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
ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme Conclusion
I mentioned at the top of the review that this is the second halo motherboard we’ve tested. Both the ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme and GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming G1 command a large price but represent the premium product from the two major motherboard players in the industry. For the sale, each side focuses on specific areas:
| ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme vs GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming G1 MSRP $500 |
||
| Motherboard | ASUS Maximus VIII Exteme | GIGABYTE G170X-Gaming G1 |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years | 3 Years |
| Product Page | Link | Link |
| Price | Amazon US | Amazon US |
| Size | E-ATX | E-ATX |
| CPU Interface | LGA1151 | LGA1151 |
| Chipset | Intel Z170 | Intel Z170 |
| Memory Slots (DDR4) | Four DDR4 Supporting 64GB Dual Channel Up to 3866 MHz |
Four DDR4 Supporting 64GB Dual Channel Up to 3666 MHz |
| Video Outputs | HDMI DisplayPort |
HDMI |
| Network Connectivity | Intel I219-V 3T3R 802.11ac |
2 x Killer E2400 Killer AC-1535 2T2R 802.11ac |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC1150 with ESS ES9023P DAC bypass |
Creative Sound Core 3D + JRC NJM2114 + Burr Brown OPA2134 |
| PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU) |
3 x PCIe 3.0 - x16, - x8/x8, - x8/x4/x4 |
4 x PCIe 3.0 via PLX8747 - x16/x16, - x16/x8/x8, - x8/x8/x8/x8 |
| PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH) |
1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 2 x PCIe 3.0 x1 |
3 x PCIe 3.0 x1 |
| Onboard SATA | Six, RAID 0/1/5/10 Two from ASMedia ASM1061 |
Six, RAID 0/1/5/10 Four via ASM1061, no RAID |
| Onboard SATA Express | Two, RAID | Three |
| Onboard M.2 | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA, RAID 0/1, NVMe |
2x PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA, RAID 0/1, NVMe |
| Onboard U.2 | 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 (switched with M.2) | None |
| USB 3.1 | 2 x Type-A (ASM1142) 1 x Type-A (Alpine Ridge) 1 x Type-C (Alpine Ridge) |
1 x Type-A (Alpine Ridge) 1 x Type-C (Alpine Ridge) 1 x Type-A (Front Panel bundle) 1 x Type-C (Front Panel bundle) |
| USB 3.0 | 4 x Rear Panel 4 via headers |
4 x Rear Panel 2 via headers |
| USB 2.0 | - 6 via headers |
2 x Rear Panel 4 via headers |
| Power Connectors | 1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8-pin CPU 1 x 4-pin CPU |
1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8-pin CPU |
| Fan Headers | 2 x CPU (4-pin) 4 x CHA/SYS (4-pin) |
2 x CPU (4-pin) 5 x CHA/SYS (4-pin) |
| Notes | Bundled OC Panel | Bundled USB 3.1 Panel Combination air/water heatsink |
The big selling points for the Z170X-Gaming G1 are the PLX8747 chip enabling 32 PCIe lanes for 3-way and 4-way SLI, three Killer based network points for DoubleShot-X3 Pro, a combination air/water chipset heatsink, dual M.2, a USB 3.1 front panel, PCIe guards, and a Creative Sound Core 3D audio codec with a Burr Brown op-amp.
The big selling points for the Maximus VIII Extreme are the 3x3 Wi-Fi module, onboard U.2 support, a total of four onboard USB 3.1 ports, an ES9023P audio DAC, a bundled OC Panel, system performance and the BIOS/software package.
Both motherboards are validated with Thunderbolt 3.
It’s an interesting scenario being played out. ASUS wins on the performance side, the BIOS and software are easier to use, and overclocking wins out due to LLC implementation. 3x3 WiFi plus U.2 is hard to ignore on the Extreme as well. But the multi-GPU support of the GIGABYTE via the PLX is the massive plus that can’t be made up elsewhere (and non-GPUs can be used as well).
Both sides have impressive feature sets, and both sides have areas for improvement. If the price is still a factor and the prices of these motherboards decrease over time, if the GIGABYTE ends up $50-75 less expensive in a direct comparison, it would be hard to pass up that saving to spend elsewhere. Under the 100-series platform and Skylake processors, ASUS takes the crown up to dual GPU here, whereas by virtue of support the GIGABYTE motherboard happily takes it for 3-way and 4-way.
I’d happily recommend the ASUS to any performance junkie, but sometimes big performance needs big PCIe, and I’d happily recommend the GIGABYTE in that case.
Recommended by AnandTech
The ASUS Rampage VIII Extreme Motherboard
For Your Local Performance Junkie, Dual GPU and under
Other AnandTech Reviews for Intel’s 6th Generation CPUs and 100-Series Motherboards
Skylake-K Review: Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K - CPU Review
Comparison between the i7-6700K and i7-2600K in Bench - CPU Comparison
Overclocking Performance Mini-Test to 4.8 GHz - Overclocking
Skylake Architecture Analysis - Microarchitecture
Z170 Chipset Analysis and 55+ Motherboards - Motherboard Overview
Discrete Graphics: An Update for Z170 Motherboards - PCIe Firmware Update
Price Check: Intel Skylake i7-6700K and i5-6600K - Latest Skylake Price Check (3/29)
100-Series Motherboard Reviews:
Prices Correct at time of each review
($500) The GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming G1 Review
($500) The ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme Review (this review)
($250) The ASUS Maximus VIII Impact Review
($240) The ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ Review
($230) The MSI Z170 Gaming M7 Review
($208) The GIGABYTE Z170-UD5 TH Review
($165) The ASUS Z170-A Review
($125) The Supermicro C7H170-M Review
Motherboard Reviews Planned:
For anyone not interested in the $500 motherboard segment, the next one up on the block is the MSI Z170A SLI PLUS, which comes in at $120-130. Stay tuned for that review. We've also got a couple of server focused Skylake boards waiting in the wings.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
70 Comments
View All Comments
romrunning - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
Yes - Thunderbolt3Jon Tseng - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
Do these sort of mobos have particularly high end audio integrated? I could see an argument for paying more if you e.g. replaced a $100+ high end audio card.Ditto I guess for the wifi, given a lot of mobos don't seem to have this build in (something I never quite understood why).
arayoflight - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
The Z170 deluxe has the same 3x3 MiMo WiFi ac built in and costs much less. I don't think there are 3x3 MiMo cards you can buy. The best I could find was the 2x2 intel one for around 70$.Don't know about sound quality, but it should be good.
extide - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
You could read the review, but yes, they have pretty good onboard audio.saratoga4 - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
I really wish Anandtech would test the headphone out with maybe 32 ohm headphones rather than just the line out. I'd gladly pay extra for a board with good headphone out, but right now it is almost impossible to know which manufacturers are skimping and which are providing a quality output.DominionSeraph - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
You can get an Audigy FX for $28. $25 from AmazonWarehouseDeals. (price goes up and down a tad -- I got mine for $22)The ALC898 it uses is no slouch.
extide - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
That would be a downgrade.jptech7 - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
For someone wanting better headphone out performance than a high end motherboard, I would not recommend an Audigy FX. The ALC 898 is a downgrade from either the Sabre in this Asus or the ALC1150 found on most good mobos, and for that price, I doubt its ability to drive high end headphones.The included Sabre chip on this Asus board is a quality component, but there are still likely some limitations to integrated audio solutions. For the few people desiring greater performance on their headphone out line, a USB or TOSLINK based dedicated headphone DAC & amp can be had. Decent ones start around $100 and scale up from there.
I would expect the only reason to buy additional equipment in this case would be if you need to provide greater than 2V RMS that the Sabre line driver can provide which is already quite decent.
DominionSeraph - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
He didn't say he wanted more than a $500 motherboard, he said he wanted to know the performance. I pointed out that the performance is pretty meaningless since the Audigy FX exists. Why would you spend $500 on a motherboard when you can grab a $120 one and throw a $25 card in there that will not only be an upgrade over the ALC892 (or worse) that it will have, but has a headphone driver as well.There will be no discernible difference between an ALC898 and a 1150.
Murloc - Thursday, April 7, 2016 - link
if you care about audio you're exiting it on hdmi anyway, so it'd be a waste of money.