# ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO (Intel LGA 1150)



## cadaveca (Jul 15, 2013)

New to the ASUS ROG line-up, the ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO is for those looking to get that high-end ROG "GENE" experience   in a full ATX format, but does stretching the GENE also stretch the HERO's ability too thin, or has the ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO come to save the day?

*Show full review*


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## btarunr (Jul 15, 2013)

The Z87 motherboard I most liked.


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## sanadanosa (Jul 15, 2013)

nice board actually, but here in Indonesia, it cost about $360. Asus products always overpriced here


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## radrok (Jul 15, 2013)

ASUS scored an ace with this one.

Next person who looks into buying the M6E only for air/water cooling is gonna be bombed with links to this review


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## d1nky (Jul 15, 2013)

ill leave this here.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2937932&postcount=19

edit: due to people not knowing Bonnie Tyler - I Need a Hero (Lyrics) - YouTube

and when i get around to building an intel rig this may be my first choice or the MSI (dependent on colour scheme)


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## Sasqui (Jul 15, 2013)

Tina Turner?  That's a blast from the past, lol.


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## cadaveca (Jul 15, 2013)

Audio on this board is stunning. ASUS managed to hit the target audience directly in all aspects, but the lack of BIOS profiling for easy OCs was a bit disappointing. IF you know how to tweak memory and such, and don't need the profiles to try to break records, there's no reason to choose anything else. OR is there? 



Sasqui said:


> Tina Turner?  That's a blast from the past, lol.





Is my age showing?


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## radrok (Jul 15, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> OR is there?



The batman device bundled with the Extreme 



sanadanosa said:


> nice board actually, but here in Indonesia, it cost about $360. Asus products always overpriced here



It basically costs the same as the GD-65 gaming here.


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## cadaveca (Jul 15, 2013)

radrok said:


> It basically costs the same as the GD-65 gaming here.



That board makes for an interesting compare. But I am typing up a list of bugs with cooler fans to send to MSI right this moment. Crazyeyesreaper wants to kill me for me making him use that board for his cooler testing platform, let me tell you. Seriously...like "I wanna smash the board to bits and quit doing reviews" sort of issues. MSI has some work to do there.


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## radrok (Jul 15, 2013)

That's unfortunate, I'm sure they will listen to you and fix it 

We got an awesome rep lurking here


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## nodata (Jul 15, 2013)

Been waiting for this one. Going for MSI X


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## radrok (Jul 15, 2013)

On a side note Dave have you had any news of the Formula?

Seems like it disappeared into thin air after being announced.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jul 15, 2013)

Thanks Dave, been waiting for this review, now off to read it.


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## cadaveca (Jul 15, 2013)

radrok said:


> On a side note Dave have you had any news of the Formula?
> 
> Seems like it disappeared into thin air after being announced.



My birthday is at the end of the month....

I will get a sample as soon as the boards are ready. I think ASUS is working on BIOS tuning now, and it will not be long.


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## Sasqui (Jul 15, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Is my age showing?



Yes. ;P


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jul 15, 2013)

finally the review is posted. Really good board. Can't wait to have it in my rig!


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jul 15, 2013)

That 7970 is one fat obese MF of a card.

Nice review Dave, I still cant decide twixt the GD65 and the Hero.

What are the Problems with the GD65?


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## btarunr (Jul 15, 2013)

tigger said:


> That 7970 is one fat obese MF of a card.
> 
> Nice review Dave, I still cant decide twixt the GD65 and the Hero.
> 
> What are the Problems with the GD65?



GD65 doesn't give you USB BIOS Flashback. It's a very well implemented BIOS recovery solution by ASUS. It kind of makes Gigabyte dual-BIOS look gimmicky in comparison. Before you bring up MSI's M-Flash, it doesn't work without CPU and RAM installed. ASUS Flashback does.

Besides BIOS recovery, either board is great. MSI GD65 is cheaper.


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## radrok (Jul 15, 2013)

Also this bta,



> Memory and BCLK overclocking works nearly perfectly on the ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO, being much more advanced than on some other boards.


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## cadaveca (Jul 15, 2013)

tigger said:


> What are the Problems with the GD65?



investigating, will see what MSI says. Sent email off to my rep. Could just be something with that particular board, or some config issue, will have to see.

ASUS is a bit ahead on BIOS tuning, too. MSI can fix that no problem, for sure, nothing should be hardware-related, mostly BIOS/software issues, which can be fixed easily.


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## kinc (Jul 15, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> My birthday is at the end of the month....
> 
> I will get a sample as soon as the boards are ready. I think ASUS is working on BIOS tuning now, and it will not be long.



If the info I have is correct it is shipping this very week


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## Vlada011 (Jul 15, 2013)

This Hero is excellent move from ASUS. I told last year how they need board similar to Maximus 5 Formula only without water block. And that is this. Price is excellent, OK board doesn't look so expensive and finest but it's maximum what someone should pay for Haswell.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jul 15, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> investigating, will see what MSI says. Sent email off to my rep. Could just be something with that particular board, or some config issue, will have to see.
> 
> ASUS is a bit ahead on BIOS tuning, too. MSI can fix that no problem, for sure, nothing should be hardware-related, mostly BIOS/software issues, which can be fixed easily.



Will you keep us up to date on what happens please?


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## cadaveca (Jul 15, 2013)

tigger said:


> Will you keep us up to date on what happens please?



For sure. Like I said, Crazy has the GD65 GAMING for cooler reviews, so you'll see more of it soon, for sure.

Been getting some EPIC rainfall here locally as of late, ground is already saturated with moisture. I'm sitting here with ShopVac in hand, dealing with flooding. I'll update with as much info as I can, when I can.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jul 15, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> For sure. Like I said, Crazy has the GD65 GAMING for cooler reviews, so you'll see more of it soon, for sure.
> 
> Been getting some EPIC rainfall here locally as of late, ground is already saturated with moisture. I'm sitting here with ShopVac in hand, dealing with flooding. I'll update with as much info as I can, when I can.



Aah lol the joys of rain, been in england, I know were ya coming from. On another subject, it's been red hot here


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## Grnfinger (Jul 15, 2013)

crazy hot here in eastern Ontario

Great review and great board
Glad I went with Asus


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## PopcornMachine (Jul 15, 2013)

I'm very happy with my ASUS Gene-Z.

Nice to see ASUS offering ROG quality boards at a decent price.


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## Farmer Boe (Jul 15, 2013)

I've been eagerly anticipating this review for a while! Excellent stuff all around I see.

Edmonton = Rainmonton lol


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## cadaveca (Jul 15, 2013)

Farmer Boe said:


> I've been eagerly anticipating this review for a while! Excellent stuff all around I see.
> 
> Edmonton = Rainmonton lol



I've been vacuuming water up in my basement since the last post I made in this thread. Came down pretty hard for quite some time (I'm in holyrood); it's still raining, but at least I can see across the street now ! 




3.5 hours of cleaning up water, and not done yet. damn. Today's a wasted day. Thanks, MOther Nature!


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## Farmer Boe (Jul 15, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> I've been vacuuming water up in my basement since the last post I made in this thread. Came down pretty hard for quite some time (I'm in holyrood); it's still raining, but at least I can see across the street now !
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yeah mother nature can quite unusual sometimes. Luckily I don't have a basement to deal with where I'm at.

I hope nothing was too damaged at your place. Good luck and try stay dry


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jul 15, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> I've been vacuuming water up in my basement since the last post I made in this thread. Came down pretty hard for quite some time (I'm in holyrood); it's still raining, but at least I can see across the street now !
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Or is it an issue with the way the house is built? Like where is the water coming in?


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## VulkanBros (Jul 15, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> [page=Introduction]
> 
> 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Nouse port <br />
> 
> </table>




ASUS has apparently invented something new - a Nouse port 

Just silly me - thorough review as always Dave


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## McSteel (Jul 15, 2013)

Great review, Dave. I wonder how Asus made the audio so good, though, as it can't just be down to good isolation/EMI filtering... We're really encroaching into "stay with onboard unless shelling out $150+" territory. Apart from that, looks to be a very nice board. Wonder who actually made (manufactured) the board, as I can't bring myself to believe this could be ECS' work.

Oh and in MSI's defense (as if they need it), beta BIOSes for all their higher-end boards (gaming, enthusiast, OC) are available at their forums. I've been jumping to betas as soon as each of them appeared, and they've proven as stable as retails, while quickly introducing fixes for irritating issues... At least that's my personal experience for a friend's Z77-GD65 and my own Z77 MPower. I suspect that Haswell-oriented products will receive even more attention now, so there should be a beta every two weeks or so.


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## PolRoger (Jul 16, 2013)

What?  No voltage readout points on an ROG board?


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## sc (Jul 16, 2013)

PolRoger said:


> What?  No voltage readout points on an ROG board?



Now that the "entry level" ROG is called Hero, I hope the Gene boards will become more hardcore - as they should be - and have features like that.


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## RCoon (Jul 16, 2013)

That sir is a saucy board, and one thing I like, is the red accent. There isnt TOO much red in the colour scheme.


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## Nirutbs (Jul 16, 2013)

sanadanosa said:


> nice board actually, but here in Indonesia, it cost about $360. Asus products always overpriced here



same as Thailand frd  I bought it 300$ very bad I will change when formula comes


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## springs113 (Jul 16, 2013)

Nice review, but those lower priced MSI boards have truly shined against all competition.  I normally would consider the Asus board here but I was tired of the color scheme and every1 doing the same ol same ol...withouta doubt it packs a punch though.


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## Anusha (Aug 1, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Audio on this board is stunning. ASUS managed to hit the target audience directly in all aspects, but the lack of BIOS profiling for easy OCs was a bit disappointing. IF you know how to tweak memory and such, and don't need the profiles to try to break records, there's no reason to choose anything else. OR is there?


How would you rate its audio side by side with a X-Fi Titanium?


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## cadaveca (Aug 1, 2013)

Anusha said:


> How would you rate its audio side by side with a X-Fi Titanium?



NO idea, I don't have the X-FI Titanium.


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## Anusha (Aug 1, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> NO idea, I don't have the X-FI Titanium.


Doesn't matter. I bought the Hero and I'll figure it out myself. XD


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## springs113 (Aug 2, 2013)

Anusha said:


> How would you rate its audio side by side with a X-Fi Titanium?



 well it seems to me all these boards use the same underlying codec and if that holds true... not a chance in competing with a dedicated sound card,  my zxr is a night and day difference from my onboard


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## Anusha (Aug 2, 2013)

springs113 said:


> well it seems to me all these boards use the same underlying codec and if that holds true... not a chance in competing with a dedicated sound card,  my zxr is a night and day difference from my onboard


I guess it depend on your speakers as well. Hero's audio is the best onboard audio currently available. If it is only slightly inferior to the X-Fi Titanium but the drivers are much more stable, I would use the onboard audio. We shall see tomorrow.


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## Anusha (Aug 3, 2013)

hey Dave, on the 6th page in the test system table, you say Z77 chipset instead of Z87. (Motherboard row)


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## cadaveca (Aug 3, 2013)

Anusha said:


> hey Dave, on the 6th page in the test system table, you say Z77 chipset instead of Z87. (Motherboard row)



Whut you talking about, Willis?


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## Anusha (Aug 3, 2013)

cadaveca said:


> Whut you talking about, Willis?


The review, 6th page, test system table.


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## McSteel (Aug 3, 2013)

Movie reference humor is lost on this one...


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## cadaveca (Aug 3, 2013)

McSteel said:


> Movie reference humor is lost on this one...



Ha, try 70's TV.



Anusha said:


> The review, 6th page, test system table.



Must be a ninja somewheres...


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## Nabarun (Aug 4, 2013)

So looks like the GD65 is gonna be replaced by this HERO on my wishlist. But the thing is, other than the ROG stuff and slightly better audio than the Realtech 1150, this one hardly brings a lot to the table (_for me, that is_). What would you recommend - the Asus Z87 Deluxe, this one, or some cheaper board like the Asus Z87-K/Pro/A/MSI-G43 with discrete LAN (_I do need dual LAN_), a discrete sound card like the Asus Xonar DX ? Have you tried any of these cheaper boards (_particularly the Asus Z87-K and MSI G43_)? I wanna know how they overclock and what the temps/wattage is like.  I'm pretty much decided on the Corsair H100i (_but probably there won't be push-pull, since hardly any decent, affordable mid tower supports that. My eyes are on the Corsair Carbide 500R_). I won't be going for multi-GPU.


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## cadaveca (Aug 4, 2013)

Nope, I have not had the opportunity to use any of the more affordable boards yet. The "cheapest" I have is the ASUS Z87-A.


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## Nabarun (Aug 4, 2013)

That's a pity. It would be nice to see a review of the Asus Z87-K. I hear the lack of monstrous heatsinks on Z87 chipsets is not a biggie. If that is the case then I'd very much like to get the Z87-K and get a far better sound card. I do have extra LAN cards etc. All I wanna know if this is good-enough for like 4.4 - 4.6GHz on a 4670K with the H100i. Temperature in Kolkata is mostly around 30C... gets as low as 10 on winters and 40+ in the summer...  I could use my legacy pci cards with these cheap boards and still have room for upgrade.


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## cadaveca (Aug 4, 2013)

ASUS has already kind of stated that all their boards have same CPU OC potential, but that cheaper boards will require more cooling for the board itself, so getting a board without good cooling, in your environment, might not be the best idea if wanting to OC hard, and 4.4-4.6 GHz is pushing Haswell pretty hard..


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## Nabarun (Aug 4, 2013)

I figured. But how the hell am I gonna cool the board if it doesn't have the heatsink in the first place? Looks like they have deliberately done this so that we HAVE to pay more to OC. JJ has said many times (_even to me_) that he did oc upto 4.6 on all the boards starting from the Z87-A. I _could_ go for the Z87-A, as it does have the legacy pci slots, but their positions make them useless. Also, the audio is less than the current average. No dual LAN. So I"ll have to buy a separate sound card, LAN card and a TV tuner. I already have those but all are pci. So for me that will be a very very bad investment (getting a mediocre board, i.e). This leaves me with very limited options alright. I could go for the Deluxe or HERO, or, if you find a way to review it (_*and* it looks good-enough_), the MSI Z87-G43. That board has all the slots I need, PLUS great heatsinks all around. And it will allow me to get a better sound card and a noise-cancelling circum-aural headphone sooner rather than later


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