Overview and test of the motherboard ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VI EXTREME. Overview and Testing of the Majim Maximus VI Extreme Motherboard Test Stand Configuration and Testing
All the "Maxims" of the sixth generation are equipped with a BIOS with similar functional. As always, the graphic shell UEFI has its own unique Rog'ovsky skin. When you try to go to the menu, we immediately get on the Extreme Tweaker tab. Here are all the necessary options for overclocking the processor, motherboard and RAM. However, we will still talk about it in more detail.
Note that any firmware function can be duplicated in the MY Favorites tab. It is convenient for those cases when during, for example, the Bench session has to change the same settings.
The MAIN tab demonstrates the user's basic information about central processor, memory, as well as a specific date and time. They, by the way, can be changed here. Like the language of the interface.
In the Advanced menu, you can set the processor settings, chipset and controllers integrated into it.
The Monitor tab will be useful to those who like to follow the system status. Here you can set the speed of rotation for both processor fans and cabinets. Note that the ASUS portfolio has a set of all kinds of useful utilities, including on the diagnosis of system components.
IN menu Boot The order of loading the operating system from a particular drive is configured. Also in this tab, you can speed up the BIOS and Windows boot process. Here you can turn off the Fast Boot and DirectKey features.
Finally, in the Tool menu, the user can update / restore the BIOS firmware, save / download overclocking profile, and configure OC Panel, which we talked just above.
Company products ASUS.line Republic of Gamers.By definition, there are some unique properties that allow you to quickly identify and highlight these devices from a number of competing solutions. Let's see what is noteworthy motherboard ASUS MAXIMUS VI FORMULA, which clearly did not accidentally be in the cohort of models for the most demanding users.
Facility accessories to the ROG series devices are easy to determine the characteristic color decision.
Black circuit board, cooling system elements and connectors are adjacent to red slots for memory modules and interface connector. The usual non-trivial configuration of the cooling system in the case of Maximus VI Formula complements another item, characterized by the Ultimate Force line devices.
Speech about plastic casing ROG Armor covering most of the area pCB. In this case, on the one hand, it performs a decorative function, giving the device some common integrity, on the other - protects elements of the board from possible mechanical damage During the assembly and work with the system on an open bench.
The plastic shield actually leaves access only to functional elements and connector. In such a situation, the user is easier to navigate, all the governing bodies in sight, all at hand - it is difficult to "get lost" even to someone who does not have a lot of experience in communicating with such iron.
The motherboard is based on the Intel Z87 chipset and is made in the classic ATX form factor (305 × 244 mm).
The processor power supply stabilizer system is made according to an 8-phase scheme. The power module corresponds to the Extreme Engine Digi + III concept. The chains use NexFet power keys with increased efficiency, throttle 60a BlackWing Choke with an increased working current, as well as Japanese 10K Black Metallic condensers. The VRM unit in this case is actually identical to what is used for the Maximus VI Extreme board.
To remove heat from VRM elements, a hybrid CROSSCHILL cooling system is used. In normal mode, this is a passive CO with an enlarged area of \u200b\u200bheat dissipation. If necessary, the radiator can be included in the overall circuit of the liquid cooling system. According to the manufacturer, such a solution allows 23 degrees to reduce the heating of the power elements.
Asus has already prompted the opportunity to use COVO for cooling power elements, accumulating a certain experience in this direction.
Obviously, listening to the wishes of the real owners of such systems, for the new Formula manufacturer left the free seat G1 / 4 "with a threaded compound for transitional fittings.
The solution is quite logical, taking into account the fact that the hoses for stationary can have a different diameter, because ASUS proposes to choose the necessary adapters independently. On the other hand, the fittings themselves are not included in the kit, therefore they will have to be purchased separately.
Another interesting option of the fee, which cannot be not mentioned is a large metal plate fixed on the back of the printed circuit board. This is an integral component of the Rog Armor protective system.
We also saw such a slab earlier during. This element is undoubtedly increasing the rigidity of the structure, excluding the inflection of the board even with a very neat installation of video cards or the use of massive processor coolers that require considerable effort when attaching CO.
In addition, the plate is also used to cool the chip drivers (IR3535), which are located on the reverse side of the PCB.
To connect the additional power there are two ATX12V connections - 8- and 4-pin. Although for extreme overclocking, the manufacturer proposes to use the Maximus VI Extreme model, the formula under consideration also has a good power potential for processor forcing.
At first glance, it seems that in the field of the processor connector somehow a little space. Similar to the heap of dimensional radiator designs with a protective casing. However, the Thermalright Archon Rev.a fastener plate was without any problems, which means that this very dimensional cooler will still be wateted to the processor. Moreover, after installing and fixing the fan, it turned out that the clamping brackets often interfering to install memory modules in the extreme slot, and this case is not a hindrance.
From external decorative functions, we will note the logo of the Republic of Gamers a series of devices in the central part of the board.
Among the available expansion slots, we note three full-format PCI Express X16 and the same amount of PCI-Express X1. The manufacturer did not nut next to the first PCI-E x16 another compact connector. After installing a video card with a two-billboard cooling system, it would be blocked, and the likelihood that the system will be used with integrated graphics is very small. As for the possibilities of creating multidaptern configurations, the board supports SLI mode, allowing you to combine a pair of video cards with NVIDIA chips. At the same time, graphic adapters on the GPU from AMD can be installed up to three (3-way crossfirex). When using two video cards, the PCI-E x16 slots operate in x8 + x8 mode, three - x8 + x4 + x4.
To exclude supply voltage drawdowns on the PCI Express bus when connecting and overclocking multiple video cards, an optional four-block EZ_PLUG connector is provided on the bottom edge of the board, which is made in the Molex form factor.
The entire key snap, which attracts the demanding enthusiasts, is fully present here. In the upper right corner, the Q-Code segment indicator is located, which displays the download progress and the reporting error code in the event of any problems during the start of the system. Expected here also contains a large high-speed switching key and less catchy, but sometimes the desired button of the cold reboot system. Nearby is the line of contacts Probeit. This group allows you to obtain accurate values \u200b\u200bof supply voltages in some of the most responsible portions of the motherboard, which in this case can be measured using a multimeter.
The faithful satellite of many ASUS function cards is the Memok key! Allows you to cope with the problems of the first launch. After pressing it, the timings of the installed memory modules are reset to obviously working values. Subsequently, they can be changed at their discretion, but in order to get this opportunity, it is still necessary to start the system for the first time.
The Q-LED indicators that have accommodated accurate near the main power connector are highlighted during the diagnostics of the main system nodes.
Activation toggle switch fast technologyBoost allows you to slightly speed up the system load, excluding additional diagnostics of some subsystems.
In the lower right corner of the circuit board, the DirectKey button is posted, pressing the automatic start of the UEFI shell when rebooting. The PCB also has a contact group that allows you to output the same key to an additional button of the housing, if it is provided by the case design.
On the bottom edge of the board, the ROG_EXT connector is placed to connect a specialized control panel OC Panel. This accessory is included in the standard Maximus VI Extreme fee, and in the case of Formula it will have to be purchased separately, and in Ukraine it, alas, is not even proposed optionally. In the neighborhood, the TB_Header connector is located in the connector row, which is necessary for connecting the external ThunderBolt speed controller.
ASUS Maximus VI Formula has serious possibilities for organizing the cooling system. The board offers 8 (eight!) Channels for connecting fans with four-pin connectors. Two for a processor cooler, three - for hull. Another connotor (OPT_FAN1,2,3) allow you to adjust the speed of rotation of the connected fans depending on the readings of the three external thermocouples (not supplied in the kit).
The circuit board subsystem may include up to 10 drives. The corresponding number of SATA ports is placed on the place traditional for these connectors - at the edge of the feet of expansion and chipset. Recall that the Intel Z87 chipset can be controlled with six drives connected via SATA 6 GB / C. Even the support of four SATA channels provides a pair of additional ASMEDIA ASM1061 controllers.
All SATA ports are lined up in one line and have identical red contexts. Accuracy designation of ports serviced by chipset and external controllers is available on a plastic casing.
To work on an open bench, the indicator of the activity of connected drives will be useful. The glow of a yellow LED partially covered with a plastic casing is distinctly distinguishable when accessing the HDD / SSD system.
The audio-system of the board, called the Supremefx Formula, is built on the basis of the most advanced eight-channel codec from Realtek - Alc1150. To protect against eletro-magnetic interference, the microcircuit is hidden behind the metal casing. As in some top solutions ASUS, the audio collapse of the board is put on a separate module, almost isolated from the main PCB. There is no highlightening track here, since the default protective panel would hide all interior decoration. However, in terms of technical equipment here full order.
The chains use specialized Japanese ELNA capacitors and film containers of the German manufacturer WiMA. The CIRRUS Logic CS4398 DAC is also used, and the TPA6120A2 TPA6120A2 operating amplifier is provided for high input headphones.
Without instrumental measurements subjectively sound quality for quite good level. The measures taken provide good power for the Passive test headset SteelSeries Siberia V2. The volume of the volume is more than enough, at the maximum level there was a desire to make fun. The sound decision is very worthy, while there is no feeling that all the works of the developers went to the joy to employees of the marketing department, which will be hooked during the announcement of the device.
For Ethernet connections, an Intel gigabit network controller is used. Intel i217-V chip is already quite considered a proven and trouble-free solution with good software support.
The functionality of the board additionally expands the MPCIE Combo II module, which is installed in a special connector next to the main elements of the interface panel. This block contains a Wi-Fi controller 802.11 / B / G / N / AC standards, as well as Bluetooth 4.0. On the other hand, the Socket 2 connector (M.2) is placed, which allows you to connect the NGFF form-factor solid-state storage device (in this case one of the ten SATA channels will be isolated).
ASUS MAXIMUS VI FORMULA allows you to connect up to 8 devices using a USB 3.0 bus. Intel Z87 chipset has an integrated controller on 6 devices, because to increase the possible number of connected drives or other equipment in this case, the Asmedia ASM1074 chip is used, which performs the role of a branching hub, which two USB 3.0 interface lines, which run from the chipset, splits on 4 channels. As a result, there are 4 full-speed ports and the same number of connectors that will equally divide the bandwidth of two channels of USB 3.0. In general, to present a situation in which eight devices will be connected to the PC at the same time, simultaneously requiring the total USB 3.0 speed, it is quite difficult, because the user's user will hardly face restrictions in practice.
The Maximus VI Formula interface panel has an impressive equipment. Four USB 2.0 ports, six USB 3.0 connector, Ethernet socket. To connect the display devices, there are two video outputs - HDMI and DisplayPort.
A set of acoustics can be connected with six mini jacks or digital optical output. There are two buttons on the panel. One is used to reset the CMOS-memory settings, the second is to activate the ROG Connect technology, which allows you to control the parameters of the system from another PC connected to the slave uSB bus. After installing the MPCIE Combo II module at the level of the interface connector on the plug, connectors are attached to connect the external antenna to enhance the signals wireless networks.
Contents of delivery
The set of the board fully corresponds to the level of the device. The delivery includes the user's manual, drive drivers and software, plug on the back wall of the housing, 8 SATA interface cables, MPCIE Combo II module, an external antenna, Q-connector adapters, SLI bridge, stickers for interface cables of drives. Well, and, the required element of the iconic devices for gaming platforms - a sign on the door handle not to disturb the champions.
The device is offered in a fairly large two-section box, while opening the side door can immediately see the appearance of the board and get acquainted with the set of key technologies.
UEFI and PO
After starting the BIOS, we are already encountered already familiar graphic UEFI with color, characteristic of the ROG series shells. Of particular innovations, which we have not seen earlier here, and this can be considered as praise in this case.
Lovers to customize the system here will be what to do. In this case, one of the sections called the Tweakers Paradise manufacturer does not require Sarcasm. Everything is just like that. The number of options and parameters that can be adjusted simply by the proceeds - a real paradise for enthusiasts. In such a case, three dozen timing and the ability to choose a memory mode from DDR3-800 to DDR3-3200 and is perceived at all as proper. The boundary values \u200b\u200bof the supply voltage of the processor in 2.2 V and the memory of 2.4 B suggest that the fee is ready for experiments at any level of enthusiasm.
The UEFI from ASUS is generally structured well, but the Intel 8-type chipsets appeared with the operating board on the database of the 8th series, the ability to create a partition with its own list of the most frequently used parameters makes the shell interface even more friendly in relation to the owner.
The Corporate Software Package AI Suite III with the whole set of options for adjusting and managing the board allows you to configure many system parameters.
ASUS Maximus VI Formula supports whole premium technology, peculiar to ROG motherboards last generation. This is a Sonic Radar, which allows the sound to navigate in games, from which side the virtual opponent is selected. Warned, it means armed and dangerous.
Gamefirst II allows you to optimize the network stream by setting the maximum priority for playing traffic.
The manufacturer also proposes more efficiently using surplus RAM, if such with a margin. With the help of a branded application, the "extra" RAM can be used to create an RAM disk, disposed of an ultra-speed drive at its discretion.
Assessing the ability to overclock the system, we managed to increase the clock frequency of the test instance of the Core i7-4770K processor to 4,600 MHz, previously increasing the supply voltage to 1.25 V.
The system started without problems when changing the reference frequency factor (CPU STRAP) to 1.25 and 1.67, because for fountal configuration lovers, the board provides fertile soil.
The radiators of the cooling system of elements of the power unit under the load of the overclocked processor were all overwhelmed to 68 C. However, in this situation, the cooler edges captured the air flow of a large fan installed on the processor cooler, because such results can be considered a special case. The temperature of the chipset cooler on an open test bench rises only to 41 C.
Video review ASUS Maximus VI Formula
RESULTS
ASUS MAXIMUS VI FORMULA In many ways, it is not inferior to the current flagship of the Maternal Planner of the manufacturer - Maximus VI Extreme. If the latter is more focused on enthusiasts, then Formula will be closer to fans to play, which at the same time do not mind experimenting with their system. In addition, the considered model successfully combines the elements of top overclocker boards, with solutions characterized by the devices of the The Ultimate Force series, well-known reliability. Probably, it is precisely such a developer of the formula for success in the market. Confirm or refute it for only you. If you choose a functional fee, planning to firmly settle on the LGA1150 platform, ASUS Maximus VI Formula deserves special attention, even despite the considerable cost.
Liked
Wide functionality
Availability of MPCIE Combo II module (Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / Socket 2)
Quality audio system
8 channels for controlling fans
Fine system setup capabilities
SLI / CrossFirex configuration support
The presence of protective design ROG Armor
Did not like
Device for testing provided by ASUS, www.asus.ua
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ASUS MAXIMUS VI FORMULA Notify about the appearance on sale |
| CPU connector | Socket 1150. |
| North Most | — |
| South Most | Intel Z87. |
| Cooling of the Northern Bridge | — |
| Cooling southern bridge | Radiator |
| Cooling VRM. | Radiator |
| Built-in video | Intel HD Graphics (integrated into the processor) |
| PCI | — |
| PCI Express X4. | — |
| PCI Express X1. | 3 |
| Schedule. interface | 3xpci-E x16 3.0 (x16, x8 + x8, x8 + x4 + x4) |
| Dimm. | 4xDDR3 (3100 MHz to 32 GB) |
| IDE (Parallel ATA) (chipset / add. Controller) | — |
| Serial ATA (chipset / add. Controller) | — |
| SATA Revision 3.0 (chipset / add. Controller) | 6/4 |
| Main power connectors | 24+8+4 |
| Additional food | — |
| Fan. | 8 |
| S / PDIF. | + (output) |
| Wizobodek | REALTEK ALC1150 (7.1) |
| Ethernet | Intel i217V (GBE) |
| SATA. | — |
| SATA Revision 3.0 | ASMEDIA ASM1061. |
| PATA | — |
| IEEE 1394 (FireWire) | — |
| USB 3.0. | Asmedia. |
| Lan. | 1 |
| esata Rev. 2.0 | — |
| esata Rev. 3.0 | — |
| Audio. | 6 |
| S / PDIF-OUT (COAXIAL / OPTICAL) | -/+ |
| Thunderbolt. | — |
| Outputs for monitor | 1XHDMI, 1xDisplayPort |
| USB 1.1 / 2.0 | 4/2 (4 ports) / - |
| USB 3.0. | 6/1 (2 ports) / - |
| IEEE 1394 (FireWire) | — |
| Com. | — |
| Game / Midi. | — |
| LPT. | — |
| IDE | — |
| SATA interface / nutrition, devices | 6/- |
| Form factor | ATX, 305х244 mm |
| Support for two or more video cards | AMD 3-Way Crossfirex and Nvidia Quad-GPU SLI |
| RAID support | 0/1/5/10 |
| Wi-Fi adapter | 802.11 A / B / G / N / AC (2.4 / 5GHz) |
| UEFI support | + |
| miscellanea | Supports the 4th generation of Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Xeon / Pentium / Celeron; M.2 connector (for SSD drives); Mini-PCIe slot (for Wi-Fi wireless adapter 2.4 / 5GHz); high-quality element base from Japanese components; Hybrid CROSSCHILL power supply circuits; Bluetooth V4.0 support; TPM connector module; SLI bridge complete; No PS / 2 ports |
The last platform of the Socket 1150 from Intel, the sale of which began in June, brought to the market not only the 4th generation processors, but also contributed to the emergence of new chipsets and motherboards on their basis. For his new intel Platforms They prepared the sets of the chip Z87, H87 and H81, on the basis of which manufacturers of motherboards presented to the market wide range of their products.
Company ASUSBeing one of the leading manufacturers in the production of motherboards, it kindly provided for an overview of the editorial board of our site three motherboards: ASUS Maximus VI Hero, Asus Sabertooth Z87 and ASUS Z87-PLUS. In this review we will tell you about the motherboard ASUS MAXIMUS VI HEROrelated to the "Republic Of Gamers" series.
Packaging and equipment
ASUS Maximus VI Hero comes in a large dark red cardboard box.
The box has a folding lid, opening which you can see through a transparent plastic blister my motherboard.
On the inner folding part of the box there are information on the ASUS SUPREMEFX and SONICRADAR and SonicRadar applied in this board. Sonic Radar - technology designed to enable visualization of all sound sources in computer games, and even those sounds that are outside the player's visibility. As you know, Asus has its own division, which is engaged in the development of sound devices, and it is the developments of this unit that have been used in the implementation of this technology. Sonic Radar can be used with sound cards ROG series (including Xonar PHOEBUS and Xonar Phoebus Solo) and MaXimus VI Majimus VI Motherboards with SUPREMEFX Audio Processor.
The back of the packaging also contains many useful information.
Among which the photo shows the main advantages, specifications and diagram of the rear panel connectors.
As for the configuration, it is kindly good. Together with motherboard Present:
- plug for the rear panel;
- user's manual;
- hanger on the door with a warning do not disturb;
- set of stickers for cables;
- Set of Q connectors;
- sLI bridge;
- drive with drivers and software;
- rOG sticker;
- six SATA 6 GBIT \\ C cables.
Appearance and technological features
The external design of Maximus VI Hero is performed in the already familiar style. The board itself is painted in black, some plastic elements on the board in red. This combination of colors ASUS has already taught users to immediately find out in the device belonging to the "Republic of Gamers" series. Power supply elements near the processor are equipped with massive radiators, which are fixed from the reverse side of the board with additional stiffese plates.
The motherboard supports all existing Socket 1150 processors, and is able to take on board up to 4-dimensional DDR3 memory at 8GB each.
The rear panel contains eight USB connectors, half of which USB 3.0 (marked in blue). There is a universal PS / 2 connector for the keyboard and mouse, next to which the reset button of the BIOS settings is present. From the video outputs there is an HDMI version 1.4 connector. Six sound connector 3.5 Jack are concentrated by a single block, there is also an optical audio output. To connect the network there are 1000Mbps / s Ethernet port.
As befits a real motherboard for overclocking, in Maximus VI Hero, the power is organized according to the 24 + 8pin scheme. Of course, when connected according to the 24 + 4Pin scheme, the motherboard will also work great, but in this case it is not necessary to count on the maximum results in the acceleration of the processor at two or three mounted video cards.
Near the 24pin connector there is a 19-pin port for connecting USB 3.0 connectors on the front of the hull front panel.
Power on the motherboard is made according to the 8 + 2 phase scheme. Of these, 8 phases for the processor and 2 phases are for RAM. In ASUS, Digi + VRM PWM controllers are used.
The cooling of the motherboard consists of two radiators, one on the chipset, the second on the power elements of the motherboard.
Near the memory modules there are two convenient Start and Reset buttons, as well as a two-character POST code indicator. All these opportunities are convenient to use if you have an outdoor test stand.
The expansion slots are present three PCIX1 slots1, and three PCIX16 slots. Slots highlighted in red are designed by default to install video cards. The first slot will work as PCIX16 when installing one video card. When installing two video cards, the first and second slots will work already as PCIX8. The third slot will always work as PCIX4. Slot work diagram can be easily determined by placing on the other side of the motherboard.
The audio tract of the motherboard is separated from the rest of the parts with a special tap, which not only serves to prevent interference, but also very effectively glows in red during operation.
The audio processor RealTek is closed on top of a plastic case with the inscription SUPREMEFX, which also shines while working in red.
According to condensers in the field of audio tract, it is seen that considerable funds are invested in the production of this motherboard - there are expensive and reliable capacitors from the famous Japanese manufacturer Elna.
Motherboard will allow you to connect to 8 hard disks or optical drives. All SATA ports have a speed of 6Gbit / c.
As you know, the Z87 chipset supports only 6 SATA-3 ports, so the additional pair of SATA-3 ports is implemented using the ASMEDIA ASM 1061 controller.
Motherboard Heart - Z87 chipset hidden under a massive aluminum radiator painted in the colors of the republic of Gamers series: black, with red inserts.
After removing the radiator, you can see that the chipset has no protective frame. Therefore, manipulation with the removal of the radiator should be done carefully.
The NuVoton NCT6791D chip, which is located near the Z87 chipset, is responsible for entering the output and system monitoring.
BIOS capabilities
In this part of the review we will try to show the basic settings of the BIOS motherboard.
Tab My Favorites.
Tab Extreme Tweaker.
Tab Main.
Tab Advanced.
Tab Monitor.
Tab Boot.
Tab Tool.
Also, in addition to settings, the BIOS motherboard has the capabilities to save the list of recent changes in the settings in the text document, as well as simply create and print the text, which can then be saved to USB media.
Specifications
CPU | Intel® Socket 1150 For 4 Th Generation Core ™ i7 / Core ™ i5 / Core ™ i3 / Pentium® / Celeron® Processories |
RAM | 4 x Dimm, Max. 32GB, DDR3 3000 (OC) / 2933 (OC) / 2800 (OC) / 2666 (OC) / 2600 (OC) / 2500 (OC) / 2400 (OC) / 2200 (OC) / 2133 (OC) / 2000 ( OC) / 1866 (OC) / 1800 (OC) / 1600/1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-Buffered Memory |
Multi-GPU technology support | Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI ™ TECHNOLOGY |
Expansion slots | 2 x PCIe 3.0 / 2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8, (red)) |
Data store | Intel® Z87 Chipset: |
The local network | Intel® i217V, 1 x Gigabit Lan Controller (s) |
Intel® Z87 Chipset: |
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Accepted functions | EXTREME ENGINE DIGI + III: |
Connectors on the back panel | 1 x PS / 2 Keyboard / Mouse Combo Port (s) |
Connectors on the board | 1 x USB 3.0 Connector (s) Support (s) Additional 2 USB 3.0 Port (s) |
64MB UEFI AMI BIOS, PNP, DMI2.7, WFM2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI5.0A Multi-Language BIOS |
|
Form factor | ATX Form Factor |
Test Stand Configuration and Testing
CPU | Intel Core i7-4770K 3,5GHZ LGA1150 (Hyperthreading On, TurboBoost ON) |
Motherboard | ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA1150 (BIOS V.0711) |
RAM | (4GB * 2 PC-17000 Cl 11-11-11-30 1.65V, XMP Profile) |
Video card | Inno3d. GeForce GTX. 660 TI 2048MB. |
Power Supply | THERMALTAKE TOUGHPOWER XT 775W |
HDD | SATA-3 1TB Seagate 7200 Barracuda (ST1000DM003) |
SAMSUNG BX2335 23 "(1920x1080) |
|
Thermal interface | Gelid GC-Extreme |
Operating system | Windows 7 x64 SP1 |
Other in |
To test the motherboard was the fastest intel processor Core i7-4770k 3,5Ghz. The processor worked in nominal mode, RAM with XMP 2133MHz profile. Full system data can be assessed about screenshots from the CPU-Z program.
ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO is the first board with which we begin testing the platform 1150, so the results are presented in absolute value, without any comparative data.
Aida64 Cache & Memory Benchmark.
This test shows the memory of the memory and the different levels of the processor kesh.
HEAVEN BENCHMARK 4.0.
This test package is although it is graphic, but even it is possible the influence of the motherboard for performance. That is why we include it in the list of tests for motherboards.
PCMark 7.
The test package from Futuremark is not suitable for estimating computer performance in everyday use.
Super PI 1.5.
Calculation of the number π. In this test package, we limited to the specified values \u200b\u200bof 1m and 8m.
Conclusion
Summing up Review of the motherboard ASUS MAXIMUS VI HEROFirst of all it is worth saying the technical equipment of the board. The release of the ROG series, ASUS tried not only to expand the functionality of the motherboard, but also to equip it with high-quality components and competent wiring. For advanced users, there are two PCIX16 slots for video cards, and eight SATA ports, and the abundance of USB 3.0 connectors. Plus the motherboard will be the presence of hot buttons for turning on and reset directly on the motherboard. And the presence of the POST code indicator will quickly determine the reason for the inoperability of the system to quickly determine the reason for the inoperability of the system.
In general, the motherboard ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO Practically does not have drawbacks. It has everything to use it in the configuration of the game computer with Multi-GPU systems. The presence of rich bios settings will allow not only flexible and effectively dispersed the system, but also to manage the smallest parameters. The only thing that can be accommodation is for the price, which in the Russian retail is an average of 7 thousand rubles, which in itself is quite a few for the motherboard. And so, in general ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO It is successfully suitable for both overclockers and lovers of computer games, who want to join the "Republic of Gamers".
Pros:
- bIOS rich capabilities;
- competent convenient wiring;
- high-quality sound;
- good equipping with high-quality components;
- cooling power elements by radiators;
- buttons START and RESET on the board, the POST code indicator;
- support Multi-GPU ligaments according to the PCIE formula (x8 + x8).
Minuses:
- price.
Weigh all for and against, the editorial is awarded the motherboard ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO Award i2hard. - gold.
Preface
Sometimes buyers acquire computers, considering the only characteristic - the price. The principle "The cheaper, the better," sometimes it works successfully, but still most often try to choose not the most inexpensive, but the most balanced configuration. The optimal computer for one category of users may be extremely unsuccessful for another, it all depends on its purpose and circle of solved tasks. Everyone knows that even in the case when a high-performance system is collected, it is irrational to buy the highest components. It makes no sense to choose the flagship processor if it is faster than the previous one percent for five, but two times more expensive. There is no need to take the top video card when the stage model is slightly different in frequency, but very noticeable by price. The difference in speed will not be noticeably noticeable at all, but it is easy to eliminate it for complication. As for motherboards, the role of this once of the most important component has steadily decreased and today is minimized to today. It is enough for you to decide on the form factor, estimate the necessary set of interfaces and even younger models will be able to provide it with a margin, not differing from the older neither by the supported memory volumes, nor according to the ability to overclock, you can take any.However, there are different situations, sometimes the most expensive computer will be optimal, only because it provides maximum opportunities, and its high price is not critical. For example, imagine an adult, he earns quite enough to provide himself and family. In the free time, which he is not so much, he wants to relax and relax, calmly play. And there is not the slightest desire to meet the comparative characteristics of various component models, browse the proposals of companies to find cheaper, and after engaging the painstaking roaming of the balance between speed and quality. Excessive hundred or two, spent on the computer will not save half a year at breakfasts, will not be required to abandon summer vacation or from any other planned large purchases. But the computer with the maximum configuration to date will be provided with all the necessary interfaces, will allow without thinking to establish the best display quality in any game and at the same time will provide the highest speed. It is for such consumers that flagship components are produced - these people have been hard enough at their time, so that it is quickly and without hassle to get a maximum possible.
Not randomly the company's motherboards of the ASUSTEK series "Republic of Gamers" are called "Maximus", and the top of the older, the most important LGA1150-board is the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme model. The high price of this model scares, but attracts a huge range of possibilities. Let's get acquainted with them closer. Who knows, maybe after studying the fee, we will come to the thought that for such a rich set of abilities the price is not so great. Or, on the contrary, we understand that the possibilities are exaggerated, the functions will not be in demand, and the price is extended? Let's proceed.
Packaging and equipment
The Boxes with the Motherboards of the company ASUSTEK series "Republic of Gamers" are usually oriented vertically and differ in characteristic, easily recognizable design. The facial cover is attached to velcro and leans. On the turn, you can familiarize yourself with some features of the model and see the fee itself through a large transparent window. On the back of the box there are several additional photos, an image of the back of the board and a detailed list of technical characteristics.Consisions of the box with asus board Maximus VI Extreme is explained not only to the care of packaging, but also a large number of components. Inside the board is located in a large box with a transparent plastic lid, and the included accessories in a separate multisective box. The list of components is very large and looks like this:
ten SATA cables with metal strings on connectors, half of them are straight, in another one of them M-shaped, everything is specifically designed to connect SATA 6 Gb / s devices;
map Extension "MPCIE Combo II" (MPCIE / M.2) with a two-band module Wi-Fi 802.11 A / B / G / N / AC and Bluetooth V4.0 / 3.0 + HS (AzureWave AW-CE123H);
two-band Wi-Fi antenna "ASUS 2T2R";
set "OC Panel Kit", which includes the command center "OC Panel", connecting cable and dock for fastening the panel in the five-day compartment system Block;
flexible bridge for combining two video cards in SLI mode;
flexible bridge for combining two video cards in CrossFire mode;
hard bridge for combining three video cards in 3-way SLI mode;
hard bridge for combining four video cards in 4-way SLI mode;
plug to the rear panel (I / O Shield);
connecting cable "ROG CONNECT" to control and control the system from another computer;
kit ASUS Q-Connector adapters, including modules to simplify the connection of buttons and the front panel indicators of the system unit, as well as uSB connector 2.0;
user's manual;
booklet with brief assembly instructions;
decorative emblem "ROG MAGNET";
stickers on SATA cables "12 in 1 ROG CABLE LABEL";
DVD C software and drivers.
The bulk of the accessories is well known to us and the questions do not cause questions, you only need to highlight a few moments. For example, now instead of the usual sticker on the system unit, the Magnetic emblem "ROG MAGNET" is included. Undoubtedly, it is of interest to the "MPCIE Combo II" expansion card with a Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module, we will tell you more about it in the next chapter of the review, considering the possibility of the board. Now we will pay attention to the unique accessory - the OC Panel command center for overclocking and monitoring.
The panel is equipped with a swivel display with four buttons, below is a block of eight control buttons. The panel is connected to a special cable with a motherboard, and the energy is supplied according to the second cable, as for powering SATA devices. You can remove the lid at the bottom to access additional connectors and switches. As a result, a convenient control center is obtained to monitor the system status and changes in various parameters of its operation - frequencies, multiplication and voltage coefficients. Especially provides the technology "ROG CONNECT" when using the second computer or mobile device with Android or iOS, but OC Panel is more compact than a laptop and more convenient than a smartphone.
The command center is especially useful for experiments when using a board in the form of an open test bench. However, it will not turn into an already unnecessary and useless accessory, even after you "play" and determine the modes suitable for your system and overclocking. With the help of an incoming docking station, the panel can be fastened in the free five-fashioned compartment of the system unit. In this form, its capabilities will be limited, but it will continue to control the various parameters of the system: the temperature, the base frequency, the processor multiplication coefficient, the speed of rotation of the fans.
Design and opportunity
The Asus Maximus VI Extreme Motherboard is the flagship model and the number of its different features and features are so great that the eyes are running out. You feel a puppet on the threads, which these diverse abilities constantly twist, then in one, then in the other side. You must tell about the same feature and you have to mention another about another, but here the third is also very important ... As a result, you are lost and you don't even know where to start ... Let's start with basic features, from a powerful digital power system "Extreme Engine Digi + III" . It provides support for the LGA1150 processors, works using the formula 8 + 2 and is based on high-quality components: NexFet Power Block Mosfet MOSFET, 60A BlackWing Celling Coils and 10K Metallic Capacitors Condenters. The heating elements of the supply converter are covered with a pair of radiators, with the help of a heat tube they are combined into a complex with a third radiator in the center of the board. Unlike some other models, the central radiator is not only a decorative element and a symbol of high board status. It is designed to cool the PLX PEX 8747 concentrator, adding additional PCI Express 3.0 lines, which are used when collaborating multiple PCI Express 3.0 x16 connectors.
The LGA1150 processors provide 16 PCI Express 3.0 lines that logic sets can be used to connect external video cards, and the Intel Z87 chipset is capable of dividing these lines between several connectors. You can all 16 allocate for the operation of a single discrete video card, you can divide them in half between two, and for three formula it will look x8 / x4 / x4. The inclusion in the PLX PEX 8747 concentrator scheme allows you to expand the possibilities for combining video cards to those with which the LGA2011 platform possesses. The four connectors are usually used, while not only one, but also two video cards can work at full speed PCI Express 3.0 x16. When adding a third and fourth card, the speed of the connector will continue to share, as a result of the formula works Trey Maps will change to x16 / x8 / x8, and when installing four, all connectors will operate at the X8 speed. The benefits of inclusion in the PCI Express additive lines are obvious, but there are also disadvantages. The PLX PEX 8747 hub contributes additional delays, because of which the performance when using one video card may even decrease a little, the advantage can be obtained only when setting several cards. Some boards manufacturers even began to add a special connector to which PCI EXPRESS processor lines are sent directly by bypassing the hub. This avoids the drop in speed when using one video card, but the second minus remains increased power consumption. Even if we apply one video card, even if it is installed in a special connector and does not use the PLX PEX 8747 concentrator, but it still works, consumes energy and highlights heat.
This is how the situation with the combination of video cards on other motherboards looks like, now let's see which scheme is implemented on the Asus Maximus VI Extreme board, where there are five connectors for video cards. And on the site, and on a box with a fee we will lead such formulas of the connectors: 1x16, 2x8, x8 / x16 / x8 and x8 / x16 / x8 / x8. There is a note that when installing one or two cards, "native", in other words, the "native" mode is used, that is, the PCI Express processor lines will minute PLX PEX 8747 concentrator. For one card, it is good, but bad for two, because the extra PCI Express lines are not used, the speed of work is the same as on boosts without a hub, only power consumption is higher due to its presence. When using three cards, the X8 / X16 / X8 formula is no different from other boards with a hub and only in the formula for four cards we see the difference compared to similar models. Instead of working at the X8 speed, one connector allows you to use 16 lines. It turns out that only when installing four video cards, we get an advantage, in all other cases the fee will work as well or even worse than similar models with a hub. And who needs such a fee? Units who are firmly intend to use at least three, but it is best to four video cards. In fact, everything is not quite so, the description of the possibilities is inaccurate and incomplete. It is misleading and hides the real capabilities of the board. We are absolutely sure that because of this, Asustek lost a lot of potential buyers of this model, and because of the high prices of the board of them and without these errors are not so much.
Let's figure out what opportunities for sharing the video cards provide fees in fact. Nowhere is not said that when using a "native" mode, when the PLX PEX 8747 hub is not used, it turns off. There was no such thing yet, nor on one other card! Do not mention such dignity - this is a colossal error. The hub always worked, heated and spent energy, even when PCI Express's processor lines were sent directly to a special connector. In addition, there were fees with one such connector, but there was not a single one that would allow you to combine two video cards at once. In this case, no one limits you, depending on the connectors in which the cards are installed, you are free to choose the mode of their operation - either 2x8 with the hub turned off or 2x16 when using its additional lines. The ASUS Maximus VI Extreme board is not at all a wretched model to be installed at least three, but it is best to immediately four video cards, as it may seem from the official characteristics. In fact, this is a unique fee with wide and very flexible abilities for combining video cards, the analog we did not meet any other model. The correct formulas of the connectors look like this: 1x16 or 2x8 in the "native" mode with a disabled hub and 2x16, x8 / x16 / x8 or x8 / x16 / x8 / x8 when used. It remains to add that in addition to these five connections, there is another PCI Express 2.0 X4 connector. To ensure its performance, despite the presence of a large number of additional controllers, which are still ahead, the PLX PEX 8605 hub is installed on the fee, adding four PCI Express 2.0 lines.
The Intel Z87 logic set provides a board with six SATA 6 Gb / s ports. One of these ports will be unavailable when installing the drive in the "MPCIE Combo II" expansion card, but in addition to the board there are two integrated ASMEDIA ASM1061 controllers, which add four more SATA ports 6 Gb / s. MPCIE Combo II Bilateral Expansion Card We have already seen the ROG series cards. From its one hand is the M.2 connector, it was previously known under the designation NGFF (Next Generation Form Factor). It is designed to replace the MSATA connector, the new SSD is smaller in width, thinner and removes the limit to the maximum speed of 6 Gb / s. As for the length, it is supposed to use several options, and in this case compact storage devices are 22x42 mm. On the other side of the map is the MINI PCIE connector and the AzureWave AW-CE123H module has already been installed, which is based on Broadcom circuitry and provides support for Wi-Fi 802.11a / B / G / N / AC wireless technologies in ranges 2.4 and 5 GHz, and Also Bluetooth V4.0 or Bluetooth V3.0 + HS.
There are two holes for connecting and displaying the rear panel connections to connect and output Wi-Fi antenna, so first we will see them, and then the next set of items:
buttons "Clear CMOS" and "ROG CONNECT";
two USB 2.0 ports, and another six can be connected to three internal connectors on the board;
six USB 3.0 ports (blue connectors) appeared due to the capabilities of the Intel Z87 logic set and the ASMEDIA ASM1074 optional controller, and two more additional USB 3.0 ports can be displayed using one internal connector;
connector local network (Network adapter is built on an Intel WGI217V gigabit controller);
hDMI video outputs and DisplayPort;
universal PS / 2 connector for connecting the keyboard or mouse;
optical S / PDIF, as well as six analog sound connections, the work of which provides the Eight-channel REALTEK ALC1150 codec.
The essential advantage of the board is the support of the update technology "USB BIOS FlashBack". This is the unique ability of Asustek motherboards, there are no other manufacturers of its analogue. There is no need to fully assemble the computer, as in most other models, and even in the installation of the operating system, as in some boards that do not have built-in Utilities built into the BIOS. You do not need to install the processor, RAM modules or connect the monitor. All that is needed is a power supply to the board, following the instructions to connect to a specific USB port to the firmware, press the button, in this case it is the "ROG CONNECT" button, after which it is waiting for the completion of the update process. Since you left the past former problems when the board turned out to be incompatible with a new processor type, could not start due to some features of memory modules or for other reasons that required just firmware updates. If such situations occur, the owners of the ASUS boards with the technology "USB BIOS Flashback" will retain a mass of time and nerves.
The description of the motherboard ASUS Maximus VI Extreme is already approaching the end, while we managed to outline only its basic possibilities, the huge number of features is still waiting for lighting. For example, you need to pay attention to the upper right corner of the board, where there is a large number of additional elements: the POST-code indicator, the "Probeit" voltage control points, the on, reboot buttons, and the Memok button! ", Allowing the board to start successfully even if there are problems from rAM. The jumper "LN2 MODE" and the "SLOW MODE" switch will be useful when using liquid nitrogen for cooling, and using the PCIE X16 LANE switches group, you can selectively turn off the set video cards, not engaged in a long disassembly and their physical removal. On the board you can count eight four-pin connections for connecting fans. Of these, two processor, three systemic and three more additional, to adjust their rotation speed, you can use the added temperature sensors, connectors for connecting which are located next to these connectors.
In addition to the main eight-contact connector ATX12V, the processor can be supplied with the help of an additional four-pin connector, which will be useful in extreme acceleration. Two EZ PLUG connectors are used for additional power when installing multiple video cards. One of them is the six-contact, as on the video cards themselves, and the second four-contact, how to power the drives, at least one of them should be available and free. The board is equipped with two independent BIOS chips, such an opportunity is infrequently found from Asustek motherboards. The "BIOS SWITCH" button will allow you to choose an active chip, and the LED will light up next to it for orientation. The "DirectKey" button on the board or a similar purpose button connected to the DRCT Connector connector will allow you to log into the BIOS without additional actions. Finally, the Fast Boot switch appeared, which allows you to immediately disable the technology of the accelerated passage of the starting step. Technology is useful for everyday work, but in the process of setting only interferes.
It is worth noting the Q-DESIGN technology complex, which simplifies the assembly and operation of systems built on the basis of Asustek motherboards. The ASUS Maximus VI Extreme is equipped with all the capabilities of this complex. "Q-Code" is a POST code indicator that allows you to accurately determine the source of the problems when starting. The "Q-LED" LEDs (CPU, DRAM, VGA, BOOT Device LED) are used, with their help, the diagnosis is less accurate, but it is much easier and faster. "Q-Slot" is a convenient wide latch on connectors for video cards, and "Q-DIMM" is one-sided links for memory modules. "Q-Shield" is a stub on the rear panel (I / O Shield), but instead of the extruded tongues, which are stored during the installation to get inside the connections, is a soft electrically conductive gasket from its back side. "Q-Connector" is a set of adapters that includes modules to simplify the connection of buttons and the front panel indicators of the system unit and one internal USB 2.0 connector.
All the main technical characteristics of the Maximus VI Extreme motherboard, we made in a single table, and clicking on it, you can open a summary comparative table with the specifications of all previously tested models of LGA1150 boards:
ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 Professional;
ASRock Z87 Extreme4;
ASRock Z87 EXTREME6 / AC;
ASUS GRYPHON Z87;
ASUS MAXIMUS VI GENE;
ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO;
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87;
ASUS Z87-A;
ASUS Z87-DELUXE;
ASUS Z87-K;
ASUS Z87M-PLUS;
ASUS Z87-PRO;
Gigabyte G1.Sniper 5;
Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3;
Gigabyte GA-Z87M-HD3;
Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H;
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H;
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC;
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H;
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H;
Intel DZ87KLT-75K;
MSI Z87 MPOWER;
MSI Z87-G41 PC MATE;
MSI Z87-G43;
MSI Z87-G45 Gaming;
MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming;
MSI Z87M-G43.
Features bios.
The BIOS of all modern motherboards is based on the AMI code, so in general their capabilities are very similar, sometimes even the names of the parameters are the same. We have repeatedly studied the possibilities of ASUSTEK BIOS LGA1150 boards, as a whole, they are very close, but differ in particulars. Unfortunately, all BIOS ROG series cards are almost the same. Although there are some additional features Compared to ordinary fees, but by ease of use, it is inferior to them. Already on the first screen it becomes clear that he has the same not too successful structure. Unlike ordinary circuit boards, for the "ROG" series models, the starting page at the entrance to the BIOS does not serve as limited by the capabilities of the "EZ MODE" mode. We immediately find ourselves in the "Extreme Tweaker" section, and the new section "My Favorites" remained aside, before the "Advanced" section, the "Main" section was inappropried, and the places for the "Tools" section in the list were not found at all.
Since in general the possibilities of ASUSTEK BIOS LGA1150 boards are already well known, we will remind them, running through the main sections, but not going too deep into already familiar details. Let's start, of course, from the starting section "Extreme Tweaker", which focuses the bulk of the options intended for configuring and overclocking options. Its tops are informational parameters that report the current characteristics of the mode used. Next, a group of options can be changed to change frequencies and multiplication coefficients, there are a number of parameters that will be useful when overclocking and to enable energy-efficient operation.
Despite the huge length of the "Extreme Tweaker" section, initially you see a far from the full list of parameters, since all of them are automatically set by the board, but as soon as you go to the setup manually, it immediately appears many of the previously hidden options. Part of the parameters is traditionally submitted to individual subsections to excessively not clutch the main. In particular, immediately after information parameters, you can see the new "Overclocking Presets" subsection, with which you can dispersed the system in accordance with the profiles specified manufacturer, increasing the base frequency and the frequency of memory. We have repeatedly seen the subsection "DRAM TIMING CONTROL", which allows you to configure memory delays with convenience. The subsection "GPU.DIMM POST" performs only information functions, it shows which connectors are engaged in memory modules and video cards, as well as their operation mode. You can not get around the large number of options that appeared thanks to the digital power system "Digi +". Directly in the BIOS can be controlled by branded energy-saving technologies, allowing you to change the number of active processor power phases depending on the level of loading it. The technology to counteract the voltage drop on the processor under the load "CPU Load-Line Calibration" can not be easily enabled or disconnected, but also to dose the degree of opposition. The subsection "Tweakers' Paradise" is exclusive for the "ROG" series cards and the usual models are not found. The options in its composition simplify the conquest of high values \u200b\u200bduring acceleration. Asustek's boards have an advantage in the form of numerous options for the "CPU Power Management" subsection. In addition to the usual, available ones of other parameter manufacturers, which allow you to increase the permissible limits of the processor consumption, a number of additional options will be able to speed up the reaction time and reduce energy consumption.
To the ending section "Extreme Tweaker" by parameters that allow voltages, we have no comments. The voltage can be set both higher and below the nominal, and to change the voltage on the processor, you can now choose between three different options. It can be hardly fixed on a specific value, you can only add or remove the required value in the "Offset" mode, and you can use an adaptive (interpolation) option. More about the differences between the three ways to change the voltage on the processor, we have already been told in the review of the ASUS Z87-K card. However, the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme and Asus Maximus VI Gene models initially include the "Fully Manual Mode" parameter, which was not at ASUS Maximus VI Hero - the simplest board of the ROG series. In this case, the possibility of remote control Using the ROG CONNECT technology or the OC Panel command center, but the voltage on the processor can only be fixed, and when this option is disconnected, you can choose between all three options. It is very convenient that the current values \u200b\u200bof many stresses are indicated next to the changing parameters.
However, on this feature of the Extreme Tweaker section, meanwhile, we have not yet found a whole group of very important options manageing processor energy-saving technologies. This is a characteristic drawback not only asustek boards, but also most boards of other manufacturers. The root of the problem lies in AMI BIOS, which underlies the UEFI BIOS of modern boards and in its irrational base layout. Motherboard manufacturers can change the BIOS structure, however, we will see that the "ROG" series models have a very unsuccessful alteration option, which is also inferior to even asus ordinary charges, which is also far from ideal.
To begin with, the general lack of any ASUSTEK boards - the new section "My Favorites" turned out to be Malozamenis and turned out to be as it were. It is intended to collect in one place all the most frequently used parameters. Initially, the section is empty and contains only reference informationexactly how to add or remove options with a mouse or keyboard. It must be said that there are a number of prohibitions to select parameters, and they apply not only to entire sections or subsections, but even on separate parameters that contain the submenu. From the annoying restrictions, the list of options displayed by pressing the "F3" key, which can now be edited, deleting unnecessary and adding the necessary items. So the maximum flexibility can be obtained only from the sharing of the "My Favorites" section and the menu with the most common links, which is not so comfortable as it could be in the absence of restrictions.
In addition, if we spend time to make the "My Favorites" section most conveniently and collect all the parameters you need, it would be logical to assign it as a start, so that it is shown at the entrance to the BIOS. Unfortunately, it is still impossible, ASUSTEK has no choice start page. In this case, the possibility of selecting the starting mode is - ordinary boards are loaded into "EZ MODE", and the "ROG" series cards in Advanced Mode mode. Moreover, usually when switching to an advanced mode, we turn out in the "Main" section, and in this case the starting is the "Extreme Tweaker" section. That is, the ability to select a start page is even at ASUSTEK boards, but for some reason it is still unavailable to users.
Moving further, but between the "Extreme Tweaker" and "Advanced" sections, "the" MAIN "section was not too successfully wedged. It reports basic information about the system, allows you to specify the current date and time, it is possible to change the BIOS interface language, including Russian. In the SECURITY subsection, you can set user and administrator access passwords.
The features of the subsection of the next section "Advanced" allow you to configure the operation of a set of logic and additional controllers, various interfaces, enable specific technologies, such as Intel Rapid Start and Intel Smart Connect. There are no differences from ordinary plates, except that the "Rog Effects" subsection is added, where you can turn off the backlight of the board and the rod of the ROG series logo in the upper left corner of the BIOS. In the subsection "CPU CONFIGURATION" we learn basic information about the processor and manage some processor technologies. We still do not see the parameters related to the processor energy-saving Intel technologies, as they are brought to a separate page "CPU Power Management Configuration". These options have a very significant impact on the power consumption of the system at rest, so it is better to set their values \u200b\u200bmanually, and not to leave at the discretion of the board.
Go to the next section "Monitor", which allows you to control the values \u200b\u200bof temperatures, voltages and the speed of rotation of the fans, all of them are separated by separate subsections. The "Voltage Monitor" page shows the current values \u200b\u200bof multiple voltages, on a half-mounted page for other models, the Temperature Monitor page, we report the temperature of the processor, the PLX hub, system and temperature with three additional sensors if they are connected. The fan speed is displayed on the "Fan Speed \u200b\u200bMonitor" page, and the adjustment of their rotation speed is made on a separate page "Fan Speed \u200b\u200bControl". For all fans, you can select preset speeds for adjusting the number of revolutions from the standard dialing: "Standard", "Silent" or "Turbo", leave the full speed of rotation, or select the appropriate parameters in manual mode. The characteristic disadvantage of most modern motherboards was lost ability to regulate the speed of rotation of three-contact processor fans. Only second processor fans on the ASRock and Gigabyte companies have possess such useful opportunityBut now this function has finally appeared on Asustek boards.
The following follows the "BOOT" section, where we select the parameters that will be used at the start of the system. At the setup time, you can disable the "Fast Boot" parameter so as not to encounter problems when entering the BIOS due to the fact that the board starts very quickly and just do not have time to press the key on time.
That's all. There are no more sections, only the "EXIT" button and a pair of some points are visible. In fact, the "Tools" section is hiding behind the second point, only its name for some reason did not fit the menu. It is not difficult to climb the mouse by the name of the section, and in the tiny point you do not always get the first time. Very uncomfortable! Meanwhile, this section contains extremely important and regularly used subsections - ASUS EZ Flash 2 Utility and ASUS Overclocking Profile. The built-in utility for updating the ASUS EZ Flash 2 firmware is one of the most convenient and functional programs of this kind. As one of the advantages, you can note the reading support from sections formatted in the NTFS system. Such a feature is still possessed by asustek and Intel fees. Unfortunately, the ability to save the current version of the firmware before the update was generally liquidated. The "ASUS OverClocking Profile" subsection allows you to save and quickly download eight full BIOS settings profiles. Each profile can be brief, reminiscent of its contents. Profiles can be exchanged by keeping them on external media. The minus is that the error has not yet been fixed, in which the profiles are not remembered to disable the output of the starting picture.
In addition to the "Tools" section, there is a subsection "ASUS SPD Information", in which you can familiarize yourself with the information that is sewn in SPD memory modules, including XMP profiles (Extreme Memory Profile). The place was very unsuccessful for this subsection, because the memory delays change completely in another subsection, very far from here and enjoy the information provided uncomfortable. There is also a subsection "ROG OC PANEL H-KEY CONFIGURE", in it are saved initial values Frequencies, multiplication and voltage coefficients that can be controlled using the OC Panel command center. The BIOS Flashback subsection appeared to serve two BIOS chips on the board. With it, you can boot from another chip and copy the contents of one chip to another. One of the very interesting innovations was the appearance in the "Tools" section of the "Rog Secure Erase" subsection. As you know, the performance of SSD drives is reduced over time, and using the SECURE ERASE function, sometimes you can return the speed to the initial values, although all the data will be permanently removed. While the list of compatible lists includes a limited number of SSD models, but over time, I want to hope, the number of supported drives will be expanded.
The latter appears the "EXIT" window, where you can apply the changes made, load the default values \u200b\u200bor enter the simplified "EZ MODE" mode. In the center of the right side of the screen, over a constantly resembling a list of hot keys, two buttons are visible - "Quick Note" and "Last Modified". The first allows you to write down and leave some important reminder, and the second outputs the list of recent changes, it is saved even when it is rebooting or turned off the system. You can always watch and remember what changes in bIOS settings The last time was made, and now it is not even necessary to enter the BIOS to do so, since the "Save to USB" button in the Last Modified window allows you to save a list of changes on the outer medium.
Extremely convenient turned out to be similar to "Last Modified" The BIOS Setting Change pop-up window, which automatically shows the list of changes each time the settings are saved. Looking at the list, you can easily monitor the correctness of the specified values \u200b\u200bbefore applying changes, make sure there are no erroneous or forgotten options. In addition, it is easy to find out the differences in current settings from the values \u200b\u200brecorded in BIOS profiles. By downloading the profile, you will instantly see its differences from the previously specified parameters in the "BIOS Setting Change" window that appears.
Unfortunately, compared with the BIOS of ordinary boards of ASUSTEK, BIOS of the ROG cards of the ROG series pleases us only a pair of moments. First, there is no need to waste time and switch from the useless mode "EZ MODE" to the Advanced Mode mode, since we immediately find ourselves in the "Extreme Tweaker" section. In addition, it may be useful new feature Rog Secure Erase. The rest of the BIOS remained the same as the usual plates of Asustek, retaining its dignity and disadvantages. The profiles are not remembered to disconnect the output of the starting picture, the wide use of the "My Favorites" section interferes with serious restrictions on adding parameters and the impossibility of choosing it as a start-up, as, however, and any other partition. The "EPU Power Saving Mode" parameter, which includes branded energy-saving technologies, lost the flexibility of the setting. Previously, it was possible to choose the most appropriate level of economy independently, and now it can only be turned on or off. In addition, grieves a trimmed and uncomfortable menu, which further extended the path to energy-saving parameters and hid the very important and necessary subsections of the "Tools" section.
Configuration of the test system
All experiments were carried out on the test system, including the following set of components:
Motherboard - ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME REV. 1.02 (LGA1150, Intel Z87, version BIOS 1402);
Processor - Intel Core i5-4670K (3.6-3.8 GHz, 4 kernels, Haswell, 22 Nm, 84 W, LGA1150);
Memory - 4 x 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM G.SKILL TRIDENTX F3-2133C9Q-32GTX, (2133 MHz, 9-11-11-31-2N, supply voltage 1.6 V);
Video card - Gigabyte GV-R797OC-3GD ( AMD Radeon. HD 7970, Tahiti, 28 nm, 1000/5500 MHz, 384-bit GDDR5 3072 MB);
Disk subsystem -Crucial M4 SSD (CT256M4SSD2, 256 GB, SATA 6 Gb / s);
Cooling system - Scythe Mugen 3 Revision B (SCMG-3100);
Thermalcase - Arctic MX-2;
Power supply - ENHANCE EPS-1280GA, 800 W;
The case is an open test stand based on the Antec Skeleton housing.
As an operating system used Microsoft Windows. 8.1 ENTERPRISE 64 BIT (Microsoft Windows, Version 6.3, Build 9600), Driver Set for Intel Chipset Device Software Chipset 9.4.0.1027, Driver Video Card - AMD Catalyst 13.9.
Nuances of work and overclocking
Asus Maximus VI Extreme The Asus Maximus VI Extreme The Asus Maximus VI Extreme is familiar with usual and in this case it is amazing that this ordination. Despite the enhanced features, many additional controllers, connections, ports, control elements and LEDs, developers managed to fit everything in standard for form factor ATX dimensions of 305 x 244 mm. Gigabyte fees of about the same class - models G1.Sniper 5 and GA-Z87x-UD7 th - more in width and belong to the E-ATX format, and the MSI Z87 XPower board besides even longer, which calculates it to the factor XL-ATX and even more restricts the ability to use. One can only admire the talent of ASUSTEK engineers who have successfully overcome many problems and solved a whole range of very difficult tasks. However, in the trifles, they sometimes allow flaws and even errors. It is not clear why on ordinary models and boards of the TUF series, additional SATA connectors are conveniently different in color, and they are equally red on the ROG boards? You can first look at the manual before assembly, you can search for small signatures on the board textolite, but the difference in color makes the connection of the drives much more convenient and faster.The ASUS Maximus VI Extreme is equipped with two BIOS chips and it is good from a variety of views. First of all, it is useful in terms of reliability, because when you fail, one microcircuit always remains the opportunity to use another. In addition, it is convenient at the system setting record or when you accelerate when you can quickly switch between different versions of the BIOS. Even after all tests and settings are completed, two chips will be useful for easy switching between different modes of operation. When going to have fun in the resource-sensitive game, you can turn on the BIOS with the maximum acceleration, if you just need to check the mail and read the news, then switch to a microcircuit with economical settings. The same functions performs the profile system, but you need to enter the BIOS, search for the desired profile, press a variety of keys, and when using two microcircuits, the BIOS is enough to press the button once. This is an error - to select an active chip on the board, for some reason the button is used, and not a switch.
Theoretically, everything is thought out - the "BIOS SWITCH" button allows you to choose an active chip, immediately after connecting the power next to it, the LED will light up for orientation. However, the chips are located close to each other, the LEDs are separated, but at first glance it is not immediately possible to determine which chip is active. In addition, with default settings, the board is characterized by fairly high power consumption in the off state. Typically, boards consume about 2 W, sometimes a little more, sometimes less, but the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme model spends as many as 5 W. Fix it is not difficult, enough in the "APM" section of the Advanced section, enable the ERP Ready parameter, and the consumption will decrease and will remain at less than one watt. But in this case, after connecting to the power board, all LEDs light up and immediately go out. And then how to find out what BIOS microcircuit is used? The two-position switch, which, in the presence of a pair of BIOS chip, is used by all other manufacturers of motherboards, does not leave doubt and uniquely determines the active microcircuit. I would like to hope that in the future on the fees of the company Asustek, the BIOS Switch button will be replaced with a switch.
When starting the ASUSTEK fee, you show the boot picture on which it is prompted to enter the BIOS by pressing the "Del" or "F2" keys. However, that's standard featuresnot requiring reminders, and the remaining keys, customized for different manufacturerstraditionally forgotten. For example, to display a menu that allows you to select the starting device for an extraordinary load, the ASUS board use the "F8" key. Information about this is in the manual, but the tip would be more appropriate and would be very useful at the start of the board, just for some reason it is still not.
But the ASUSTEK motherboard models, which relate to the "ROG" series, unlike the TUF series boards and from ordinary ASUS boards, are able to correctly determine not only the nominal, but also the real frequency of the processor. Is it really difficult for developers in one company? Why is it not possible to provide normal functionality of starting information for any models, for all series of system boards?
Modern motherboards start very quickly, but this dignity of Asustek's boards has become another drawback. Only when you first start, this starter speed is used that the user remains the opportunity to enter the BIOS, but all subsequent reboots occur so quickly that it is already very difficult to do and it is not far from the first attempt. You can use the "DirectKey" button, but it is not too convenient, because instead of a reboot, with the subsequent immediate input in the BIOS, it turns off the system first, after which it must be turned on again and only then "automatically" will be in the BIOS. Instead of a button, you can use the "ASUS Boot Setting" utility, there is no such remarks to the functionality, but the program you need to pre-install, in addition, it will only suit users of Microsoft Windows operating systems. Usually, we recommend to disable the "BOOT" in the "Boot" section in the "Boot" section, which works by default to save yourself from unnecessary difficulties with the entrance to the BIOS. In addition to the "Fast Boot" switch listed on the Asus Maximus VI Extreme board, which allows you to disable the accelerated load before entering the BIOS.
Previously, Asustek fees even have been completed with a separate manual for the features of the work of the Fast Boot technology. Then, on some models, the "DirectKey" buttons appeared on the possibility of entering the BIOS, then they were complemented by "Drct Connector" contacts, so that the button can be displayed to the front panel of the system unit. Now the Fast Boot switch has been added. So much effort to save users from unnecessary problems, so much costs ... persistence is far from always being a dignity. It would be possible to simply disable the boot acceleration technology so that the user can independently enable it only when it is necessary. So done by all other manufacturers of motherboards, but in Asustek, they continue to fight independently created by difficulties.
Immediately after loading the operating system, it was found that the nominal mode of operation of the processor was not respected. At any load level, its multiplication factor has increased to the maximum possible value, initially provided by the "Intel Turbo Boost" technology only for single-threaded load, and the "ASUS MultiCement" function has not helped. Earlier we lost a lot of time, dealing with the same lack of ASUS Maximus VI Hero fee, so this time coped quickly. Initially, the BIOS for the "CPU Core Ratio" parameter is set to "Sync All Cores". It is necessary to change it to AUTO and only then the processor behavior will return to normal.
But in this case, the disadvantage of Asustek's ordinary fees and models of the "TUF" series will begin to appear - the work of the Intel Turbo Boost technology will violate. At high loads, the processor multiplication coefficient will cease to increase and will be discharged to nominal. To correct this error, you should increase the allowable limits of the processor consumption in the "CPU Power Management" subsection.
In addition to the "Asus MultiCore Enhancement" function, to improve performance, the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme allows you to use overclocking profiles in the Overclocking Presets subsection or the "CPU LEVEL UP" parameter. However, any automatic overclocking technologies are imperfect. When selecting the optimal values \u200b\u200bof the parameters manually, you can always achieve a higher or more economical result.
The most rational is the acceleration of the processor without increasing the voltage on it, but on the ASUS board it is impossible to simply increase the processor multiplication ratio and nothing else to change. In this case, the voltage on the processor kernels will automatically increase the board, and the voltage converter integrated into the processor will immediately detect the increase and independently will begin to lower the voltage under load. All this, most likely, will lead to overheating and accurately to useless waste of energy and no energy-efficient overclocking with us. To avoid automatic raising voltage of the board when overclocking the processor, you must translate the "CPU Core Voltage" parameter in manual modebut nothing else to touch anything. In this case, the voltage does not increase the board, and therefore does not overestimate and integrated into the Haswell processors by the converter. Just in case, you can still disable the technology to counteract the voltage drop on the processor under the load "CPU Load-Line Calibration" and the "Internal Pll Overvoltage" parameter. They may only be needed with very high acceleration, and when ordinary is not needed.
Only acceleration without increasing the voltage can be energy efficient. It will noticeably increase productivity, accelerate the calculations and at the same time the total energy costs, despite the growth of power consumption per unit of time, will even be reduced, because due to the acceleration of the calculations, the amount of electrical energy required for the same amount of calculations will decrease. Only such overclocking will minimally affect the pollution of the environment, will not have a negative impact on the environment, which has long been convincingly proven in the article " Energy consumption of overclocked processors" However, during the tests of motherboards, we have a different task. It is necessary to ensure the maximum possible and most diverse load, check the fees when working in various modes, which is why we use a non-optimal way of overclocking, and one that allows you to achieve the highest results. For the tests of motherboards, the higher the frequency and voltage, the better, then the greater the load on the fee. Only when working in extreme, close-to-limit conditions, it is possible to identify problems, detect errors and flaws.
Earlier, we have always increased the voltage in the "Offset" mode, plus for LGA1150 processors became available similar on the principle of action adaptive or interpolation mode, however, for Haswell processors, both options were unacceptable. As you already know, when adding any, even the smallest value to normal voltage, integrated into these processors, the stabilizer immediately notices the changes and when the load appears, it starts to increase even more voltage. All this naturally leads to an increase in heat dissipation, temperature, and as a result, this method of acceleration turns out to be inapplicable due to overheating. To avoid this negative effect, you have to accelerate the Haswell processors with constant, unchanged and fixed voltage.
The acceleration parameters have already been tested at several dozen motherboards have already been tested, we have successfully downloaded Windows, but were extremely surprised by the very high power consumption of the system alone - 66 W. Earlier, we said that the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme model is unique with its ability to disconnect the PLX PEX 8747 concentrator if it is not used. As well as on all other LGA1150-cards, with default settings, energy-saving technologies are not fully functional, if they are turned on manually, what we always do, the system consumption in the absence of a load will be only 46 W. When you accelerate, we expected to see the same figure, would not be surprised and the value of 47 W, just one watt, but about 70 is a bust. Returning to the BIOS, we easily found an explanation of the excessive power consumption of the system, since the most economical, the deepest energy saving modes were not simply disabled, but generally not available.
It is very strange, because we first manually included all these parameters to achieve minimal power consumption, but the board independently turned off and did inaccessible. An extremely unpleasant symptom, previously only the fees of Micro-Star caused strong irritation by their self-government - when changing some BIOS parameters, completely different varied spontaneously. To today, MSI payments were to get rid of this shortage, models of other producers he met rather rarely and is very sorry that we had to find it at ASUSTEK.
Experiments have shown that energy saving is disabled even when we do not accelerate the processor, but only turn on the profile "x.m.p." For memory modules. But this is a consequence, and the reason was the initially included parameter "FULLY MANUAL MODE". Recall that when it is turned on, it is possible to remotely manage the system using the "ROG CONNECT" technology or the OC Panel command center, but the voltage on the processor can only be recorded, and when this option is disconnected, you can choose between different voltage change options. It must be said that earlier we have already met the "Fully Manual Mode" parameter in the ASUS Maximus VI Gene BIOS. We tried to overclock the processor when working this function and after it is turned off, but did not notice any difference. However, it is easy to assume that we only checked the very possibility and stability of overclocking, but did not pay attention to increased power consumption, and the final check was performed when the "Fully Manual Mode" parameter is disabled when consumption is in normal framework.
Thanks to two BIOS chips on the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme board, you managed to make sure that the spontaneous shutdown of energy-saving modes is not an unnoticed error in the most recent firmware. This is abnormally, but such behavior of the board, apparently, is considered permissible, it repeatedly and when using a much older version of the BIOS. It's very sorry, because it turns out that the utility of the OC Panel command center is significantly lower than expected. It will come in handy only for short-term experiments on the installation of overclocking records, but will be harmful in everyday work, significantly increasing the power consumption of the system.
The inclusion or disabling the "Fully Manual Mode" parameter does not affect the overclocking results, its functionality only allows you to remotely control the system using the "ROG CONNECT" technology or the OC Panel command center, but it excessively increases energy consumption. Therefore, we disconnected this parameter, after which the processor was successfully overclocked up to 4.5 GHz when fixing the voltage on the kernels at the level of 1.150 V with simultaneous use for the parameter memory modules recorded in the "x.m.p." profile.
Of course, during acceleration with the fixation of the voltage on processor nuclei, the energy-saving technologies are partially stopped, the processor multiplication coefficient is falling, but the voltage is no longer reduced and remains unnecessary. We have to calm ourselves that it is not for long, only as needed and only for test time and, moreover, it almost does not affect the energy consumption of the system alone.
By the way, earlier we published an article " LGA1150 processors Haswell - proper work In normal mode and acceleration methods" This material is intended to explain the new users of the LGA1150 platform basic principles for the selection of optimal parameters to work in nominal mode and for overclocking Haswell processors on motherboards of various manufacturers. There you will find illustrated recommendations on the inclusion of Intel energy-saving technologies and increasing the permissible limits of processor consumption, how to overclock them with an increase in the voltage on the kernels without that.
Comparison of productivity
We are traditionally carrying out a comparison of motherboards in two modes: when the system works in nominal conditions, as well as when overclocking the processor and memory. The first option is interesting from the point of view, which allows you to find out how well motherboards work with default parameters. It is known that much of the users is not engaged thin set Systems, they are only installed in the BIOS standard values \u200b\u200bof parameters that are not optimal, and nothing else change. So we conducted a check, usually almost in no way intervening in the default settings specified by default. Unfortunately, for most LGA1150 boards, this test version turned out to be unbearable, because for many models it was required that or another correction of values. As a result, we were forced to publish a long list of changes made by us in the settings of certain models, and the meaning of testing in this mode was lost. Instead of seeing which card indicators will provide the default settings, we demonstrated almost the same results of our correction.In the new series of LGA1150 boards reviews, we decided to return the informative tests with standard settings. We do not change anything else and do not adjust anything. What parameter values \u200b\u200bboard installs with default settings, with those it is tested, even if they differ significantly from the nominal. The exception was made only for the Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3 model, which in addition to the standard mode was further tested when the integrated schedule is disconnected, and the results obtained are indicated in the "GFX OFF" diagrams. At the same time, it is necessary to understand that it is very bad when some kind of model is slower than everyone else, but it is not equally suitable if the board is faster than all rivals. In this case, this does not mean that it is better than others, but means only the fact that the standard mode of operation is not respected. Only medium, close to most results are permissible and desirable, since it is well known that the relative models for work in equal conditions demonstrate almost the same level of speed. In this regard, we even thought to abandon the designation of the best results in diagrams, but then left traditional sorting as productivity decreases, and the indicators of the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme model for clarity are highlighted in color.
In the test for measuring the speed of photorealistic three-dimensional rendering Cinebench 15, we are five times spending processor tests and average the results obtained.
The Fritz Chess Benchmark utility is used in tests for a long time and has proven itself well. It gives well repetitive results, performance is well scaled depending on the number of computing streams used.
Test X264 FHD Benchmark v1.0.1 (64bit) allows you to evaluate the system performance in video coding speeds compared to the results available in the database. The original version of the program with the Version version R2106 allows you to apply the AVX processor instructions for encoding, we replaced the executable libraries to the R2334 version to be able to use the new AVX2 instructions that appear in Haswell processors. The average results of five passes are presented in the diagram.
Performance measurement B. Adobe Photoshop. CC We carry out using your own test, which is a creative recycled Retouch Artists Photoshop Speed \u200b\u200bTest, which includes typical processing of four 24 megapixel images made by a digital camera.
The processor performance during cryptographic load is measured by the built-in test of the popular TrueCrypt utility using the "Triple" encryption of AES-TWOFISH-Serpent with a buffer size of 500 MB. It should be noted that this program is not only able to effectively download work any number of cores, but also supports the specialized set of AES instructions.
Computer game Metro: Last Light is very beautiful, but strongly depends on the performance of the video card. We had to use the medium quality settings "Medium Quality" to save playability while resolving the screen 1920x1080. The diagram presents the results of the five-time passage of the built-in test.
F1 2013 races are much less demanding of the computer's graphics subsystem. With a resolution of 1920x1080, we have set all the settings to the maximum by selecting the Ultra High Quality mode, and additionally included all available image quality improvement features. The integrated test is carried out five times, and the results are averaged.
In most tests, all types of the ROG series ASUSTEK, including, of course, and ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME, are noticeably ahead of their rivals - it definitely suggests that the nominal mode of operation of the system is not respected, these boards are overestimated processor frequency 200 MHz with multi-threaded loads. It is extremely important to note that when the parameters change the full-time rules of operation of the Intel Turbo Boost technology in the BIOS of most other models, you can get exactly the same results, and the options of the option "K OC" on the Gigabyte boards allow you to achieve even higher indicators in separate tests. Launch the same mode of operation on other boards, if necessary, it is very simple, but with the disconnection of it on the "ROG" series models, there may be serious difficulties, and therefore such a behavior of the boards have to be considered as a particularly unpleasant drawback.
Now let's see which results will demonstrate the systems while increasing the frequencies of the processor and memory. The same indicators were achieved on all boards - the processor was overclocked to a frequency of 4.5 GHz when fixing the voltage on the kernels at the level of 1,150 V, and the frequency of memory is raised to 2133 MHz during the timings of 9-11-11-31-2N according to the "XMP" " It is only necessary to clarify that the Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3 fee worked not enough in these conditions, and the Gigabyte GA-Z87M-HD3 model turned out to be in generally inoperative with such settings.
When overclocking the processor and increasing the frequency of memory, the performance of motherboards was almost the same, which should be expected. It is a pity that we have not seen a similar situation when comparing boards with standard settings. Depending on the test application, the boards are periodically changed by places, but the difference in speed is small, only the Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H model is probably due to an error in the firmware failed in both game tests. It may seem that the results of the Asus Maximus VI Extreme board are not very good when overclocking, because mostly the results are medium, and in the pair of tests, the fee is even in the lower part of the charts. The impression is deceptive, most often the difference compared to other models is small, so the level of productivity of the board during acceleration is normal and does not cause complaints.
Measurement of power consumption
Measuring the power consumption of systems when working in nominal mode and during overclocking is carried out using the EXTECH POWER ANALYZER 380803. The device is turned on in front of the computer power supply, that is, measures the consumption of the entire system "from the outlet" system, with the exception of the monitor, but including losses in the power supply itself. When measuring consumption, the system is inactive, we are waiting for a complete cessation of post-leader and lack of contacts to the drive. As in performance tests, a special additional mode of checking the GIGABYTE GA-Z87-HD3 card with disabled integrated graphics is still indicated by "GFX OFF". The results in diagrams are sorted as consumption growth, the indicators of the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme model for clarity are highlighted in color.
Thanks to a unique ability to disconnect the PLX PEX 8747 concentrator when it is not used, the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme Would look advantageously compared to other similar models. But the fee is complex, the number of additional controllers is large enough, more than any other of the compaable boards, and therefore its power consumption is at rest with the default settings as much as possible.
It must be said that with all its shortcomings, Haswell processors have indisputable dignity in the form of lower power consumption at rest compared with the LGA1155 processors. Unfortunately, working with nominal settings fees do not give us the opportunity to see it, and therefore we added another additional chart with the mode we called "ECO". This is the same regular mode of operation that is provided with default settings, we only manually changed to the BIOS with "AUTO" to "Enabled" the values \u200b\u200bof all the parameters in the processor energy-saving technologies.
The difference was significant, the results improved, the consumption of systems was noticeably decreased, and the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme board, although consumes the energy above the average level, was even more economical than most Gigabyte boards. In part, it is certainly achieving Asustek, but in a large extent this failure of Gigabyte, the LGA1150 boards of which due to a long time and not correcting errors in firmware look frankly non-competitive compared to the models of other manufacturers.
Just in case we recall that in test systems, we install the AMD Radeon HD 7970 discrete video card, but if it is abandoned and proceed to use the use of integrated processors graphic core, the total consumption of ordinary systems may fall even below 30 W. The cost-effectiveness of Haswell processors alone is very impressive and looks tempting, but it is a pity that the default motherboards do not give us the opportunity to enjoy this dignity, manual correction of the BIOS parameters is required.
To create a load on the Haswell processor, we returned to the "LINX" utility, which is a graphic shell to the Intel Linpack test, and the modification of the program version 0.6.4 uses for calculations of the AVX instruction. This program provides a load much higher typical, but when used, we additionally do not heal the processor with a hot air flow or an open flame. If one program may be more than usual to load work and heat the processor, it is possible that the other can also be. That is why we check the stability of the disinterested system, as well as create a load on the processor during the measurements of power consumption using the LINX utility.
The chart clearly shows that with the default settings, none of the LGA1150 boards of ASUSTEK can provide a standard system operation mode. The usual models and cards of the TUF series drop the frequency of the processor at high loads, which is consumed less, but also work slowly, and the ROG series boards are overestimated, so they are walked. Just shame and shame for such a well-known company.
The numbers were large, but it is still close to the maximum achievable indicators, the result of the work of a special program. To evaluate a more typical level of energy consumption, we have measured during system performance tests using the Fritz program. It must be said that it almost does not matter exactly which utility is used as a load. Almost any ordinary program capable of fully downloaded all four cores of the processor, will show very close or even exactly the same results. So do not fear the high levels of power consumption obtained using the LINX utility using the AVX instruction. In fact, the typical energy consumption of ordinary systems at full loading of the processor cores will be in the region of 100 W, and for individual particularly economical models, even noticeably below. However, the "ROG" series of the ASUSTEK series does not apply, all of them, including the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme model, continue to pay increased consumption for choosing a non-standard operation mode.
Let's remember that the ROG series boards due to overestimation of the processor frequency not only consume more than others, they are also noticeably ahead of all other models in most performance tests. It can be assumed that the increase in consumption is compensated by increased speed, but our measurements show that it is not. Depending on the nature of the load, the figures will change, but on average, the increase in processor frequency of 200 MHz gives a five percent increase in speed. Somewhere superiority will be slightly more, somewhere less noticeable, but for computing tasks it is about 5%. At the same time, energy consumption increases at once 13-14% - two or three times more. Boards independently increase the frequency, but we know that any automatic acceleration is ineffective. To ensure the stability of work in non-standard modes, manufacturers are reinsured by lifting the frequency below, and the voltage is higher than necessary in many cases. If you want productive overclocking - select the optimal parameters optimal for your system, and the use of non-standard modes of the ROG series payments is not advantage and not even a feature, but a disadvantage, useless waste of energy.
It is necessary to add again that for the summary estimate of the level consumed by the energy system, it is necessary to load the video card, and the final result will depend on its power. In power consumption tests, we use only a processor load, but if you measure the energy consumption during the operation of the AMD Radeon HD 7970 discrete video card in the games, the total power consumption of the ordinary system will significantly exceed 200 W, approaching 250 W when working in the nominal mode and exceeding this value when overclocking .
Now we estimate the power consumption during the acceleration of systems and the absence of a load.
Even when overclocking, we will always fully use all the processor energy-saving technologies, and therefore the arrangement remains about the same as it was with the "ECO" settings when working in the nominal mode. There are seven economy models, four demonstrate the average power consumption and their number includes the Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3 card when the built-in graphics is disconnected. Because of its complexity, the ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME board consumes above the average, but with the usual settings, any Gigabyte fees spend electricity much more. The Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC model has become the first LGA1150-card, the power consumption of which when accelerated turned out to be higher than it was in the nominal mode. Later, Gigabyte GA-Z87M-HD3 was joined by her sad company, and it was even further a full-size specialized model for overclocking. Now we have a new antiger waste - the Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3 board.
When overclocking and appearing the load, the power consumption of any overclocked systems, not only Gigabyte, is incomparably more than in the nominal mode of operation. It affects both frequency growth and raising voltages. At high loads, the power consumption of the ASUSTEK and Micro-Star companies comes closer, but all Gigabyte models are noticeably wasteful than the rest.
From the Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H board review We know that Gigabyte's BIOS creates a mistake associated with the work of energy-saving technologies. Because of this fee look much worse than they deserve, and on their background, the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme model looks great.
Afterword
According to the results of the reviews of motherboards, we put them with a five-point scale. In explicit form, they do not appear in articles, but serve for the convenience of presenting results in search engines. To whom four, to whom three, to whom two points, and the maximum is the estimate of four and a half, only because there are no ideal five-point boards. The Asus Maximus VI Extreme motherboard with a margin receives its 4.5 points, I would very much like to put more, but individual flaws do not allow. First of all, it is a standard set of small minuses characteristic of ASUSTEK cards: the default boot acceleration technology, the lack of tips on the starting screen, which is not memorable in profiles to its disconnection, inconvenient BIOS structure. In addition, did not like the use of the button to select the BIOS active chip instead of the switch. However, these and other small deficiencies are not too serious, but the spontaneous shutdown of the board of energy-saving technologies is extremely upset. The self-government of motherboards in itself is very unpleasant, but fortunately, it is still less common, and we absolutely did not expect such a trick from Asustek's fee. In addition, because of this, one of the unique features of the board is the command center "OC Panel" - it turned out to be even less useful than expected.At the same time, it is impossible not to note the many advantages of the board, and one of the most pleasant and exactly the most unexpected - the ability to disconnect the PLX PEX 8747 hub, if not used. Similarly, we have not seen any other board, as well as such a variety of selection of modes when collaborating video cards. Unfortunately, these advantages are not covered by the manufacturer and are not advertised, on the contrary, in technical specifications not all allowable modes are indicated, which is why the number of buyers of this model is clearly less than it could be. Of course, this model is not for everyone, it suggests the user with the desire to carry out experiments, fully reveals its capabilities when using multiple video cards and sets of drives, among which may be SSD in a new format M.2 (NGFF). There are quite a few laptops that use such storage devices, but compatible desktop models of units. The board is equipped with almost all modern interfaces, including initially equipped with a Wi-Fi / Bluetooth card providing high-speed wireless connection. It does not exist that the support of Thunderbolt technology, but if you wish, you can purchase an ASUS Thunderboltex II expansion card that will add it. In addition, it should be remembered that the fee requires sufficient financial security from its buyer.
ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME is a typical model of the Republic Of Gamers series, it has a lot of redundant for most opportunities, various functions that are infrequently or will never even be in demand. With all this, the fee does not cause irritation, on the contrary, it is very interesting to deal with its abilities and features. It is very good that the potential of ASUSTEK allows it to develop and produce such exclusive models. It is clear that they will not use high demand, but how many pleasures will get those few, to whom this fee is really necessary or those who just want to acquire it and has such an opportunity. Is it possible to measure positive emotions? They are priceless.
With the release of a new desktop platform IntelManufacturers of motherboards have seriously updated their range of devices by offering a wide variety of processors with the 4th generation Intel Core architecture. Symbolically viewing models for Haswell chips We start with the flagship of the Republic Of Gamers series - ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME.
ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME Based on the Intel Z87 chipset and is the top model in the range of iconic products Republic of Gamers.. It is curious that the board is made in the classic ATX form factor, while the predecessor was offered in Extended ATX format. More compact dimensions expand the potential circle of housings in which you can collect the system with an extreme motherboard.
Becoming more compact, the fee did not lose its overclocking grip. Power subsystem EXTREME ENGINE DIGI + III Made from 10-phase diagram (8 + 2). At the same time, it includes energy-efficient NextFet assemblies, special blackwing chokes, capable of working with currents up to 60 A, as well as resistant Japanese Capacitors Black Metallic, having an increased lifetime.
The board is equipped with four slots for memory modules, allowing to increase the total RAM volume up to 32 GB. At the same time, the wiring for the DIMM connector was performed on the so-called T-topology of the 2nd generation, which, according to the manufacturer, allows you to achieve the operation of modules at higher clock frequencies.
From the nuances, we note that the connectors have one-sided fixation, which becomes an important trifle, given the large number of full-length expansion slots.
To connect additional power on the board there is a pair of EATX12V connectors. One eight-contact and one four-pin.
The cooling system of the elements of the power stabilizer is sufficiently dimensional. Large radiators cover the MOSFET assembly, as well as with a heat tube are associated with another cooler in the central part of the board. The PLX8747 microcircuit is located under it, also requires additional heat removal. Looking in advance, we note that large-scale chiller dimensions give their own result. After the maximum acceleration of the processor with an air cooler under the load, MOSFET radiators under an open bench was heated only to 43-45 degrees.
This design literally slides the processor connector, because when choosing a cooler, you need to consider the dimensions of the available platform for using mounting plates. Pressure plan for fixing the thermalright archon rev.a radiator unit In this case, it was installed literally to finish with the VRM coolers and the PLC chip.
Intel Z87 chipset is expected next to SATA connector and covered with an overall aluminum radiator, eliminating the overheating of the chip.
Some of the power elements placed on the reverse side of the PCB are covered with aluminum plates. At the same time, for fixing radiators, as in all other cases, the screw mount is used.
Configuration of expansion slots is expected to pay such a level. The PCB contains five full-length PCI Express X16 connectors, as well as one PCI Expess X4. Of course, the board allows you to create multidapper configurations, and at the same time you can use up to four video cards with chips from NVIDIA or AMD.
When installing multiple adapters, the manufacturer recommends connecting additional power to exclude voltage prepared bus. To do this, the EZ-PLUG six-contact connector is provided on the board.
During serious experiments with multiple video cards, a DIP switch can be useful, which allows you to disconnect full-format slots. In this case, you will not need to retrieve the adapters themselves.
Maximus VI Extreme is literally sleeping with various devices facilitating the life of enthusiastic enthusiasts. The on and reset buttons of the system are perceived already as proper. Memok button! To streamline the memory timings, also became a frequent satellite of ASUS boards. The Probeit contact group allows you to call those you are interested in using a multimeter, while the user is available enough wide selection key nodes.
The board contains two BIOS chips. At the same time, a separate button placed in the PCB angle is used to switch between them. Despite duplication, the chips themselves are placed in removable panels. Given the likely scenarios of the use of the board, such a precaution does not seem too much.
The features of the model also carry out the presence of the TB-HEADER connector required to connect an external ThunderBolt controller from ASUS. The DirectKey button allows you to be guaranteed when loading to get into the UEFI shell, bypassing the hated procedure of repeatedly pressing the DEL key after POST pass. The FastBoot activating the FastBoot function will speed up the system loading, excluding some steps.
The Q-Code segment indicator will help navigate in a situation if any difficulties have arisen at the system loading stage.
For connecting fans, eight four-pin connectors are provided on the board. Couple for processor cooler, as well as six cabinets. At the same time, there are connectors for connecting thermal sensors, which can be taken into account when adjusting the revolutions of the connected fans. Unfortunately, the thermocouples themselves are not included.
One of the most interesting options for Maximus VI Extreme fee is an external module. Oc Panel.Equipped with a screen and set of control keys. With it, you can monitor various system indicators, including processor temperature, fan speed, system bus frequency, multiplier, supply voltage of various blocks, as well as manage many of these parameters. To connect the block, you will need to connect a special interface cable, as well as the SATA device power cable.
It is noteworthy that OC Panel can be used not only on an open bench, as often happens with various additional equipment for overclocking. In this case, the module can be placed in a 5.25-inch compartment of the housing, after installing in a complete bracket.
Having an obvious overclocking orientation, the fee did not at the disposal of ASUS SUPREMEFX, but in this case the new REALTEK ALC1150 codec is applied, with improved technical characteristicsTherefore, the sound quality is here at the proper level.
Network Ethernet interface is organized using an Intel gigabit controller. But for wireless networks uses a discrete module mPCIE COMBO II.having a two-band controller Wi-Fi with protocol support up to 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. In addition, the board contains the Socket M2 connector designed to connect miniature solid-state drives new NGFF format. Such devices have not yet been widespread, because it raised the future rather. Note that when installing a portable SSD, one of the SATA ports will be unavailable, although it is not necessary to complain about the total number of channels of this interface in this case.
The disk subsystem may include up to 10 drives. This number of serial ATA ports are placed at the edge of the printed circuit board. Six channels provide Intel Z87 chipset, four more are available thanks to the pair of controllers from Asmedia. Note that in this case we are talking about links with a bandwidth of 6 GB / C, excluding speed loss when connecting the most high-speed drives. The activity of disks reports the LED located next to the connectors, which is convenient when working on an open bench.
The interface cardboard panel is well equipped. Here there is a CMOS-memory cleaning button, as well as the ROG CONNECT function activation key to control the platform from another PC. To connect the periphery, six USB 3.0 ports and USB 2.0 pair are provided. Also on the panel there is an Ethernet socket and two digital video outputs HDMI and DisplayPort. There was a place for the combined PS / 2 connector. For connecting acoustics, six audio connectors and digital Optical output S / PDIF are offered.
The fee is pleasantly surprised by an expanded set of accessories. The delivery includes a detailed guide and drivers with drivers, ten Serial ATA interface cables, a CONNECT cable, Q-Connector adapter, a plug on the housing wall, Crossfire and SLI bridges, and adapters for combining three and four video cards with NVIDIA chips.
The kit also includes the MPCIE Combo II module, an external antenna for enhancing the wireless network signal, the OC Panel unit, as well as an interface cable for connecting it and a bracket to install in the case compartment. From useful trifles, we note the set of stickers for interface connectors and a magnet with a logo of a series of gaming devices.
In work
ASUS motherboards based on the Intel 8 series chipsets received an updated graphic shell of the UEFI. Fortunately, conceptually she has not changed much, because previous version It was quite successful, and it's always not easy to improve something good. However, the developers coped with the task.
Of the interesting options that appeared, we note a convenient way to install time and date. We also welcome the appearance of the MY FAVORITES partition, in which you can collect the most frequently used options. Moreover, the transfer of the desired parameters is carried out very easily. Enough to choose the desired item, click right button Mouse and confirm your choice. It is useful to make brief records for reminders, as well as access to the magazine made changes, which can be useful during the consistent system setting.
In general, the number of available settings will satisfy the requests of the most sophisticated enthusiasts and can even join the novice users, but the EZ MODE is provided for the latter with basic functionality.
It is thoroughly upgraded by the proprietary application AI Suite 3.allowing you to configure various parameters of the platform from the operating system. The new utility not only looks more holistic, but also allows you to adjust more parameters than before.
Acceleration
Exploring the potential of the test instance of the Core i7-4770K processor, after increasing the supply voltage to 1.23 V, the clock frequency of the chip was to raise up to 4500 MHz, and, given the raising factors, which the Haswell processors were launched, such a final figure can be obtained in several ways.
Of course, overclocking with an air cooler for this platform is only the beginning. Features of the fees are limited only by the efficiency of the cooling system.
With the proper level of training and good reserve of liquid nitrogen this model allows you to close to 7 gigarents, witnessed what we have become during the official Computex 2013..
RESULTS
ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME Confirms the status of the maternal line flagship for the new Intel platform. The top model ASUS, in addition to good equipments, has a wonderful set of tools for overclocking. In this case, the OC Panel module supplied in the kit will facilitate the system setting both on an open stand and after assembling the PC in the case. The expected price of $ 440 automatically determines the device to the category "Not for All". This is a charged model for the installation of world overclocker records. Given the very recent announcement of the new platform and processors with the Haswell architecture, there is still something to strive for and where to turn around.
Liked
Expanded functionality
Excellent equipment
OC PANEL module
MPCIE COMBO II C controller Wi-Fi 802.11ac