ASUS Unveils Maximus VIII Extreme Z170 Motherboard

ASUS has officially revealed their top-of-the-range socket 1151 motherboard which retails for $499.99. The Maximus VIII Extreme adopts the Extended ATX form factor and supports Intel’s latest Skylake architecture. As you might expect, the motherboard contains a wealth of advanced overclocking features and utilizes ASUS’ Extreme Engine DIGI+ voltage-regulator module (VRM). This regulation allows for stable power delivery when tweaking and finding the optimal frequency of a particular CPU.

The motherboard also supports DDR4 memory speeds in excess of 3866MHz with all four DIMM slots populated. Additionally, ASUS’ Pro Clock Technology allows you to use overclocked base clocks in excess of 400MHz. This works alongside ROG’s TurboV Processing Unit giving the user full control to find every last inch of performance.

This flagship motherboard is fitted with ROG’s Supreme FX audio which contains an SS ES9023P digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with Hyperstream technology, ultra-low-jitter clock and premium Nichicon capacitors. The audio section also features a headphone amplifier which detects the ohm rating and adjusts the optimal volume range.

In terms of connectivity, the motherboard utilizes Thunderbolt 3, U.2, M.2, SATA Express and USB 3.1 as well as 4 PCI Express Gen 3 slots. On the rear IO, there is a BIOS update switch, CMOS reset, integrated WiFi, PS/2 port, USB 3.1 Type-C and more! 

Finally, the package comes with a wide array of accessories such as the Q-connector and OC Panel II. This particular device is used to display voltages, temperatures and communicate with a variety of PWM and full-speed fans. Other notable features include Subzero Sense, VGA Hotwire, Slow Mode and a Pause switch.

What’s the maximum you would pay for a motherboard?