Ask Me Anything - Official ASUS Representatives

[Simple_imbecile2]

Dear ASUS

Love the products, all of them, not without the occasional RMA but you guys handle them like champs, drooling aside, my question is, you make amazing graphics cards, the 10-phase power delivery, rock solid performance and reliability is out of this world, would you ever consider partnering with say EKWB or the like and just selling the board and block? I was very tempted to get a poseidon, but I missed out and it doesn't seem it's coming back for a while, I think this would give you people who want an amazing asus card but want the clean minimalist aesthetic inside their computers. Thanks for your time! Keep being awesome, and thank you btw for the pcdiy channel, loving the content!

 

[PCDIYASUS]

Any plans on adding a cable card tuner to the impact for next year? Or a 3x3 wireless solution?

No cable card tuners are great ( I have one ) but they are expensive and would take up un needed space. We prefer to focus on integrated solutions that do not compete with already existing quality marketplace offering like Silicon Dust or Ceton.

3x3 is really not needed. A high performance 2x2 AC with a quality router allows for outstanding throughput and range. With that noted we were the first vendor to implement 3x3 on motherboards at considerable expense as it is an expensive solution for still a small set of the market as you need a high performance 3x3 router to full benefit from it. For future designs 3x3 may be an option on smaller form factor but we may also continue to look at improved 2x2 options whether it be the antenna or incorporating a controller that support MU-MIMO. For users who really want top shelf 3x3 performance we of course will continue to develop add in solutions via USB or PCIe.

 

[raja@asus]

Hi,

I was wondering whether you could give us a glimpse into the future of the Sabertooth line of components? Could this extend into other bits and pieces other than motherboards?

Are there any interesting changes coming such as features or functionality that will differ from the ROG line and make it more unique/niche?

Also, is a different colour scheme (the mud palette doesn't always fit into a system's overall scheme) a possibility?

Thanks for any answer(s) to this!

Personally, I believe there is a market for more "TUF". The design philosophy of the TUF series is to find ways of extending durability - through using components with wider tolerances and tighter yields (mil-spec components fall into that category), improving structural integrity and more stringent validation checks and processes. If we were to expand the line it would be with those facets intact.

There is already a Sabertooth Mark S which features an artic camo theme. If that proves to be popular there is certainly scope to expand.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_Z97_MARK_S/

 

[PaulBags]

When does this thread close, a time in utc format please? Tom's seems to think we all live in the USA -_-.

 

[PCDIYASUS]

Dear ASUS

Love the products, all of them, not without the occasional RMA but you guys handle them like champs, drooling aside, my question is, you make amazing graphics cards, the 10-phase power delivery, rock solid performance and reliability is out of this world, would you ever consider partnering with say EKWB or the like and just selling the board and block? I was very tempted to get a poseidon, but I missed out and it doesn't seem it's coming back for a while, I think this would give you people who want an amazing asus card but want the clean minimalist aesthetic inside their computers. Thanks for your time! Keep being awesome, and thank you btw for the pcdiy channel, loving the content!

1. The POSEIDON will be back in stock shortly. Look to a previous answer for more information
2. We already partner with companies like EK on water block support. They generally will offer water blocks for our non reference cards.
3. We have already partnered once on a fully custom solution which was the ARES III
4. Going forward as to whether we will offer pre assembled water cooled cards ( solely ) as opposed to Hybrid solutions like the POSEIDON is undecided but you never know. If it happens make sure to check out PCDIY.ASUS.COM for updates as it will be posted there as well as polls to collect feedback on future designs or product offerings.

Thanks for your support and being part of TEAM ASUS!

 

[Titillating]

When does this thread close, a time in utc format please? Tom's seems to think we all live in the USA -_-.

We give you the time, as well as the time zone, that the AMA will be ending. EDT is the equivalent of UTC -5 (possibly UTC -4, unsure of DST differences). Do the math for whatever time zone you're in.

 

[PCDIYASUS]

Hi,

I was wondering whether you could give us a glimpse into the future of the Sabertooth line of components? Could this extend into other bits and pieces other than motherboards?

Are there any interesting changes coming such as features or functionality that will differ from the ROG line and make it more unique/niche?

Also, is a different colour scheme (the mud palette doesn't always fit into a system's overall scheme) a possibility?

Thanks for any answer(s) to this!

Raja already cover a few points but I will note we just released our 13th SABERTOOTH board X99 and the TUF family has expanded in multiple respects to high end and mid range chipsets with board like the GRYPHON and the VANGUARD. We have other possible plans but as Raja noted there is a lot that goes into the design, development and production of TUF and that means ensure new products meet the expectations of being labeled as TUF.

We also have had discussions with our graphics team about offering a TUF brand GPU to align with TUF builds. The key factor though is what would differentiate it compared to our already high quality and non reference STRIX or ROG cards.

Lastly as for aesthetics this is a tough call as we want to ensure a identity int he same way ROG has one. With that noted we try to balance the design to other a great looking ID along with a great feature set for users wanting to embrace cooling, monitoring and long term reliability.

As always stay tuned and expect the unexpected.

 

[allanitomwesh]

Will IPS ever hit 120/144Hz? Even at 1080p? I'd be very interested in such a monitor from Asus.

 

[Simple_imbecile2]

Dear ASUS

Love the products, all of them, not without the occasional RMA but you guys handle them like champs, drooling aside, my question is, you make amazing graphics cards, the 10-phase power delivery, rock solid performance and reliability is out of this world, would you ever consider partnering with say EKWB or the like and just selling the board and block? I was very tempted to get a poseidon, but I missed out and it doesn't seem it's coming back for a while, I think this would give you people who want an amazing asus card but want the clean minimalist aesthetic inside their computers. Thanks for your time! Keep being awesome, and thank you btw for the pcdiy channel, loving the content!

1. The POSEIDON will be back in stock shortly. Look to a previous answer for more information
2. We already partner with companies like EK on water block support. They generally will offer water blocks for our non reference cards.
3. We have already partnered once on a fully custom solution which was the ARES III
4. Going forward as to whether we will offer pre assembled water cooled cards ( solely ) as opposed to Hybrid solutions like the POSEIDON is undecided but you never know. If it happens make sure to check out PCDIY.ASUS.COM for updates as it will be posted there as well as polls to collect feedback on future designs or product offerings.

Thanks for your support and being part of TEAM ASUS!

Thanks for the response, I saw the vagueness of the Poseidon response, I understand it's a limited edition, I was moreso wondering about the pre-assembled or possibly uncooled version of your cards, I was amazed when I opened my 780ti DC2OC at the cooler and nearly cried when I took it off to watercool it, it's art, and I know if you were to make a card catered to second party cooling be it air/water you can make something truly amazing, I'll keep tuned to the pcdiy site for updates! Just figured I'd put a bug in your ear about what I think could be huge!

 

[Nikola Kodzhabashev]

Hey fellows, I was wondering can you tell us more about your plans for FreeSync monitors. Also how about some borderless panels ?
Thank you

 

[DasHotShot]

Hi,

I was wondering whether you could give us a glimpse into the future of the Sabertooth line of components? Could this extend into other bits and pieces other than motherboards?

Are there any interesting changes coming such as features or functionality that will differ from the ROG line and make it more unique/niche?

Also, is a different colour scheme (the mud palette doesn't always fit into a system's overall scheme) a possibility?

Thanks for any answer(s) to this!

Personally, I believe there is a market for more "TUF". The design philosophy of the TUF series is to find ways of extending durability - through using components with wider tolerances and tighter yields (mil-spec components fall into that category), improving structural integrity and more stringent validation checks and processes. If we were to expand the line it would be with those facets intact.

There is already a Sabertooth Mark S which features an artic camo theme. If that proves to be popular there is certainly scope to expand.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_Z97_MARK_S/

Thanks for this Raja! The White camo look was something I was playing at when asking about colours.

Personally I bought the Z77 for precisely the reason you mention: Durability

For me it is important to overclock components safely and not to reduce their lifespan enormously in doing so. Having said that, it would be absolutely amazing to see a "TUF" GFX card and other internal components around this brand. For one to offer something less Red/Black (not that ROG isn't aesthetically pleasing) or aimed at gamers and also to help push the envelope on the overclocking front a little more. Again this is not to say Asus gear isn't already very overclockable in many cases, however something designed in the "TUF" philosophy would surely kick MAJOR ass.

Cheers!

 

[turkey3_scratch]

What are your overall strategies for competing against MSI, EVGA, and Gigabit in the graphics card market?

 

[Wangfucius]

any chance we might see a sabretooth mini itx?

 

[PCDIYASUS]

I am deaf in one ear. As a result, your "Sonic Radar" is a strong goad to upgrade, as I might finally know where shots are coming from. Is there any plan to release a Sonic Radar driver for the SupremeFX sound on my Maximus V Gene, will it be made available for an add-in board, or will I need a complete platform upgrade to get this feature? Any chance of bringing it to non-RoG boards, like the 990FX Sabertooth (R1.0)?

At this time there are no plans to back port it older boards. A lot of this just has to do with validation and debugging testing. With that noted we are looking going forward how we try to incorporate software updates to older generations when and if possible. At times many of our software updates are tied into UEFI, hardware IC and topology implementations.

As for it coming to other motherboards I would currently say no ( not never ) just no for now. We try to really develop specialized features and functions that complement specific user segmentations and the Sonic Radar implementation is first targeted towards our enthusiast gamers and as such on ROG products. This of course does not mean we do not have a lot of gamers on our TUF series it is just the core feature set and functionality is different. With that noted we also strive to have a set of consistent specifications and design implementations across all boards and series.

 

[PCDIYASUS]

Will IPS ever hit 120/144Hz? Even at 1080p? I'd be very interested in such a monitor from Asus.

Our upcoming MG series monitor will offer a In place switching panel at 120 to 144Hz. Stay tuned... Resolution will be 2560x1440.

 

[PCDIYASUS]

any chance we might see a sabretooth mini itx?

We have considered it but will carefully approach design and development with patience. We want to ensure it meets the criteria of a TUF series board. Just in the same way it took at long time for the GRYPHON ( mATX ) to come out. Additionally while ASUS has been at the forefront of the industry in mini ITX designs and development it is still a small set of the market. We already currently have a number of solution's from our mainstream line and of course ROG so we want to ensure if we put in the effort in regards to design, development and production that the market is there. As always stay tuned.

 

[PCDIYASUS]

Dear ASUS

Love the products, all of them, not without the occasional RMA but you guys handle them like champs, drooling aside, my question is, you make amazing graphics cards, the 10-phase power delivery, rock solid performance and reliability is out of this world, would you ever consider partnering with say EKWB or the like and just selling the board and block? I was very tempted to get a poseidon, but I missed out and it doesn't seem it's coming back for a while, I think this would give you people who want an amazing asus card but want the clean minimalist aesthetic inside their computers. Thanks for your time! Keep being awesome, and thank you btw for the pcdiy channel, loving the content!

1. The POSEIDON will be back in stock shortly. Look to a previous answer for more information
2. We already partner with companies like EK on water block support. They generally will offer water blocks for our non reference cards.
3. We have already partnered once on a fully custom solution which was the ARES III
4. Going forward as to whether we will offer pre assembled water cooled cards ( solely ) as opposed to Hybrid solutions like the POSEIDON is undecided but you never know. If it happens make sure to check out PCDIY.ASUS.COM for updates as it will be posted there as well as polls to collect feedback on future designs or product offerings.

Thanks for your support and being part of TEAM ASUS!

Thanks for the response, I saw the vagueness of the Poseidon response, I understand it's a limited edition, I was moreso wondering about the pre-assembled or possibly uncooled version of your cards, I was amazed when I opened my 780ti DC2OC at the cooler and nearly cried when I took it off to watercool it, it's art, and I know if you were to make a card catered to second party cooling be it air/water you can make something truly amazing, I'll keep tuned to the pcdiy site for updates! Just figured I'd put a bug in your ear about what I think could be huge!

Overall at this time instead of pre assembly we prefer to work with partners like EK and have non reference blocks available for our users.

This has been the case for multiple generations. That noted I do agree if we can work to streamline and offer an option for some users it could be great. It just comes down to them wanting a pre built solution as opposed to selecting their water block of choice which is important as many do it for the performance but also the aesthetic of the block.

 

[YMBailey]

Hi. Long-time fan and user of your products. A few questions:
- Where is the Rampage V GENE?
- and/or, could there be an X99 Gryphon?
- Any plans for a Mars IV with dual 970 or 980? Seems the combined TDP should be similar or lower to the previous Mars 760...and it is just begging to be done. (or maybe this is just me begging, not sure...but either way, seems like a good idea to me...)
- Regarding the new G501, the design looks great, but it appears the thunderbolt port is 1.0 spec, rather than 2.0. Why in 2015? - but thank you for continuing to support thunderbolt btw
- speaking of thunderbolt, any chance of seeing new motherboards with built in thunderbolt I/O? - as opposed to the add-on card (perhaps possibly even on a to-be-released X99 matx maybe, for instance, where slots are at a premium and would likely be taken up by to-be-released dual Mars quad SLI, for example...)
- also regarding the G501, the product page says the "hypercool technology makes it the coolest gaming notebook in its class". Was there really not any thermal headroom to fit in a 970m instead? Will there be an option with upgraded gpu ? It would run warmer, but the performance gains would be worthwhile in my opinion.

Thank you.

 

[AndrewFreedman]

When does this thread close, a time in utc format please? Tom's seems to think we all live in the USA -_-.

The thread will close at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 26.

That's 4 p.m. UTC on Thursday, March 26.

 

[allanitomwesh]

Will Asus pull a "all you get is a USB-C port" on their Zenbook?

 

[raja@asus]

Hi. Long-time fan and user of your products. A few questions:
- Where is the Rampage V GENE?
- and/or, could there be an X99 Gryphon?
- Any plans for a Mars IV with dual 970 or 980? Seems the combined TDP should be similar or lower to the previous Mars 760...and it is just begging to be done. (or maybe this is just me begging, not sure...but either way, seems like a good idea to me...)
- Regarding the new G501, the design looks great, but it appears the thunderbolt port is 1.0 spec, rather than 2.0. Why in 2015? - but thank you for continuing to support thunderbolt btw
- speaking of thunderbolt, any chance of seeing new motherboards with built in thunderbolt I/O? - as opposed to the add-on card (perhaps possibly even on a to-be-released X99 matx maybe, for instance, where slots are at a premium and would likely be taken up by to-be-released dual Mars quad SLI, for example...)
- also regarding the G501, the product page says the "hypercool technology makes it the coolest gaming notebook in its class". Was there really not any thermal headroom to fit in a 970m instead? Will there be an option with upgraded gpu ? It would run warmer, but the performance gains would be worthwhile in my opinion.

Thank you.

Hi,

1) No plans for a Rampage V Gene or TUF Gryphon for X99 at this point. That does not mean to say it will never happen - it just isn't in the works right now.

2) Regarding the Mars - as always it depends if we see the scope for it.

3) Thunderbolt is still very much an enthusiast niche for desktop motherboards. We are interested in the tech, but gauge things according to adoption. USB 3.1 provides potential for fast storage which is some of what Thunderbolt for a desktop PC is about (Thunderbolt for laptops/mobile has a wider appeal than it does for ATX motherboards in my personal view). We do offer plugin Thunderbolt cards that are supported by a significant portion of our motherboard stack. It will be interesting to see where Thunderbolt for desktop PCs leads over the next few years...

-Raja

 

[PCDIYASUS]

Erik, JJ and Raja - Welcome to Tom's Hardware, its a pleasure having you entertain our questions.

Now off to my question bombardment

1| A long time ago ASUS had a list of cases that catered to both the office and gaming sector via the Vento series and an unconventional chassis made completely out of acrylic somewhere around late 90's to early 2000. Will we be seeing a chassis designed in house by the ROG designers?

2| Currently the peripherals market is seeing a boom in mechanical switched keyboards and also an inclusion of mechanical switches on mice but is there a ROG mechanical keyboard rolling out to complement the hardcore ROG themed systembuilder? I've seen teasers but no solid news of it.

3| Alot of us know the difference between an ROG series motherboard and a Gamer series motherboard but for those of us who aren't familiar with either is it possible to educate us with what sets them both apart? Where compromises are made on the latter as opposed to the former?

4| There has been recent news of a ram maker on the block, goes by the name of KLEVV, and they seem to make kits that look darn attractive with your boards. Is ASUS considering entering the ram market with the sole intention to match their kits aesthetically and functionally with their motherboard lineups? Also, we've learn't that Corsair + ASUS have both collaborated on a Dominator Platinum project, do you have any more similar projects lined up or are considering one (or more)?

5| ASUS have been the avant garde in bringing the latest technologies to the masses. Is it as easy as you guys make it seem trying to set yourselves apart in every possible manner and form from the competition?

I thought one post to get all my answers would be more efficient

1. At this time no we feel our partners are doing an amazing job at designing and developing a line of chassis that compliment the wide range of aesthetics and physical wants and needs in regards to feature set and functionality.

Currently the only ROG designed chassis will come from pre built products that carry the ROG name like the G20 or GR8.

We also work closely with partners to provide feedback and design considerations. In this way ASUS and its ROG team helps to mold products you see.

2. ASUS as a whole is very careful on its peripheral expansion especially for ROG as we want to ensure the product meets a standard of performance, quality and innovation. The Gladius for instance offered up some really impressive design aspects and flexibility. Equally if we come to market with a keyboard or more peripherals we want to ensure it meets the mark and hopefully exceeds expectations. As always though stay tuned as you might have seen we are expanding the ROG peripherals product line with products like the Whetstone, SICA and upcoming SPATHA. Additionally we have also begun to release a line of STRIX gaming peripherals like the TACTIC PRO, and CLAW.

3. Gamer is a new series and was first developed for markets outside of the US where price points are lower. We have recently introduced a small selection in the US for enthuiast gamers who want ASUS gamer centric technollgies previously only offered on ROG but at a lower cost. With that noted ROG is not just ROG in name a huge amount of time , effort and resources go into the design and development to offering best in class features and functionality and advance the industry forward. Many designs on motherboard even for competitors were first seen on ROG.

Where the different will come in is specialized trace layout, more advanced topology and tuning of the firmware and UEFI. Additionally component selection will be more advanced and premium offering higher efficiency, extend operation and overall superior performance.

Gamer will best been seen as offering quality in line with our outstanding mainstream series boards like A or PRO but with some of the ROG centric features.

Overall ASUS has continually messaged that our entire range of boards from the -A to the PRO to the HERO to the SABERTOOTH or WS all offer great quality, features and functionality. Where differences come more into play are specialized features and functionality and specification improvement. For more detailing I would recommend looking at our resources on YouTube and the PCDIY site.

4. ASUS works with more memory partners than any other vendor and this is confirmed by Intel public XMP validation table which we easily beat all other vendors. In this respect along with our memory topology and UEFI tuning we work to offer the best memory compatibility, interoprability and overclocking. In regards to special partnerships this is always occurring across a wide range of partners and for varying reasons whether it be color matching, performance tuning and more.

5. LOL wow thank you for noticing. No it is extremely hard this answer along could be pages long. Thankfully we have a team committed to innovation and quality and pushing the experiences forward that we want and expect for best in class products. More importantly without our users this would not be possible as we need their support and recognition of innovation to continue moving forward. Especially as competitors are just "copying" designs it is important to support a vendor who is truly putting in the time, effort and resources.


Thank you for some great questions. If you have more feel free to reach out on twitter at ASUSTECHMKTJJ or PCDIY.ASUS.COM

 

[7amood]

1] Can we expect an X99 Black Edition? How soon? I'm planing a Broadwell-E build.

I hope it will have at least two built in Type-C USB on the PCB.
As of this day and age, it should include NVMe, can you confirm?

I love the design of the current X99 Rampage V Extreme layout, I hope the Black Edition will not sway far away from it.
Also, please... make all USB ports angled towards the edge... please T_T
if possible, the 24-pin power also should be angled but I think it may not be possible.


2] Can you comment about QPI 1.1 for Broadwell-E? how much difference in performance in comparison to FSB-DME? a tiny hint would suffice.

3] can you speculate when to expect PCI-E 4.0 specs to be finalized and how long to expected to be released for the market after that?

I ADORE ASUS MOBOS ^_^/ ITS MY PASSION

 

[PaulBags]

When does this thread close, a time in utc format please? Tom's seems to think we all live in the USA -_-.

The thread will close at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 26.

That's 4 p.m. UTC on Thursday, March 26.

Cheers .

 

[FlyingHelmet]

About a year ago you said that 4k 120hz monitors were about 24 months away. Is that still the case or has the technology been pushed back to alow GPUs to catch up?