The Board - Layout

The ASUS MAXIMUS VI IMPACT has so much built into it that a single PCB just wasn’t enough to hold it all. The front and back of the main PCB are so fully populated that the PCB's black color is actually kind of hard to discern.


The area around the back of the socket is quite cramped. ASUS included four plastic spacers in the accessories bundle for coolers that need that extra little bit of clearance. Flipping the board over and looking at the cooler, I found a large hunk of machined aluminum that barely fits into the provided space.


Just below the cooler is the single PCIe expansion slot with a very basic clip system I was actually shocked to see. However, I do understand why the choice was made. The DIMM slots use the standard single-clip design we have seen time and again on ASUS products.


There are four 4-pin fan headers on the ASUS MAXIMUS VI IMPACT. Every header comes with good control options from within the BIOS or via software,.


The ASUS MAXIMUS VI IMPACT's rear I/O is actually pretty simple since most of the space is occupied by overclocking-related items rather than additional I/O. LAN, USB, eSATA, HDMI, and DisplayPort are here, while the rest is either optional or a button that controls an ASUS ROG feature. There is also a dual-digit LED POST display in what has to be my favorite location for a POST display ever since it is clearly visible with the board installed into a closed, window-less case.