Tom's Hardware's AMA With Asus, In Its Entirety

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USB 3.0 On Routers, The Zenbook Infinity, And Frying Hardware

Q. On the Asus motherboard, the USB3 front panel connectors seems a bit weak. As you know the USB3 cables are quite thick, but the connector is now relatively small. So it's so easy for the connector fall off, if bump into it. Do you have plans to upgrade or modify the USB3 front panel connector to a latching type?

A. Changes to the connector would not be a simple process. Cable/connector manufacturers would have to drive that both ways (cables and connectors). If there were a viable option for us to use and adoption on a wide scale possible, we'd certainly do it. I hasten to add that once inserted, the current cable connector combo should not work lose inside a PC case.

Q. Who are the artists behind the Asus graphics card box art? What software do they use? Can I see their concept sketches?

A. In house design teams. Conceptual art isn't generally posted this way but there are instances where posts on ROG Forums front page articles have included it.

Q. I'm wondering, how could I possibly in the future work at Asus, I'm still a student and I'm very interested in being a part of the Asus team, my favorite PC part manufacturer!

A. A great way to get involved now is becoming a a part of the Asus CampusLife program, you can learn more over on our CL Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Asus.Students Also once you are ready to look for a job Asus is always hiring and have all of our current job postings on our site.

Q. Would it be a massive headache for you guys to release say a 24" 8k monitor? I am drooling over your PQ321 and just for doing it you guys are heroes to me... but what about a smaller one with a higher resolution for higher PPI? Do you have to "wait" for say Samsung or LG to "invent" the panel before you order some? Is it them I should be hounding with demanding letters? Thanks! :)

A. Yes, the panels have to be available to us. It's an exciting technology and I'm sure there's more on the way.

Q. Now that the majority of AMD and Intel motherboards only have a southbridge, are the chipsets cheaper to purchase?

A. No. And if you look at how motherboards have evolved - the feature count is on a different level as well. Features add costs.

Q. On the Asus routers, do you guys plan on having USB3 on all future products? And do you guys plan on having the USB3 ports to operate at "full" USB3 speed?

A. While USB transfer speeds can still vary quite a lot depending on the manufacturer; processing power has been part of the problem. USB performance is definitely something we pay close attention to. I can't promise or guarantee any numbers, but as the chipsets become more powerful, and in conjunction with working closely with those chipset manufacturers, we do expect to be able to improve USB transfer speed performance.

Q. Approximately when will the Maximus VI Formula come out and approximately what kind of price will we see?

A. Next month is the ETA. I don't have an MSRP on that yet.

Q. Will Asus produce a MITX motherboard suitable for a NAS build? Like having 6 or 7 s-ata ports based on h87 or z87 and maybe 2 ethernet port?

A. Mini-ITX Z87 should be here soon. :)

Q. Super interested in the Zenbook Infinity. Can we have at least a time frame as to when it may be released?

A. We announced at Computex it will be released in Q4 but no official date has been set yet.

Q. Have you ever experienced anything in the labs catching fire while benchmarking etc.?

A. I've smoked a FET on a Foxconn 480 GTX - it was a modded and heavily abused card. Other than that, no flames for me.

Q. What do you think of Crysis 3? What was good about it, bad about it, and the future of it?

A. I liked the game. It was engaging for me when I played it. Graphics were good, but perhaps could have done with some optimizations. That being said, the Crysis franchise is known for being taxing on hardware. I expected nothing less. The surround sound on this game is great too. As a 40 year old, my concentration levels are not what they used to be for gaming, so I don't play things for long...hehe. Even my favorite, the Street Fighter series does not get much air time these days.

Bestofmedia Team
17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Aoyagi
    So I take it Asus is, in fact, not planning to broaden its AMD laptop selection since they didn't respond to the question about that. Unfortunate, I really liked the brand.
    Reply
  • kennai
    On page 8, the first answer is to the second question, and the second question is to the first answer. Was staring at that second answer for like 2 minutes being like, whaaaaat.
    Reply
  • kennai
    On page 8, the first answer is to the second question, and the second question is to the first answer. Was staring at that second answer for like 2 minutes being like, whaaaaat.
    Reply
  • bim27142
    They didn't answer my question. :( :( :(
    Reply
  • Madn3ss795
    I was excited so see any sights of an ITX AMD board from Asus. Sadly all answers led to a big "NO".
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    Sadly, Asus is too Intel focused to concern themselves with any innovating anything on their AMD lineup.
    Reply
  • vmem
    11057585 said:
    Sadly, Asus is too Intel focused to concern themselves with any innovating anything on their AMD lineup.

    ASUS is a business, and like any good business they're only concerned with MAKING MONEY. this is actually a GOOD THING, they have a clear goal and they know how to go about doing it: make good products that consumers want to buy.

    a huge part of making money and running a business is getting brand recognition, something AMD has been TERRIBLE at until recently. and ASUS made their point clear, they're not favoring Intel, their marketing research simply says there is insufficient demand. this is because when you walk into best-buy or even microcenter, at least 90% of the people shopping there still equate Intel with CPU. when that changes, ASUS will focus on AMD more. it's really that simple
    Reply
  • vmem
    11055330 said:
    Awesome info here... though I'm kinda bummed they had no info about pricing on that 39" 4k monitor. I'm drooling at the thought of acquiring one of those since it's using a cheap VA panel, assuming ASUS doesn't get greedy and charge a ton for it.

    Can't wait to be rid of this 1080p plague.

    I don't think it's a simple matter of greed. they can't price it TOO cheaply, or else their 31" 4K monitor with the nice Sharp panel won't sell. They have to price it appropriately for the quality and the market. if I were to venture a guess I'd say it'll be around $2-2.5K when it comes out.
    Reply
  • lp231
    11057635 said:
    11055330 said:
    Awesome info here... though I'm kinda bummed they had no info about pricing on that 39" 4k monitor. I'm drooling at the thought of acquiring one of those since it's using a cheap VA panel, assuming ASUS doesn't get greedy and charge a ton for it.

    Can't wait to be rid of this 1080p plague.

    I don't think it's a simple matter of greed. they can't price it TOO cheaply, or else their 31" 4K monitor with the nice Sharp panel won't sell. They have to price it appropriately for the quality and the market. if I were to venture a guess I'd say it'll be around $2-2.5K when it comes out.

    From the web, the 31.5" will cost around $3799 to $4000. I expect the 39" to be close to $10,000.

    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    11057620 said:
    ASUS is a business, and like any good business they're only concerned with MAKING MONEY. this is actually a GOOD THING, they have a clear goal and they know how to go about doing it: make good products that consumers want to buy.

    a huge part of making money and running a business is getting brand recognition, something AMD has been TERRIBLE at until recently. and ASUS made their point clear, they're not favoring Intel, their marketing research simply says there is insufficient demand. this is because when you walk into best-buy or even microcenter, at least 90% of the people shopping there still equate Intel with CPU. when that changes, ASUS will focus on AMD more. it's really that simple

    AMD had nearly 50% market share in 2006 which has gradually dwindled to the current ~16-17% which is around a 10% drop from a year ago. The overreaching bias on tech sites over the years have fortified Intel's position as a monopoly over the CPU market and the lack of features such as PCIe 3.0 and Thunderbolt on AMD exemplifies the perception that AMD is inferior to Intel.

    The reality is that AMD has a clear advantage in integrated GPU solutions that would be optimal for small form factors but the lack of hardware and absence of media coverage perpetuates a fallacy that Intel provides the best solution for all computer needs.

    I, for one, will not be supporting Asus since ASRock and MSI continue to provide a much more balanced solutions on both platforms.
    Reply