ASUS Z87 Maximus VI Formula (LGA 1150) Motherboard Review

Introduction ASUS released a very extensive range of Z87 motherboards for Intel's new Haswell platform. To date we've already reviewed their Z87 Sabertooth and Z87-C motherboards and today we've got something new from their Republic of Gamers series. The ASUS Maximus Formula VI takes a very different stance to the Z87 Sabertooth, with the primary focus being on offering gamers a stylish yet high performance solution. The Maximus VI Formula is as much about the core ASUS principles of reliability, solid overclocking and added functionality as it is about Gamer aesthetics and features. ASUS have put a lot of effort into the "thermal armour-style" shroud which mainly serves aesthetic purposes and they've also gone to town on the main heatsink design with a similarly rugged looking aesthetic that combines the worlds of water and air cooling. Other stand out points from a design aspect include the new Supreme FX audio implementation which ASUS claims offers superior audio for gamers, and the extensive connectivity which means virtually every uncovered space on the motherboard is occupied by something important that Gamers can put to good use. For a more in depth overview of all that connectivity you can check the full specifications below: Some of the stand-out features of the Maximus 6 Formula that readers may be interested in include the new "CrossChill" hybrid thermal design for the VRM heatsink around the CPU. This allows you to water cool your CPU VRM to lower temperatures, by as much as 23 degrees ASUS claim, or of course (as most users will do) you can just leave it as it is and it will run just fine with air cooling. ASUS are also singing the praises of their audio implementation claiming that the following combination of audio components make it an audio solution ideal for gamers: Premium ELNA audio capacitors SupremeFX shielding and an EMI cover A differential circuit design with operational amplifiers WIMA film capacitors 120dB Digital to Analogue converter (Cirrus Logic CS4398) Hi-Fi level 600 ohm headphone amplifier (TPA6120A2) The final main point I want to cover in a bit more detail is the rather striking thermal armour. The ROG armour, ASUS claim, is designed to serve three main purposes. Firstly, it blocks the heat from graphics cards reaching the motherboard by effectively shielding it. Secondly, it adds a unique aesthetic with ASUS says DIYers can customise (presumably by painting). Thirdly, it provides structural rigidity (read: prevents PCB bending) and cooling (via thermal pads) to the rear of the motherboard. There are a few more "features" that I will briefly list, but I won't go on to explain them all at the risk of losing your attention. Let's face it most motherboard vendors know how to make literally everything into a unique feature and ASUS are certainly no exception. ASUS CrossChill Hybrid Thermal Design SupremeFX Formula Audio Perfect Voice Sonic Radar ROG Armor Extreme Engine Digi+ III mPCIe Combo II (802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 card) Dual Intelligent Processors 4 (TPU/EPU/Digi+/Fan Xpert 2) Upgraded ROG UEFI BIOS SSD Secure Erase ROG RAM Disk Intel I217 Gigabit LAN with GameFirst II Extra Software (Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Daemon Tools Pro Standard, ROG CPU-Z, Mem TweakIt As always if you're interested in seeing more details on all the features of the Maximus VI Formula motherboard then check out the official ASUS product page right here. Packaging And Accessories The packaging is very typical of the ASUS' ROG series. It uses the trademark burgundy red colour scheme and comes in an absolutely massive box. The back is what you'd expect of most big motherboard vendors, a total information overload of features and specifications. We encourage you to check out the official product page if you want to know more about any of these features or specifications. The accessory bundle, as with most ROG motherboards from ASUS, is quite large. Firstly we have an extensive user guide, quick start guide and a do not disturb door hanger. There's also a driver and utility DVD (which contains all the bundled software we mentioned on the first page so don't throw it away!), a case badge/sticker and cable labels for keeping track of what cable goes to which device. They include 8 SATA III cables for the 10 provided SATA ports, the ASUS ROG mPCIe combo card (which has 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0), a padded rear I/O shield, ASUS "Q connectors" to help you manage your front panel cables, an ROG branded SLI bridge and a wireless antenna for the mPCIe combo card. A Closer Look Onto having a look at the Maximus VI Formula itself and we can see it has a very pleasing design. The Maximus VI Formula uses the ROG Armor and the newly designed CrossChill heatsink to great effect to produce what is clearly one of the best looking Z87 motherboards on the market. As we've mentioned the Maximus VI Formula has ASUS' new "CrossChill" hybrid cooling design for the main heatsink array - that cools the CPU VRM and MOSFETs. This allows you to run it with either air cooling in its stock mode, as shown below, or remove those protective covers and hook up some water cooling tubes for additional cooling potential. Zooming into the CPU socket area we can see more closely the ASUS "Extreme Engine Digi+ III" (aka the VRM that has 8+2 phases) which uses a whole array of high quality components. These include ASUS' NexFET MOSFETs which are up to 90% more efficient than normal MOSFETs, BlackWing chokes which can support up to 60 amps at up to 125 degrees Celsius, and finally Japanese 10K rated black solid CAPs. Tucked away at the top of the motherboard, behind that mammoth CrossChill heatsink, we find an 8pin EPS and optional 12v 4 pin power connector, to give extra juice to your CPU. You can also see the mPCIe combo slot for plugging in the included 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 combo card. A fan connector and temperature probe connector are tucked away in this area too. Near the top right of the board you have a whole bunch of useful features such as a power button, reset button, debug LED, USB 3.0 header, two CPU fan headers, a MemOK! button, a chassis fan header and 4 DIMM slots capable of up to 32GB of 3100MHz RAM. Towards the bottom right of the motherboard we can see the SATA configuration which provides a whopping 10 SATA III ports, six via the Z87 Express Intel chipset and four via an ASMedia ASM1061 controller. At the bottom of the motherboard, from left to right, we have the audio front panel connectors, an S/PDIF out connector, a supplementary molex power input for the PCIe lane devices, a TPM connector, a Thunderbolt header, a chassis fan header, a ROG EXT connector, a USB 2.0 header, another fan header, your front panel connectors, a "Direct Key" button which takes you straight into the BIOS after a reboot and finally a TPU/EPU selection switch. PCI connectivity includes three PCIe 3.0 X16 physical slots (16X/8X/4X electrical) and three PCIe 2.0 X1 slots. The X16 PCIe 3.0 slots drop to 8X and 8X when slot #1 and #2 are populated or 8X/4X/4X when all three slots are populated. This means Nvidia users can only do SLI in slots number one and two because a minimum of 8X is required for Nvidia SLI. AMD users can run 3 way CFX with all three PCIe 16X lanes. The majority of the SupremeFX audio implementation that we detailed on the first page is hidden beneath the SupremeFX logo on the ROG Armor. The rear I/O has abundant connectivity as always. From left to right we have: 1 x clear CMOS button 1 x ROG Connect on/off switch 4 x USB 2.0 4 x USB 3.0 1 x Optical S/PDIF out 1 x HDMI out 1 x DisplayPort out 1 x Intel Gigabit LAN 2 x USB 3.0 6 x Audio jacks Normally we wouldn't bother showing you the bottom of a motherboard because there isn't ever much to see. However, in the case of the Maximus VI Formula you can see the ROG Armor which is used to add structural rigidity to motherboard and has thermal pads hidden beneath to cool the back of the motherboard. BIOS The ASUS UEFI BIOS is well renowned throughout the motherboard industry. While I think all major motherboard vendors offer great UEFI BIOSes these days I am still drawn towards the ASUS one because I feel it is the best. It offers a great balance of complexity and simplicity with an array of options for you to tweak, if the options confuse you then just leave them to auto because on auto it is intelligent enough to set what is needed.# The Extreme Tweaker tab is where most enthusiasts will spend there time. Here you can overclock your CPU, RAM and integrated graphics. For the more modest user you'll end up coming here to set your RAM's XMP profile and choose any CPU Turbo options or automated overclocking. The main tab is where you can go to check things like your BIOS version, CPU speed, memory information, BIOS language or set the system date and time. The advanced tab compliments the Extreme Tweaker nicely and gives you more advanced options for your CPU as well as other options for you to tweak concerning all the other aspects of the motherboard. If for instance you've purchased an ROG sound card then you could come into here to disable the onboard SupremeFX audio, or if you've purchased a network card you could come here to disable the Intel Gigabit that is onboard. The monitor tab allows you to enabled Anti-Surge support (which protects your components from power supply surges), tweak fan profiles, check voltages and check temperatures. The final boot tab allows you to enable Fast Boot, choose how your motherboard acts on system start up and choose your boot device priority. Test System And Methodology We used the following pre-defined test system - only the motherboard varies between reviews. We only compare results where consistent components have been used. Z87 Motherboard Test System Motherboard - Varies by review Processor - Intel Core i7 4770K at Stock With Turbo Enabled RAM - 16GB (2 X 8GB) Corsair Vengeance Pro Series at 2400MHz and 10-12-12-31-2T Graphics Card - XFX HD 7970 Double Dissipation (Stock Clocks) CPU Cooler - Corsair H100i (Quiet at stock and Performance at overclocked) with Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Paste Power Supply - Corsair HX1050W Main Storage Drive - Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD over SATA III interface Additional Storage Drive - Patriot Wildfire 120GB SSD over SATA III interface Chassis - Lian Li PC-T60 Test Bench Display – Dell U2711 Ultra Sharp @ 1080p Operating System - Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit We would like to thank Asus, Intel, AMD, Corsair, Kingston, Lian Li, Noctua and all our other partners who supplied us with test equipment and hardware. Their generosity makes our testing possible and without them we wouldn't be able to produce the reviews we do, so thank you! For the testing procedures we use a variety of professional software and free to use programs which you can see below. The full details of each test will be available preceding the graphs if you are interested in the details for purposes of result replication or further enquiry. Software used: 3DMark 11 v1.05 (Professional) AIDA64 Extreme Edition v3.20.2600 (Professional) Cinebench R15 Build RC83328DEMO (Free) CPU-Z v1.67 (Free) PCMark 7 v1.4.0 (Professional) Super PI Mod 1.9 WP (Free) 3DMark (2013) v1.1 (Professional) Rightmark Audio Analyser v6.3 (Free) Audio Benchmark - Rightmark Audio Analyser "RMAA suite is designed for testing quality of analog and digital paths of any audio devices, be it a sound card, an MP3 player, a consumer CD/DVD player or an acoustic set. The results are obtained by playing and recording test signals passed through the tested audio path by means of frequency analysis algorithms. A more common mark is also provided for those unfamiliar with measured technical parameters." Available here. We run the RMAA test using a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable connecting the line out to the line in to test the quality of the motherboard audio codec not any external audio devices. We run the complete playback and recording test at default settings and then get RMAA to interpret the results giving the below outputs. We sync the playback and recording audio devices to the same setting as the test for objective results. 16bit 44.1KHz Performance 24bit 96KHz Performance 24bit 192KHz Performance CPU Benchmarks - Cinebench And SuperPi "CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Spider-Man, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia and many more. CINEBENCH is the perfect tool to compare CPU and graphics performance across various systems and platforms (Windows and Mac OS X). And best of all: It’s completely free." Available Here. For Cinebench we run the multi-threaded test with our test system (as detailed on page 6). The test is run at its default settings - we don't mess around with anything. We use version R15 and when testing we end all other background tasks and programs that could affect the benchmark result. "Super PI is a single threaded benchmark that calculates pi to a specific number of digits. It uses the Gauss-Legendre algorithm and is a Windows port of a program used by Yasumasa Kanada in 1995 to compute pi to 232 digits. Super PI is a single threaded benchmark ideal for testing pure, single threaded x86 floating point performance and while most of the computing market has shifted towards multithreaded applications and more modern instruction sets, Super PI still remains quite indicative of CPU capability in specific applications such as computer gaming." Available Here. When running SuperPi we simply open it up and calculate 8 million figures of pi. We use version Mod 1.9 WP and when testing we end all other background tasks and programs that could affect the benchmark result. 3D Benchmarks - 3DMark11 and 3DMark (2013) "3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world’s most popular benchmark. Designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads." From 3DMark.com We run the stock performance and stock extreme tests on 3DMark 11. Like with all other tests we end all other background tasks and programs that could affect the benchmark result. The new 3DMark includes everything you need to benchmark your hardware. With three all new tests you can bench everything from smartphones and tablets, to notebooks and home PCs, to the latest high-end, multi-GPU gaming desktops. And it’s not just for Windows. With 3DMark you can compare your scores with Android and iOS devices too. It’s the most powerful and flexible 3DMark we’ve ever created.” From Futuremark.com We run the stock normal Fire Strike and the stock Fire Strike Extreme benchmarks. Like with all other tests we end all other background tasks and programs that could affect the benchmark result. AIDA64 - Memory Benchmark "AIDA64 Extreme Edition is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking software for home users. AIDA64 Extreme Edition provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives. AIDA64 is compatible with all current 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems, including Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. AIDA64 implements a set of 64-bit benchmarks to measure how fast the computer performs various data processing tasks and mathematical calculations. Memory and cache benchmarks are available to analyze system RAM bandwidth and latency. Processor benchmarks utilize MMX, SSE, XOP, FMA, AVX and AVX2 instructions, and scale up to 32 processor threads. For legacy processors all benchmarks are available in 32-bit version as well. AIDA64 Disk Benchmark determines the data transfer speed of hard disk drives, solid-state drives, optical drives, and flash memory based devices." Available Here. To test the memory performance of each motherboard we simply run the AIDA64 memory and cache test and record the memory scores. We use the same RAM kit with the same XMP profile and ike with all other tests we end all other background tasks and programs that could affect the benchmark result. System Benchmark - PCMark7 "PCMark 7 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 7 and Windows 8. It includes 7 tests combining more than 25 individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 7 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use." Available here. We run the stock PCMark7 test that gives you a PCMark score. Like with all other tests we end all other background tasks and programs that could affect the benchmark result. Storage Benchmark - AIDA64 "AIDA64 Extreme Edition is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking software for home users. AIDA64 Extreme Edition provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives. AIDA64 is compatible with all current 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems, including Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. AIDA64 implements a set of 64-bit benchmarks to measure how fast the computer performs various data processing tasks and mathematical calculations. Memory and cache benchmarks are available to analyze system RAM bandwidth and latency. Processor benchmarks utilize MMX, SSE, XOP, FMA, AVX and AVX2 instructions, and scale up to 32 processor threads. For legacy processors all benchmarks are available in 32-bit version as well. AIDA64 Disk Benchmark determines the data transfer speed of hard disk drives, solid-state drives, optical drives, and flash memory based devices." Available Here. We run AIDA64's dedicated disk benchmark of our SATA III Patriot Wildfire 120GB SSD. We always ensure we use the native SATA III 6Gbps ports with the most up to date AHCI drivers on the motherboard to ensure optimal performance. We don't use our boot drive to avoid the effects of long term SSD degradation. Like with all other tests we end all other background tasks and programs that could affect the benchmark result. USB 3.0 Benchmark - AIDA64 "AIDA64 Extreme Edition is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking software for home users. AIDA64 Extreme Edition provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives. AIDA64 is compatible with all current 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems, including Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. AIDA64 implements a set of 64-bit benchmarks to measure how fast the computer performs various data processing tasks and mathematical calculations. Memory and cache benchmarks are available to analyze system RAM bandwidth and latency. Processor benchmarks utilize MMX, SSE, XOP, FMA, AVX and AVX2 instructions, and scale up to 32 processor threads. For legacy processors all benchmarks are available in 32-bit version as well. AIDA64 Disk Benchmark determines the data transfer speed of hard disk drives, solid-state drives, optical drives, and flash memory based devices." Available Here. We utilise our Kingston HyperX 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive in tandem with AIDA64's disk benchmark which can also be used for USB flash drives. We always test using the chipset-powered USB 3.0 ports (not those powered by third party controllers like ASMedia or Marvell) and using the latest USB 3.0 drivers for those chipset-powered USB 3.0 ports. Like with all other tests we end all other background tasks and programs that could affect the benchmark result. Power Consumption To test power consumption we monitor the overall power consumption of the system through a socket plug-in electricity usage monitor (aka Killawatt meter). Power consumption is measured at an idle system state whereby the system is allowed to stabilise at the desktop with as few applications running as possible for 5 minutes. The load power consumption is measured during the combined load test of 3DMark11 to simulate a realistic load being placed on all parts of the system. Monitoring system power usage at the wall through a usage meter is the easiest way for us to determine differences in power consumption between different motherboards as we do not have access to the complex and expensive equipment required to measure the motherboards individual power consumption. Overclocking The particular Intel Core i7 4770K chip we used to review the trio of motherboards in the graph below is only capable of 4.8GHz. Any higher and the required voltage causes it to overheat even with a Corsair H100i running in performance mode. The ASUS Z87 Maximus VI Formula was more than capable of hitting that target with just 1.275 volts (though on this motherboard our CPU-Z misreads the CPU input voltage as the CPU core voltage). Of course results will vary depending on your CPU but what these results show is that you won't be limited by the ASUS Maximus VI Formula, only your chip will hold you back. Overclocked Performance and Power Final Thoughts Pricing The ASUS Maximus VI Formula costs $299.99 in the USA while in the UK it retails for £232.64 and £259.99 from two of our preferred retailers. In Europe we are seeing a price of €269.90. Overview The ASUS Maximus VI Formula is a very expensive motherboard though at a price of £240/$300 it is much cheaper than the £310/$380 that the Maximus VI Extreme costs or even the £340/$400 that the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 5 costs. In the context of the competition it is expensive, but there are at least 10 z87 motherboards that are more expensive than it so it isn't a mind-blowing price. Of course the real question is do you really get £240/$300 worth of motherboard? From my perspective the answer here isn't a clear cut yes or no, but it is definitely more of a yes than a no. Firstly the performance is exceptional. While motherboards will only tend to vary by small amounts in terms of performance they do still make a difference. From our testing we can see this is a top motherboard and performs right on the money for a motherboard of its market segmentation. Overclocking is another big aspect of performance and our testing showed that the Maximus VI Formula was a very capable overclocker, something that is enhanced by the excellent UEFI BIOS that ASUS deploy with this motherboard. Moving on to connectivity and this motherboard is a really bonanza with more USB, SATA and wireless connectivity than most users could ever possibly need. They've also given you an extremely generous selection of fan connectivity, audio connectivity, the ability to connect a TPM module and a Thunderbolt module. If you want a lot of connectivity then this motherboard has it. Quite possibly the only thing I could mark it down for is not having dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, as for a motherboard of this calibre some users like this feature. For those questioning the omission of the legacy PCI I think ASUS has done the right thing here. Most people spending this much on a motherboard will not want to use old PCI expansion cards and even if they did the chances are the integrated Ethernet and audio on this motherboard is better than a lot of legacy PCI expansion cards. Other things I really liked about the Maximus VI Formula includes its stunning aesthetics and impressive structural rigidity. Given how large some tower heatsinks and graphics cards can get you can be safe in the knowledge that the Maximus VI Formula will not be damaged by the weight. Finally, despite our earlier blunder with incorrect audio results, the audio on the Maximus VI Formula actually turns out to be the best on any motherboard I've tested so far. The efforts ASUS have gone to with tuning the ALC 1150 codec and adding in loads of extras like third party amplifiers and higher quality audio components has paid off with the vast majority of audio variables being better than the results produced by other ALC 1150 boards that have "less fancy" audio implementations. The audio solution ASUS provides clearly rivals entry level to mid-range sound cards and as a result certainly adds a tonne of value to the motherboard. However, as I've already implied there were a few minor things that weren't to my liking with Maximus VI Formula. All these extras on the motherboard push its power consumption up quite high relative to competing solutions, but as any enthusiast knows extra features means more power consumption. Anyone who is conscious of their power consumption might be better placed choosing a board with less features and extras, especially if you have no intention of using them all.My other quibble comes with the price and the nature of the "extras". I have said this about other motherboards in the past so it is not a specific criticism of ASUS directly, and readers are totally entitled to disagree, but I think with a motherboard like this how many users actually want those extras (the ROG Armor, CrossChill Hybrid heatsink design and mPCIe Bluetooth and WiFi module) is questionable. All these extra components clearly push the cost up by quite a bit and make this a perhaps unnecessarily expensive motherboard. However, in this case I have to simultaneously dish out criticism to ASUS and then withdraw it straight away. The reason being is that if you want an ASUS Maximus VI Formula without the ROG Armor, the CrossChill Hybrid heatsink and wireless combo card then you can get that - it is called the ASUS Maximus VI HERO. While it isn't strictly the same motherboard per sé it is a very similar motherboard in terms of its layout, connectivity and overall design. So if you're reading this review thinking, "this is a great motherboard but it is too rich for my blood and has too many extras I do not need", then you may want to consider the Maximus VI HERO instead. Pros Class leading performance Excellent UEFI BIOS Generous accessory package Huge amount of connectivity Structural sturdy design One of the best looking Z87 motherboards on the market Water cooling ready Excellent audio quality Cons Expensive Has a lot of "extra stuff" that most users may not ever use or need "If you're looking for a high performance Z87 motherboard that offers more than just performance then the Maximus VI Formula is a standout offering. The ASUS Maximus VI Formula offers one of the most extensive selections of internal and external connectivity we've ever seen on a motherboard. The ability of this motherboard to carefully balance the extensive connectivity demands of an ever-connected consumer with the tweaking and performance demands of the enthusiast is exceptional. To top it all off ASUS have created one of the best, if not the best, looking Z87 motherboards on the market right now. Any demanding system builder would be delighted to be able to put this motherboard into their system. It is going to cost a pretty penny but if you can make use of all that it offers it certainly will not disappoint." Thanks to ASUS for providing this review sample.