ASUS Xtreme Design Explained

Besides the new naming convention, another change ASUS has implemented with their latest P55 motherboards is a new tagline: Xtreme Design.

Xtreme Design is marketing speak for an array of features ASUS has integrated into the design of all their Xtreme Design motherboards. Many of these features have been provided for years now in previous motherboards, only now ASUS is more actively promoting them to end users under one tagline. Examples of these include ASUS’ StackCool feature, which is designed to lower motherboard temps, anti-EMI protection, and their Xtreme Durable Capacitors: ASUS has been using all-solid Japanese capacitors for some time now.

ASUS has made some improvements to the power design on their latest P55 boards though. The new power design on their Xtreme Design P55 boards includes new power controllers (Tprobe IC and the PEM IC) along with new capacitors rated for 50,000 hours lifespan and the use of Fujistu super ML capacitors. ASUS has also integrated more power phases into their latest P55 motherboards when compared to comparable P45 offerings.

Another key Xtreme Design feature ASUS touts with their newest boards in TurboV (which carries over from previous boards) and TurboV EVO. TurboV uses a microcontroller to provide precise voltage adjustments as fine as 0.02V and includes a Windows-based GUI for overclocking, while TurboV EVO is a dedicated chip which can be used to automatically OC your CPU for you. No intervention from the end user is required. We’ll be discussing this feature in more detail shortly.

To protect the motherboard from electrostatic discharge (ESD), ASUS has built their Xtreme Design boards to withstand a direct contact ESD of more than 4 kilovolts, and air discharge of 8 kilovolts. The board’s USB ports are also protected against ESD as well as over currents. An integrated circuit protects each of the board’s integrated USB ports from over currents. It acts like a circuit breaker, protecting the ports from the excess voltage they could be exposed to if a USB device with a flaky circuit is connected to the motherboard.

Finally, ASUS has equipped their Xtreme Design boards with their latest StackCool technology, StackCool 3 and StackCool 3+. The biggest addition here is the addition of a 2-layer, 2-ounce copper PCB.

By doubling the amount of copper from 1-ounce to two ounces, heat is dissipated off the board more effectively, helping to reduce motherboard temps, and the components on it.

Those are all of the Xtreme Design features. In addition to these though, the ASUS motherboards we’re reviewing today also retain other features ASUS has used previously on high-end boards. This includes features like ASUS Express Gate (although it isn’t found on the ROG board), and MemOK!, ASUS’ feature for enhancing memory compatibility. These are features that are unique to ASUS boards only.