ASUS brings back old school ROG style with new Crosshair 2006 X870E motherboard

ASUS has introduced the ROG Crosshair 2006, a special 20th anniversary motherboard that brings back the look of early Republic of Gamers hardware while using modern AMD X870E features.

The board is designed as a tribute to the first ROG motherboards from 2006. Instead of the dark, covered look used by many current gaming boards, the Crosshair 2006 uses a blue and white color scheme across the memory slots, PCIe slots, and SATA connectors. It also shows off copper heatsinks rather than hiding everything under large black shrouds.

That retro design is the main attraction. The board looks much closer to high end PC hardware from the early 2000s, when exposed components, bright slots, and visible heatsinks were more common. For long time PC builders, it is meant to feel familiar while still fitting into a modern gaming system.

Under the older styling, this is still a high end motherboard. ASUS says the ROG Crosshair 2006 is a cousin of the Crosshair X870E Dark Hero, which means it is built for serious AM5 systems rather than only being a collector item.

The most obvious modern feature is a 2 inch OLED display placed near the main M.2 slot. It can show system information such as temperatures, fan speeds, and CPU clock speeds. ASUS has also included its AIO Q Connector, which is designed to make compatible liquid cooler setup easier.

Connectivity is strong as well. The board includes both 10Gb and 5Gb Ethernet, WiFi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4. Storage support includes five M.2 slots, which should be enough for high end builds with several fast SSDs.

The ROG Crosshair 2006 shows how PC hardware makers are leaning into nostalgia without giving up current performance. Retro themed cases, keyboards, and handhelds have become more common, and ASUS is now applying that idea to one of the most important parts of a gaming PC.

For builders who want a clean black motherboard, this will not be the obvious choice. But for anyone who misses colorful boards, exposed copper cooling, and early ROG style, the Crosshair 2006 could be one of ASUS’s most distinctive AM5 releases.