ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero DDR4 AMD Motherboard

The ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero is a full-size ATX motherboard built on the AMD X570 chipset, designed for AMD AM4 socket processors spanning 1st through 3rd generation AMD Ryzen and Ryzen with Radeon Vega Graphics families. It measures 12 x 9.6 inches (30.5 x 24.4 cm) and is engineered to support demanding gaming and enthusiast workloads with a robust power delivery system featuring IR3555 PoweIRstage components, MicroFine Alloy Chokes, and 10K Black Metallic Capacitors. Memory support is extensive: four DDR4 DIMM slots accommodate up to 128 GB of unbuffered RAM in dual-channel configuration. With 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processors, DDR4 speeds up to 4800 MHz (O.C.) are supported, while 2nd Gen Ryzen supports up to 3600 MHz (O.C.). ECC memory support varies by CPU. Storage connectivity includes two M.2 Socket 3 (M Key) slots — one supporting PCIe 4.0 x4 and SATA modes (up to 2280 with 3rd Gen Ryzen) and a second via the X570 chipset supporting up to 22110 length devices in PCIe 4.0 x4 or SATA mode. Eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports round out storage, with RAID 0, 1, and 10 support. Networking is handled by a dual-LAN setup: an Intel I211-AT Gigabit controller and a Realtek RTL8125-CG 2.5 Gigabit port, complemented by onboard WiFi 6 (802.11ax, Intel AX200). ROG GameFirst Technology and ASUS LAN Guard are included for network optimisation and protection. Audio is delivered by ROG SupremeFX using the S1220 codec with ESS ES9023P DAC, offering 120 dB SNR on stereo playback output and 113 dB SNR on recording input. Up to 32-bit/192 kHz playback is supported (stereo; bandwidth limitations apply to 8-channel mode). DTS Sound Unbound, Sonic Studio III, and an optical S/PDIF output are included. Expansion with 3rd Gen Ryzen provides two PCIe 4.0 x16 slots (x16 or dual x8) plus chipset-sourced PCIe 4.0 x16 and x1 slots. Multi-GPU configurations include NVIDIA 2-Way SLI and AMD 3-Way CrossFireX with supported CPUs. USB connectivity spans USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports on the rear I/O alongside USB 2.0 internal headers. Enthusiast OC features include Safe Boot, Slow Mode, LN2 Mode jumper, ReTry button, and OptiMem III. Aura Sync RGB lighting with two standard RGB headers and two Addressable Gen 2 headers enable ecosystem-wide lighting synchronisation. The board ships with a pre-mounted I/O shield and carries a 3-year warranty. Verifiable Specifications: - Socket: AMD AM4 - Chipset: AMD X570 - Form Factor: ATX, 12 x 9.6 in (30.5 x 24.4 cm) - Memory: 4x DDR4 DIMM, max 128 GB; up to DDR4-4800 (O.C.) with 3rd Gen Ryzen - M.2 Slots: 2x (PCIe 4.0 x4 / SATA; up to 22110 on M.2_2) - SATA: 8x SATA 6 Gb/s, RAID 0/1/10 - LAN: Intel I211-AT 1 GbE + Realtek RTL8125-CG 2.5 GbE - Wireless: WiFi 6 (802.11ax), Intel AX200 - Audio: SupremeFX S1220 codec, ESS ES9023P DAC, 120 dB SNR playback / 113 dB SNR recording - USB (rear): 8x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 - BIOS: 256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI - Warranty: 3 Years