Test System

Initial Setup

Initial boot-up with the ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME was quick and simple, and installing device drivers off the CD was quick and painless. There is not a lot for me to say here because everything worked exactly as expected, but I noticed that the ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME runs with a boosted Turbo profile.

Some boards have custom Turbo profiles that boost performance at "stock" settings, giving the appearance of having more performance than they really should. ASUS has told me that they don't condone such custom profiles without informing the user but do understand that some users want this function to be available, so they offer such Turbo profiles in some instances. A boosted Turbo profile becomes available when XMP is enabled or via a switch in the BIOS, but can also simply be disabled via that same option in the BIOS. The ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME comes with a boosted Turbo profile by default, since users purchasing such a board tend to expect it to be the case—you simply do not spend $400 on a motherboard for "stock" performance. I personally feel that a coupon for Intel's Performance Tuning Protection Plan should be included in the box to protect against CPU failures if boards do this without giving the end user a way to turn it off, or don't explicitly state doing so on the outside of the box. For more information on Intel's Performance Tuning Protection Plan, check their site found HERE.



Getting my ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME installed with all my usual testing hardware was pretty easy because its design focuses on running multiple GPUs right out of the box, with plenty of room for everything, generally speaking. I did have problems fitting the fan for my G.Skill TridentX 2666 C11 DIMMs due to the close proximity of that upper-most PCIE slot next to the DIMMs themselves. Since I test using high-end VGAs that sometimes include a backplate to aid in cooling, this is something I look for, and though there were some fitment issues with the fan over the memory, I did not encounter any other problems.


My CoolerMaster TPC812 cooler comes pretty close to touching the ASUS MATRIX 7970 PLATINUM I have installed in these pictures, yet the perfect amount of clearance actually made sure I did not run into any issues here. You may run into issues with larger coolers, however. But the board's focus on hardcore overclocking will probably have most users opt for watercooling, making this a smaller issue than on some other motherboards.

Power Consumption

We measure CPU power consumption since one of our first tasks is to truly verify system stability. I isolate the power coming through the 8-pin ATX connector using an in-line meter that provides voltage and current readings, and total wattage passed through. While this may not prove to isolate the CPU power draw in all instances, it does serve as a good indicator of board efficiency and effective VRM design. Total system power consumption is no longer reported as this figure can change depending on what VGA is installed. The sole board-only power measurements possible without physically modifying a motherboard are those taken via the 8-pin CPU connector, making it the only figure of value worth reporting. I use wPrime with eight threads selected in the options, since it provides a consistently high workload throughout the full length of the test and runs long enough for the VRM and CPU to produce a fair bit of heat. Most average workloads will draw far less than this, although distributed computing applications are quite similar. This is not supposed to test stability since I use several other applications to do so, but merely to provide repeatable power draw numbers that anyone can replicate. The meter used is an off-the-shelf Zalman unit that has been on the market for some time. It provides similar results in my test environment when compared with a FLUKE 337 clamp meter.


Power consumption with the ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME was good both at "stock" and when overclocked. I am actually pretty impressed with this result as ASUS has the CPU multi drop to 800 MHz by default at my overclocked setting to save a few watts. I test with all DIMMs populated and multiple VGAs. Trying to put a high load on the CPU in every way while pulling 4.6 GHz under 125 W is pretty respectable to me.