First Looks: ASUS Maximus VI Impact Mini-ITX Motherboard
The ASUS Maximus VI Impact mini-ITX motherboard is the first of its kind from the Republic of Gamers series. On top of the generous bundle of add-on cards that include the SupremeFX Impact discrete sound card and the mPCIe Combo card, the board even has a digital 8 + 2 power delivery system, typical of ATX boards.
First Looks: ASUS Maximus VI Impact Mini-ITX Motherboard
With accolades as the first mini-ITX board from ASUS' Republic of Gamers series, the ASUS Maximus VI Impact mini-ITX motherboard is positioned as a "proper" small form factor Intel Z87 gaming motherboard. Despite its 6.7- by 6.7-inch dimensions, the engineers have managed to cram a lot of high-end features, typical of high-end ATX boards, onto the Maximus VI Impact. And whatever they were unable to squeeze onto the board's PCB, there are add-on expansion cards to further enhance the board's capabilities. Just launched a few days ago, we take a closer look at the board's distinguishing features in this article.
The ASUS Maximus VI Impact mini-ITX motherboard boasts of features that are typical of high-end Intel Z87 boards. From its digital 8 + 2 phase power delivery system to support for high-speed OC memory modules, this board also supports add-on cards for high-fidelity audio, as well as wireless-AC connectivity.
Due to a lack of PCB space, the board features an adapted version of the Extreme Engine Digi+ III where ASUS engineers have packed a portion of the 8 + 2 phase power delivery system onto a raised daughter board. The 60A BlackWing chokes and the NexFET MSOFETs are located behind the heatsink of the daughter board; while the onboard 10K black metallic capacitors are located below the heatsink (on the main PCB).
This is the daughter board that features the board's digital Voltage Regulator Module (VRM).
The rear of the Extreme Engine Digi+ III Impact Force daughter board.
The MOSFETs are marked by the red frames, and the BlackWing chokes are located south of them. (Image Source: ASUS Singapore)
The other space-saving daughter board is the SupremeFX Impact that the marketing collateral describes as a "blade of sound". Its 115db signal-to-noise ratio is nothing to shout about but it does feature four onboard Texas Instruments LM4562 op-amps, which have a reputation for producing stable and natural audio.
The SupremeFX Impact sound card features four Texas Instruments LM4562 op-amps, and a SupremeFX audio chip that is shielded from electronic magnetic interference (EMI).
The SoundImpact FX sound card plugs into a connector on the mini-ITX board. The SoundImpact FX connector is located just next to the ROG ProbeIt points, and you can use your multimeter to measure system's current voltage and OC settings. They are the round, slightly raised knobs.
The connector is highlighted by the red frame. Incidentally, the ROG ProbeIt points are located just next to the connector.
After the sound card is mounted, it stretches over the PCH heatsink of the board. There are three rear audio ports, from the top, a line-in, a line-out and microphone ports.
The SoundImpact FX sound card is installed and it needs to be secured with two screws from the bottom of the board.
The rear audio ports of the SupremeFX impact sound card.
The other bundled add-on card is the mPCIe Combo II expansion card, with an accompanying ASUS 2T2R dual band Wi-Fi moving antennae. These two items are also bundled with the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme motherboard as well. The expansion card provides an option to mount a M.2 (NGFF) SSD, and also houses a dual-band IEEE 802.1ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v4.0 module. However, do take note that NGFF SSDs are still hard to come across for end-consumers.
The mPCIe Combo II expansion card, and its accompanying ASUS 2T2R dual band Wi-Fi moving antennae.
After removing the aluminum shielding, we can see the slot for installing a M.2 (NGFF) SSD.
The dual-band IEEE 802.1ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v4.0 module of the combo expansion card.
There is one particular high-end feature of the Maximus VI Impact that has been ported over from its larger cousin, the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme. It is the ROG Extension connector for the ROG OC Panel. However, it isn't bundled with the board.
The ROG Extension connector is located near the one for the SupremeFX Impact sound card.
Other Features of the Board
With the special highlights mentioned on the previous, page, we continue to run through some of the more 'regular' features of ASUS Maximus VI Impact. For starters, due to the limited space, there are only two DIMM slots; however, they are capable of supporting DDR3 memory modules that have been rated to operate at the frequency of up to 3000MHz.. The total capacity maxes out at 16GB, but it might just be sufficient for the average enthusiast that this board is aimed at.
The pair of DIMM slots that support DDR3 memory modules that's rated up to 3000MHz.
There is a 24-pin EATX connector and an 8-pin EATX 12V connector to power up the board.
The onboard buttons of Start and Reset are useful when setting up the system in an open workbench environment.
On the left of the red USB 3.0 connector, there is the front panel connector. At its top, there is the 4-pin speaker connector, and to its right, there is a chassis fan connector.
Moving beyond the DIMM slot, we see the four SATA 6Gbps connectors and the lone PCIe Gen.3 x16 expansion slot. The other expansion slot is found on the bundled mPCIe combo card where the user can install a M.2 (NGFF) SSD.
The lone PCIe Gen.3 x16 slot is located near the four SATA 6Gbps connectors.
Rear I/O Ports and More
Next, we move to the rear I/O ports of the board where there is a raised daughter-board with a number of onboard buttons. Looking at the left stack, we have the optical S/PDIF out port, the HDMI port and the DisplayPort. The four black USB 2.0 ports are to the right of the daughter-board. A lone red external SATA port sits on top of a pair of USB 3.0 ports. The last stack consists of a Gigabit LAN port located on top of another pair of USB 3.0 ports. The port is on the Intel I217V Gigabit LAN controller. According to ASUS, it works with the ROG GameFirst II traffic shaping feature to reduce lags for online gaming.
The rear I/O ports of the board, together with the daughter board that hosts a number of onboard buttons and a Q-Code debug LED display.
There are a total of four onboard buttons on the daughter board. They are as follows:-
- DirectKey button
By pressing this button, the user is able to access the UEFI BIOS utility. - MemOK! button
This button is used when the system fails to boot due to installed memory modules that aren't compatible. - Clear CMOS button
- ROG Connect button
There is a Q-Code debug LED display that will provide 2-digit error codes in the event of system hang-ups.
The daughter board, which is located with the rear I/O ports, has a number of buttons for
According to the board's manual, the ROG Connect button of the Maximus VI Impact is used to update the BIOS of board with the USB BIOS flashback feature. However, we are quite sure that it also has the function that is identical to the one found on the Maximus VI Extreme motherboard. On the ATX board, the ROG Connect works in tandem with the RC TweakIt software, in order to allow the user to remotely tweak the system's settings from another PC. We will update this section as soon as we get clarification from ASUS.
First Impressions
The ASUS Maximus VI Impact mini-ITX motherboard may be small in size. But with its high-end features and bundled expansion cards, the board is poised to deliver reliable performances in line with high-end Intel 8-series ATX boards.
The ASUS Maximus VI Impact mini-ITX motherboard is one that is packed to the brim with high-end features. In order to save space due to its limited PCB real estate, the engineers have cleverly opted to put them on daughter boards, and its audio features are packaged onto an expansion card. The board also inherits the option to connect the ROG OC Panel. This would be ideal if the ROG OC Panel is available as a separate purchase (which we've no word about yet). Due to its form factor, the board is inherently lacking in expansion slots. It has only one PCIe Gen.3 slot that is reserved for a discrete graphics card. This board is clearly positioned at gamers and power users who are looking to build their ultimate small form factor system.
However, with its S$389 price tag, this mini-ITX board is more expensive than the majority of Intel 8-series ATX boards. Therefore, its immediate appeal will resonate with end-consumers who desire certain high-end features of the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme board. While these consumers balk at the prohibitive cost of the latter (S$649 to be exact), they can somewhat get their fix with the Maximus VI Impact, provided that one is willing to live with the mini-ITX form factor limitations. Apart from that, the only concern would be how cramped the board can get if it's fully decked out with all daughter boards and a discrete graphics card. Good cooling measures must be in place around the processor to prevent hot air from re-circulating and walled-in between all the cards jutting out around the socket area.
Stay tuned for a full review in the near future.
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