The ASUS MAXIMUS IX CODE is a motherboard that radiates quality and class. The ROG armor shielding gives this board an air of durability, and the fully featured BIOS and software suite promote confidence in overclocking. Eight months ago, I would have had no trouble recommending this board at even its nearly three hundred dollar price point. Today, I still might recommend it, but Coffee Lake truly has changed the game.

To be clear, as it stands right now, in January of 2018, the ASUS MAXIMUS IX CODE is still a top-notch board that consistently outperformed its newer Z370 counterparts when it came to real-world applications, like gaming and storage performance. Only when looking at synthetic benchmarks did the extra cores of the new 8700k really pull ahead. However, I don't think that will hold true for too long. As new games release and old ones are optimized, I believe the 8700k will slowly pull ahead. The long held dominance of quad cores has led to the stagnation of multi-core optimization in most games.

So if you are looking to replace your CPU, I would say Coffee Lake is the choice for you even if you are just a gamer. Obsolescence does not diminish the quality of the ASUS MAXIMUS IX CODE, though, and if you are simply looking for a better motherboard, you won't be disappointed with the CODE. The biggest detractor is the price; at $279.89, it's hard to recommend this board. Consider that you can get a similar, but not quite as thoroughly featured Z370 board for less than two hundred dollars and that eighty dollars saved will bridge the price gap between a 7700k and 8700k.

I like the ASUS MAXIMUS IX CODE, and I would recommend it, but only to a very niche subset of consumers. Unless you are just looking for a new home for your 7700k, I think newer really is better.