ASUS has announced their latest mini-ITX offering in the Republic of Gamers series, and the Maximus VIII Impact motherboard packs an outrageous number of features into one formidable little 6.7-inch square. In fact, short of the second PCIe slot afforded the larger mATX form-factor, the newest Impact board looks to be every bit as powerful as the recently released Maximus VIII Gene motherboard.
"To push performance even further, Maximus VIII Impact has a full-scale voltage-regulator module (VRM) dubbed Impact Power III vertically-mounted onto the tiny board, allowing you full access to digital power management for ultra-precise and stable overclocks with your processor and memory. ROG has also managed to squeeze in 5-Way Optimization auto-tuning and Pro Clock technology so you can get the most out of your 6th Gen. Intel processor and overclocked DDR4 memory which goes up to 4133MHz or higher."
Let’s check out the specs on this new Impact board:
- CPU: LGA1151 socket for 6th Generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3/Pentium/Celeron processors
- Chipset: Intel Z170 Express
- Memory: Dual-channel memory architecture
- 2x DIMM, max. 32GB DDR4-4133(OC) non-ECC, un-buffered memory
- PCIe Slot: 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (supports x16 mode)
- Graphics: Integrated Intel HD Graphics Processor
- HDMI 1.4b
- Intel InTru 3D/Quick Sync Video/Clear Video HD Technology/Insider
- Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac supports dual frequency band 2.4/5GHz; MU-MIMO
- Bluetooth: V4.1, 4.0LE
- USB: 2x USB 3.1 ports (1 Type-A and 1 Type-C) powered by Intel USB 3.1 controller; 6x USB 3.0 ports (2 at mid-board)
- Storage: 1x U.2 port (PCIe x4, 32Gb/s), 4x SATA 6Gb/s ports. Supports Intel Smart Response Technology
- LAN: Intel® I219-V Gigabit LAN with Anti-surge LANGuard, ROG GameFirst Technology
- HD Audio: SupremeFX Impact III
- ROG SupremeFX 2015 High Definition Audio Codec
- ESS® ES9023P DAC with Hyperstream™ Architecture
- 2Vrms Headphone Amp into 32-600 Ohms
- SupremeFX Shielding Technology
- Optical S/PDIF output at back panel
- Sonic Studio II; Sonic Radar II; Sonic SenseAmp; DTS Connect
- Fan headers: 2x 4-pin onboard; 3x 4-pin on daughter card
- Form Factor: Mini-ITX, 6.7" x 6.7" (17 cm x 17 cm)
Update, 10/11/15: The ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Impact motherboard is now available at Newegg.com for $248.99.
I will never buy another Asus
I will never buy another Asus ROG Maximus series motherboard again. I scraped together enough to buy an Asus Maximus II Formula motherboard and they completely stopped supporting BIOS updates within a few months of its release. I had to resort to using BIOS’s put together by hackers to get important updates for the embedded Intel RAID controller.
For a $330 (in 2009) flagship motherboard I was expecting much more substantial product support.
It’s between this board or
It’s between this board or the MSI board. Which one shall it be?
Want to use a fast NVMe
Want to use a fast NVMe Samsung 950, get a board that has a M.2 (must support 2280 length) connector. They all do except the Asus Impact VIII.
The MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC
The MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC only officially supports up to 60mm length M.2 drives. But one person made a 80mm drive work by just using tape to hold down the end.
This has U.2 which I imagine
This has U.2 which I imagine should be adaptable to M.2.
U.2 has no power, so it’s not
U.2 has no power, so it’s not that simple or elegant whatever ends up being possible.
Really tempted to build a
Really tempted to build a small form factor PC with the releases of compact gorgeous mobos such as this one. Plus, now that high-end graphic cards starting to get smaller too.
SO much better looking than
SO much better looking than the 7 and 8 with all the red everywhere…. my ITX build shall have it!
I agree – love the more
I agree – love the more subdued style of the VIII boards compared to the last generation
For the most part, I like
For the most part, I like subdued color schemes altogether. Leave the bright colors out, please. I picked the Asus Z97-AR specifically because they used silver instead of that awful pale gold they used on all their other non-ROG Z97 boards that doesn’t match *anything*. Nothing else in the Z97 lineup even remotely appealed to me, because of all the colors.
I built it in a gunmetal gray CM Storm Scout 2. I used a Gigabyte Windforce graphics card. Corsair Dominator Platinums. Corsair H80i. Pretty much everything is black, with a little bit of gray and silver. And it looks *awesome*. A Sapphire Tri-X with that nasty mustard yellow trim or some bright red Asus ROG stuff would just ruin it. (Now I just gotta do something about the wires, lol)
At least the new VIII boards use very little red, and tastefully.
(I meant the 6 and 7 series,
(I meant the 6 and 7 series, obvs. My bad.)
Now release a Matx board
Now release a Matx board without sata exspress and I’ll be ready to build.
No M.2 connector is just
No M.2 connector is just insane. Forget about using a NVMe Samsung 950 or other SSD coming in the future. Why would they force you to use a U.2 port 2.5″ drive on a mITX board ? Just crazy..
Besides that, no DisplayPort means 4k at 24mz max.
Where is Thunderbolt 3? It does have an Apline Ridge controller.
This board is all looks and no substance. I’m back to waiting for a quality mITX skylake board.
This mITX board is quality,
This mITX board is quality, even though it doesn’t have features you’re looking for. The Alpine Ridge controller handles USB3.0 and mDP, so it’s being used for USB3.0 only obviously. It would’ve been nice if it used all the functionality that Alpine Ridge provides. I still say it’s a quality motherboard.
Gigabyte also have a Z170
Gigabyte also have a Z170 board using the Alpine Ridge controller WITH an m.2 port (and lower price), and there are several Z170 ITX boards with m.2 and USB 3.1 gen2 (some with Type C) using the ASMedia controller.
Asus bet on the wrong interface for SFF. They appear to have designed an ITX board that only makes sense installed in an ATX case.