ASUS Maximus VI Extreme Review

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
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

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 CrossFireXâ„¢ 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 Comboâ„¢ 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
– NexFETâ„¢ 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 )