ASUS unveils new monitors, motherboards and peripherals at Gamescom

Gamescom is underway this week but this time around, there seems to be an increased focus on PC gaming gear, with ASUS ROG taking the opportunity to launch a ton of new stuff. We've got a new trio of gaming monitors, a trio of new motherboards and new wireless peripherals.

On the monitor front, ASUS has brought the ROG Strix XG43UQ, XG27UQ and XG17 displays to Gamescom. The first is a 43-inch 4K/144Hz gaming monitor with DisplayHDR 600 and FreeSync 2. The XG27UQ is a 27-inch version, with 4K/144Hz and DisplayHDR 400 instead. This mix of high resolution and refresh rate is achieved using Display Stream Compression (DSC), which allows this level of fidelity without chroma subsampling. The final monitor here this week is the ROG Strix XG17, which is a 17-inch portable gaming monitor complete with a 240Hz refresh rate, making it an ideal companion for serious gaming while away from home.

Intel is due to launch a new range of Core X-series processors soon, which means it is about time for new motherboards. ASUS is prepared for this shift with the ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore, ROG Strix X299-E Gaming II and Prime X299-A II motherboards.

The Rampage Extreme Encore is the flagship, with 16 power stages, a DIMM.2 slot to allow more M.2 SSDs to be plugged in at once, Wi-Fi 6 support and USB 3.2 Gen 2. The ROG Strix X299-E Gaming II and Prime X299-A II are a step down with 12 power stages but will also cost a lot less. Some of the biggest improvements here come on the BIOS side, with ASUS implementing changes to its 1-click overclocking tools, paving the way for per-core OCs on up to 16 CPU cores.

Finally, we have two new wireless gaming peripherals coming, the ROG Chakram mouse and the ROG Strix Go 2.4 headset. The mouse features an optical sensor and Qi wireless charging, an integrated joystick for gamepad-like movement control and re-programmable buttons. While this mouse can be charged in wireless mode, plugging it in also has some advantages, with 15 minutes of charging time providing 12 hours of life.

The ROG Strix Go 2.4 is a wireless gaming headset, which can also be used with the Nintendo Switch, PCs and mobile phones. In fact, this is the world's first wireless headset that can be used with the Nintendo Switch in handheld mode, which is a nice bonus. For a wired connection, you'll be using USB Type-C, meanwhile, wireless duties are handled by a 2.4GHz wireless connection, which should provide less latency compared to Bluetooth.

Everything listed here should be available soon, with pricing and exact launch dates still TBC. We'll be looking forward to getting more hands on in the coming months though, so keep an eye out for reviews.

KitGuru Says: That 43-inch monitor in particular has my attention at the moment. Are any of you planning on upgrading some hardware this year? What do you think of the latest and greatest from ASUS? 

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