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.
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HollyDOL - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
agreed, SATAe is useless...So far the only board with 2xU.2 I found is Asus's Maximus VIII Hero Alpha... but then there are lots of features on it I could live without without giving me a wrinkle :-)
shineproductions - Saturday, April 9, 2016 - link
ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ is an excellent board.pseudoid - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
I had an older Maximus Formula and was way overdue for an update to my rig. I opted for the Asus Z170 Deluxe with dual-LANs.I am not a gamer and wanted a current tip of the technology top-dog with the hopes that it will last me as long as my previous ROG rig lasted, once setup. Massive learning curve prior to build. Everything worked fine but my only regret is the fact that these high-end MoBo types require much maintenance.
I don't know >> seems like there at least 10 Asus applications that are installed in Win10, and one that is called "EZUpdate" but even if it worked properly to tell me the available updates, it still takes a lot of time to maintain the beast.
You have been warned!
Oxford Guy - Tuesday, April 12, 2016 - link
"Option"Oxford Guy - Tuesday, April 12, 2016 - link
Yes, medical tech actually has to work reliably.olePigeon - Thursday, April 14, 2016 - link
Is there any reason why they don't use tantalum capacitors? They'd be much lower profile and, in my opinion, would look nicer.vacavalier - Sunday, April 24, 2016 - link
Your choice of GPU's is baffling, to say the least... Why not, test using more common-place/popularly used GPU's for more realistic testing.I am not saying or advocating that this will shame the Maximus Extreme, but at least use up-to-date GPU's, as you are running the latest CPU/RAM/Motherboard layout(s) for this...
Just saying...
jp209087 - Monday, September 5, 2016 - link
No doubt this is one of the best gaming system to buy, but its also costly too. Also consider review this <a href="http://www.ezydeal.net/Category/DESKTOP-and-MONITO...Gastec - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
Asus pricing this motherboard so high is just a move to raise the prices of the their more mainstream motherboards in the future. Nvidia does it too and soon everybody will do it. You were used to upgrade a certain PC component with n amount of money in the past years? Well, how about you try this next-gen pricing: TWICE what you used to pay :)north0019 - Thursday, October 6, 2016 - link
I bought one of these boards back in June because I'm building a No Compromise RIGOnly problem is that the board has been back to Asus 3 times now with failure to post.
Customer service at ASUS is the worst with phone support not talking with tech support and complete lack of follow thru or ability to communicate what work if any has been done.