ASUS Announces ‘ASUS SmartHome’ And Support For 3D-Printable Parts At Computex 2016

ASUS today announced its outstanding Computex 2016 showcase, including the latest X99 Series and ASUS TUF Sabertooth motherboards, the impressive ASUS Swift PG258 gaming monitor and the ASUS Designo Curve MX34VQ curved display.

Other ASUS innovations on show at Booth 0410 in the Nangang Exhibition Hall include the stylish ASUS Designo, ASUS ProArt and ZenView Series monitors, ASUS mini and stick PCs, wireless solutions, and other accessories. ASUS also announced the Powered by ASUS program — a partnership program that features desktop PCs with award-winning ASUS hardware built by the company’s established PC partners. This program offers systems that cater to the varying needs of different users, while still giving them the very best performance and reliability.

ASUS SmartHome

The award-winning ASUS SmartHome is a comprehensive range of smart home solutions that allows users to interact with the ASUS SmartHome Gateway and numerous home appliances via a user-friendly app on their mobile devices. Designed to create a safe and energy-efficient living space, users can access smart home features provided by ASUS SmartHome devices such as the Smart Appliance Dongle, Smart Door Lock, Open/Close Sensor, Motion Sensor and Siren, and the combined Meter Plug and Temperature/Humidity Sensor.

The Smart Appliance Dongle[1] is compatible with appliances that comply with the Taiwan Smart Energy Industry Association (TaiSEIA) 101 standard. The dongle utilizes Zigbee^® wireless signals to let users control or interact with home appliances like air conditioners, humidifiers, refrigerators and washing machines via the ASUS SmartHome app. These compatible appliances can also be linked to other SmartHome sensors. The dongle additionally functions as a signal repeater to extend the range of the Zigbee signal.

Smart Door Lock features an exclusive and robust anti-tamper design, and works in tandem with the wide-angle Motion Sensor and Siren to let the resident know of any movement at the front door and alerts them when an intruder tries to tamper with the lock. The Main Switch function prevents all electronic access to Smart Door Lock and switches all connected sensors to their secure modes, and can only be unlocked by using a physical key. Smart Door Lock’s anti-tamper design and Main Switch functions are designed to keep homes secure and safe.

To save the environment and electricity bills, the Meter Plug and Temperature/Humidity Sensor lets users monitor household power consumption and set on/off schedules for various appliances, they can even turn the air conditioning on right before they come home.

ASUS SmartHome is also compatible with ASUS VivoBaby — a wearable sensor that monitors a baby’s body temperature and heart rate. Once connected to ASUS SmartHome, VivoBaby can trigger an alert and send a message to parents’ mobile phones if it senses a sudden rise in temperature or a drop in heart rate.

All-new X99 Series and TUF motherboards, and ASUS Beyond VR Ready program

The latest ASUS X99 Series motherboards are ASUS Aura-ready, and feature onboard controllable RGB lighting and a 4-pin RGB header. 5-Way Optimization features the newly-upgraded Fan Xpert 4 that gives users even more customized cooling options. Users can control PWM/DC fans on all headers, utilize high-amperage fans and control water-cooling pumps via the UEFI BIOS or an intuitive software interface. 5-Way Optimization also features the ASUS Turbo Core app that lets users take advantage of the latest Intel^® Turbo Boost Technology and assign application priority according to processor-core performance ranking for optimum performance.

X99 Series motherboards feature ASUS SafeSlot — a manufacturing process that fuses a metal plate to the PCIe^® slot housing to strengthen and prevent damage to the slots, and helps keeps graphics cards firmly in place. Internal tests show that ASUS SafeSlot provides 1.6X the retention and 1.8X the shearing resistance over reference boards.

TUF Sabertooth 990FX R3.0 features a printed circuit board with a gun-metal gray digital camouflage pattern and a quantum-dot LED (QLED) indicator. TUF Sabertooth 990FX R3.0 delivers the very best component protection thanks to SafeSlot, while three-way RGB illumination and controls ensure the best lighting for customized builds.

In addition, ASUS is working closely with leading industry partners to ensure that a wide range of ASUS motherboards, including the latest X99 Series motherboards, work seamlessly with the new generation of fully-immersive VR headsets and accessories. The ASUS Beyond VR Ready program is a distinctive assurance of compatibility that gives confidence to consumers keen to gear up for the virtual-reality (VR) gaming revolution.

Make it your own: The ASUS 3D Printing Project

ASUS welcomes a new era of PC customization by being the first motherboard brand to support 3D-printable parts, an initiative that allows hobbyists, enthusiasts and modders to add unique modifications to their ROG Strix X99 Gaming and ROG Rampage V Edition 10 motherboards. These boards feature easily swappable parts, enabling passionate DIYers to design and 3D-print their own replacement name plates and logos in a variety of colors and materials to match their themed builds. This exciting development brings a whole new world of personalization to the DIY PC experience.

Visitors to the ROG motherboard zone at Computex will be able to view stunningly modded ROG Strix X99 Gaming, ROG Rampage V Edition 10, X99-DELUXE II and TUF Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1 motherboards, created by the ASUS Design Center. Designed to showcase the amazing possibilities presented by this innovative 3D printing project, these motherboards have been customized with parts printed on professional-grade 3D printers. To achieve an unbelievable quality of finish, these parts have then been carefully sandblasted and polished to perfection. The four boards on display each have their own unique theme, and use a wide range of high-quality 3D-printed parts — personalized nameplates, sturdy GPU holders, chassis fan holders, DRAM fan covers, cable management kits and much more. For users who simply want an easy way to add their own unique touches to their build, there is a range of creative, colorful nameplates and logos that give them the freedom to express their unique personal style with a minimum of fuss.

ASUS will release the 3D design source files for the customized parts showcased at Computex. Users can download these files from the ROG website forum (http://rog.asus.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?288-3D-Printing ) and have these parts 3D-printed for their very own builds.

Unique case mods created by enthusiasts

While most case modders go for strong, impactful looks, ASUS enthusiast Hsia takes a more subtle approach with her Girl’s Dream mod by adding a feminine touch to the X99-Deluxe II. Her elegant white and pink case mod features several 3D-printed accessories, floral motifs on the outside, additional floral and rocking horse elements on the inside, and pink LED inserts.

Modder Alexander Hede features Duplex TUF — two case mods that are based on the TUF Sabertooth Z170 Mark I and the Sabertooth Z170 S motherboards. His black and white digital camouflage-liveried builds showcase the robustness of TUF boards, with each featuring half of the TUF shield logo. The white mod features white LEDs, while the black mod glows orange when lit. When placed side by side, both mods complete the shield to create an illuminated TUF logo.

Aura RGB lighting synchronization

The Aura RGB LED synchronization concept showcases synchronized LED effects across multiple devices including the latest ROG Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard, ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080, the 27-inch Aura-ready gaming monitor, ROG Claymore keyboard and Aura-ready RGB strips via the motherboard’s onboard 4-pin RGB header.

ASUS is at the forefront of the RGB revolution and is dedicated to taking it to the next level. As more and more products become Aura-ready, ASUS is looking into ways to consolidate Aura lighting control and synchronize its effects across multiple components and products to further elevate the PC experience as a cohesive whole, and not just individual parts.

ROG Swift PG258Q gaming monitor

ROG Swift PG258Q is a 24.5-inch gaming monitor that features a Full HD (1920 x 1080) panel with a native 240Hz refresh rate. Swift PG258Q has a 1ms gray-to-gray (GTG) response time and built-in NVIDIA^® G-SYNC™ technology to eliminate lag and frame rate stutter for the smoothest, fastest, and most breathtaking gaming visuals imaginable. Its narrow bezel design makes it perfect for expansive multi-display setups.

Swift PG258Q has a revolutionary design finished in ROG’s new Armor Titanium and Plasma Copper color scheme, and has built-in ROG light effects on its stand to add ambience to gaming set-ups. In addition, Swift PG258Q features ASUS GamePlus in-game enhancements and ASUS GameVisual technology for optimized gaming visuals.

Technologies with style and substance

Monitors

ASUS Designo Curve MX34VQ is a 34-inch curved monitor with a frameless 1800R curvature 3440 x 1440 ultra-wide QHD panel. Every point on the 21:9 aspect ratio curved display is equidistant to the viewers’ eyes, making for an even more immersive viewing experience. In addition, MX34VQ features 8-Watt stereo speakers incorporating Harman Kardon and ASUS SonicMaster audio technology, as well as a Qi wireless charging pad on its stand for Qi-enabled devices.

ASUS Designo MX27UC is an elegant 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) monitor with USB Type-C connectivity. The USB 3.1 Type-C port can be used for data transmission and power delivery, and functions as an alternate DisplayPort input.  It has an in-plane switching (IPS) technology panel and a wide 100% sRGB color gamut for crisp, stunning images. It has classic lines, an ultra-slim 1.25cm profile, a stylish sundial-inspired stand, and a metallic Icicle Gold finish. ASUS SonicMaster audio, incorporating ICEpower®, Bang & Olufsen technology, gives Designo MX27UC crystal-clear sound.

The 32-inch ASUS ProArt 5K UHD professional monitor provides stunning 5120 x 2880 resolution images through as single DisplayPort connection. Designed for graphics professionals, it has a wide color gamut with 100% Rec. 709, 99.5% Adobe RGB and 95% DCI-P3 color-space support. The ASUS ProArt PA27AQ monitor features a 2560 x 1440 WQHD panel with a 100% sRGB gamut. With a frameless design on all four sides, it is ideal for multi-display setups.

Both ProArt monitors feature the exclusive ASUS ProArt Calibration Technology, which includes color accuracy tuning and uniformity compensation for easy monitor calibration. It offers overall data mapping, correlation and calibration, and saves all color parameter profiles on the display’s internal scaler IC chip instead of the PC, so users do not have to recalibrate settings whenever the display is hooked up to different computers.

The new 15.6-inch ASUS ZenView portable monitor features its own foldable smart case. It can also be propped up by inserting a pen into the little hole in the corner of the monitor so that it becomes a stand. The case has a super-narrow frame design that does not intrude on the display, and is just 8mm thin.

Business networking with ASUS BRT-AC828/M2

ASUS BRT-AC828/M2 is an 802.11ac router designed for startups or small businesses, branch offices, or classrooms. It features a 4×4 MIMO antenna design and ASUS AiRadar beamforming to provide users with fast and stable Wi-Fi coverage. Dual wide-area network (WAN) ports provide ultimate speed and reliability with a combined data rate of up to 2Gbps and a backup connection. It features an M.2 SSD slot for fast data transfers and larger storage capacity for backing up files.

The BRT-AC828/M2’s Captive Portal function lets business owners customize their free Wi-Fi welcome page for customers; while the RADIUS server and Device Group features let administrators manage all devices on the network with ease.

ASUS Mini PCs and other devices

The ASUS VivoMini UN66 board is ASUS’s first 4 x 4in motherboard with the latest 6th-generation Intel® Core™ ‘Skylake’ processor, and it can support two DDR4 RAM modules. This compact board can be specified with an optional multi-storage option that can accommodate up to three storage drives, and features two SATA ports and one M.2 socket for added storage flexibility. It has 4K UHD graphics support, and extensive connectivity thanks to VGA, HDMI and serial (COM) ports, as well as two custom connectors. This makes VivoMini UN66 ideal for a wide range of uses, including PCs, digital signage, intelligent vending machines, kiosks and POS systems.

The ASUS MiniPC 5 x 5in mini-STX board and kit utilizes the new Intel mini-STX motherboard and is powered by desktop-grade 6th-generation Intel Core ‘Skylake’ processors. It can accommodate two DDR4 2133MHz SO-DIMM RAM modules and features USB 3.0 Type-C, M.2, and SATA 6Gbps support.

The ASUS Travelair AC 2 is a palm-sized wireless flash drive with dual-band connectivity and power bank capabilities. It connects to a wide range of mobile devices to allow users to share large HD video files or images or backup their data easily. Travelair AC 2 has ultra-fast 802.11ac Wi-Fi to give users 3X the data speeds of other wireless storage devices. A built-in battery provides up to 12 hours of continuous use, and can also be used as a 3300mAh power bank to charge mobile devices.

ASUS ZenDrive U8M is a stylish ultra-slim DVD writer that can be hooked up to a smartphone via a cable connection. This lets users play audio CDs or backup data stored in their smartphones onto a CD or DVD.

ASUS Impresario SBW-S2 is a DVD writer that features 4K UHD Blu-Ray support, 2D to 3D DVD conversion and DVD upscaling. It provides true 7.1-channel surround sound, as well as virtual surround sound capabilities. A 114dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) ensures high-definition audio, while an integrated 600-ohm headphone amplifier with two gain settings deliver optimized sound.

Powered by ASUS

The Powered by ASUS program is a partnership program that features desktop PCs with award-winning ASUS hardware built by ASUS’s established PC partners. These systems are designed to cater to the varying needs of different users, while still giving them the very best performance and reliability.

The program covers a wide array of world-class motherboards and graphics cards, TÜV Rheinland-certified low-blue-light gaming monitors, FAST networking solutions, internal optical drives and sound cards. Users are guaranteed optimized systems that are tailored to their requirements, all under a full manufacturer warranty.

About ASUS

ASUS is a worldwide top-three consumer notebook vendor and maker of the world’s best-selling, most award-winning motherboards. A leading enterprise in the new digital era, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home and office, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, displays, desktop and all-in-one PCs, notebooks, netbooks, servers, multimedia devices, wireless solutions, networking devices, tablets, smartphones and wearables. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 4,368 awards in 2015 and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with its Eee PC^™. ASUS has more than 17,000 employees around the globe with a world-class R&D team of over 5,500 engineers. Company revenue for 2015 was approximately US$14 billion.

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