPrime (download)32M and 1024MPower usage recorded at 1024M 50% complete, thermals recorded at 75% completeCineBench R15 (download)CPU MultiCPU SingleCineBench R20 (download)CPU MultiCPU SingleHandbrake (download)Custom MP4 to MKV 4K conversion (details below)AIDA64 Engineer (download)CPU-Z (download)HWMonitor (download) Handbrake To stress processors to their absolute limit and accurately judge their performance in video editing workloads, we transcode a 7.7GB compilation of gaming footage; this particular file is freely available from here. The captured footage is 22 minutes and 12 seconds long, it has a bit rate of 50.1 Mbps, and it uses the Advanced Video Codec. Additionally, the video runs at a constant 30 frames-per-second and opts for a 3820 x 2140 (4K) resolution. Once loaded into Handbrake, we then transcode the 4K MP4 to an MKV file using the “normal” profile. Other Notes A rest period of 2-5 minutes is observed between each piece of software allowing the system to return to its idle power usage and temperatures. Background services like Windows Update are checked to not be running during the testing period by setting WiFi to Metered Connection. Updates All games, graphics card drivers, BIOS, Windows and everything else is always kept up to date with the latest available. Older benchmarks may not be retested until stated otherwise. However, all hardware will be tested with the best and latest firmware and software available to that hardware at the time of review. As of 1st of May 2018, all hardware was retested on their latest drivers. Anything after this date will again be using their most recent versions available to them. Thanks Thank you to Noctua, Crucial, ASUS, Gigabyte, Lian-Li, be quiet!, OCZ, for providing the hardware that helps makes these tests possible! Synthetic Benchmarks Scores 3DMark – 23644Unigine – 5826PCMark 10 – 7474WPrime – 2.51/56.481Cinebench R15 – 202/3125Cinebench R20 – 499/7059Handbrake – 79.8 3DMark Firestrike Unigine Superposition PCMark 10 Express WPrime Cinebench R15 CineBench R20 Handbrake MP4 to MKV Conversion 4K Gaming Performance Scores Rise of the Tomb Raider – 199.23Deus Ex – 93.6/127.7Ghost Recon – 89.46/117.2Far Cry – 100/130 Rise of the Tomb Raider Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Ghost Recon Far Cry Overclocking With X570 being a brand new platform, we have chosen to put the overclocking testing on hold. We've tested around ten motherboards with the overclocked CPU settings and honest, the results were broadly the same. For now, I refer you to our CPU reviews, which feature the overclocking results of the X570 chipset. I'll also include the links on the first and last pages of each motherboard review. AMD Ryzen 7 3700X & Ryzen 8 3800X Processor Review We're waiting for the platform to mature, get the launch out of the way, and we'll then take a deeper dive into overclocking on X570 with Ryzen 3rd Gen. Not only do we think this will be more useful to you, we think we'll also be able to get even better results to differentiate the motherboards when we do. Sit tight, it's coming, and we're sure it'll be worth the wait. Power ConsumptionS How Much Does it Cost? Unfortunately, at the time of writing, we didn't have any pricing information that was concrete. However, this is a high-end motherboard, and we are expecting the price to reflect that. We'll update you as soon as we have more information. Overview Throughout all of the X570 motherboards we've reviewed for today, all eleven of them, we haven't seen any that weren't pretty fantastic to look at. The Crosshair VIII Hero is no exception either. It's a fantastic looking bit of kit. Gone are the days of the bright red hardware on the Crosshair series, and in its place is this slick monochrome finish. The colossal heatsinks are all cut with matching angles, giving it fantastic style and flow. It's all usable hardware too, offering superb cooling capabilities to everything from the VRM to the M.2 drives. Build Quality As I said, it's pretty robust, and everything has enough armour on it that it look like it'll stop a large bullet. It's all designed to keep the motherboard rigid, but also keep all those vital components operating as cool and efficient as possible. Like many of the other high-end boards, ASUS has gone for some impressive components here though. Such as 2.5G LAN, as well as Gigabit LAN, paired up with the flagship WiFi 6 AX200 for exceptional connectivity. Or the use of gold capacitors for the audio, and armoured PCIe lanes to support heavy-duty GPUs. Performance There's no doubt in my mind this motherboard has some seriously rich overclocking capabilities. It's what the Crosshair series has always been known for. However, the Crosshair VIII Hero didn't exactly set the world on fire with the performance today. It's not bad, not by a long shot, and it is on par with every other X570 motherboard we've tested on average. That being said, I just expected a little more given it was using quite a lot of power to do so. Make no mistake though, we'll dive back into this one with a BIOS update or two in the near future, perhaps in our OC feature, which we're currently working on. I'm confident it can do a lot better. For an overclocking gaming motherboard though, it's got a lot more to offer. Added Value Stunning networking capabilities are going to make the Crosshair VIII Hero a big hit with enthusiast gamers. As is the fantastic audio we've been seeing consistently on high-end ASUS boards for years now. It's the little details that add up though, such as Truevolt USB, ESD guards, FlexKey, a good number of fan, USB and RGB headers. It's those little details that are going to stack up and help you build a truly remarkable gaming system. Should I Buy One If it was based on looks alone, I won't stop you, as the Crosshair VIII Hero looks truly stunning from top to bottom. The winners for me though as the superb audio hardware, which can drive high-end audio devices with some serious processing power. If you care about overclocking but want to take out a lot of the stress of it, their 5-way optimisation system is in a league of its own these days too. Gigabyte X570 AORUS Master Motherboard ReviewGigabyte X570 AORUS Pro Motherboard ReviewASUS RoG Crosshair VIII Hero (WiFi) Motherboard Review ReviewMSI MEG X570 GODLIKE Motherboard ReviewASUS TUF Gaming X570-Plus (WiFi) Motherboard ReviewASUS ROG STRIX X570-E Gaming Motherboard ReviewMSI MEG X570 ACE Motherboard ReviewGigabyte X570 I AORUS Pro WiFi Motherboard ReviewGigabyte X570 AORUS XTREME Motherboard ReviewASRock X570 Motherboard ReviewASUS PRIME X570-Pro Motherboard ReviewAMD Radeon RX5700 & 5700 XT Graphics Cards ReviewAMD Ryzen 7 3700X & Ryzen 8 3800X Processor Review