ASUS ROG MAXIMUS IX CODE Z270 LGA 1151 Motherboard Review

Test Setup

For testing, we used the latest Intel Core i7-7700K processor which we I had acquired with the help of a board manufacturer. The sample is retail ready and not an "ES" chip like the ones sent out by Intel to reviewers. Intel did not contact us or put us under NDA for testing of their Kaby Lake processors. Our review is based purely on fact and precision. We also updated our test rig for the 200-series platform review which is listed in the table below:

ASUS ROG Maximus XI Code Test Setup:

Processor	Intel Core i7-5960X Intel Core i7-5930K Intel Core i7-4960X Intel Core i7-3960X Intel Core i7-7700K Intel Core i7-6700K Intel Core i7-4790K Intel Core i7-4770K Intel Core i7-3770K Intel Core i7-2600K Intel Core i5-4690K Intel Core i5-3570K
Motherboard:	ASUS ROG Maximus XI Code w/Core i7-7700K Gigabyte GA-X99-UD7 w/Core i7-5960X Gigabyte GA-X99-UD7 w/Core i7-5930K ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming w/Core i7-6700K ASUS X79 Deluxe w/Core i7-4960X Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SOC Force w/Core i7-4790K Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SOC Force w/Core i5-4690K Intel DZ87KLT-75K w/ Core i7-4770K Intel DX79SI LGA 2011 w/ Core i7-3960X ASRock Z77 Extreme 6 w/ Core i7-3770K ASRock Z77 Extreme 6 w/ Core i7-3570K ASUS Sabertooth P67 w/ Core i7-2600K
Power Supply:	Corsair RXI 750W Gold Plus
Solid State Drive:	Samsung SSD 960 EVO M.2 (512 GB)
Hard Disk:	Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 7200.12
Memory:	G.SKILL Trident Z Series 16GB (2 X 8GB) CL16 3600 MHz Kingston HyperX 2400 MHz 10th Anniversary Edition Memory Kit (DDR3)
Case:	Corsair Graphite Series 780T Full Tower
Video Cards:	MSI GeForce GTX 1070 ARMOR OC
Cooling Solutions:	Phantek PH-TC14PE Triple Fan
OS:	Windows 10 64-bit Anniversary Edition

I would personally like to thank G.SKILL for arranging a stunning DDR4 memory kit for this review. They shipped us a TridentZ series memory kit (black and white color combination). The memory kit comprises 2 DIMMs that operate in dual channel mode, ideal for our Z270 board tests. The memory is clocked at 3600 MHz which is supported by the new motherboards since they support XMP profiles. Clock timing is set at 16 and the capacity is 16 GB for this specific kit.

2 of 9

We won't be focusing on Intel's Core i7-7700K architecture in this review since it is entirely the same chip as Skylake along with minor improvements. The Skylake / Kaby Lake architecture analysis can be seen in detail here.

Intel Core i7-7700K 5.0 GHz Overclock on ASUS ROG MAXIMUS IX CODE

Our Intel Core i7-7700K isn't a decent overclocker as it requires voltage over 1.35V for a decent clock speed bump. Here, we overclocked the chip to 5.0 GHz (bus speed = 100 MHz x 50.0 Multiplier) using a voltage of 1.390V. The results were stable after testing in Prime95 as a stability run.

You can find additional information about our hardware review process and ethics policy here.

9.4

WCCFTECH RATING

At $357 US, the ASUS ROG Maximus IX Code is a expensive product but it has a design that is really high-end and aimed at enthusiasts. It's a high-end product with so much in terms of I/O, OC Support and features which makes it worth its price.

Pros

• Great Design Quality
• Great OC Support
• Metal PCI-e Slots
• Full ROG Armor Coverage
• Intel Optane Support
• Intel 6th and 7th Gen Support
• Dual USB 3.1 (Type-A + Type-C)
• Lots of storage capabilities
• Lots of I/O capabilities
• Onboard WiFi Module
• Onboard SupremeFX Audio
• Front Panel USB 3.1 Port
• RGB AURA Lightning

Cons

• High Price ($357 US)
• No U.2 SSD Support
• Vertical M.2 Slot
• Non Metal DIMM slots
• Kaby Lake Not a Big Improvement From Skylake

Buy for from Amazon The links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Wccftech.com may earn from qualifying purchases.

Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.