ASUS ROG Z270 Maximus IX Code and Formula Review & Comparison

Introduction

It wasn't that long ago that we felt, mainly privately but also in the odd review here and there, that the Republic of Gamers brand was in danger of getting watered down. It almost became a victim of its own success wherein the majority of people knew that ROG meant quality and thus purchased ROG products, which ASUS noticed and so put more and more products under their ROG umbrella. Obviously this is a business and so sales figures are the most important factor. We, however, don't rely upon sales and so we're allowed to get a bit snooty about the elitism of a brand, or rather a little disappointed when a company use their name cachet to launch products slightly below what you might expect.

Thankfully - for those who put stock in such things - the Strix range has taken up the middle ground in the ASUS range and left the red ROG box for the enthusiast. Naturally at this end of the market we have high expectations so let's take a look at what the Code and the Formula have to offer.

Technical Specifications

Both of the variants of the Maximus IX we're looking at today come with all ASUS extra technologies. Obviously they both have the various elements that now form part of the Z270 chipset such as overclocked DDR4 support, M.2 NVMe drives - usually two - Intel Gigabit LAN and the like. What sets them apart is the inclusion of the Sonic Radar, Gamefirst, ESS DAC and mounting points for your own 3D Printed creations. Like so many motherboards though the specifications table is a little dry and the fun is to be found in the looking, so let's move on to see how the Code and Formula are with our pictorial accompaniment.

Maximus IX Code

Maximus IX Formula