Asus Introduces A Trio Of New X399 Motherboards

By Steven Lynch
published

Asus announced three new X399-based Socket TR4 EATX motherboards. The company is adding the ROG Strix X399-E Gaming and the ROG Zenith Extreme to its Republic of Gamers (ROG) line. Asus is also expanding its Prime series of motherboards with the introduction of the Prime X399-A motherboard. 

For those of you unfamiliar with AMD's massive new 4094-pin TR4 socket, our exclusive look at AMD's Threadripper socket TR4 schematics and the installation video will help put things into perspective.

The trio of Socket TR4 motherboards support AMD's Ryzen Threadripper processors, up to 128GB of 3,200MHz (3,600MHz OC) DDR4, multi-GPU configurations, dual M.2 slots, USB 3.1 Gen2, and six SATA 6G ports. Other features include wired networking, LED color-coded audio jacks, a built-in I/O shield, and PCH M.2 heatsinks. All three motherboards support Aura Sync RGB LED lighting, which can display a range effects such as breathing, strobing, pulsing, music effect, rainbow, and more, through the included Aura Lighting Control software. These motherboards also include a dedicated addressable RGB header that connects to compatible lighting strips, fans, coolers, and PC cases.

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The ROG Zenith Extreme supports 4-way SLI / CFX, 10G wired LAN, 802.11ad WiGig, 802.11ac, WiFi 2x2 and MU-MIMO, SupremeFX S1220 audio equipped with a SABRE9018Q2C integrated DAC/AMP, three PCIe x4 M.2 slots and dual 8-pin 12V motherboard power connectors.

The ROG Strix X399-E supports 3-way SLI / CFX, two PCIe x4/SATA M.2 slots, 802.11ac WiFi 2x2 and MU-MIMO, and SupremeFX S1220 audio.

The Prime X399-A also supports 3-way SLI / CFX and two PCIe x4/SATA M.2 slots, but, instead of the SupremeFX audio solution, ASUS equipped it with Realtek’s S1220A. The Prime X399-A does not feature wireless capabilities. Intel’s I211-AT chip provides the networking functionality.

All three motherboards will be available in August. The ROG Zenith Extreme will retail for $550, while the Prime X399-A weighs in at $350. No pricing information is available for the ROG Strix X399-E.

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AsusROG Zenith ExtremeROG Strix X399-EPrime X399-A
SizeEATXEATXEATX
Memory8 x DDR4 up to 3600+ (OC)8 x DDR4 up to 3600+ (OC)8 x DDR4 up to 3600+ (OC)
Multi-GPU4 x SLI, CrossFireX3 x SLI, CrossFireX3 x SLI, CrossFireX
PCI-E Slots4 x16 1 x4 1 x14 x16 1 x4 1 x14 x16 1 x4 1 x1
M.21 PCIe x4/SATA2 PCIe x42 PCIe x4/SATA2 PCIe x4/SATA
U2111
SATA666
Ethernet802.11ad WiGig802.11ac WiFi 2x2MU-MIMO802.11ac WiFi 2x2MU-MIMON/A
AudioSupremeFX S1220ASupremeFX S1220ARealtek  S1220A
USB 3.1 Gen21 front1 Type-C1 Type-A1 front1 Type-C1 Type-A1 front1 Type-C1 Type-A
Price$550TBA$350
Steven Lynch
15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • thrakazog
    ASUS is making an interesting choice going with EATX only for their TR4 line, so far. That leaves out a lot of cases people might want to build with.

    Personally, I could do without that extra M.2 dimm for an ATX board. I suppose they're hoping people will want that m.2 dimm so much, that they'll buy an EATX case to support it. I had planned on an ASUS board, but I guess the ASRock Taichi may be the way to go.
    Reply
  • jasonelmore
    hell will freeze over before i pay $500 for a AMD Chipset motherboard. x399 is cheap and you know there is no thunderbolt. whats the deal with asus?
    Reply
  • Vatharian
    And here I was hoping for quick death of U.2. At least SATA Express is gone.
    Still, 6x SATA on such high-end board lineup is plain insult to consumers. Not to mention single GbE or if 10GbE included, putting it on dedicated card, instead of on-board.
    Reply
  • hdmark
    did amd just use the name x399 to mess with intel?
    Reply
  • BulkZerker
    "hell will freeze over before i pay $500 for a AMD Chipset motherboard. x399 is cheap and you know there is no thunderbolt. whats the deal with asus?"

    "Intel makes a gimped hedt motherboard and the sell for $600, no one bats an eye. Md sells a monster for $500 and people loose their friggin minds!"
    Reply
  • X399 with 64 PCIe and Quad Memory Channel leaves so many cool options. Can't wait for a second iteration of their boards.
    Reply
  • Robert Cook
    @JASONELMORE The socket alone is $40, just the socket. $500 for a top of the line HEDT board is pretty normal.
    Reply
  • Rodney Wilder
    @Steven Lynch. Your specs table is wrong. All of these include Intel Gigabit ethernet, not just the various levels of integrated AC or AD wifi.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    20007070 said:
    And here I was hoping for quick death of U.2. At least SATA Express is gone.
    Still, 6x SATA on such high-end board lineup is plain insult to consumers. Not to mention single GbE or if 10GbE included, putting it on dedicated card, instead of on-board.
    I preferred storage not sitting on my mainboard, myself. Frees up board space, easier to cool. But with desktops now the minority of PC purchases, I suppose standardizing on M.2 was inevitable. They really should have avoided including SATA in M.2 at all though, would have simplified things a bit when upgrading OEM systems with an M.2 port.
    Reply
  • Chris_525
    second class boards for an irrelevant socket. Asus and other partners still see amd as liability, rather than a revenue source. And they are right, nobody is going to buy this dual socket glued together monstrosity.
    Reply