ASUS ROG Z370 Maximus X Formula Review

ASUS ROG Z370 Maximus X Formula Review

Introduction

There is always a disconnect between the hardware, or indeed the anything, that we read about, stare at, dream of, and have on our wishlists, and the hardware that we can actually afford.

Nobody spends their days looking at a Fiat Panda and dreaming, and although we might all have posters of Ferrari’s and Lamborghinis on our walls, few of us will ever see one much less own one.

Such is the way with PC Hardware too. When we recently reviewed the ASUS ROG Maximus X Apex it was a thing of outstanding beauty and performance capability, but our forums and other channels were swamped with people who had found their interest piqued but their wallet wanting and thus asked us to put the Maximus X Formula through its paces to see how it compares to the flagship model in the ASUS ROG Z370 range.

One of the great benefits we have by being an independent website is that we’re able to respond to the needs of our readers in a timeous manner, rather than being beholden to the needs of satisfying our advertisers or overlords. You asked, we answered, so sit tight, grab your favourite warming beverage on this most wintery day, and let’s find out if the Maximus X Formula is as good as its more lauded Apex brethren.

Technical Specifications

Although the Formula naturally has a slight reduction in the feature set when compared to the Apex, but we still think that you’d be hard pressed to complain. The design is truly spectacular with ASUS finding the sweet spot between the full cover idea of the Sabertooth and the blended IO shield that appeared a few models ago. With built in waterblocks, a steel backplate and the cover there is little PCB left showing and it’s all the better for it. The inclusion of dedicated pump headers and plentiful fan headers combine with the water flow monitoring to ease any cooling worries you might have, whilst the M.2 slots also have heatspreaders in place to keep everything cool.

It isn’t just in cooling that the Formula ticks a lot of boxes either, there are plenty of USB 3.1 headers, the Intel LAN, PCI Express slots with the Safeslot technology and RGB lighting nearly everywhere you look. Let’s get on to the pictures for a closer look.

ASUS ROG Z370 Maximus X Formula Review Â