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Since the initial model was introduced on the AM2 socket, the ASUS Crosshair has been a hallmark of AMD motherboards. Going back in time, take a look at the Crosshair 1, with its shiny copper backing and its white and blue plastics, and you’ll see how far both motherboard aesthetics and technology have come in the intervening years.

Recently, we examined the Crosshair VI Hero, a motherboard built around the AMD Zen architecture’s core X370 chipset. It consistently outperformed our benchmark graphs, showing exceptional performance. With almost everything included, the ROG CROSSHAIR VI EXTREME Motherboard ought to be at the top of many people’s wish lists if “some is good and more is better.” Naturally, we must test it first to see if it redefines the capabilities of Ryzen CPUs, but let’s first see what treats you can expect if you decide to get the Extreme.

ROG CROSSHAIR VI EXTREME Motherboard Packaging & Overview

ASUS’s packaging for the ROG CROSSHAIR VI EXTREME Motherboard sticks to their most recent branding approach, with accents in black to argent on a blazing red background. The top right corner is occupied by the ROG logo, while the bottom left has the default feature set displayed in black.

This includes supporting multiple GPUs for both AMD’s CrossFireX and NVIDIA’s SLI solutions, and being designed on the AMD X370 chipset platform for AMD RYZEN processors. Assuming you have a 3D printer, you can create your own accessories using the 3D source files that ASUS has made available on this board’s product page.

You can assume that since this is a ROG board, built-in support for ASUS AURA illumination is included for usage with compatible RGB accessories. Together with some basic information about the USB 3.1 front panel socket on the PCB, the Aura lighting, the brand-new SupremeFX audio codec, and 3D printing accessory mounts, the package’s reverse side also features a picture of the board and a list of characteristics.

The motherboard is located within the redesigned box, hidden beneath a transparent plastic cover. This is the location of the accessory bundle during transportation. Before you finish the installation, it will have spread throughout your workstation.

The owner’s manual/user’s guide, drive cable labels, warranty card, rebate coupon for Cable Mods goods, and a convenient coaster to prevent your favorite cool beverage from ruining your desk are all included. The hardware part of the package consists of four SATA 6Gbps data cables, a Q-connector, Q-Shield, and High Bandwidth SLI bridge in addition to a 3D mounting kit and an 80cm RGB LED extension cable. 

The board’s black-on-black motif with gold accents makes it compatible with any chassis you choose, and it has an ASUS AURA lighting system that lets you further customize the color scheme of the board and its parts. For a motherboard from a mid-range series, the layout is comparatively typical. Other than the support frame for the cooler mounting package, not much can be said about the board’s back. 

The ornamental shroud that stretches from the top of the PCB down and over the SupremeFX sound system conceals the board’s I/O interface. One pair of ASMedia USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports (one each of Type-A and Type-C), four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports that pull off the RYZEN CPU, four USB 2.0 and four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports that come off the X370 chipset, and the BIOS Flashback and BIOS reset/CMOS clean buttons are located on the left.

Network access is provided by a single Gigabit LAN port that is controlled by an Intel® I211-AT and protected by LANGuard. The analog audio outputs utilized by the ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition audio solution are gold-plated audio jacks. 

The ROG CROSSHAIR VI EXTREME Motherboard has a total of six expansion slots installed by ASUS. This set includes three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots, one PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, and two PCIe 3.0 x16 SafeSlots. SafeSlot technology is employed by ASUS on the primary 16x PCIe 3.0 slots. If you bring your PC to LAN parties, SafeSlot technology enhances the shear resistance and retention force to keep your video card seated and prevent it from ripping the slot off the board. 

The M.2 Socket 3 with MKey support for 2242/2260/2280/22110 devices is where drive communication begins. The X370 chipset has eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports in total, supporting RAID 0/1/10 configurations. The 24-pin ATX socket and the SATA ports are separated by a USB 3.1 header.

Directly in front of the 24-pin connector is ASUS’ ProbeIt feature, which lets you manually check the voltages of the Vcore, DRAM, Chipset, and other components. The Q-Code LED is located at the top right of the PCB. It is accompanied by the QLEDs and the CPU LED, which together assist you diagnose boot problems. 

This board’s cooling system is reasonably strong, as you would anticipate from an ASUS ROG design. Two aluminum heat sinks with heat pipe connections covering the Digi+ VRM circuits. In order to allow the thermal load to exit the I/O panel, the heat sink is positioned to the left of the socket. With AURA lighting beneath the hollow design of the heat sink above the X370 processor, it has a rather interesting and distinctive appearance. 

ROG CROSSHAIR VI EXTREME Motherboard General Information

Processor Socket	AMD AM4 Socket for AMD Ryzen™/7th Generation A-series/Athlon™ Processors
Chipset	AMD X370
Memory	4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3200(O.C.)/2933(O.C.)/
	2666/2400/2133 MHz Un-buffered Memory
Multi-GPU Support	NVIDIA® 3-Way SLI™ Technology
	AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™ Technology
Expansion Slots	2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 SafeSlots (x16 or dual x8)
	1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode)
	1 x PCIe 2.0 x1
Storage	8 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
	2 x M.2 slots (Key M)
USB Ports	1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C
	6 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
	4 x USB 2.0
Networking	Intel® I211-AT Gigabit Ethernet
	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band
	MU-MIMO support
Audio	ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
	– Impedance sense for front and rear headphone outputs
	– Supports: Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
	– SupremeFX Shielding Technology
Form Factor	Extended ATX (12 inch x 10.9 inch)

ROG CROSSHAIR VI EXTREME Motherboard Conclusion

Although its performance may not be the best, this motherboard is incredibly well-made, and its endurance should transfer into steadiness all day long. A BIOS LED, onboard controls, a dual BIOS, an ASUS safeslot, a ProCool power connector, integrated Flashback, and more. The sum of these factors results in increased stability, ease of use, and overclocking capabilities.