HWM Singapore — May 2017

AT A GLANCE

POWER PHASES

8+4-phase

PCIE SLOTS

3x PCIe 3.0 x16; 3x

PCIe3.0 x1

STORAGE

6x SATA 6Gbps; 2x

M.2sockets

PRICE

$679

ASUS ROG MAXIMUS IX FORMULA

The ASUS ROG Maximus IX Formula is

a board that stands out immediately

because of its good looks. Exposed PCB?

No, this is a board covered with a stealthy

armor plating of sorts.

Fortunately, there’s substance behind

its outward appeal, bristling with a

wide array of connectivity options and

overclocking-oriented features.

It utilizes an 8-phase power design, with

an additional two phases dedicated to

the GPU and another two for the DRAM.

While that may not appear to be the

most impressive conȴguration here, our

overclocking results show that the quality

of implementation matters more than the

number of phases.

ASUS intended for this board to be

used in a variety of high-end setups,

including those featuring custom liquid-

cooling loops. The built-in CrossChill EK

II VRM block sits between the heatsinks,

and the pair of G1/4-inch ports will work

with most liquid-coolingȴttings.

To further cater to the performance

crowd, the board also boasts things like

a dedicated AIO pump header, dual CPU

fan headers for high-end air-coolers, and

even a high amp fan header.

Clearly, ASUS wanted to make the

installation process as convenient

as possible, and that’s carried over

into details like giving all fan headers

automatic PWM/DC detection.

There are also value-added features

like a USB 3.1 (Gen 2) front header for

10Gbps transfer speeds via compatible

ports at the front of the chassis. While not

too common a feature yet, think of it as

future-prooȴng.

The PCIe slots have been reinforced

with metal and extra soldering points

to withstand the weight of heavy GPUs

like the slew of 2.5-slot custom NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1080 Tis. There is only

support for up to 2-way SLI/3-way

CrossFire, with no PCIe lane switcher for

4-way setups.

Aȴnal point that bears mentioning is

the upgraded back and front panel audio

solution with the new S1220 codec. This

enables cleaner audio signals, and there’s

even a ESS Hi-Fi Sabre DAC and proper

channel separation to go with it.

Built-in G1/4-inch ȴ ttings will work
with most custom liquid-cooling
setups.

A metal backplate at the rear
provides extra support.

Excellent

performance and

feature set.

No dual BIOS.

MAY 2017 | +:0 69