ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme

[Black Haru]

ASUS once again delivers with their Maximus line of high-end motherboards. The Maximus XII Extreme represents the best ASUS has to offer: top-tier connectivity, a massive VRM, great aesthetics, and a host of high-end accessories. Is there anything the Maximus XII Extreme does not offer?

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[Rowsol]

Hey look, another motherboard that's grossly overpriced.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

That price though... yikes!

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Apex is best lol

But this is all a little late in the programing isn't it darn things have been out for a long time now.

Really should be reviewing amd 5k series asus boards

 

[MikeGR7]

Thank you for the excellent review!

I have a suggestion.

Please measure Startup, Restart and shutdown time.

Just to see how fast is the motherboard in RAM training, Device initialization etc.

It's easy to measure and if someone spends time stress testing - fine tuning Overclocks then this kind of time starts to add up fast.

Plus it might reveal how well optimized are UEFIs from different motherboard Vendors.

 

[Caring1]

"Is there anything the Maximus XII Extreme does not offer?"

Affordability.

 

[Chrispy_]

$749.

The only people who will buy these are people who are so cluelessly rich that they don't even care, and the manufacturers themselves, in order to dish out motherboards for sponsored events and reviewers.

It's really f***ing hard for 99.9% of buyers to justify a $300 motherboard over a $200 motherboard. There are few, but certainly a significant number of features/overclocking reasons to buy a $200 board over a $150 board.

What exactly does the extra $450 get you over an already-flagship $300 board, other than a dent in your wallet and "Asus Fanboy" certificate?

 

[erek]

is it even competitive with the Zenith line at all?

 

[Black Haru]

Hi,
Apex is best lol

But this is all a little late in the programing isn't it darn things have been out for a long time now.

Really should be reviewing amd 5k series asus boards

I have more ASUS AMD board reviews in the works, in the meantime, you may be interested in my review of the Crosshair VIII Dark Hero

Thank you for the excellent review!

I have a suggestion.

Please measure Startup, Restart and shutdown time.

Just to see how fast is the motherboard in RAM training, Device initialization etc.

It's easy to measure and if someone spends time stress testing - fine tuning Overclocks then this kind of time starts to add up fast.

Plus it might reveal how well optimized are UEFIs from different motherboard Vendors.

I will consider adding this in my next update.

$749.

The only people who will buy these are people who are so cluelessly rich that they don't even care, and the manufacturers themselves, in order to dish out motherboards for sponsored events and reviewers.

It's really f***ing hard for 99.9% of buyers to justify a $300 motherboard over a $200 motherboard. There are few, but certainly a significant number of features/overclocking reasons to buy a $200 board over a $150 board.

What exactly does the extra $450 get you over an already-flagship $300 board, other than a dent in your wallet and "Asus Fanboy" certificate?

I would agree that this class of product is not intended for most buyers. These kinds of boards are a technology showcase for the manufacturer, along with offering certain features that are hard to find on other boards.

Even if you are never in the position to buy a board like this, the category still serves an important purpose in the introduction of new features. Think of it like a racing team for a car company: most of the advancements and tech are just for the prestige of winning races and expanding brand recognition, but some improvements do make there way to more attainable vehicles.

is it even competitive with the Zenith line at all?

The Zenith line is for AMD HEDT motherboards, so it's an apples and oranges comparison.

 

[Chrispy_]

I would agree that this class of product is not intended for most buyers. These kinds of boards are a technology showcase for the manufacturer, along with offering certain features that are hard to find on other boards.

Even if you are never in the position to buy a board like this, the category still serves an important purpose in the introduction of new features. Think of it like a racing team for a car company: most of the advancements and tech are just for the prestige of winning races and expanding brand recognition, but some improvements do make there way to more attainable vehicles.

I don't see (m)any features on this board that weren't simultaneously released on other Asus boards costing significantly less. The OLED doodad is an unique frivolous extra but I guess at $750 frivolity is what you're paying for. The cheaper Apex has better VRMs/overclocking and the Hero is basically at parity (minus the OLED) for half the price.

To me, the point of this board appears to be to extract money from rich people.

 

[Black Haru]

I don't see (m)any features on this board that weren't simultaneously released on other Asus boards costing significantly less. The OLED doodad is an unique frivolous extra but I guess at $750 frivolity is what you're paying for. The cheaper Apex has better VRMs/overclocking and the Hero is basically at parity (minus the OLED) for half the price.

To me, the point of this board appears to be to extract money from rich people.

The Apex and Extreme have similar VRM and extreme overclocking features. With the Extreme you also get 10 Gb/s ethernet (~US$100 for a good 10 G add in card) and a Thunderbolt 3 add in card (another ~US$100).

That accounts for the difference in price without factoring in the extra M.2 slot, extra fan headers, the extra USB (rear I/O and internal), and the OLED display.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Yeah extreme was really never an option
I did the formula first and returned it to amazon for the apex when it was on newegg for 399.us because it had way better m.2 on the dimm_2 slot seeing it's all pch not pci-e

Plus not as many issues, oled too asus burn in issues lol
Only issue is only two dimm slots but 32gb memory is plenty for me heck even 16/ 2x8gb has been just fine so far.

 

[Chrispy_]

The Apex and Extreme have similar VRM and extreme overclocking features. With the Extreme you also get 10 Gb/s ethernet (~US$100 for a good 10 G add in card) and a Thunderbolt 3 add in card (another ~US$100).

That accounts for the difference in price without factoring in the extra M.2 slot, extra fan headers, the extra USB (rear I/O and internal), and the OLED display.

But the Z490 prime for $150 comes with Thunderbolt 3, and I buy 10GbE dual-port HP server NICs for €35. You can definitely find TB3 and 10GbE included on complete motherboards that are less than just the price difference we are talking about between the Extreme and, say, the Hero.

It's kind of mad to even have server-grade/workstation networking on a motherboard designed for open-bench LN2 overclocking. Those two things are mutually exclusive!

 

[ThrashZone]

But the Z490 prime for $150 comes with Thunderbolt 3, and I buy 10GbE dual-port HP server NICs for €35. You can definitely find TB3 and 10GbE included on complete motherboards that are less than just the price difference we are talking about between the Extreme and, say, the Hero.

It's kind of mad to even have server-grade/workstation networking on a motherboard designed for open-bench LN2 overclocking. Those two things are mutually exclusive!

Hi,
Prime is not all that prime except for price it's just a bloated cheapo board. lol

 

[Chrispy_]

Hi,
Prime is not all that prime except for price it's just a bloated cheapo board. lol

I picked the Prime because even though it's not a great budget board, it's an entire frickin' Asus Z490 motherboard for $150 with Thunderbolt 3, Darksaber was quoting the TB3 as a $100 extra value.

In no universe is TB3 a $100 value. $10 if we're being generous, it costs Asus like $0.90

 

[ThrashZone]

I picked the Prime because even though it's not a great budget board, it's an entire frickin' Asus Z490 motherboard for $150 with Thunderbolt 3, Darksaber was quoting the TB3 as a $100 extra value.

In no universe is TB3 a $100 value. $10 if we're being generous, it costs Asus like $0.90

Hi,
I've used the prime deluxe and returned it
I stick with ROG boards they have the best bios I don't use TB3 so it's just bloat so is wifi frankly seeing I only use wired.