ASUS Maximus VI Extreme Review
Introduction
So far we’ve looked at some affordable Z87 motherboards that all provide excellent, and in some cases amazing, performance. The quality and uniformity of the Intel Chipsets has reached a point wherein it’s extremely difficult for a manufacturer to make a significant performance difference solely by the design of their motherboard.
One of the consistently high performance motherboards is the Maximus range from ASUS. The Maximus has always been a serious proposition for anybody who wanted to get the very most from their CPU. Although the Maximus IV was brilliant, with the Maximus V we started to see that although it was still great, everyone else had caught up and it no longer provided value for money.
Today sees us reviewing the Maximus VI Extreme and the question on everyone’s lips is, is the M6E still the king of performance motherboards or has the chasing pack finally caught up?
Technical Specifications
According to the ASUS website the Maximus VI has five PCIe 3.0 slots, which obviously isn’t the case. Someone needs to proof read. That aside, the Maximus VI Extreme has everything you could hope to find on a motherboard. WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, ten SATA 6Gbps ports (yes 10), eight USB ports on the rear with a further eight available internally. As well as the regular ROG features the Maximus VI Extreme comes with an OC panel, for instant control. So let’s take a look at the board itself.
CPU | Intel® Socket 1150 for 4th Generation Core⢠i7/Core⢠i5/Core⢠i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors Supports Intel® 22 nm CPU Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 |
Chipset | Intel Z87 |
Memory |
4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3 3000(O.C.)/2933(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2600(O.C.)/2500(O.C.)/2400(O.C.) /2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory |
Graphics | Integrated Graphics Processor Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DisplayPort ports – Supports HDMI with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz – Supports DisplayPort with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz Supports Intel® InTru⢠3D, Quick Sync Video, Clear Video HD Technology, Insider⢠Supports NVIDIA® 4-Way SLI⢠Technology Supports AMD CrossFireX⢠Technology |
Expansion Slots | 4 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8 or x8/x16/x8 or x8/x16/x8/x8) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 1 x mini-PCIe 2.0 x1 |
Storage | Intel® Z87 chipset : 6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology, Intel® Rapid Start Technology, Intel® Smart Connect Technology Intel® Z87 chipset : 1 x M.2 (NGFF) Socket 2 on mPCIe Combo II expansion card(s), black Support M.2 (NGFF) Type 2242 SSD card (22mm x 42mm), Support PCI express 2.0 x1 and SATA 6Gb/s standards ASMedia® ASM1061 controller : 4 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red |
Network | Intel® I217V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Supports dual band frequency 2.4/5 GHz Bluetooth V4.0 Bluetooth V3.0+HS |
Audio | Realtek® ALC1150 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC – Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking Audio Feature : – Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection – Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel |
USB Ports | Intel® Z87 chipset : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) Intel® Z87 chipset : 8 x USB 2.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, black, 6 at mid-board) ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue) |
OC Panel | 2.6 ” LCM display EXTREME/NORMAL mode switch EXTREME Mode for subzero OC benching: – VGA Hotwire – Subzero Sense – Slow Mode – Pause Switch – VGA SMB header – ProbeIt – 4 x 4-pin extra fan connectors NORMAL Mode for in-chassis usage:*8 – CPU Level Up OC button – FanSpeed control button – LCM backlight on/off button I/O Ports: – POWER:1 x SATA power connector – ROG_EXT port:1 x 18-1 pin data connection port |
ROG Exclusive Features | mPCIe Combo⢠II (mPCIe/M.2 combo card) ROG Connect : – RC TweakIt – RC Diagram – RC Remote – RC Poster Extreme Engine Digi+ III : – 8 + 2 phase power design – NexFET⢠Power Block MOSFET – 60A BlackWing Chokes – 10K Black Metallic Capacitors ROG Extreme OC kit : – Slow Mode – LN2 Mode – PCIe x16 Lane Switch – EZ Plug ProbeIt UEFI BIOS features : – ROG BIOS Print – GPU.DIMM Post – Tweakers’ Paradise – ROG SSD Secure Erase ROG RAMDisk Extreme Tweaker |
Back I/O Ports | 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port 1 x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI 1 x LAN (RJ45) port 6 x USB 3.0 (blue) 2 x USB 2.0 (one port can be switched to ROG Connect) 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 6 x Audio jack(s) 1 x Clear CMOS button(s) 1 x ROG Connect On/ Off switch |
Internal I/O Ports | 1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) 3 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 6 USB 2.0 port(s) 10 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s) 1 x CPU Fan connector 1 x CPU OPT Fan connector 3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) 3 x Optional Fan connector(s) 1 x S/PDIF out header 1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connector 1 x 6-pin EZ_PLUG Power connector 1 x 4-pin EZ_PLUG Power connector 1 x Front panel audio connector (AAFP) 1 x System panel 1 x DirectKey Button 1 x DRCT header 1 x MemOK! button 1 x Slow Mode switch 10 x ProbeIt Measurement Points 3 x Thermal sensor connector(s) 1 x LN2 Mode header 1 x Power-on button 1 x Reset button 1 x BIOS Switch button 1 x FastBoot switch 1 x ROG extension (ROG_EXT) header 1 x mPCIe Combo II connector |
Accessories | User’s manual I/O Shield 10 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s) 1 x ASUS 2T2R dual band Wi-Fi moving antennas (Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compliant) 1 x 3-Way SLI bridge(s) 1 x 4-Way SLI bridge(s) 1 x SLI bridge(s) 1 x CrossFire cable(s) 1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1) 1 x ROG Connect cable(s) 1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s) 1 x mPCIe Combo II card(s) with dual-band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth v4.0/3.0+HS module 1 x ROG Magnet OC Panel Kit: – 1 x OC Panel(s) – 1 x OC Panel 5.25-inch bay metal case – 1 x OC Panel Cable(s) |
Manageability | WfM2.0, DMI2.0, WOL by PME, PXE |
Form Factor | ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ) |