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Benchmark Results
Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo) with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.
Synthetic Benchmarks
Synthetics offer a valuable method for evaluating a board's performance, as identical settings are expected to yield similar results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are areas where motherboard manufacturers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and these settings can impact specific testing scenarios.
Starting with our synthetic benchmarks, the premium Crosshair 2006 was average to above average among its peers, just like the Dark Hero it's based on. In some tests, like 7-Zip compression, it was one of the fastest, and in others, like Cinebench, it was above average. It was average elsewhere, and rarely below. This is what we see from most boards—nothing to worry about so far.
Timed Applications
Timed applications also went well. It delivered the slower of the two times in LAME (9.0 seconds) and Corona (42 seconds). Handbrake results were also good, just one second behind our fastest time in the x264 test and also one of the quickest we’ve seen in the longer running x265 test.
3D Games and 3DMark
With the launch of Zen 5, we’ve updated our game tests. We’re keeping the F1 racing game but have upgraded to F1 24. We also dropped Far Cry 6 in favor of an even more popular and good-looking game in Cyberpunk 2077. We run both games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). Cyberpunk 2077 uses DLSS, while we left F1 24 to native resolution scaling.
The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system-bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS setting, which can affect your gameplay and immersion.
In our 3DMark and game tests, the Crosshair was average overall. It was average in the 3DMark tests and average to above average in our games. It’s clear from our testing that the Crosshair 2006 performs well across a wide variety of activities. From gaming to productivity and creativity, you’ll get everything out of your CPU with this board.
Overclocking
Over the past few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking on both sides of the fence, while the out-of-the-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Today’s motherboards are more robust than ever, and they easily support power-hungry flagship-class processors; We know the hardware can handle them. There are multiple ways to extract even more performance from these processors: enabling a canned PBO setting, manually tweaking the PBO settings, or just going for an all-core overclock. Results will vary and depend on the cooling as well. In other words, your mileage may vary. Considering all the above, we will not be overclocking the CPU. However, we will try out our different memory kits to ensure they meet the specifications.
For memory testing, we start with our fastest non-clock driver kit: the Klevv 32GB (2x16) DDR5-8000. Per usual on this platform, it booted to Windows but wouldn’t pass a stress test with our 9900X, but the Team Group DDR5-7200 kit worked without issue. Those speeds are well past the ‘sweet spot’ for the AMD platform, and with today’s outlandish RAM (and video card and storage) prices, we imagine few people are considering them in the first place. Dropping in our Ryzen 5 8600G APU, we were able to run our Klevv DDR5-8000 kit without issue, as we can on most motherboards. There’s plenty of headroom for anyone who can afford faster speeds.
Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures
We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, cache, and Memory enabled for power testing, using the processor's peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is obtained from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter, capturing the entire PC (excluding the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. We've moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle flagship-class processors.
Stress testing the Crosshair with our DDR5-7200 kit showed it to be slightly more power-hungry than most boards. At idle, it sat around 92W and peaked at 268W. This averages out to 180W, which is again slightly higher than the average X870E/X870-based boards, and on par with the Dark Hero.
VRM temperatures are good, peaking at just under 49 degrees Celsius on our sensor and 54 degrees on Asus’ internal sensor. Between the robust power delivery and oversize heatsinks, you won’t have any trouble overclocking flagship-class processors, like the Ryzen 7 9850X3D.
Bottom Line
Asus’ ROG Crosshair 2006 ($799.99) is an awesome, premium mid-range motherboard with retro-inspired aesthetics from the original ROG motherboard released in 2006. Based on the venerable X870E Dark Hero, you not only get that throwback styling with blue and white connections and loads of copper colored heatsinks, you get everything that makes the Dark Hero great and even a bit more with the small OLED screen on the M.2 heatsink. But you get five M.2 sockets, robust power delivery, a high-end audio solution, dual LAN with a 10 GbE port (plus fast Wi-Fi 7), and various EZ PC DIY and loads of AI features.
There is competition in this space. MSI’s MEG X870E Ace MAX (currently $699.99 at Newegg) is also a good option, offering similar specifications but more USB ports on the rear IO and five 80mm-plus-capable M.2 sockets. But it is lacking a second Ethernet port like the others. The Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master X3D Ice ($599.99 at Newegg) is another quality competitor in the space with similar hardware and would make a great option for a white build. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the Crosshair X870E Dark Hero ($699.99), as that’s what this board is based on.
In the end, the ROG Crosshair 2006 is a solid premium mid-range motherboard. If you’re already in the market for a higher-end motherboard, the deciding factor in purchasing this board (or not) comes down to whether you like the retro appearance and want to spend $100 more for the limited-run motherboard and a piece of PC history. Otherwise, there are similarly equipped options for less.
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