Bundled Applications continued
AURA RGB LED Lighting Control
The AURA applet controls the active state of the RGB LEDs embedded in to the board as well as LED strips connected to the board's RGB LED 12V header. The controlled LEDs can be configured for any desired color using the color picker control and to operate in a variety of modes including static, breathing, strobing, color cycle, cpu temperature, and music effect. The board LEDS can be configured independently of an LED strip connected to the 12V RGB LED header, or synchronized with it using the Syc LED effects checkbox. Further, the applet has an embedded preview panel, so that you can determine the look and effect that best suites your system build.
Header1 section for connected RGB LED strip
USB 3.1 Boost
The USB 3.1 Boost applet enables USB 3.1 devices attached to the USB 3.1 ports to perform in enhanced speed modes – Turbo mode for non-UASP capable devices and UASP mode for UASP-capable devices. Both modes offer increased performance over stock operating mode by enabling burst-mode style data transfer over the USB 3.1 data channels.
ROG RAMCache
The ROG RAMCache application can be used to setup an external high-speed cache partition for any attached hard drives or SSDs using an allocated portion of system memory. The upper limit of the cache is determined by the amount of memory in the system.
ROG RAMDisk
The ROG RAMDisk application is used to setup a write-able partition using a portion of your system memory. Setting up a Junction point configures the program to auto-administer the selected folders and files to take advantage of the high-speed RAM disk partition.
Junction page
ROG KeyBot II
KeyBot II is an ASUS-developed application that uses a chipset-centric approach to improving in-game keyboard macro speed and execution. The KeyBot II hardware process is slaved to the upper USB 2.0 slot on the board's rear panel with the Windows software used to configure macros, function keys, and shortcuts for customized game use. Furthermore, the Smart Input screen allows for storage of up to 50 characters into the KeyBot II chipset for use of the entered key sequence after invoking the user defined run button.
Smart Input page
Function Keys page
Shortcuts page
GameFirst III
GameFirst III is the latest revision of ASUS' application for optimizing network traffic through the on-board network controllers for gaming use. It offers the same functionality as offered with the Killer NIC series of network adapters. The application offers EZ mode with pre-configured profiles as well as Advanced mode for more granular network traffic configuration.
Network Monitor page
Bandwidth Test page
Network Information page
Setup, ISP Speed Test page
Setup, Priority profile mode page
Mem TweakIt
Mem TweakIt is used to configure memory timing settings with all settings from the BIOS available for configuration through Windows.
Timings #2 tab
Timings #3 tab
Timings #4 tab
Sonic Studio II
The ROG Sonic Studio II applet is an ASUS developed application allowing for advanced configuration of the audio subsystem, and its attached input and output devices. The application is a direct replacement for the audio chipset provided control panel applet. Further, Sonic Studio II offers advanced tools for optimized in-game recording and streaming of those in-game sessions.
Perfect Voice tab
Casting Enhancer tab
It needs ground effects.
It needs ground effects.
I have the V formula. I
I have the V formula. I wouldn’t buy again, no matter how much this seems to be upgraded. Poor build quality and I dont trust ASUS’ software.
$400 for a motherboard??? no
$400 for a motherboard??? no thanks
Just completed a build for a
Just completed a build for a customer and he was very satisfied with the performance and aesthetics of the MB especially the Aura. Personally i’m a fan of Asus products even though software sometimes buggy and all but overall good.
I’ve had this board for a few
I’ve had this board for a few months and I will probably never buy another “gaming” motherboard again. Here are my impressions:
– The included software is lackluster and clunky. All of it has a “tacked-on” feel. Fan Xpert is all I ever really use.
– The onboard audio is really not very good (I ended up using the optical output to connect to an external DAC).
– Overclocking performance (6700k on custom water with Dominator Platinum RAM) hasn’t been terrible, but also hasn’t been great. The silicon lottery strikes again, perhaps.
– Overall system stability was not very good at first, though it seems much better after the last couple of UEFI updates. Kudos to ASUS for the continued support.
– The onboard LED lighting is not very even at all. The armor does look super nice, though.
– The start-up status LEDs are covered by the 24-pin power supply cable and thus unreadable.
– No Thunderbolt? At this price point?
Honestly, my next build will probably be based around a workstation board. Going into the purchase, I was expecting the gaming features to be useful. Not really.
Agree with the AISuite
Agree with the AISuite software, the only really useful feature that works is the fanxpert, but this can all be set in UEFI. AISuite is buggy, support on it is very bad. some features dont work well, and had issues with anniversary update and compatibility. It also pings IP addresses in taiwan, probably update feature.
Agree with onboard audio, its “OK” but dedicated sound card to same crappy speakers, you can hear the difference, big time
Had the previous gen formula, no stability issues, but didnt overclock much with it, had it on water as well
Agree that Asus does a great job with keeping UEFI updates for their products
Their workstation motherboards are less gimmicky, and there really isnt a performance delta at all
Even FanXpert is rather
Even FanXpert is rather spotty sometimes. What I’d REALLY love to see is the CPU/VRM/PCH sensor voltages tied directly to headers so that you could skip all the flaky software altogether!
If there’s not a performance delta between the gaming boards and the workstation boards, I wonder if there’s a stability/longevity delta. If not, the extra cost of the workstation parts might not be justifiable.
Maybe the Sabertooth boards are a good compromise between the gaming and workstation lines?
Couple general questions
Couple general questions about your motherboard tests.
1. How do you go about testing the audio?
2. Do you test the board to see if the claims of the PCB isolation are true?
3. Are all the ports checked to see if they were grounded properly?
4. What amount of noise do you normally see on a board?
Thanks.
audio testing is done using a
audio testing is done using a 5.1 speaker system and headphones with MP3 tracks through Media Player for output tests and the headphone microphone for input tests. Testing is normally done using the ports integrated in to the rear panel.
Thanks for the reply. I
Thanks for the reply. I wanted to check to see if Pcper had any other way of validating the manufacturers claims after I recently discovered that ASRock had a defect in at least one of their board designs from a few years ago.
For most users (gamers and
For most users (gamers and otherwise), the integrated sound stuff is good enough or better. For the super audio-philes though, probably should go the add-in PCIe card route…
Sure, if someone wants higher
Sure, if someone wants higher fidelity audio a sound card or external DAC is always an option. However, as you said, if the motherboard manufacturers have done things right, the onboard sound should be good enough for the average user. When things aren’t done right, manufacturers end up with problems like noise on the ground because they cut corners and don’t have any tests in place to catch these problems.
This was the case with ASRock, and why I’m looking into how much scrutiny reviewers give onboard audio.
$360 uhhhh no thank you
$360 uhhhh no thank you
I like Asus MoBos but the
I like Asus MoBos but the current one I have the is IV Gene with z68 chipset. The thermal sensors that FanXpert uses were terrible. Way off the mark. I use HWMonitor to check temps and the UEFI’s fan profiles to set fan speed.
My question is this: Do the latest Asus boards use the more accurate temp sensors nowadays or the same old outdated ones like on my board?
Who pays 400 dollars for an
Who pays 400 dollars for an AMD motherboard right now? Why?
Intel*
Intel*
The same people who buy any
The same people who buy any overpriced sh!t made by Foxconn thanks to marketing pro from Apple.