ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula Motherboard Review

Motherboards/Intel S1150 by leeghoofd @ 2013-11-04

ASUS delayed the release of the Maximus VI Formula till after Computex 2013. We got a glimpse of the board at the ASUS booth and it looked at first glance like a TUF/ROG hybrid. The ROG series are renown as high end motherboards, stunning looks and high performance; however not engineered solely for gamers, but the enthusiast and extreme overclockers get their sweets too. Usually the ROG series had 3 members: the mATX Gene, the midrange Formula and the flagship, the Extreme board. With the Z87 series, ASUS throws an entry level priced ROG in the mix with the Maximus VI Hero board and even a mITX board, the Impact. The Hero is comparable as being the vanilla board of the Republic of Gamers line up. The small mATX Gene VI gives those with small cases the option to install a top class motherboard; the Formula for those that seek a full ATX board packed with features, yet still at an affordable price level. The flagship Extreme board is the most expensive and targeted at those that want either the best of the best or the ultimate board that can push the envelope, no matter the cooling method used.

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Unboxing

The ASUS ROG series are a crossover between what the gamer community needs and the desires for the die-hard overclocking community; consider the ROG range as the best of two worlds. The box art remains similar to previous releases of the Republic Of Gamers offerings. Why change a winning formula ?

 

 

 

When we first saw the Maximus VI Formula board at Computex 2013, we were far from impressed. It seemed to be a hybrid between the ROG boards and the Sabertooth series. Nevertheless when we unboxed the Formula board it has to be said this is one of the most sexy boards ever to arrive at the Shrimps lab. Looks are important, especially for the gaming community, where some end users just pick a board, based purely on how it will look in their case.

 

 

 

 

 

The Sabertooth's Thermal Armor influences are clearly visible. The main idea behind this concept is however not purely aesthetic. It should limit the heat dissipation from the graphic cards versus the underneath components. The VRM Mosfet cooling is named Crosschill cooling, claiming to be up to 23°C cooler then a regular air cooled VRM heatsink setup. Impressive on paper, however it's not like these air cooled versions will lead to instability or will seriously reduce the lifespan of your gaming setup. The Armor on the rear of the PCB, reinforces the motherboard and ducts heat away from vital components.

 

 

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