ASUS MAXIMUS VI IMPACT (Intel LGA1150)

[cadaveca]

We end our look at mITX Z87/Haswell boards with none other than the ASUS MAXIMUS VI IMPACT. After many requests from users all over the world for ASUS to make a tiny ROG board, those requests have finally been answered. Is the MAXIMUS VI IMPACT worth the wait?

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[thekaidis]

"M.2 SATA"? really?

 

[natr0n]

Nice board and review.

 

[cadaveca]

"M.2 SATA"? really?

Uh...yes?





http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VI_IMPACT/specifications/

 

[Animalpak]

Im really proud owner of it !

 

[thekaidis]

Uh...yes?





http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VI_IMPACT/specifications/

So apparently a single-keyed M.2 connector *does* in fact have pins for SATA, I was wrong

Although pretty much all M.2 drives on the market are keyed on both sides so that point is kind of moot. I wish Asus would've hooked it up to 2 PCIe lanes though...

 

[20mmrain]

Great board and great review too bad Asus decided not to make sequel to this for the Z97..... I would have bought one.

Maybe one will release @ Rev 02 however, I have not seen anything yet saying that a Z97 version of the board will release in the near future

 

[GC_PaNzerFIN]

This really is THE best epic sexyness win whatever motherboard I have ever used. Ever. If you are cool with one graphics card then yes. Just buy the thing already daymnit! (I did, I bought 6)

100% EPIC rating. Or lets make it 99% because it did not make me coffee while I wrote my review of it.

PS. Impact is Better for RAM OC than Extreme. Don't ask how or why but it simply is

 

[cadaveca]

PS. Impact is Better for RAM OC than Extreme. Don't ask how or why but it simply is

It's because the slots are closer to the CPU physically, as far as I understand.

 

[20mmrain]

This really is THE best epic sexyness win whatever motherboard I have ever used. Ever. If you are cool with one graphics card then yes. Just buy the thing already daymnit! (I did, I bought 6)

100% EPIC rating. Or lets make it 99% because it did not make me coffee while I wrote my review of it.

PS. Impact is Better for RAM OC than Extreme. Don't ask how or why but it simply is

Running my Sticks @ 2666Mhz at my full CPU overclock W/O issue.... damn right good ram overclockers

 

[SimpleTECH]

It's because the slots are closer to the CPU physically, as far as I understand.

That probably explains why my ASRock Z87E-ITX overclocks my Samsung 30nm sticks past 2400MHz wheres I cannot do that with the Extreme6.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

the most sexiest ROG mITX boards out there. So, kudos to ASUS for creating such a beauty. Matching it with either black or red performance RAM kits would be perfect like the new Hyper X FURY.

 

[LiveOrDie]

WTF OP Feb 5, 2014 at 5:57 AM? but it pops up now lol.

Its a great board even better with the EK waterblock.

 

[Vaux]

Your audio result look weird, especially the stereo crosstalk who is (really) worst than the one in the z87i-pro (or any other motherboard, even the baddest motherboard you have test have at least -80)

And if we look at the test by hardwarecanucks it's very good:

Any idea why a such huge difference?

 

[cadaveca]

Your audio result look weird, especially the stereo crosstalk who is (really) worst than the one in the z87i-pro (or any other motherboard, even the baddest motherboard you have test have at least -80)

And if we look at the test by hardwarecanucks it's very good:

Any idea why a such huge difference?

Testing methods. Mine is not as forgiving, and is harder on ALL boards. Perhaps Hardware Canucks uses ASUS's recommended testing methods, which I myself refuse to do, since getting those results requires changing the audio settings in a way that no end user would, and focuses on providing good numbers instead of real-world usage. Hardware Canuck's testing is better than ASUS' own results, even, going by the info ASUS gave me.


I test using a loop-back cable, plugged from the line-out back into the line-in on the same board. So the results I give aren't generated just by playback.. the input plays a HUGE role in the results as well. I built my own cable...and I can guarantee it is not similar to the one that HardwareCanucks uses. That cable alone could explain the differences. At the same time, I used this same cable on the MSI Z97 GAMING 5 review I just finished...and it got -90dB. I suspect that Hardware Canucks used an external system to do their record testing.

 

[LiveOrDie]

What program was used i can test the audio out?

 

[cadaveca]

What program was used i can test the audio out?

rightmark audio analyzer.

the results I show are generated by that. I keep all test results and can share my files, no problem.

 

[GC_PaNzerFIN]

Result seems so poor, you should be able to even hear it with your own ears, right? I don't think I have ever seen such bad result. Which leads to questions what has happened or if your sample is faulty. Could be, because that result is very odd. Almost unbelievably bad.

 

[cadaveca]

Honestly, I see this from time to time with some boards. It's not the output...it's the input, pretty much every time. And if you use another PC for testing(trying to keep the input same on all products), you wouldn't see it at all.

Could it be a bad board? Sure. But when pushing the board and listening to audio... it sounds fine, so I think nothing of it, really.

 

[Vaux]

Maybe it's a software problem, it's like they are no differentiation between L/R, the sound card software maybe detect the output like a mono


Do you have received a sample of the maximus VII gene who have the same type of audio card?

 

[cadaveca]

Maybe it's a software problem, it's like they are no differentiation between L/R, the sound card software maybe detect the output like a mono


Do you have received a sample of the maximus VII gene who have the same type of audio card?

Nope, not yet, but I do have HERO.

Software causing the problem, possible..but it didn't on other boards...and if that's the case, then the results reflect what you get out of the box.