Asus celebrated the 10th year anniversary of their Republic of Gamers line of products at Taiwan today by revealing what the company has in store for the next year or so, and from the look of things, 2016 could turn out to be an interesting one for ROG.
One of the more interesting things that Asus revealed during the event was something called the ROG Avalon. According to Asus, this thing is a prototype motherboard/chassis hybrid that the company claimed is the ‘future of DIY’. Essentially, by rethinking the limits of the ATX form-factor and redesigning the motherboard and case as a single entity, Asus is able to optimize the layout to alleviate the more frustrating parts of the DIY process. Simply put, this chassis would simplify PC building into plugging the corrent components into specific locations in the chassis. Furthermore, the Avalon’s Z170 chipset-based motherboard comes with a modular rear I/O for customised connectivity options to fit every need.
Next up is the ROG G31 Edition 10. If you’ve seen the ASUS ROG G20, the ROG G31 Edition 10 would be familiar to you. Small though it may be, the machine sports some serious hardware. For one, it comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU with 2-way SLI, making it tailor-made for 4K UHD gaming. If that isn’t powerful enough for you, the G31 Edition 10 comes with one-click overclocking. If you’re worried about the post-overclocking heat generation, the G31 Edition 10 comes with 3D vapor-chamber technology with dual hidden-airflow channels that help keep the system cool and quiet. Rounding up the machine is the dedicated ESS audio DAC and amplifier headphone jack that delivers Hi-Fi grade audio to a gaming headset.
For gaming laptops, Asus has revealed the successor to the GX700: the GX800. Much like its predecessor, the GX800 is a monster of a machine. It comes with an Nvidia SLI GPU setup, as well as an Intel K-series CPU for those who are interested in overclocking. Also like its predecessor, the GX800 comes with the (improved) liquid-cooled docking station, allowing you to overclock the laptop to its absolute limits. Improvements have also been made to the laptop’s keyboards as the GX800 now comes with a MechTAG mechanical keyboard that is illuminated by RGB LEDs and features anti-ghosting technology.
Of course, the ROG event isn’t just limited to gaming machines of course. During the event, Asus revealed the latest entry into the Strix series: the ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080. If you though the base GTX 1080 is powerful, Asus has decided to fine tune the Strix GeForce GTX 1080 into a monster. The graphics card itself has been overclocked by Asus to reach 1939MHz and comes with the DirectCU III technology to maximize airflow to the card. This card also features Asus’s FanConnect design, with two 4-pin GPU-controlled headers that can be connected to system fans for targeted supplemental cooling and optimal thermal performance. If you like showing off your custom PC builds, the card itself comes with integrated Aura RGB LED lighting that can display millions of colours and six different effects for a personalized gaming system.
Motherboards were also present at the event as Asus took some time to reveal the ROG Rampage V Edition 10. The Rampage V Edition 10 is a refresh of ROG’s flagship extreme-performance motherboard to celebrate ROG’s 10th anniversary. As such, it comes with the Intel X99 chipset for the newer Core i7 processor family for socket LGA 2011-v3. This motherboard also comes equipped with multiple exclusive technologies such as Extreme Engine Digi+ voltage-regulator module (VRM), T-topology technology, and 5-Way Optimization, and Fan Xpert 4 for those keen on overclocking their machines.
Besides those, Asus also took the opportunity to reveal the ROG Centurion, a gaming headset that delivers true 7.1-channel surround sound that comes equiped with a Hi-Fi-grade ESS headphone amplifier. Also on display was the ROG Swift PG248Q, a 24-inch 16:9 LED-backlit display with Full HD (1920×1080) resolution with Nvidia G-Sync technology, a 1ms grey-to-grey (GTG) response time, and a refresh rate that is overclockable to up to 180Hz.
