[ASUS] Asus Z87 Maximus VI Gene Review: Choice of Champions

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[ASUS] Asus Z87 Maximus VI Gene Review: Choice of Championsl

 

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ok nuff with the long introduction let us meet the mighty MVIG.

The Box:

same motif as the previous ROG motherboards which is a good thing. it is informative and at a glance you will see the features of the motherboard which will make you decide if it is the one you want.

 

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The Content:

ROG Standard packages of items

ROG case badge!!!

Up Close and Personal:

Quality components are used in this motherboard which gives you at least your peace of mind that overclocking this motherboard will surely be able to handle it.

 

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Nicely spaced PCI-E slots which is a (16x/8x-8x) configuration enough for a monster CrossfireX/SLI

the Vocal Chord of this motherboard

No glowing ROG logo this time but still nicely made heatsink

OC Essential stuff[/COLOR]

 

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This motherboard is ready for sub-zero cooling

 

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Sorry for the poor image but my camera is not powerful enough, but that is the ASMEDIA chip

Why no DVI!!!!! ohhhhh but look at those bazillion USB ports. I dare to say that it even has more USB ports than most ATX motherboards hahaha. I will forego the DVI with this much USB ports.

Did I say bazillion USB ports I also mean Bazillion SATA ports, this is one of the few mATX (correct me if I am wrong) that has at least 8 SATA ports.

 

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At the back you will see the other ROG chip

UEFI BIOS:

 

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ASUS AI Suite III:

Testing:

CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K Haswell
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Gene
RAMS: 8GB 2400 G.Skill Tridex X / Patriot Viper IEM 2133Mhz
GPU: Gigabyte Windforce 3 7970 OC
PSU: Super Flower Golden King 750w Platinum
SSD: Samsung 830 256GB

CPU Clock: 4.8Ghz
RAM: 2400Mhz stock
GPU: 1100Mhz/1500Mhz

 

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BCLK/MEM OC escapade:

110Mhz

120Mhz

125Mhz

 

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My Take

Asus has did it again able to pack awesome features in a very small space. Premium quality components are used both for hardware in software. The quality hardware components used in this motherboard boast of stability and efficiency which it does not fail from its claim. Asus knows that awesome hardware will be wasted if not paired with awesome software. Their UEFI BIOS is a paradise for extreme overclokers and good for those who are learning to be one. almost all the BIOS parameters have a description on what it do. I would say it will be quite overwhelming for OC beginners as it is like a jungle of options for overcloking your processor,ram and what not, but the good thing is that Asus also offers non-advance BIOS mode which is an eye-candy for users as it is intuitive and responsive. After booting Asus does not leave you there there is a bunch and I say it again a bunch of software that will aid you in your overclocking, monitoring and to use all the new features that this motherboard has to offer.

There are compromises that Asus have to let go because of the space constraint, some things that you find in a premium ATX motherboard is not there in Maximus VI Gene. Like the voltage read point, DVI port and on-board usb port(only 1). but they made sure you are not compensated like 4x USB 2.0 and 6!!!! USB 3.0 ports at the back and the ATXish 8 Sata ports.

This motherboard will help you in so many ways to get your desired clock of your CPU and RAM but it can only do so much as you need to have a golden chip both for CPU and RAM to be able to do wonders especially if you put this motherboard in sub-zero cooling. This really is a choice of champions ROG ftw.

 

[ASUS@SG]

Up for a great review!

 

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CPU-z have easter egg? notice something guys? hehehehe

 

[betaunknown]

CPU-z have easter egg? notice something guys? hehehehe

i7-4765T?

10char

 

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i7-4765T?

10char

yeah lol

 

[betaunknown]

You using the "gear ratio" to OC right? It has a locked multiplier?

Where's the option to just raise BClk for CPU?

 

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You using the "gear ratio" to OC right? It has a locked multiplier?

Where's the option to just raise BClk for CPU?

no I am using a 4770K but when I bump the Bclk to 195 and lowering the multiplier then CPU-Z shows or got confuse.

 

[betaunknown]

no I am using a 4770K but when I bump the Bclk to 195 and lowering the multiplier then CPU-Z shows or got confuse.

I see. So this board BIOS does not come with option to raise bclk for CPU alone? VS Sniper M5?

 

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I see. So this board BIOS does not come with option to raise bclk for CPU alone? VS Sniper M5?

what do you mean? I just raised the Bclk from 100 to 195 right?

 

[betaunknown]

what do you mean? I just raised the Bclk from 100 to 195 right?

If you see the UEFI for the Sniper M5, there is a "Processor base block" which gives a multiplier value for the BClk solely for the CPU.

Does the M6G have this option as well?