ASUS ROG Z390 Maximus XI Extreme Review
Up Close
I’m sure we’ll get used to it in time but it is still strange to see the black packaging on the regular ROG models. We’ve spent so long looking at the famous red boxes that seeing a black one with the word Maximus on it takes a little bit of adaptation. Inside you get all the accessories that you would expect from such a premium product, and lots of things to hang on your door or help identify your cables in a rush.
We’re big fans of the motherboard armour that hides the majority of the chips and capacitors, so it’s odd to see the Maximus XI Formula has it but the Extreme doesn’t. That’s until you recall that the Maximus XI Extreme is all about breaking records and getting its name up in lights. To those who don’t consider it cooling unless it’s sub zero that armour would only be a pain to remove. We’re sure that this consideration is why the heat spreader on the back side of the Extreme covers only half the board.
If you want the lowest latency M.2 support around then the Extreme is equipped with the ROG DIMM.2 technology. As we’re sure you’re aware by now the best M.2 performance can be attained by having your drive as cool as possible and to this end the Extreme is supplied with the DIMM.2 heatsink that helps spread the temperature generated across a huge surface area whilst also, due to its positioning, putting it more in the airflow of your case when compared to the M.2 drive being tucked away at the bottom of your system below the GPU.
Serious overclocking requires a lot of power and smooth power at that. As befits the Extreme moniker the Maximus XI has 8+8 pin CPU 12V power inputs so that even the most extreme user wont run out of Amps with which to torture their 9th Generation Intel CPU.
RGB LED Strip headers are found on all the cool cats these days and the ROG Maximus XI Extreme is no exception, with an addressable header to go along with the RGB type. If you’re wondering what the difference is then the addressable headers are +5V, data and ground pins, thus not supported by regular RGB strips, but with a maximum power rating of 3 Amps and 120 LEDs there are plenty of opportunities for the creative types amongst you to make the most of the tools you’ve been given.
The ASUS Mem OK II is an upgraded version of their existing Mem OK system that helps ensure even the most optimistic overclocking settings or mismatched RAM is able to be booted back into the BIOS. Elsewhere we have plenty of high Amp fan and pump headers to ensure you have lots of choice in how much cooling you wish to give your system and where exactly you place your hardware.
