Experience ROG at Computex 2017

Computex is an expo held annually in Taipei, Taiwan – the home of ASUS and ROG. With over 23 million people, Taiwan has roughly as many residents as the whole of Australia. But they're densely packed onto an island 215 times smaller, so convenience and efficiency best describe life here. Living and travel expenses are very reasonable, and everything you need is likely within a five-minute walking distance.  It's no wonder that so many people from around the globe are keen to visit the place known also as Silicon Island.

Every year, tech companies gather at Computex to put on a show. For some, it’s a chance to get noticed; for ROG, it’s another year in the spotlight. Media, gamers, case modders, and overclockers all look forward to catching up and getting a sneak peek at what the future holds. Since many can't make the trip to Taipei, we're bringing the show to you.

City-Center

Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world before Burj Khalifa was completed; you can find plenty of food and shopping nearby.

The main event before the event

Before Computex 2017 even started, our biggest and most important announcements were made at the exclusive ROG Press Event. The fun began at ATT4FUN in central Taipei. Attendees walked through a laser-filled corridor before reaching a cyberpunk-themed nightclub filled with media. You could feel the excitement and anticipation for ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih’s commanding entrance. After a suspenseful countdown by the announcer, out he came, and so did the applause. The gallery below best describes the atmosphere of the event. Check out this article to see all the new products that were unveiled, including the ultra-slim Zephyrus GX501 gaming laptop, HDR-infused Swift PG35VQ monitor, and multiple X299 motherboards.

The venue was absolutely packed, and there was limited time to get up-close and personal with the new toys. Anyone who couldn't get enough of what they wanted to see really needed to head over to Computex.

Time for Computex 2017!

Transportation in Taipei is ultra-efficient; the trains commonly referred to as MRTs (Mass Rapid Transit) come at around one-minute intervals during peak hours, buses are viable options, and every second or third vehicle you see on the road is a yellow taxi. Beware of taxis, which have sharp vision like a T-Rex. Any sudden movement may cause them to race in your direction and pull over.

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My journey to Computex 2017 on the MRT was straightforward. I followed all the other people wearing Computex badges and was at the front doorstep of the Nanggang Exhibition Hall in no time. When you walk through the main entrance, you know you’re in the right place. The whole six-floor exhibition hall is reserved for Computex 2017.

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ROG was again at the center of attention on the fourth floor this year. The spaces near the middle of the hall are much larger, usually reserved for the biggest names, and filled with people.

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The show floor is filled with a who's who of the tech industry. It's likely you’ll bump into somebody you know or have seen before, such as Linus from Linus Tech Tips, or Dmitry and Eber from Hardware Canucks. Dmitry looks forward to reviewing our new Ryzen-powered ROG Strix GL702ZC gaming laptop.

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ROG recently teamed up with professional esports stars NIP (Ninjas in Pyjamas). We're ecstatic about the partnership, because feedback from the pros has been invaluable to creating better gaming hardware. Input from NIP's Kai is one of the reasons the new Zephyrus gaming laptop has the keyboard shifted to the front. NIP CEO Hicham Chahine was at Computex and visited the ROG booth.

While some booth visitors were eager to keep trying the latest ROG gear, others couldn't wait to tell their friends and fans about which products blew their minds.

On the show floor, your time to examine new products isn’t as limited, but that doesn't mean you never have to wait in line. Here are some of the new products on display:

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How would you like to game on three ROG Strix XG27VQ displays?

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In the VR demo area, there’s never a shortage of people wanting to enter an alternate reality. You’ll probably move awkwardly, but that’s okay; you’ll be too busy in that other universe to notice anyway. First-time on VR? No problem. Members of the Republic of Gamers are there to help you through it. Take care with the controllers and try not to whack anybody!

The friendly people at the ROG booth help familiarize you with all the latest products should you have any questions. Spending time with experts in the field is valuable, even if it's just for one or two days. For instance, one thing you may not realize is that the fabric on mouse pads is often optimized for horizontal tracking, so you may do yourself a disservice by rotating the orientation. The new ROG Strix Edge mouse pad is designed specifically to be used in a portrait orientation, with the fabric optimized for horizontal tracking in that position.

Like our products, the ROG booth aims to take you into the gaming world. The atmosphere is darker, with bright RGB lighting from these brilliant modified cases, face-plates, and more.

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Modding heavyweights came out to play

Big names from the modding scene gathered at Computex to show off their latest creations. The famous overclocker 8Pack showcased a beast of a build featuring an ROG Maximus IX Extreme motherboard and matching monoblock. The block integrates sensors to detect temperature, flow rate, and leaks.

Stephen Hoad sunk a few hours into Halo in preparation for his latest mod. The Australian modder replicated Master Chief with incredible detail.

Apart from modding, AI-Mask has a passion for motorcycles. As a matter of fact, he has a passion for life period. This guy has so much energy that it’s infectious. Looking at the ROG Hog mod from Computex 2015 and his latest work, dubbed ROG Moto-Racer, it’s easy to tell where his inspiration comes from. The ROG Moto-Racer was inspired by the Ducati Monster 696 this time. “Constructing the frame was the most difficult part, it’s a lot of manual work that consumed much of my time,” he said. An In Win D Frame was severely injured in order to make this project possible. 

Despite not being able to understand one another due to the language barrier, Stephen and AI-Mask seemed to get along famously and had high praise for each other’s work. The art of modding is apparently a universal language.

One of the most powerful mods at Computex was crafted by Peter Brands and Tim Warning. The T2 Desk first displayed at the ROG Press Event almost didn't materialize. Creating something so epic with a three-month deadline was nearly an impossible feat. Peter made it happen with the help of his compatriot Tim Warning. Tim is another accomplished case modder who happens to live about 20 minutes away from Peter in Holland. Together, they completed their mission on time, and delivered this symmetrical, dual gaming system housing two ROG Maximus IX Extreme motherboards.

Together, we are stronger

It is said that two heads are better than one, and Peter and Tim have shown that to be true. You can do more with collective expertise. We embrace that initiative with the ROG Certified program, and we added to it with the Aura SDK launched at Computex. Working with multiple companies and developers magnifies our scope and lets us turn possibilities into reality in a fraction of the time it would take on our own.

ROG Certified partners such as In Win share the same vision. Why not have a graphics card that perfectly matches the chassis?

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In Win chose to go all-ROG this year for PC components, and the results speak for themselves. The mods on display at its booth were incredible. Check out the Winbot Chassis (below) featuring the ROG Strix Z270E Gaming motherboard loaded with ROG Certified G.Skill Trident Z memory. The design of the chassis was inspired by the Odyssey spacecraft in the movie Oblivion.

AI-Mask’s ROG Floating mod (below) showcased a concept open chassis from In Win with a classy touch panel interface. The centerpiece for the mod was none other than the latest ROG Crosshair VI Extreme motherboard. Passersby bore witness to addressable RGB lighting in PCs perhaps for the very first-time at Computex. For those new to addressable lighting, it allows control over each LED individually. The applications have huge potential, just look at the modular In Win Aurora fans featured below the motherboard on this build. The multi-colored lighting effects not only look incredible, but are also highly customizable. The fans are connected to the new addressable RGB header on the Crosshair VI Extreme. They're daisy-chained just like addressable RGB strips, so only one header is required to power and control the lighting for all three. In Win's modular Aurora fans are a perfect match for other new ROG motherboards featuring the addressable RGB header, like the Rampage VI Extreme and Strix X299-E Gaming.

Lian-Li displayed the PC-011WGX ROG Certified Edition chassis. You can mount your graphics card facing outwards to show it off. The gorgeous chassis includes a USB 3.1 Type-C front-panel connector that is compatible with most recent ROG motherboards starting from the Z270 generation.

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Other ROG Certified partners showcased their products at Computex, such as Bitspower...

...G.Skill...

Trident-Z

...and GeIL.

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All companies have their strengths and exclusive technologies that have developed over time. Collaboration between industry juggernauts results in better compatibility and performance.

Records were meant to be broken; ROG prefers them crushed and not stirred

While some come to Computex to get a sneak peek at upcoming gear, the world's best overclockers were invited to push the latest ROG hardware and Intel CPUs to the limit. The ROG overclocking team had tremendous success again this year with the newly announced Rampage VI Apex motherboard created specifically for extreme overclocking.

The most impressive effort was a new record for the highest CPU frequency set on a Core i7 processor running at 7.562GHz with all four cores and eight threads. The team had at their disposal the latest Intel Core i7-7740K, i7-7800X, and i9-7900X processors for the new X299 platform, plus plenty of liquid helium to bring the temperatures on the processors down to -269°C! You can read more about the 8 world records and 18 global-first-places scores here.

ROG OC team

The ROG overclocking team from left to right: elmor, TL, der8auer, Raja, Fredyama, Dancop and Shamino

ROG Certified partner G.Skill held a spectacular overclocking event at Computex. Their ROG Certified G.Skill TridentZ memory proved to be vital for numerous successful record-breaking attempts, such as elmor pushing the i9-7900X to 5.8GHz! At G.Skill's OC World Records Stage, Team ROG grabbed one world record and two global first places scores. 

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der8auer, elmor, and Shamino benching at G.Skill's OC World Records Stage

I caught up with ROG overclocking dream team member Roman Hartung, whose well-known moniker is der8auer. It was time for him to kick back after a job well done. When asked about what he looks forward to every time he's in Taiwan, the answer was simply “the people,” who are very friendly and open. And the bubble tea.

Roman-Hartung

ROG makes its presence felt at Computex 2017

Even when you're not at the ROG booth, if you look closely enough, you can find our iconic ROG eye almost everywhere you go. From compact desktops such as the ROG G20 hidden away, to countless high-end PCs with ROG motherboards and graphics cards, it's clear our hardware is highly regarded.

Computex is like a tech club where everyone gathers to show off their latest and greatest toys. It was an incredible week. Everyone I bumped into shared something in common, whether they were overclockers, gamers, modders, or media. You could sense the passion for PC technology. Computex is the place to be inspired, meet like-minded enthusiasts, and see the newest gear.