The ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme Review: The Other $500 Option
by Ian Cutress on April 7, 2016 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Gaming
- Asus
- ROG
- Skylake
- Z170
- Thunderbolt 3
Board Features
Having gone through and generated the following table for the M8E, I find it mildly amusing, especially as I’ve just put a $120 motherboard on the test bed here. By comparison, instead of most of the sections saying none/blank, when dealing with a $500 motherboard everything is filled up. More SATA ports, more features and more room to add things means that a halo motherboard has to be the Rambo of a PC build.
ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme | |
Warranty Period | 3 Years |
Product Page | Link |
Price | Amazon US |
Size | E-ATX |
CPU Interface | LGA1151 |
Chipset | Intel Z170 |
Memory Slots (DDR4) | Four DDR4 Supporting 64GB Dual Channel Up to 3866 MHz |
Memory Slots (DDR3L) | None |
Video Outputs | HDMI to 4096x2160 @ 24 Hz DisplayPort at 4096x2304 @ 60 Hz |
Network Connectivity | Intel I219-V 3T3R 802.11ac Wi-Fi Go! Module |
Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC1150 with ESS ES9023P DAC bypass |
PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU) | 3 x PCIe 3.0 (x16, x8/x8, x8/x4/x4) |
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH) | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 2 x PCIe 3.0 x1 |
Onboard SATA | Six, RAID 0/1/5/10 Two from ASMedia ASM1061 |
Onboard SATA Express | Two, RAID |
Onboard M.2 | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA, RAID 0/1, NVMe |
Onboard U.2 | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 (switched with M.2) |
Thunderbolt | TB3 via Type-C |
USB 3.1 | 2 x Type-A from ASMedia ASM1142 Controller 1 x Type-A and 1 x Type-C from Intel Alpine Ridge |
USB 3.0 | 4 x Rear Panel 4 via headers |
USB 2.0 | 6 via headers |
Power Connectors | 1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8-pin CPU 1 x 4-pin CPU |
Fan Headers | 1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x CPU_OPT (4-pin) 4 x CHA/SYS (4-pin) |
IO Panel | 1 x Combination PS/2 4 x USB 3.0 3 x USB 3.1 Type-A 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C 1 x Network RJ-45 (Intel I219-V) HDMI DisplayPort Clear CMOS Button USB BIOS Flashback Button 3T3R 802.11ac Wi-Fi Go! Module Audio Jacks |
Other Features | OC Panel Header Thunderbolt Header 4-pin EZ-PLUG Header Front Panel Header 5-pin Fan Extension Header MemOK! Button Slow Mode Switch 9 x Voltage measurement points 3 x Thermal Sensor Headers 1 x DRAM Channel Jumper Power/Reset Buttons BIOS Switch Button SLI/CFX Switch LN2 Mode Jumper Safe Boot Button ReTry Button |
The big active features for ASUS come in at the 3T3R tri-stream WiFi, an ESS DAC, Thunderbolt 3 support via Intel’s Alpine Ridge controller, a total of four USB 3.1 ports split between the Alpine Ridge and ASMedia’s ASM1142 controller and then the sheer amount of switches and buttons onboard for power users to configure their experience. The OC Panel header for both power users and extreme overclockers comes in handy with the bundled OC Panel.
Using the chipset diagram, it shows a slightly more complex picture. Everything on the left side is what we would expect, including the complex way that x8/x4/x4 is implemented on the PCIe side, although it is worth noting that the HDMI 1.4b port is provided through the Alpine Ridge controller rather than the CPU. I would assume this is actually just a bypass to help with routing though it may suggest that the TB3 controller cannot use HDMI when the DisplayPort functionality is in use. I’ll be synchronizing with ASUS on this.
On the right hand side we see that two of the SATA ports (4/5) share bandwidth with the PCIe x4 slot at the bottom of the board. When SATA devices are connected, the PCIe slot will reduce to x2 bandwidth. Also on the right hand side is an ASM1187 controller, which looks like a 6-port PCIe switch. Taking one PCIe lane in, it gives an output to five ports which include the two ASMedia SATA ports, two of the rear USB 3.0 ports, the Wi-Fi module and the two PCIe x1 slots. However, unless one of the PCIe x1 slots is using full bandwidth, I doubt it is much of an issue, and if anything it would be a latency issue. But it might also explain why we could not get proper USB 3.0 speed results through the ASMedia controller.
In The Box
We get the following:
User Manual
Driver DVD
Rear IO Shield
OC Panel plus 5.25-inch Bay
Fan Extension Board
Wi-Fi Antenna
Thermal Probes
CPU Installation tool
Eight SATA Cables
Q-Connectors
ASUS ROG Stickers
ASUS ROG Door Handle Sign
Flexi-CrossFire Connector
Flexi-SLI Connector
At $500 and being part of the ROG brand it means the in-box goodies should be plentiful. The star of the pack is the OC Panel, used by extreme overclockers to make adjustments on the fly or system builders to monitor fan speeds/temperatures with one-button overclocks.
We’ve discussed the OC Panel at length before, and this is the third generation with the same model, featuring more fan headers, VGA Hotplug and extra switches for system control.
Also in the box are a set of thermal probes to use on the extra thermal probe headers on the motherboard, giving the ASUS software extra read points for temperature if the user wants to monitor specific zones in their build. The CPU installation tool is there to help new build users put the processor in the motherboard, although I didn’t find much use for it (I’ve never dropped a CPU in a socket yet…). It is interesting to see so many SATA cables in the box though, however these are mostly likely bought in bulk and minimal cost to a board like this.
ASUS also sells the Maximus VIII Extreme/Assembly, which comes with a custom audio output dock as well as a Tahuti Networks based 10 gigabit Ethernet card using RJ-45.
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willis936 - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
Well if you dump a grand on an extreme processor and not half a grand on a board you could get 8 cores that OC up to the same as the K series parts. Double the threaded performance but same single threaded performance.bill.rookard - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
I would have to agree, unless you are a hardcore overclocker. For those interested in hugely powerful graphics setups, this doesn't really cut it (dual GPU SLI only). For those who want huge storage arrays, this doesn't cut it either (half dozen SATA ports). Those interested in liquid nitrogen overclocks and need those last few mhz would find a use for it though...Chaitanya - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
Normally I would have agreed, spending more than 250$ on Z/P series chipsets is useless and its better to go to X platform. But in this case there seems to be a good value in terms of bundle. That 10G Nic is worth the extra. There are no X99 boards below $500 mark that come with 10G nics.romrunning - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
"The cost of an i7-6700K plus a $500 motherboard comes in at $750 MSRP, "These prices seem really off. As of today, Amazon has the list price of the i7-6700k as $419.99. Simple math gets you to $919.99 with a $500 mobo, not $750.
Ian Cutress - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
Box price for 6700K is $350 (we've been covering the ups and downs of the price of the Skylake parts, see the link on the first page, where from time to time it is hitting MSRP), making it more $850, so I'm $100 out :) Updated. It's sill a big jump between the two, for sure.romrunning - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
So now I had to check Intel's "Recommended Customer Price" for the i7-5820k. Intel's site says box price is $396. So that + a $250 m/b would make the combo around $650, not $550. That would lower the different to more around $200. Still not insignificant, as that is the price of a decent m/b, but less than the previous cited difference.romrunning - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
Also, thanks for adding in the pricing info. It helps to give a measure of worth to the end-user to know the premium they are paying & what essentially you are buying over a more standard board.ImSpartacus - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
I think he meant a 6600K.BrokenCrayons - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
Yes, $500 isn't exactly a princely sum, but I don't see value in spending that much on a single component of a computer. That's a week's play money for outings, shopping, and casual dining. Using it instead to buy a motherboard of all things only demonstrates to others in your social circles that you don't quite have your priorities sorted out. So thanks for the effort ASUS, but no thanks.Questor - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
Yes, blowing that much money on frivolous casual dining, outings and shopping is obviously a demonstration of financial brilliance! Priorities are as different among people as personal beliefs or political views. I won't pay the premium for this motherboard either, especially without dual M.2 slots to RAID NVMe SSDs. The OC Panel is unwanted bling to me as well, but I can see other people finding the M8E to be their "thing."