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 Alyssa Bell

A few quick caveats: I'm waiting until at least October to build my system to see what happens with the Threadripper Genesis Peak. It's also possible that my board was damaged in transit due to the 4.5" gap in the shipping carton and not filling that space (blame on the packer, not Asus). So don't expect to hear "Works great!" , but I'll get into 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. Since this is a PCIe 4.0 board and PCIe 4.0 SSDs can get very hot, every manufacturer either expects to use a heatsink or builds one into 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 has thermal pads and heatsinks for all of them, so you can usually skip the ones that come with them. M.2 drive slot locations: As for the actual drive slot locations, two of them can be found by removing the heatsink cover around the PCIe slots, while the third is on the back of the board in roughly the same location. It's worth noting that if you're using the one on the back you'll need to flip a switch on the board to enable it, and that will also disable the SATA6G_E1-E4 connectors (which means you'll have 4 working SATA have connections). The remaining two drives are located via a DIMM.2 card, which is included in the board's manual despite being sold separately. Board Power: The board has two PCS connectors (EATX12V_1 and EATX12V_2) and I have confirmed that ASUS Support has a 6-pin PCI-e 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 run a significantly larger number of fans. You also get a nice little USB stick instead of a CD/DVD for all the drivers and whatnot, a nice external antenna for your Wi-Fi and there are even SATA cables with very nice square connectors. I have other issues: my retail box wasn't shrink-wrapped and didn't have seals to keep it in place or to show it was opened, so I'm not sure if it was previously owned (all packages with accessories appear unopened to be). The box opens very easily, with a small tab at the top to prevent it from opening all by itself, after which the side opens about 45 degrees. around but loose enough that dirt could get in during shipping. The board itself wasn't in a sealed anti-static bag, which I think is a grave sin, it just lay in a cardboard tray with a plastic lid on top. 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 on Asus' part. Even though they include a full copy of the manual, it's small enough to not 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 being fed to the board, the incredible amount of M.2 ports (they also have 4 SATA ports) and eight RAM slots. The guide 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 was there 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 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.