ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA LGA 1151 Intel Z170 DDR4 HDMI SATA 6GB/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Motherboard. The world's first Z170 gaming motherboard with integrated RGB headers. For almost a decade, Republic of Gamers (ROG) has delivered exemplary design and performance to thrill the world's best gamers and PC enthusiasts. But ASUS' work has only just begun. With ASUS' pimped, pumped and packed Maximus VIII Hero Alpha motherboard, competitors be warned, gamers get set and enthusiasts prepare to push your limits — ROG is ready to accept all challenges! Featuring a LGA1151 socket for 6th-gen Intel Core desktop processors, dual DDR4 3866 (OC) support allowing for the best gaming connectivity, performance, audio, networking, and protection. ROG gives you more - more gaming-oriented utilities, all free! Also, Beyond VR Ready!

Features:

Light Up as Easy as RGB
Aura 4-Pin RGB-Strip Headers & Lighting Control
Forget the faff of external RGB controllers! With ROG's Aura RGB Strip header, it's quick and easy to cast brilliant colors across your rig and room: Just slide standard 12V RGB strips onto the 4-pin Aura RGB-strip headers, then weave your lighting any way you like. Customize static, strobing and pulsating effects, or have the colors change in time with music or indicate CPU temperature.
Maximus VIII Hero Alpha includes the amazing Aura lighting-control utility to cast stunning multi-color glows across your gaming rig, via the motherboard's powerful built-in RGB LEDs or attached RGB strips, or both — and in perfect synchronization! Fire up Aura and then enjoy the creative freedom of six different lighting schemes:
- Static: Always on
- Breathing: Fades in & out
- Strobing: Flashes on & off
- Color Cycle: Fades between the colors of the rainbow
- Music Effect: Pulses to the beat of your music.
- CPU Temperature: Changes color with CPU load.

Best Gaming Audio
You'd never win with your eyes closed, so open your ears up to the best audio for the battlefield! ROG's awesome audio expertise is the result of extensive R&D, and SupremeFX is the crystal-clear result — onboard sound as superior as your gaming rep!

Champion-Level Audio From SupremeFX 2015
Maximus VIII Hero Alpha's onboard audio isn't just good — it's as good as you can get! You benefit from the best gaming-audio inputs and outputs, with special shielded designs, and a collection of carefully selected professional-grade audio components, including an ESS® ES9023P digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with Hyperstream™ technology, ultra-low-jitter clock, Nichicon capacitors, 2VRMS headphone amp, and Sonic SenseAmp that automatically detects and optimizes any headset (32-600ohms) for purest sound quality. SupremeFX 2015 also features intuitive Sonic Studio II, so you'll apply and enjoy different audio effects for perfect entertainment — plus Perfect Voice noise-cancellation technology for team conversations with total clarity!
- Ultra-Durable Gold-Plated Audio Connectors: Distortion-free for enhanced audio-signal input and output.
- SupremeFX Audio Processor: Ten DAC Channels, simultaneous 7.1-channel playback, independent 2.0-channel, multiple-stream stereo to front-panel outputs, and an EMI cover for purer audio.
- ESS ES9023P Digital-To-Analog Converter (DAC): Creates a perfect balance for top-tier audio clarity capable of -94dB THD.
- High-Precision Clock Source: High-accuracy timing technology ensures ultra-low jitter by preventing fluctuating temperatures.
- Nichicon Capacitors: Deliver the highest-quality sound resolution and expansion for especially warm and natural audio.
- 2VRMS Headphone AMP: Provides the perfect current and voltage for true-to-life tonality and spacious sound imaging.
- Sonic SenseAMP: Automatically detects and optimizes outputs for different headphone impedance (32 - 600 ohms).
- De-Pop Relay: Dedicated relay eliminates the popping sound when the system is powered on or off, or devices are attached or removed.

Intuitive Audio-Tuning Suite Sonic Studio II
- Casting Enhancer: Casting Enhancer improves both streaming and recording audio quality, reducing noise artifacts and stabilizing overall voice volume. It also improves all the rich details and boost bass effect of in-game sounds and music playback.
- Perfect Voice: Perfect Voice reduces noise during in-game chat so every teammate is heard, and no command is missed.
- Sonic Studio: One-click virtual-surround function emulates 7.1 channels, even through a stereo (2.0-channel) headset. It offers five more superb audio controls, including Reverb, Bass Boost, Equalizer, Voice Clarity and Smart EQ — ensuring that everything you hear sounds just amazing.

Best Gaming Performance
Greater performance means smoother gameplay — and that means more chance to win. With the best overclocking (OC) design, UEFI BIOS and intuitive OC gadget and utility, you'll enjoy unmatched performance — coupled with an exclusive cooling design ensures your system never breaks a sweat.

One Click Overclock and Cooling, Done!
Get performance, digital power, fan control, and even networking and audio tuning tailored for you - and the way you play!
You don't need to be an expert to max out gaming performance on your Maximus VIII Hero Alpha build's gaming performance — because 5-Way Optimization sorts all the complex settings with a click, for instant, highly-controllable performance boosts! Our exclusive technology dynamically optimizes essential aspects of your system based on real-time use, so you get superb CPU performance, everyday energy savings, ultra-stable digital power, cool and quiet fans and even networking and audio settings that are tailored for the apps that you are using. In short, 5-Way Optimization ensures that your PC is perfect for gaming, entertainment, productivity or just about anything else!
- Games run swiftly and smoothly with high performance, prioritized bandwidth and vivid sound.
- Fans stay whisper-quiet for everyday computing, and ensure extreme cooling efficiency when gaming.
- Stutter is eliminated for smooth-running apps, even under heavy loading.
- Energy waste is reduced so you'll save money.

CPU Performance Boost
Unleash your PC's full performance with the ASUS AI Suite 3 utility! The TurboV Processing Unit (TPU) offers precise voltage control and advanced monitoring for the CPU and the graphics card. This gives you the freedom to adjust CPU frequencies and ratios for optimized performance and the ability to unlock the potential from your graphics card.

All-Around Energy Efficiency
Cut off add-on IC Power.
With the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) you'll enjoy real-time, system-wide power savings. EPU detects and adjusts power consumption according to the PC's needs — automatically. It can also reduce CPU wattage to a set level and deliver even more savings with Away Mode. This creates an extreme energy-saving scenario by shutting down unused extra I/O controllers and reduces the graphics cards' power level while you're away, so the PC consumes only the energy it needs — and not a drop more!

Cooler By Design
Advanced fan and water-pump controls for ultimate cooling and quietness with onboard thermal sensors and hardware-level 4-pin PWM/3-pin DC mode detection, Fan Xpert 3 makes sure every fan achieves the best balance of cooling performance and low noise!

Precise Digital Power Control
Power control is one of the most essential motherboard designs. Intelligent CPU-power-draw detection with ASUS DIGI+ Power Control is an innovative, industry-leading technology that fully complies with Intel IMVP8 specifications, increasing overclocking potential, enhancing system stability, and improving power efficiency with superior flexibility and accurate control.

Accelerate your favorite apps and games with automated ease.
Whether you're a hardcore gamer or a business professional, you'll feel the benefit of the ASUS-exclusive Turbo App every day. Its intuitive tuning panel boosts a range of hardware, CPU-overclocking, fan-tuning, network data prioritization and audio optimization settings — all with automated ease. And now Turbo App is even more powerful than before, giving you the ability to automatically apply profiles previously set in Sonic Studio II and KeyBot II, so setup couldn't be simpler!

OC Design
ASUS PRO Clock Technology
Thought you'd taken overclocking as far as it could go? Meet ASUS Pro Clock, a dedicated base-clock (BCLK) generator designed for 6th-generation Intel® processors that ramps BCLK frequencies up to 400MHz or even beyond*. This custom solution works in tandem with the ASUS TurboV Processing Unit (TPU) to enhance voltage and base-clock overclocking control — providing an exciting new way to boost performance to extremes!
Advantages of ASUS PRO Clock
- Reduced boot times.
- Lower jitter under extreme conditions for higher overclocks.
- Increased stability under heavy overclocking.
* BCLK-overclocking range varies according to CPU capabilities, cooling, motherboard support and tuning options. Ranges up to 650MHz are possible under select conditions.

DDR4 Overclocking Strength in Numbers
Second-generation ASUS T-Topology pushes DDR4 memory overclocking to over 3866MHz with all memory slots populated — and that means the best-ever gaming performance from your Maximus VIII Hero Alpha rig! Featuring a customized trace layout for reduced crosstalk and coupling noise, second-generation T-Topology ensures time-aligned signal transfer for improved memory stability and compatibility.

Media-Acclaimed UEFI BIOS
The smoothest, slickest mouse-controlled graphical BIOS has been improved to make it even more appealing. Whether you're a PC novice or a seasoned overclocker, the EZ and Advanced Modes help you find your way, quickly and easily.

The Finest Power, Digitally Controlled
ROG's revered digital-power controller now delivers even-finer power, with dual PWM controllers, Infineon OptiMOS™ MOSFETs, MicroFine alloy chokes, and 10K black-metallic capacitors — ensuring Extreme Engine Digi+ always delivers the precise and smoothest core voltages!

Speed Your Game Loads
ROG's uniquely-intelligent technology effectively caches an entire storage device so that favorite games and apps launch at breakneck speeds, getting to work the moment it's activated. RAMCache turns milliseconds into microseconds to boost game-load times to stratospheric levels, and minimizes risk of data loss!

Best Gaming Connectivity
Maximus VIII Hero Alpha accelerates every connection, with the fastest 802.11 ac MU-MIMO Wi-Fi, the latest reversible USB 3.1 Type-C and the newest U.2 socket for lighting speed NVM Express devices – kicking every game into top gear.

Join the NVME Revolution with Built-In U.2 Connector
Unlock the full potential of your storage with NVM Express (NVMe), the revolutionary specification that lets your SSDs scream at top speed. Just attach your drive to the built-in U.2 connector with plug-and-play ease to experience data-transfer speeds of up to 32Gbit/s — and free up a PCIe slot for another expansion card!

Speed Up With Onboard M.2 Up to 32GBIT/s
With x4 PCI Express 3.0/2.0 bandwidth, M.2 supports up to 32Gbit/s data-transfer speeds. It is the perfect choice for an operating system or application drive, making your whole PC or professional apps work as fast as possible.

Lightning-Fast Storage Speed with Native M.2/U.2 NVMe PCIe RAID Support
Don't want be limited by the read/write speeds of a single storage device? Then join the fast lane by building multi-device RAID array with Maximus VIII Hero Alpha's two U.2 and one M.2 onboard connectors — and enjoy PCIe data transfers at lightning speed. Our lab guys put both through their paces, achieving write speeds of 3386MB/s and read operations of an incredible 3575MB/s!

Ultimate-Speed 10GBIT/s with 2 USB 3.1 Onboard
With one USB 3.1 Type-A port, and one reversible USB 3.1 Type-C, you'll experience data-transfer speeds of up to 10Gbit/s — or twice as fast USB 3.0. USB 3.1 is completely backward-compatible with your existing USB devices, and you'll be all set for USB 3.1's breakneck speeds. And ASUS-exclusive USB 3.1 Boost technology automatically accelerates USB 3.1 performance even further!

Best Gaming Networking
Lag means lost frags, so Maximus VIII Hero Alpha motherboards deliver the sucker punch of superior hardware and software — letting you focus on the game, while your ROG rig lands lag a knock-out blow!

Intel Gigabit Ethernet
More throughput, less CPU usage and great gaming experiences.
ROG features the very latest Intel Ethernet (I219-V) for faster, smoother gaming — always. Intel's LAN has the serious double advantage of reducing CPU overhead and offering exceptionally high TCP and UDP throughput, so there's more power for your game and your gameplay.

LANGuard
Pumped-up throughput. Best surge protection.
Signal-coupling technology and premium surface-mounted components ensure a more reliable connection and better throughput. Additionally, electrostatically-guarded and surge-protected components (ESD Guards) allow for 1.9x-greater tolerance to static electricity and 2.5x-greater protection (up to 15kV) against surges!

2x2 802.11AC Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO
Maximus VIII Hero Alpha has next-level 802.11ac Wi-Fi with x22 dual-band 2.4/5GHz antennas for up to 867Mbit/s* transfer speeds — and the very latest Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) technology to ensure that every connected user** experiences the best wireless and online speeds!
* Actual speed varies, and Wi-Fi hotspot feature operates at 802.11a/b/g/n. Windows 10 does not currentlysupport Wi-Fi hotspot functionality.
** Requires MU-MIMO-ready client.

Team Up To Banish Lag
GameFirst IV Beta
GameFirst IV Beta optimizes network traffic for faster, lag-free online gaming — and now we've added Multi-Gate Teaming to team all your networks for maximum bandwidth and the smoothest-ever gameplay. You'll also enjoy all-new Intelligent mode, which automatically compiles a database by parsing new app data to ensure that every game is optimized for the best performance.
Multi-Gate Teaming
Team all your network gateways for maximum bandwidth and assign connections to every application for the smoothest-ever gameplay.

Best Gaming Protection
As a gamer you demand stability and durability, so ROG integrates long-lasting, premium components, plus exclusive smart DIY designs across the board — ensuring the best gaming experiences.

CPU Installation Tool
1 layer protection from socket-pin damage.

TrueVolt USB
2 dedicated USB power supplies rock-steady 5V to all USB ports, minimizing power fluctuations for minimal data loss.

Q-Connector
1 piece sorts all front-panel cables.

Q-Slot
1 clip to swap or secure your graphics card.

Q-DIMM
1 sided clips for super-simple, super-secure handling of memory modules.

DRAM Over-current Protection
1 additional resettable fuse protects connection ports and DRAM against overcurrent and short-circuit damage.

Backplates
2 backplates to provide additional cooling, protection and reinforcement.

ESD Guards
x2 greater electrostatic protection than standard. ESD Guards cover the PS2, USB, audio, and LAN Ports.

Stainless Steel Back I/O
3x longer lifespan than ordinary panels.

Black nickel-coated Q-Shield
0 pain! Protect your hands from nicks and cuts.

Overwolf!
Stay in the game!
The clever unobtrusive overlay that keeps you in the game, so you can browse, email, IM, stream or record while you play, and all dressed up in color-matched ROG skins to show you're part of an elite pack — soon to be available for download on Overwolf's app store!

KeyBot II
The free keyboard upgrade - upgraded!
Free keyboard upgrade from an exclusive microprocessor and intuitive user interface. Record macros directly from the keyboard, switch profiles in moments, enable special function with hotkey from F1-F10, start and even boost your PC from shutdown (S5 mode)!

Ready for 6th-generation Intel LGA1151 Core i7 / Core i5 / Core i3 / Pentium / Celeron Processors
This motherboard supports 6th-generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron processors in the LGA1151 package, with graphics, memory and PCI Express controllers integrated to support onboard graphics output with dedicated chipsets, two-channel (4-DIMM) DDR4 memory and 16 PCI Express 3.0/2.0 lanes for great graphics performance.

Intel Z170 Express Chipset
Intel Z170 Express is a single-chipset design that supports 6th-generation Intel LGA1151 Core i7/Core i5/Core i3/Pentium/Celeron processors. It provides improved performance by utilizing serial point-to-point links, allowing increased bandwidth and stability. Additionally, Z170 provides a maximum ten USB 3.0 ports, six SATA 6Gbit/s ports, 32Gbit/s M.2 and PCIe 3.0 lane speed support for faster data retrieval. Intel Z170 Express also supports integrated-graphics (iGPU) functions, so you'll enjoy the very latest Intel integrated graphics performance.

Specifications: