Review on 🎮 ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha TRX40 Gaming AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper sTRX4 EATX Motherboard with 16 Infineon Power Stages, PCIe 4.0, and Wi-Fi 6 by Daniel Mandal

As a caveat: I'm waiting until at least October to build my system to see what happens to the Threadripper Genesis Peak. It's also possible that my board was damaged in transit because the shipping box had a 4.5 inch gap and didn't fill that space (that's the packer's fault, not Asus'). So don't expect to hear "Works great!" , but I will describe some of the more interesting and confusing things that I think are definitely worth knowing M.2 Drive Slots: This board can hold FIVE M.2 drives. , you need to put some effort and modding into it as it is a PCIe 4.0 board and PCIe 4.0 SSD. s can get very hot, every manufacturer either expects to use a heatsink or includes one with their drives. If it's a real heatsink, you'll need to remove it and remove all labels to get at the chips. The board comes with thermal pads and heatsinks for all of them, so you generally can't use the ones that come with them. M.2 drive slot locations: Of the actual drive slot locations, two of them can be found by removing the heatsink. Cover around the PCIe slots, and the third is on the back of the board in about the same place. It's worth noting that if you use the one on the back you'll need to flip a switch on the board to activate it, and that this also disables the SATA6G_E1-E4 ports (meaning you have 4 working SATA ports). The remaining two drives are located using a DIMM.2 card which, although sold separately in the manual, is included with the board. Board Power: The board has two PCS connectors (EATX12V_1 and EATX12V_2) and what I have confirmed with ASUS Support is a 6-pin PCI connector in between labeled "EATX12V_3" for additional power. Alongside the PCIe slots, there's also an EZ_PLUG connector, which is an equally confusing name for "plug a Molex cable here." Accessories: You have literally every accessory you need to connect anything to this board, unless they come standard. with BP. Of particular note is the fan board, which is usually installed where you install the 2.5/3.5 inch drive. and allows you to work with significantly more fans. You also get a nice little USB stick instead of a CD/DVD for all the drivers and stuff, a good external antenna for your WiFi and there are even SATA cables with very nice square connectors. Packaging: There's some very good and very bad here and I'm not sure if this is standard or if I have other issues. . My retail box was not shrink-wrapped and had no seals to cover it or indicate it had been opened, so I'm not sure if it was previously owned (all accessory bags appear to be unopened). The box opens very easily with only a small tab at the top to prevent it from opening all by itself, after which the side sliders open about 45 degrees. The circuit board is loosely sealed with a plastic cover so it doesn't move, but is loose enough for dirt to get in during shipping. The board itself wasn't in a sealed anti-static bag, which I think is a grave sin, on the contrary it just sits in a cardboard tray with a plastic lid. It should be noted that the accessories are located under the circuit board tray in several organized compartments, which to be honest has been done very well. Complaints: Shiny parts have more than one piece of clear plastic film. You just don't see the other one because the blue tab isn't visible, which I think was a mistake by Asus. Although they include a full copy of the manual, it's small enough that it won't be of much use to you. So just do yourself a favor and download the PDF ahead of time (zoom helps). Final Thoughts: This is an amazing board at a ridiculous price. It has all the bells and whistles and I believe it will be very durable and last you for years due to the abundance of power delivered to the board, the incredible amount of M.2 ports (they also have 4 SATA ports) and eight memory slots. The manual is a little vague on some of the details, but it lists the pinouts for literally everything, which is very helpful. My only real gripe with this board is the lack of protection for the board itself, which I can only assume served to enhance the presentation. If the board even came in some sort of clip-on clamshell, that would be a lot better too. With the upcoming release of Genesis Peak, it's hard to say which some new boards might include, but this one should be compatible and will likely set a very high bar for them. which I can only assume served to add value to the presentation. If the board even came in some sort of clip-on clamshell, that would be a lot better too. With the release of Genesis Peak imminent, it's hard to tell what new boards might include, but this one should be compatible and will likely set the bar very high for them. which, as I can only guess, served to add value to the presentation. If the board even came in some sort of clip-on clamshell, that would be a lot better too. With the upcoming release of Genesis Peak, it's hard to say what new boards might include, but this one should be compatible and likely