ASUS Maximus VI Impact Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅06-09-13
Closer Look

This motherboard is of course designed to work with Intel’s 4th Generation of processors – Haswell. The socket is LGA1150 but has the mounting holes for LGA115X so if you have a cooler that has been used on another socket such as LGA1155 then it will work fine here too. ASUS have actually included dual fan headers for the CPU cooler just behind the top heatsink which we are pleased to see.

Just like its counterparts within the ROG series, Impact utilises Extreme Engine Digi+ III which include a selection of exclusive hardware upgrades used throughout the motherboard. The MOSFETS are NexFET handle up to 90% efficiency under normal load and offer enhanced stability compared to standard MOSFETs, and at half the size which is rather impressive. The other components that make an appearance are the BlackWing chokes which have been given some gold 'bling' – these chokes can sustain 60A per unit and up to 125C. Japanese 10K black solid CAPs are used throughout the motherboard for long-life and are generally able to tolerate higher temperatures compared to standard solid CAPs.

The CPU chokes/phases have been placed on a secondary PCB which vertically extends and carries with it a unique heatsink. ASUS term this “Impact Power” and is an innovative way of freeing up valuable space on the motherboard whilst still retaining substantial power delivery.


The socket area for Impact



Secondary PCB and unique heatsink design


ASUS have given Impact just two memory slots due to limited space on the motherboard. Most system builders tend to only use a single memory kit for this platform anyway so there is no real constraint as such. Impact supports dual channel DDR3 – up to 16GB and Intel XMP. The following frequencies are supported too:
3000(O.C.)/2933(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2600(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)
2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333


There are a number of other features nearby too. The Eagle eyed amongst you will notice that EPS CPU power socket sits beside the 24-pin ATX power due to the space restriction around the socket. Further along the edge of the motherboard there are also onboard power and reset buttons and a native USB 3.0 port.

Directly above the memory slots are four SATA 3.0 (6GB/s) ports for storage functionality.


Plenty of features even for such a condensed motherboard


At the bottom of Impact there is a single PCI-E slot which supports PCI-E 3.0/2.0 @ x16. Directly above this is the heatsink covering the Intel Z87 chip.

Touted as the two integral features on our motherboard are the mPCIe Combo II and SupremeFX Impact. The combo card brings extended functionality for WiFi, Bluetooth and even M.2 SSD. This is what ASUS have to say about it:

The next evolution of the mPCIe Combo card gives you even better expandability with the latest standards in connectivity and easy install. You get mini PCI Express 2.0 plus USB 2.0 with an included dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 module, powered by ASUS-exclusive Wi-Fi GO! Remote and Wi-Fi Engine, which maximize performance for better experiences. It’s an instant upgrade to the fastest wireless right on your desktop. All without having to sacrifice a PCI Express slot!

The compact but versatile mPCIe Combo II further future-proofs your build with M.2 (NGFF, Next Generation Form Factor) connectivity for SSDs. M.2 is a fast and power-efficient standard that aims to replace mPCIe and mSATA, designed to optimize SSD performance. mPCIe Combo II works with your high speed M.2 SSDs and makes the most of their potential, helping you reduce load times to run your OS and games even faster.



WiFi and Bluetooth ready via mPCIe Combo II


Turning our attention to the rear IO ports we have numerous ports and buttons available. These consist of the following:

• 1 x DisplayPort
• 1 x HDMI
• 1 x eSATA
• 1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
• 4 x USB 3.0 (blue)
• 4 x USB 2.0
• 1 x Optical S/PDIF out
• 3 x Audio jack(s)
• 1 x Clear CMOS button(s)
• 1 x ROG Connect On/ Off switch(es)
• 1 x Q-Code LED
• 1 x DirectKey button
• 1 x MemOK! Button


Our motherboard has a section called “Impact Control” this plug-in PCB features an LED diagnostic panel, MemOK! Direct Key, Clear CMOS and ROG Connect. Some of these features would usually be found in various regions on the motherboard but since Impact is tight for space, by ASUS attaching them to the rear IO this is rather inventive.

The high-quality audio is delivered via SupremeFX Impact. This brings 115dB signal-to-noise ratio, premium ENLA audio capacitors which are Japanese-made and assist with providing excellent clarity and fidelity.


The rear IO panel is packed with features


15 pages « 3 4 5 6 > »

Comments