Asus rog x399 zenith extreme review in Spanish (full analysis)

We had been crying out for years for AMD to launch an enthusiastic platform. It seems that the new AMD Threadripper processors adapt to all the demands of the sector, so we must have a motherboard that is at the height of expectations and the Asus ROG x399 Zenith Extreme is possibly the best in the sector.

Want to know more about her? In this comprehensive review we show you all of its innovations and how far you can squeeze the next generation of AMD processors.

Asus ROG X399 Zenith Extreme technical characteristics

Unboxing and design

The Asus ROG x399 Zenith Extreme It comes in a large box in red. On its cover we find the Republic of Gamers logo and the certifications present on this model.

While in the back we have all the most important technical characteristics detailed. Undoubtedly, a recommended reading before starting with the unpacking of the product.

Once we open the box, we find impressive content. It consists of:

Asus ROG x399 Zenith Extreme motherboard Back plate Instruction manual and quick guide 3 x SATA 6Gb / s cables 1 x Wifi Antennas 802.11 ad1 x ROG DIMM. 2 stand to connect fans and M.21 x ROG AREION 10G1 external network card x Extension cable 3 x 4-pin for Fans 1 x SLI HB BRIDGE (2-WAY-L) 1 x Republic Of Gamer Stickers 1 x Q-Connector 1 x 10-in-1 ROG Cable Stickers 1 x M.21 Screw Kit x DIMM Extension. 2 for two M.2 2242/2260/2280 / 22110.1 storage devices x Extension cable 80 cm cable for RGB LED strips 1 x USB stick with software and drivers

The Asus ROG x399 Zenith Extreme is an ATX format motherboard (pulling E-ATX and XL-ATX) with dimensions of 30.4 cm x 27.7 cm for the AMD TR4 socket. Both in terms of designs and components used is brutal, and it is a TOP component on the market.

Before starting to talk in more detail about the motherboard, we leave you a view of the rear area. As we can see, it incorporates two small trusses (Dual Backplates) that will give firmness and better cushion the installed components .

The Asus ROG X399 Zenith Extreme is the best motherboard Asus has built for the new processors based on the Zen micro-architecture and offering up to 16 physical cores and 32 processing threads (logical cores). One of the elements that stand out the most is its huge TR4 socket that has a whopping 4, 096 pins, Threadripper is the first domestic platform from AMD that includes the pins on the motherboard and not on the processor so when we buy it we will have to check that there is none damaged.

Along with socket TR4 equips the X399 chipset to give compatibility to these new processors, we are facing the HEDT platform from AMD and it offers us as impressive features as its 64 PCI Express lanes to be able to make use of a large number of graphics cards and NVMe SSD drives. without problems. The main features of this new platform are:

Four-channel DDR4 memory 66 lanes PCI Express Gen 3.08 lanes PCI Express Gen 2.0 Multiple GPU support (AMD CrossFire and SLI) Up to 2 native USB 3.1 Gen2 ports Up to 14 native USB 3.1 Gen1 ports Up to 12 native SATASATA RAID 0, 1 ports 10NO NVMe RAID compatible Overclocking support

An image of the X399 diagram:

Such powerful processors need a lot of energy, Asus knows this and that is why it has mounted a 24-pin ATX connector and two 8-pin connectors that are responsible for feeding its 8 + 2-phase Digi + VRM with Super Alloy Power 2 components that guarantee the maximum reliability and best performance. This VRM is cooled by two large heatsinks that are connected with a copper heatpipe. Inside the heatsink a small fan has been installed to generate an air flow and improve the cooling capacity of the VRM.

As for memory, we find eight DDR4 DIMM slots with support for a maximum of 128 GB of memory in a four-channel configuration at 3600MHz + (OC).

Two DIMM.2 slots are also included for the installation of maximum performance M.2 disks directly to this type of slots, a fan is included for cooling.

RGB lighting is fashionable and the Asus ROG x399 Zenith Extreme is not far behind with its complex Asus Aura RGB system that is placed on the VRM heatsink and the X399 chipset heatsink, it is true that this board does not abuse as much as others the lighting but Asus has achieved a quite showy finish with various light effects and the possibility of adjusting it in 16.8 million colors so that each user can adapt it to their tastes without problems. The board also includes two AURA 4-pin RGB headers connectors to install two additional LED strips.

We got to the graphics subsystem section and found four PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (x16, x16 / x16, x16 / x8 / x16, x16 / x8 / x16 / x8), these have four SafeSlots reinforcement features to improve robustness and avoid damage caused by the largest and heaviest graphics cards on the market.

With this, this board offers support for AMD CrossFireX and Nvidia SLI 4-way with which we can achieve a monstrous performance in the most demanding games on the market. It also has 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 and 1 x PCIe 2.0 x1 for expansion cards.

Among its main storage connections it has three SATA III 6 GB / s connections that will allow us to connect our hard drives and SSDs. Additionally we have a SLOT U.2 connection to get the most out of your bandwidth.

We continue with storage and this is one of the strengths of the X399 platform with its large number of PCI Express lanes, the Asus ROG x399 Zenith Extreme includes no less than three M.2 slots (2 x 2242/2260/2280/22110 and 1 x 2242/2260/2280) next to a U.2 slot. With 64 lanes there is plenty to satisfy such demand so there will be no performance problem.

To access one of them we must remove the upper structure of the chipset heatsink. Thanks to the thermalpads it will allow us to have our M.2 PCI Express SSD at excellent temperatures (even lowering between 15 to 20º C depending on the SSD).

Asus ROG x399 Zenith Extreme comes with an included OLED panel that provides the user with valuable information about the board and the components connected to it. This panel is part of the LiveDash technology that shows us information in various languages about the POST process when starting the system .

During the normal operation of the system it shows data such as the CPU frequency, the temperatures of the different components, the speed of the fans and even information about liquid cooling systems if we mount them thanks to the Water Cooling Zone technology.

The Asus ROG x399 Zenith Extreme includes the ROG Areion network card that provides a 10G Gigabit network port and supports both 2.4G and 5G networks. Its large heatsink keeps it cool all the time and therefore the performance is maximum.

Finally we highlight its SupremeFX sound system with the S1220 codec, a DAC / AMP ESS SABRE9018Q2C capable of reaching -115dB THD + N and the Sonic Studio III software that will allow you to take full advantage of it in a very simple way. The great possibilities of this sound engine will give you a great immersion in the battlefield and will offer you an excellent virtual reality experience.

In its rear connections we find the following available:

1 x LAN (RJ45) 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 USB Type-C 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A8 x USB 3.1 Gen 11 x Optical S / PDIF out 1 x Clear CMOS 1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button 1 x ASUS Wi-Fi Module GO! (Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac + WiGig 802.11ad and Bluetooth v4.1) 5 x Illuminated Audio Jacks 8 x USB 3.1 Gen 11 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A1 x USB 3.1 USB Type-C

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X
Base plate:	Asus X399 Zenith Extreme
Memory:	32 GB FlareX 3200 MHz
Heatsink	CRYORIG A40
HDD	Kingston UV400 480GB
Graphic card	Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti.
Power supply	Corsair RM100X

To check the stability of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X processor at stock speeds, 3200 MHz memories, the motherboard we have stressed with Prime 95 Custom and we have used a Corsair H100i V2 cooling.

The graphic we have used is an Nvidia GTX1080 Ti, without further delay, let's see the results obtained in our tests with a 1920 x 1080 monitor. We show you the results we have obtained:

We see that the same configuration with the Intel Core i7-7900X the performance is very similar. And this is great news, since we will have a greater number of cores without losing much performance (5 to 10%) ?

BIOS

The BIOS of the Asus ROG X399 Zenith Extreme lives up to all the expectations we had with the motherboard. Robust, with enough updates (We are already going for the BIOS 500…) and that they are fine-tuning every time. We have not had any problem putting the 1950X and 1920X at 4 GHz and memorize at 3200 MHz (applying the AMP profile). It also allows us to monitor temperatures, voltages, control fans and a thousand settings 100% recommended to review.

Final words and conclusion about Asus ROG X399 Zenith Extreme

The Asus ROG X399 Zenith Extreme is the best motherboard for TR4 platform with X399 chipset. It features 8 + 2 power phases, Super Alloy Power 2 components, active dissipation that will keep the power phases cool, and TOP wired and wireless connectivity.

In our tests we have been able to put the 4, 050 MHz processor, it was more impossible, since it is the limit that allows this first revision of AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X. The results, as we have seen in our tests are extraordinary. Always playing a very high FPS rating.

I really liked that when I picked up the motherboard I had to update it to the latest BIOS to gain more stability than with the first BIOS released by Asus. Of course, all the overclock we have done with the AMD Master Ryzen application.

We would like to highlight the following points:

Aura RGB lighting: Located on the opposite side of the motherboard, the X399 chipset and the rear connections. It allows us to choose up to 9 profiles and synchronize with other peripherals or components compatible with Asus RGB Aura. Livedash OLED screen: In the team's post it tells us if we have any errors, but additionally we can customize it with the processor temperature or choose a small animated GIF. How cool! DIMM.2: We have already seen this in other high-end motherboards of the company. This module allows us to install up to two M.2 PCI Express x4 disks and thus take better advantage of the layout of the motherboard. Additionally, a fan can be installed to improve the cooling of hot NVMe format SSDs. Wired and wireless connection: Asus bets on a ROG Areion 10G network card with 10 Gbps speed and a 802.11 AC + and AD (2 x 2) wireless client that will allow us to get the most out of our connections.

We would also like to highlight the ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition sound card with an Audio CODEC S1220 that offers an extraordinary experience playing and especially listening to music. And it is that this motherboard few buts we can get…

It is currently available in the main Spanish stores for a price of 579 euros. We think it is a high price, but it is worth every euro we invest in it. It is true that there are somewhat cheaper solutions, but with these characteristics… currently none.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ TOP DESIGN AND RGB EFFECTS.	- NONE.
+ QUALITY OF THE COMPONENTS.
+ OVERCLOCK CAPACITY
+ LIVEDASH OLED AND DIMM.2 CONNECTION
+ TOP WIRELESS CONNECTION AND NETWORK CARD AREION 10G.