ASUS Z87 ROG Motherboard Roundup: Enter Maximus VI
ASUS Maximus VI Gene
While the Maximus VI Impact is a true SFF mainboard, the Maximus VI Gene offers a compact yet fully-loaded option in the mATX form factor, and while the former sports a solid array of motherboard components for its size, the Gene allows even fewer compromises.
The board (as well as its larger sibling, the Maximus VI Formula) enjoys ASUS’ Extreme Engine Digi+ III digital power delivery with 10K black metal capacitors, 60A Blackwing Choke, and NexFET MOSFETS that are designed to give users the best stability and precise controls possible for the CPU and memory power.
There are four DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB of DDR3-3000 (OC) system memory, and there are more PCI slots than the Impact--two PCIe 3.0 (x16) slots, one PCIe 2 (x4), and a mini-PCIe 2.0 (x1) with the mPCIe Combo II expansion card--and supports SLI or CrossFireX. The mPCIe card is nearly identical to the one that comes with the Impact, and the port it slots into supports both PCIe 2.0 and M.2.
The board offers 12 total SATA 6Gbps ports--six apiece from the chipset and an ASMedia controller--and it supports up to 16 USB ports. Eight are USB 3.0, and eight are USB 2.0. The rear I/O panel features a clear CMOS button, ROG connect button, 10 of the aforementioned USB ports, LAN, optical S/PDIF out, HDMI, and six audio jacks.
Speaking of audio, while the diminutive Impact gets the SupremeFX audio treatment by way of a discrete sound card (included), the larger Gene has the same capabilities built into the board itself, including shielding technology, content protection for lossless audio playback, jack detection, multi-streaming, and more.
There are several buttons on the mainboard itself: there’s the clear CMOS and ROG Connect buttons mentioned above, as well as power and reset buttons, MemOK!, and DirectKey.
Accessories include several SATA cables, an SLI bridge, the I/O shield, Q-Connector kit, cable sticker labels, the mPCIe combo card, the ROG door hanger, and the user guide and driver disc.
The board (as well as its larger sibling, the Maximus VI Formula) enjoys ASUS’ Extreme Engine Digi+ III digital power delivery with 10K black metal capacitors, 60A Blackwing Choke, and NexFET MOSFETS that are designed to give users the best stability and precise controls possible for the CPU and memory power.
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| CPU: Chipset: Memory: Graphics: Expansion Slots: Storage: LAN: Audio: USB: Form Factor: Pricing: |
Intel Socket 1150 for 4th Generation Core i7/i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron Processors Intel Z87 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(O.C.)/1333(O.C.) MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Dual Channel Memory Architecture Supports Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) Integrated Graphics Processor - Supports HDMI with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 Supports NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI/CrossFireX Technology 2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 1 x mini-PCIe 2.0 x1 Intel Z87 chipset : 6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 1 x M.2 (NGFF) Socket 2 on mPCIe Combo II expansion card(s), black ASMedia ASM1061 controller : 2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red Intel I217V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s) ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC - Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking - High quality 115 dB (Line-out at rear) and 104 dB SNR stereo playback input (Line-in) Audio Feature : - SupremeFX Shielding Technology - ELNA premium audio capacitors - Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection - Sonic Radar - DTS Connect - Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel Intel Z87 chipset : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board) 8 x USB 2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, black, 4 at mid-board) ASMedia USB 3.0 controller : 4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue) Micro ATX Form Factor 9.6 inch x 9.6 inch ( 24.4 cm x 24.4 cm ) $203 - $219 on Amazon |
The board offers 12 total SATA 6Gbps ports--six apiece from the chipset and an ASMedia controller--and it supports up to 16 USB ports. Eight are USB 3.0, and eight are USB 2.0. The rear I/O panel features a clear CMOS button, ROG connect button, 10 of the aforementioned USB ports, LAN, optical S/PDIF out, HDMI, and six audio jacks.
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Speaking of audio, while the diminutive Impact gets the SupremeFX audio treatment by way of a discrete sound card (included), the larger Gene has the same capabilities built into the board itself, including shielding technology, content protection for lossless audio playback, jack detection, multi-streaming, and more.
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There are several buttons on the mainboard itself: there’s the clear CMOS and ROG Connect buttons mentioned above, as well as power and reset buttons, MemOK!, and DirectKey.
Accessories include several SATA cables, an SLI bridge, the I/O shield, Q-Connector kit, cable sticker labels, the mPCIe combo card, the ROG door hanger, and the user guide and driver disc.
