Impact Power II delivery
Impact is designed to work with Intel’s 4th/5th 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. Unlike the previous generation Impact, there is just one designated CPU fan header.
As is customary for the ROG series of motherboards there is an all-digital design for the power delivery and exclusive high-end components used throughout the motherboard. The MOSFETS are NexFET and can 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 II” and is an innovative way of freeing up valuable space on the motherboard whilst still retaining substantial power delivery.
DDR3 support with surrounding features
ASUS has given Impact just two memory slots due to limited space on the motherboard. Most system builders tend to only use a single dual-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:
3200(O.C.) / 3100(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) /
2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) /
1600 / 1333 MHz
There are a number of other features nearby too. The 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.
A single PCI express slot
Option to add in WiFi functionality
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 Z97 chip.
Touted as the two integral features on our motherboard are the mPCIe Combo IV and SupremeFX Impact II. The combo card brings extended functionality for WiFi, Bluetooth and even M.2 SSD. This is what ASUS have to say about it:
Maximus VII Impact's upgraded mPCIe Combo IV + 802.11ac / Bluetooth 4.0 module delivers the latest connectivity, with mini PCI Express (mPCIe) on one side and PCI Express 3.0 x4 M.2 socket on the other for direct-from-processor transfer speeds of up to 32Gbit/s — that's over six times (6X) faster than traditional PCI Express 2.0 M.2 solutions!
Likewise, the SupremeFX Impact II is equipped with a plethora of innovative and useful features for audio purposes. It’s alarming how much functionality this tiny motherboard really packs in. Again, here is what ASUS has to say about SupremeFX Impact II:
ROG knows the importance of flawless audio – pristine effects and full-range soundtracks make the game. This devotion to the best audio is applied to all our Maximus VII boards, including mini-ITX and micro-ATX (mATX) models. Cutting-edge isolation technologies minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI) and exceptionally premium components deliver best-in-class audio. The original SupremeFX Impact was acclaimed by both our customers and the media — and SupremeFX Impact II employs even finer components and superbly clever software innovations for gaming and multimedia experiences beyond compare!
An assortment of options on the Rear IO panel
Impact has a considerable amount of features and ports which have been placed on the rear IO panel of the motherboard. These include:
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s)
1 x DisplayPort
1 x HDMI
1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
4 x USB 3.0 (blue)
4 x USB 2.0 (one port can be switched to ROG Connect)
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 Sonic SoundStage button
1 x KeyBot button
Additional to the regular USB ports there is an “Impact Control” 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 ASUS has cleverly condensed these options. On the reverse of this PCB we also have another add-in board called “Impact Cool Hub” which offers up to two additional fan headers.
