Final Words & Conclusion
Final Words & Conclusion
Looking back at this article it felt like reviewing the ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Extreme all over again, and really that sums up this conclusion already. Obviously the motherboard is 99% the same aside from a tiny bit of aesthetic tweaking. The updated color scheme looks terrific though. I'll immediately make a remark as well, I really like the new Aura LED options you are going to see a lot of on future ASUS motherboards. Aura is the software color configuration for embedded RGB LEDs. The Assembly edition has this built in, however just one frickin' LED array can be changed in color, that would be the one under the chipset shield. Meanwhile at the backside there is an array of red LEDs creating a halo from behind. It is a big missed opportunity that the backside LED array cannot be altered, making the one RGB LED on the front-side a bit of a lost gimmick. I understand it though, ASUS re-used this motherboard from a design stage where Aura wasn't available yet. So looking purely at the motherboard, the shielding and one RGB LED is all that is changed. Specs wise everything matches 100% to the other SKU. Combined with the Core i7 6700K the ASUS Z170 ROG Maximus VIII Extreme motherboard certainly is impressive and does perform really well, however the reality is that almost all Z170 based motherboards perform more or less the same. Now then, the two new extras is where the value needs to be found, the biggest one being the 10 GigE Ethernet add-in card. Unfortunately we couldn't test it as we do not have 10 GigE Ethernet switches in the offices or a second 10 GigE card. At a later stage we'd be more than happy to test that. The second item you will receive as extra is the 5.25" audio control bay. It has an improved audio circuitry for headphones and you can control volume with it. I like it, but physical 5.25" bays in a chassis are getting more scarce each and every day.
The performance is up there and, combined with DDR4 memory, this processor makes a good step forward. Combined with the series 100 chipset new features are available as well; SATA3, M.2, even go U.2 and SATA Express. Then there's the added benefit of DDR4 memory that not only use less power, but the frequency can be so much higher as well, bringing more bandwidth and overall performance to the applications that require fast memory. Combine that with things like nice Gigabit jacks, the one 10 GigE card and a tasty audio solution on the new motherboard and things like USB 3.1. So, what I am trying to say here is that the overall platform experience is what it is all about for Skylake. Performance with kick-ass features.
Storage
Combined with eight SATA 6Gbps ports we can hardly complain about anything. I find interesting the developments on the M.2 interface, pop in an M.2 compatible PCI-E SSD and you'll see your SSD quickly perform in the 700/800 Mb/sec range. Overall your SATA and M.2 connectivity is plentiful and top notch when it comes to performance. Great to see is that the slot has obtained a x4 PCIe interface connection allowing it 32 Gbps of bandwidth to work in. To compare a little, your SATA3 port has 6 Gbps available. So that small form factor SSD solution now is very future proof.
Aesthetics
Taste differs per person, but admittedly we do totally like the way the ASUS Z170 ROG Maximus VIII Extreme Assembly looks. The black/grey/orange toned color schema combined with the nicely designed heatsinks. Yeah, it is a good looking product alright. The PCH heatsink has red LEDs to create a bit of a HALO effect coming from under the shielding, it makes the motherboard pop out of your chassis. Well, visually that is. The PCB is nicely matte dark as it has received a proper coated layer, including the dark connectors, dark capacitors, with the subtle heatsinks this rocks my boat. This is just a nice looking solution for the enthusiast PC gamer and, in specific, the ROG aficionado.
Performance & Tweaking
The overall performance in combo with any ASUS Z170 ROG Maximus VIII Extreme series motherboard as such I'd rate as "very good" for a quad core Core i7 6700K. Temps remain reasonable at default clock, temperatures when the CPU is overclocked with added voltage definitely seem to be a notch better opposed to Haswell but can still rise fast and hot. Our sample is not quite stable enough at 4.9 GHz but 4.8 GHz was stable on liquid cooling. At that level we needed a lot of voltage, 1.35~1.45 volts at the processor. This is the same behavior we see on all motherboards tested thus far. The icing on top of this cake obviously is the cool OC panel. You do need to wonder though if the price premium is worth that feature. The regular user will use it a couple of times, and then let it rest inside the chassis,whereas for the pro overclocker this thing hauls the proverbial azz.
The Bottom Line
As much as I like the motherboard, the pricing is just too bothersome. The Assembly edition is sitting in a 550~600 EURO range and thus sits at a price point that is staggering. I have no idea who's going to buy this motherboard. Also, at that price the OC control pod (I feel) should have been included as well. But ASUS took it out and then injected the additional audio pod and the 10 GigE Ethernet adapter card. Aside from some aesthetic tweaks, the motherboard (which is excellent of course) is the same. So where does all the money go? Well, if you look up some PCIe 10GBit adapter cards online, you'll notice that these puppies, per card alone, will cost you over 225 EURO a piece, and that was the cheapest budget model I could find. And therein the caveat is found. Perhaps ASUS should opt for a SKU without the audio pod and 10 GigE card, I am sure such a SKU would then cost ~350 EURO (which already is a huge amount of money for a motherboard). We are certain though that even this SKU will sell, it's how the market works as otherwise ASUS would have never released it. Anyway, enough about pricing. The included WIFI solution on the Extreme is close to perfection, the ASUS multi-band AC WIFI hauls azzzz. Your DDR4 memory can be easily configured by enabling the XMP 2.0 profile. You will gain excellent features combined with seriously nice performance and very decent energy consumption levels. I have no doubt that some of you can reach 5 GHz on this CPU, the ASUS motherboard will certainly allow for this. The reality remains though, this motherboard will allow any tweak, your challenge in terms of overclocking will be the processor and not so much the motherboard these days. The overall combination of the ASUS Z170 ROG Maximus VIII Extreme and a Core i7 6700K however is a majestic symbiosis we feel.
Last lines - if the price is too high, look at the 400 EURO 'regular' Extreme. If you want much better value, a 220 EURO Maximus Hero would have my two thumbs up and even preference. Regardless of pricing, the ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Assembly edition is in many ways impressive and the Godzilla amongst Z170 motherboards. Certainly this hardware housed inside your PC is tremendous and ticks all the enthusiast boxes. But it remains a Z170 motherboard with, at maximum, a quad-core processor. If you want 8-cores, X99 is still the way to go. Regardless of whether you choose the HERO, Extreme or Extreme Assembly we have no doubt that you will love what you purchase. But the ticket on this one is, as far as I am concerned, through the roof. It is a ballsy move from ASUS to even consider releasing this SKU, but it is exactly that which I can appreciate very much.
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