Asus announces ROG Maximus VI Formula and Impact Motherboard

Among other (many) motherboards unveiled at Computex Taipei, Asus introduced Tuesday morning the latest motherboards for gamers and overclocking enthusiasts marketed under the trademark of Republic of Gamers (ROG). Announced in the list is the Formula or Extreme, and a newcomer, Impact, with mini-ITX format.

Each year, Asus benefits at Computex by unveiling a new iteration of the Maximus series motherboards, marketed under the trademark of Republic of Gamers. There were five new motherboards that were launched Tuesday morning at the press conference in the Computex. In the lot, we just mention three: Maximus VI Formula, for high-end players, the Maximus VI Extreme, designed for the overclocking enthusiasts, and Maximus VI Impact, first proposed ROG board in mini- ITX format.

SLI and Crossfire, Maximus Formula VI embarks eight USB3.0 and ten SATA, but there does not really interest lies. Asus prefers to actually focus on unique features of the board, starting with the proposed cooling at the power stage. This takes the concept of integration within a watercooling circuit but with a revamped design and 1/4 inch fittings that is more universal than those used in previous generations.

Almost all the board enjoys a protection by a metal plate on the front and the back. Again, it comes to design (Asus already offers this type of coverage with Sabertooth), but also and above all to ensure the rigidity of the board when it is decorated, for example, with two large GPU. These metal plates, in black, also participate in the thermal dissipation.

The new Formula mobo combines a DAC that delivers 120 dB SNR at the front panel, and an operational amplifier (op amp) for headphones, so that it enjoys a more sustained sound. The proposed mSATA Module gives way to another expansion card, the size M2 (Intel NGFF) this time, which combines 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0, and still allows to install an additional SSD. No price has been mentioned so far for this model.

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The Maximus VI Extreme addressed this time is a mobo to overclocking enthusiasts. To celebrate the merits, Asus has involved some furious overclocking results during its press conference with a Core i7 Intel Haswell flashed over 6.8 GHz.

The ultimate gadget that accompanies it takes the form of a control panel (OC Panel) LED screen on which you can read frequency, temperature used for cooling with nitrogen or speed fans. We also find the OC Key (small device which is inserted from the level of the video output of the graphics card and easy to read system information on the screen while an application is running), a power stage and a whopping five PCI-Express x16 ports. The Maximus VI Extreme appeared in the distribution earlier this week at a price of 380 euros.

Finally Asus has indeed decided to carry the ROG brand in the field of mini-ITX configurations: Maximus VI Impact. Asus offers on it another additional board for deporting some controls (power and reset buttons, clear CMOS, diagnostic startup) on the rear panel of the motherboard, so that they are accessible even if the configuration is mounted in a small box. Pricing and availability have not been mentioned, but it is probably a matter of weeks.

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