ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME (Intel LGA 1150)

[Ikaruga]

Thanks for the review.

ps.: Also thanks for the "Huge amount of options can be overwhelming" line, it made me smile

 

[GC_PaNzerFIN]

ASUS always makes best highend motherboards. I am waiting for ton of Z87 ROG love. I love my new job

 

[The Von Matrices]

I don't quite understand the desirability of the entire ASUS ROG line. Each one of their models (except maybe this one) have competitors offering comparable feature sets for $40-$80 less. I don't see their software and BIOS as worth that much, especially considering that with Haswell and even with slightly older processors the motherboard is one of the least important factors in overclocking.

 

[Sabishii Hito]

I don't quite understand the desirability of the entire ASUS ROG line. Each one of their models (except maybe this one) have competitors offering comparable feature sets for $40-$80 less. I don't see their software and BIOS as worth that much, especially considering that with Haswell and even with slightly older processors the motherboard is one of the least important factors in overclocking.

That's true with this generation, but with previous platforms the ROG series were overall best. The Rampage IV Extreme is to date the best X79 motherboard, for example.

 

[GC_PaNzerFIN]

I don't quite understand the desirability of the entire ASUS ROG line. Each one of their models (except maybe this one) have competitors offering comparable feature sets for $40-$80 less. I don't see their software and BIOS as worth that much, especially considering that with Haswell and even with slightly older processors the motherboard is one of the least important factors in overclocking.

No competition with ITX Impact. No competition with Extreme. Practically no price difference with Gene compared to similar boards.

Only board that seems obviously off is Hero. Too much competition at +200e with cut out ROG features. Gene is better buy.

 

[cadaveca]

motherboard is one of the least important factors in overclocking.

CPU core clocking, sure. Memory clocking? 1000% still about the board/BIOS.

People don't buy motherboards just simply to OC with...probably 50% of the questions I get via PM and email are about running stock.

So, part compatibility, build quality, BIOS, drive controllers, slot layout, power consumed, memory overclocking...all changes form board to board, and these are things that the ASUS ROG line excels at. DO other obards do just as good of a job? Sure. Have I tested them yet? Nope. 12 models of Z87 boards fully tested(not all reviews posted yet), OC'd, and 4 dead now, Maximus VI Extreme has been the best by far.

 

[The Von Matrices]

CPU core clocking, sure. Memory clocking? 1000% still about the board/BIOS.

People don't buy motherboards just simply to OC with...probably 50% of the questions I get via PM and email are about running stock.

So, part compatibility, build quality, BIOS, drive controllers, slot layout, power consumed, memory overclocking...all changes form board to board, and these are things that the ASUS ROG line excels at. DO other obards do just as good of a job? Sure. Have I tested them yet? Nope. 12 models of Z87 boards fully tested(not all reviews posted yet), OC'd, and 4 dead now, Maximus VI Extreme has been the best by far.

I am looking forward to those reviews. I am curious to see the comparison.

 

[cadaveca]

I am looking forward to those reviews. I am curious to see the comparison.

Most are posted already, so numbers, at least, are already in this very review. Next board to go up will likely be the ECS GANK MACHINE, and then another ASUS product, but I've also got a Crucial memory review that I'll be finishing up this weekend while I run the benchmarks to get numbers for the ECS board.

The Gigabyte Z87-UD3H is reviewed recently is my choice for a "budget" board right now. This ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME is my choice for high-end memory OC/OCing in general.

 

[Sabishii Hito]

CPU core clocking, sure. Memory clocking? 1000% still about the board/BIOS.

People don't buy motherboards just simply to OC with...probably 50% of the questions I get via PM and email are about running stock.

So, part compatibility, build quality, BIOS, drive controllers, slot layout, power consumed, memory overclocking...all changes form board to board, and these are things that the ASUS ROG line excels at. DO other obards do just as good of a job? Sure. Have I tested them yet? Nope. 12 models of Z87 boards fully tested(not all reviews posted yet), OC'd, and 4 dead now, Maximus VI Extreme has been the best by far.

You found the M6E to be better than the Gigabyte OC? That certainly doesn't correspond to my personal experience with it vs the OC Force at least. I can easily run 4x4GB double-sided Hynix CFR sticks or even 4x8GB MFR at DDR3-3000 C12 with just setting primary timings and volts. The M6E was a pain and I only got it do that once after an entire afternoon of fiddling with Swizzling Bits, MRC Fast Boot, profiles,etc in addition to voltage. It was so frustrating I took it back to the store.

 

[cadaveca]

OC Force at least

OC FORCE and X-OC aren't the same. Gigabyte sent me the Sniper5 instead of OC Force.

My X-OC review is HERE

X-OC I reviewed early, and it hated MFRs. I had 2933 MHZ G.Skill ram to run for this platform for testing, but the board didn't like it, and I had to get reviews done.

 

[Sabishii Hito]

If anything the regular Z87X OC should be better since Gigabyte is focusing more on it in terms of memory options with the X0 UEFI updates.

 

[cadaveca]

If anything the regular Z87X OC should be better since Gigabyte is focusing more on it in terms of memory options with the X0 UEFI updates.

As I said above, I reviewed the X-OC early, and BIOSes were not quite mature enough for me.


I had the MAXIMUS VI and the X-OC both before the platform launched, and the ASUS worked where the X-OC did not. The whole reason that board took a few weeks for me to finish with was BIOS problematic, so I stated in the conclusion:

This board simply does not cater to all users, and it does seem weird to have a board with so many fully sized PCIe x16 slots and no Tri- or Quad-SLI support, leaving me with the nagging impression that it is only half as capable as it could be.

And it got an 8.6 score, which is an OK score, but far from what it could have been, and might be, today. It's been a few months, really, since I played with that board, and it is most definitely possible that BIOS updates would completely change my opinion.

 

[Sabishii Hito]

I see. Well hopefully you'll get to check out the Force.

 

[15th Warlock]

Thanks for the exhaustive review Dave, it was a very interesting read.

I was wondering what Asus had in store for this generation, and have been patiently waiting for your review I see they didn't disappoint.

I'm waiting for their RVIE offering hopefully next year, (done with upgrades for the rest of 2013) I still have my MIVE and RIVE boards in use, and the quality of those boards is amazing, and like you said, no other manufacturer beats them in terms of sheer stability, I'm glad to see Asus is still at the top of their game.

 

[GC_PaNzerFIN]

Most are posted already, so numbers, at least, are already in this very review. Next board to go up will likely be the ECS GANK MACHINE, and then another ASUS product, but I've also got a Crucial memory review that I'll be finishing up this weekend while I run the benchmarks to get numbers for the ECS board.

The Gigabyte Z87-UD3H is reviewed recently is my choice for a "budget" board right now. This ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME is my choice for high-end memory OC/OCing in general.

One more very interesting product is Maximus VI Impact from Asus. By any chance you going to take a look at it at some point?

I am testing/reviewing the Impact, Formula and Extreme now so for me it doesn't matter so much but anyway many people would be interested to hear your thoughts on that board in English (I write my native language).

 

[cadaveca]

One more very interesting product is Maximus VI Impact from Asus. By any chance you going to take a look at it at some point?

I am testing/reviewing the Impact, Formula and Extreme now so for me it doesn't matter so much but anyway many people would be interested to hear your thoughts on that board in English (I write my native language).

Yep, I have FORMULA, GENE and IMPACT here, as well as the other mITX the P87I-PRO, the Z87-A, and the SABERTOOTH still to review. And that's just the ASUS boards.... I have enough boards that if I do one review a week, I'll be busy until next year. I need to hire someone.

 

[Nabarun]

Yep, I have FORMULA, GENE and IMPACT here, as well as the other mITX the P87I-PRO, the Z87-A, and the SABERTOOTH still to review. And that's just the ASUS boards.... I have enough boards that if I do one review a week, I'll be busy until next year. I need to hire someone.

So no Z87-Pro, huh?

BTW, I don't understand how the audio on the extreme can be inferior to that on the hero. Both have the same codec, but JJ told me that the hero has the least expensive implementation among these ROGs. So how on earth...???

 

[Ed_1]

So no Z87-Pro, huh?

BTW, I don't understand how the audio on the extreme can be inferior to that on the hero. Both have the same codec, but JJ told me that the hero has the least expensive implementation among these ROGs. So how on earth...???

If you go to Asus site both hero and extreme don't have the better sound features of other ROG MB , like Formula , with extreme having less audio features , even of hero (has ELNA® premium audio capacitors) .

Formula
Cirrus Logic® CS4398 DAC: 120 dB SNR, -107 dB THD+N (Max. 192 kHz/ 24 -bit)
- TI 6120A2 high fidelity headphone amplifier
- WIMA® film capacitors
- ELNA® premium audio capacitors
- High-fidelity audio OP AMP(s)

While I like many of features of ROG MB, the price always get me . I end up getting something like V Pro which is well rounded , lacks many advanced features but does good enough on features for price point IMO .
Running a P8Z77v Pro now with 3570k , so far seem very good .

 

[Nabarun]

If you go to Asus site both hero and extreme don't have the better sound features of other ROG MB , like Formula , with extreme having less audio features , even of hero (has ELNA® premium audio capacitors) .

Formula
Cirrus Logic® CS4398 DAC: 120 dB SNR, -107 dB THD+N (Max. 192 kHz/ 24 -bit)
- TI 6120A2 high fidelity headphone amplifier
- WIMA® film capacitors
- ELNA® premium audio capacitors
- High-fidelity audio OP AMP(s)

While I like many of features of ROG MB, the price always get me . I end up getting something like V Pro which is well rounded , lacks many advanced features but does good enough on features for price point IMO .
Running a P8Z77v Pro now with 3570k , so far seem very good .

Thanks. I never really checked out the Extreme's details that minutely... Now I see I haven't missed out much
In here the Pro and Hero are priced almost the same, and I just can't seem to make up my mind. (WiFi + BT) or (10K-rated-caps + SLIGHTLY better audio)?

Edit: 100th post! Yey!

 

[Ed_1]

So no Z87-Pro, huh?

BTW, I don't understand how the audio on the extreme can be inferior to that on the hero. Both have the same codec, but JJ told me that the hero has the least expensive implementation among these ROGs. So how on earth...???

Yes, Hero has nice feature vers price factor .
If there was a Z77 one I might of picked that one .

 

[Nabarun]

Yes, Hero has nice feature vers price factor .
If there was a Z77 one I might of picked that one .

You quoted the wrong post
Anyway, if the Pro and Hero are priced almost the same, would you recommend the Hero then?

 

[Ed_1]

Yes, my bad on post reply .
Ok, looking at features the Pro has one more PCI-e 1x slot so for me that is not enough to not go Hero as it has decent PCI-e support .

I see Asus changed things across models , like my V pro has Wifi support and neither Pro or Hero do .

You have to look at feature here and pick whats important to you .
For me even though I am not hardcore OC, i like many of features of ROG line . I never had one so don't know how much better the audio is for example .
I have no complaints with audio on the P8Z77v pro . you just have to prioritize what features are available per model and pick best for your price point .

Edit: I just noticed the ROG have 8+2 power phases , while the Pro has 12+2 power phases , not sure why that is or even how they compare power and ripple wise .

 

[Nabarun]

Ok, looking at features the Pro has one more PCI-e 1x slot so for me that is not enough to not go Hero as it has decent PCI-e support .

I see Asus changed things across models , like my V pro has Wifi support and neither Pro or Hero do .

You have to look at feature here and pick whats important to you .
For me even though I am not hardcore OC, i like many of features of ROG line . I never had one so don't know how much better the audio is for example .
I have no complaints with audio on the P8Z77v pro . you just have to prioritize what features are available per model and pick best for your price point .

The Z87 Pro DOES have wifi & BT. Both are capable in terms of PCIe. Both do SLI. The ONLY difference that matters to me is that the Pro comes with wifi+BT, but the Hero has somewhat better audio and better capacitors.

 

[Ed_1]

Ok, I was looking at V pro , your looking at Z87i Pro .

Yes, I ended up disabling the wifi on my MB anyway , as I don't need it .

 

[Nabarun]

Ok, I was looking at V pro , your looking at Z87i Pro .

No. I'm talking about the Asus Z87-Pro --- ATX motherboard.
I don't "need" wifi either, but sure is a nice thing to have anyway.