Review: asus maximus vi extreme

Many new developments were launched at Computex Taipei 2013. But the one that stood out the most was the Asus Maximus VI Extreme motherboard. Beating a total of eight world records and ten wins out of 11 possible in the overclock event performed by Asus and Corsair.

It is the older sister of the "Republic Of Gamer" series with integrated Z87 chipset and 100% compatible with Intel Haswell processors. In this review you will discover everything you need to know about it.

Product ceded by:

Asus Maximus VI Extreme in detail

Like all Republic Of Gamer products, they are presented in a red box, with a window that allows us to see the contents of the motherboard.

Aesthetics can be defined as brutal, shocking, and overwhelming. What new features does it present? The mPCIE COMBO II connection with wifi 802.1a / b / g / n and Bluetooth 4.0 connection and the OC panel.

They contain many accessories and it is the most complete bundle that we have tried:

1. Asus Maximus VI Extreme Motherboard. Sata Cables. Instruction Manual and Installation CD. Back Plate. External OC Panel. MPCIE COMBO II. Cables for SLI 2/3 and 4 Way-SLI from NVIDIA. Connect ”.

The MVIE has five PCI Express 3.0 to X16 ports that allow us to connect up to 4 graphics cards in SLI or Crossfire way. The first two to X16, if we connect two or three cards they work simultaneously on x8 and x16. This is possible with the PLX chips that it incorporates as a great extra. As it can be somewhat messy, I leave you how it would work according to the manual.

• One card at x16 Two cards at x8 / x8 Three cards at x8 / x16 / x8 Four cards at x8 / x16 / x8 / x8 A fifth card would go to x4 (black slot)

It also incorporates a 6-pin PCI Express power connection to give all cards a plus. Undoubtedly the weakest point is found in the sound card "Realtek ALC1150" that integrates. Seeing the price of the motherboard it would have cost nothing to include an Xfi-Supreme FX, like that of its younger sisters: Hero, Gene and Formula. What envy!

Regarding refrigeration, we are very happy both for the effectiveness and for the aesthetics.

It has a total of 4 banks of DDR3 ram memory compatible with a maximum of 32 GB and a maximum frequency of 2800 mhz (depending on the OC level they have been seen at 3000 mhz).

At the bottom of the board we have a button to erase the bios, the control panel, the USB 2.0 connections and the two connections to install the OC panel.

And the switch for Direct Key technology.

If we delve a little bit we will see that it has 12 power phases for the CPU and two 8 + 4-pin EPS connectors to take out the last mhz to the processor.

Asus has incorporated Extreme Engine Digi + III technology. That offers us total security over the power of our PC. We find improvements like voltage regulators, new quieter Choke BlackWing coils and they work at 60 amps and capacitors. The NxFET Mosfets that give a useful life with a smaller format.

We also have 10K Black Metallic capacitors that increase service life up to 5x and a tolerance of 20% higher at extreme temperatures.

As expected we have the buttons for the overclocks: Start, Reset and MemOK.

All SATa ports are 6.0m, the red ones are native from the Z87 chip. While the rest are controlled by the ASMedia controller.

We have tested both a 4670k and a 4770k.

The other Gagdets that we have loved is the Panel OC. It has a 2.6 ″ screen and allows us to monitor and adjust the processor, overclock, motherboard clocks, manage profiles and inform us of the RPM of the fans. This device has two installation modes. The first is inside the box in a 5.25 ″ bay while the extreme mode works like an external console. The latter we have the SubZero sensor, VGA SMB and VGA HotWire.

And its adapter for the 2.5 ″ bay

Now it's time to present you one of its most attractive accessories: mPCIe Combo II. It is an extra connection that offers Wifi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac and bluetooth 4.0 as standard. But it also includes the Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF) technology to connect the next SSds and get the most potential.

And this is the wifi antenna.

Test bench and tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel i5 4670k @ 4700 mhz.
Base plate:	Asus Maximus VI Extreme
Memory:	G.Skills Trident X 2400mhz.
Heatsink	Liquid refrigeration.
HDD	Samsumg 840 250GB
Graphic card	Asus GTX780 Direct CU II
Power supply	Antec HCP 850

To check the stability of the processor and the motherboard, we have made an extreme OC of up to 4700 mhz with Prime 95 Custom by water cooling.The graphic used is a GTX 780.

WE RECOMMEND YOU Asus ZenBook 15 UX534FTC Review in Spanish (Full Review)

We go to the results:

TESTS
3dMark Vantage:	P48030
3dMark11	P14750 PTS
Crysis 3	39.5 FPS
CineBench 11.5	10.31 fps.
Games: Resident Evil 6 Lost planet tomb Raider Meter	13601 PTS. 150.5 FPS. 55 FPS 45 FPS

Final words and conclusion

The Maximus VI Extreme is a motherboard with a Z87 chipset and full compatibility with unlocked 4th generation Intel Haswell processors. Being in the ROG series ("Republic Of Gamer") has the best of the best. Among them the Extreme Engine Digi + III technology that allows the team stability, control of all hot fans and excellent support at all times.

One of the factors that sets it apart from the rest is the incorporation of a PLX chip: it allows you to install up to four PCI Express 3.0 cards at an active x16 speed.

Asus has decided to incorporate the MPCIe Combo II with wireless (wifi) 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 4.0 network features. All controlled by Wi-Fi GO! Remote and Wi-Fi Engine. You also haven't forgotten to include an NGFF connection for the next generation of SSDs.

We would also like to highlight its complex UEFI BIOS with a wide variety of options and news. It is so complicated that we only recommend it for experts in overclocking. Among its novelties we find: Quick note (area to add ideas or observations), own bookmarks or favorites (F4) and shortcuts to quickly go to our favorite options. And is that this motherboard is designed to get the most out of our processor and thus seek its sweet spot.

Although the most surprising Gagdet is the "OC Panel" with a 2.6 "screen. This panel is connected to the motherboard and in order to monitor and manage profiles, overclocking, etc in real time… It has a 2.6 ″ screen that gives us all the information and is dockable in the hard drive bay or external way.

In short, this motherboard is designed almost exclusively for overclockers looking to break world records or improve their positions in the leagues. It can be found with an approximate price of € 385 (which is worth them) but it is a plate for a very specific sector or to have the most or the most.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ AESTHETICS	- PRICE
+ SPECIAL DRIVERS.
+ USB 3.0 CONNECTIONS.
+ CONNECTION OF UP TO 4 GRAPHICS CARDS.
+ CHIP PLX
+ CONTROL OF VARIOUS FANS AND AN EXCELLENT PRICE.

The Professional Review team awards you the Platinum medal: