ASUS Maximus VII Impact Review

ASUS Republic of Gamers recently unveiled their condensed and rather dainty Mini-ITX Intel Z97 motherboard, which is packed with exciting features. We take it for a spin.

Product on Review: Maximus VII Impact
Manufacturer & Sponsor: ASUS
Street Price: £170 GBP / $239 USD

Last year ASUS Republic of Gamers team brought us their first Mini-ITX based motherboard and we were mightily impressed. Fast forward to 2014 and with the introduction of Intel’s Z97 chipset, the ROG team are back again with their second instalment of this maximum performance, no compromise design.

Maximus VII Impact is ASUS’ latest Intel Z97 motherboard which targets enthusiasts and gamers who require small form factor. This Mini-ITX motherboard is packed with innovative features which can be found on full-sized ROG motherboards. Impact features five exclusively designed vertical ‘daughterboards’ that provide power, sound, fan control, WiFi/SSD, ROG IO buttons – so even though there may not be a lot of space on board itself, these features are still included.

About ASUS

ASUS is a worldwide top-three consumer notebook vendor and maker of the world’s best-selling, most award-winning, motherboards. A leading enterprise in the new digital era, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home and office, with a broad portfolio that includes motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, displays, desktop and all-in-one PCs, notebooks, netbooks, servers, multimedia devices, wireless solutions, networking devices, tablets and smartphones. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS won 4,256 awards in 2013 and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with its Eee PC™. ASUS has more than 13,600 employees around the globe with a world-class R & D team of 4,500 engineers. Company revenue for 2013 was approximately US$14 billion.

Technical Specifications

Form Factor
Mini ITX Form Factor (17cm x 17cm)
Chipset
Intel Z97
Memory
Dual Channel DDR3, 2 x DIMM, Max. 16 GB DDR3, 3200(O.C.) / 3100(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) /
2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) / 2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) /
2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) / 1600 / 1333 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Expansion Slots
1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16
1 x mPCIE Combo VI
1 x Impact Control II
Sound
ROG SupremeFX Impact II Audio 8-Channel High Definition Audio
Lineout DAC playback Signal-to-Noise (A-weighted, differential output): 115dB
Sonic SenseAMP, Sonic SoundStage, Sonic Studio and Sonic Radar II
Headphone DAC playback Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted, differential output): 110dB
SupremeFX Shielding Technology
TI LM4562 high fidelity audio OP AMP
Content Protection for Full Rate lossless DVD Audio, Blu-ray DVD, and HD-DVD audio content playback
Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
Optical S/PDIF out port at back panel
Storage
4 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), red
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Intel Rapid Storage Technology
Supports Intel Dynamic Storage Accelerator, Intel Smart Response Technology, Intel Rapid Start Technology, Intel Smart Connect Technology
1 x M.2 (NGFF) up to PCIe 4x M.2 SSDs supported
Bluetooth
Bluetooth V4.0
Network
Intel I218-V Gigabit LAN
Anti-surge Ethernet port
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Internal Connectors
1 x USB 3.0 connector supports additional 2 USB 3.0 ports
1 x USB 2.0 connectors support additional 5 USB 2.0 ports, one connector shares with ROG_EXT header
1 x M.2 socket 3 for M key, type 2260/2280
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
1 x 4-pin CPU Fan connector
1 x 4-pin Chassis Fan connectors
1 x S/PDIF out header
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector
1 x Clear CMOS jumper
1 x Front panel audio connector (AAFP)
1 x System panel connector
1 x TPM connector
1 x Impact Fan Connector
External Connectors
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
1 x HDMI
1 x DisplayPort
1 x Clear CMOS button
1 x KeyBot LED
1 x KeyBot button
1 x SoundStage button
1 x ROG Connect button
4 x USB 2.0 ports
4 x USB 3.0 ports (blue)
1 x LAN (RJ45) port
3 x Audio jacks

Packaging & First Look

Unmistakable ROG design

Maximus VII Impact arrives in the usual ROG packaging we have seen time and time again. The front has a number of logos which hint at the included technologies involved with this motherboard. The front of the box has a flip out cover which lists the fundamental features – the reverse of the box goes into further detail regarding the technical specifications.

The included accessories

Accompanying the motherboard there are a selection of included items which consist of the accessories bundle. The following are included:

User’s manual
1 x ASUS Q-Cable
1 x SupremeFX Impact II audio card(s)
1 x Optional 4-in-1 washers for CPU cooler backplate
I/O Shield
4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s)
1 x ASUS 2T2R dual band Wi-Fi moving antennas (Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compliant)
1 x 12 in 1 ROG Cable Label(s)
1 x mPCIe Combo IV card(s) with dual-band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth v4.0 module
1 x Impact CoolHub card(s)

Maximus VII Impact in all its glory

The motherboard itself is covered with an anti-static bag and sits in another box above the bundled accessories. Maximus VII Impact extends the Intel Z97 lineup for ROG by introducing a downsized, Mini-ITX option.

For a board of this size there is a surprising lineup of features packed in. Certain aspects have been arranged in a specific way in order to allow enough room for ports – such as the EPS power sitting beside 24-pin ATX power and features like Mem OK! Q-Code and CMOS reset are bundled onto a add-in card for the Rear IO panel.

Maximus VII Impact conforms to Mini-ITX standards measuring: 6.7 inch x 6.7 inch ( 17 cm x 17 cm ).

Closer Look

Impact Power II delivery

Impact is designed to work with Intel’s 4th/5th Generation of processors – Haswell. The socket is LGA1150 but has the mounting holes for LGA115X so if you have a cooler that has been used on another socket such as LGA1155 then it will work fine here too. Unlike the previous generation Impact, there is just one designated CPU fan header.

As is customary for the ROG series of motherboards there is an all-digital design for the power delivery and exclusive high-end components used throughout the motherboard. The MOSFETS are NexFET and can handle up to 90% efficiency under normal load and offer enhanced stability compared to standard MOSFETs (and at half the size which is rather impressive). The other components that make an appearance are the BlackWing chokes which have been given some gold ‘bling’ – these chokes can sustain 60A per unit and up to 125C. Japanese 10K black solid CAPs are used throughout the motherboard for long-life and are generally able to tolerate higher temperatures compared to standard solid CAPs.

The CPU chokes/phases have been placed on a secondary PCB which vertically extends and carries with it a unique heatsink. ASUS term this “Impact Power II” and is an innovative way of freeing up valuable space on the motherboard whilst still retaining substantial power delivery.

DDR3 support with surrounding features

ASUS has given Impact just two memory slots due to limited space on the motherboard. Most system builders tend to only use a single dual-memory kit for this platform anyway so there is no real constraint as such. Impact supports dual channel DDR3 – up to 16GB and Intel XMP. The following frequencies are supported too:

3200(O.C.) / 3100(O.C.) / 3000(O.C.) / 2933(O.C.) / 2800(O.C.) / 2666(O.C.) / 2600(O.C.) /
2500(O.C.) / 2400(O.C.) / 2200(O.C.) / 2133(O.C.) / 2000(O.C.) / 1866(O.C.) / 1800(O.C.) /
1600 / 1333 MHz

There are a number of other features nearby too. The EPS CPU power socket sits beside the 24-pin ATX power due to the space restriction around the socket. Further along the edge of the motherboard there are also onboard power and reset buttons and a native USB 3.0 port.

Directly above the memory slots are four SATA 3.0 (6GB/s) ports for storage functionality.

A single PCI express slot

Option to add in WiFi functionality

At the bottom of Impact there is a single PCI-E slot which supports PCI-E 3.0/2.0 @ x16. Directly above this is the heatsink covering the Intel Z97 chip.

Touted as the two integral features on our motherboard are the mPCIe Combo IV and SupremeFX Impact II. The combo card brings extended functionality for WiFi, Bluetooth and even M.2 SSD. This is what ASUS have to say about it:

Maximus VII Impact’s upgraded mPCIe Combo IV + 802.11ac / Bluetooth 4.0 module delivers the latest connectivity, with mini PCI Express (mPCIe) on one side and PCI Express 3.0 x4 M.2 socket on the other for direct-from-processor transfer speeds of up to 32Gbit/s — that’s over six times (6X) faster than traditional PCI Express 2.0 M.2 solutions!

Likewise, the SupremeFX Impact II is equipped with a plethora of innovative and useful features for audio purposes. It’s alarming how much functionality this tiny motherboard really packs in. Again, here is what ASUS has to say about SupremeFX Impact II:

ROG knows the importance of flawless audio – pristine effects and full-range soundtracks make the game. This devotion to the best audio is applied to all our Maximus VII boards, including mini-ITX and micro-ATX (mATX) models. Cutting-edge isolation technologies minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI) and exceptionally premium components deliver best-in-class audio. The original SupremeFX Impact was acclaimed by both our customers and the media — and SupremeFX Impact II employs even finer components and superbly clever software innovations for gaming and multimedia experiences beyond compare!

An assortment of options on the Rear IO panel

Impact has a considerable amount of features and ports which have been placed on the rear IO panel of the motherboard. These include:

1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port(s)
1 x DisplayPort
1 x HDMI
1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
4 x USB 3.0 (blue)
4 x USB 2.0 (one port can be switched to ROG Connect)
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
3 x Audio jack(s)
1 x Clear CMOS button(s)
1 x ROG Connect On/ Off switch(es)
1 x Q-Code LED
1 x Sonic SoundStage button
1 x KeyBot button

Additional to the regular USB ports there is an “Impact Control” plug-in PCB features an LED diagnostic panel, MemOK! Direct Key, Clear CMOS and ROG Connect. Some of these features would usually be found in various regions on the motherboard but since Impact is tight for space ASUS has cleverly condensed these options. On the reverse of this PCB we also have another add-in board called “Impact Cool Hub” which offers up to two additional fan headers.

ASUS ROG 9 Series Features

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ASUS continue the next generation of Intel motherboards where they left off with Z87, bring a series of proprietary solutions to diverse requirements such as overclocking, fan control and on-board audio. The main thrust is through what they call ‘5-Way Optimisation’, which is all about providing tools to consumers with often different expertise such that they can exploit the motherboard with a minimal learning curve.

5-Way Optimisation

This feature in the latest generation of boards builds on the previous designs which integrated TPU, EPU and DIGI+ Power. Under the new umbrella feature ASUS also bring Fan Expert 3 – the successor to Fan Expert 2 – and the brand new Turbo App, both for intermediate to advanced users.

Fan Expert 3 allows the creation of individual fan profiles for any and every system fan, be they DC or PWM, utilising data from multiple onboard thermal sensors – VRM, CPU, PCH and Motherboard (as well as an external header on some models). ASUS has also discovered a means of increasing the RPM range of most PWM fans specifically at the lower end, allowing very low-noise operation without the risk of stalling.

Rounding out the optimisations is the new Turbo App, a software suite primarily intended for gamers. Through the App you can allocate system resources to specific applications, prioritising for instance a game whilst throttling other background processes. The Turbo App also includes the software overclocking tools which can be tailored to specific processes, accessing a little more oomph on demand.

Complementing the Turbo App is Turbo LAN, and additional utility through which you can reduce network latency by setting priorities for applications. The effect should be most pronounced when downloading heavily in combination with playing an online title, although as always this will depend on network conditions. If you’re on a capped internet tariff the built-in bandwidth meter will be a boon too.

It should be noted that any Turbo App dynamic overclocking settings will override Intel’s Turbo Boost, and isn’t yet able to dynamically down-clock the CPU or DRAM when the system isn’t being stressed. That feature may be implemented in due course, but for now ASUS have prioritised energy saving through the EPU and chipset features.

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All of the five key optimisation tools mentioned above can be accessed with just one click in software, making the process as straightforward as you could want, but nonetheless unlocks additional tools for those who can get to grips with everything the board is capable of.

Crystal Sound 2

Iterating on the original Crystal Sound, the new revision more effectively isolates left and right audio channels through dedicated PCB layers, shielding, and an EMI cover. Premium component selection will also improve sound quality, not least through the use of Japanese Capacitors and a de-pop circuit unique to ASUS boards.

On the software side ASUS are also improving the UI and including dts Connect and dts UltraPC II, which is intended to tailor the output audio to the speaker type utilised. In essence, although ASUS utilises a relatively standard Realtek CODEC, they’re engineering the board to produce the very best sound such chips are capable of.

Updated UEFI Bios Improvements

Rounding out the hardware-specific improvements are some subtle changes to the UEFI BIOS. ASUS’s implementation now includes both an EZ MODE for easy DIY system setup and an EZ Tuning Wizard to guide inexperienced users through the process of tweaking UEFI BIOS settings. Fan control also gets a refreshed graphical UI, now integrating system fan control into the BIOS and also allowing the creation of fan profiles for ASUS GPUs.

Additional Features

As with Z87 ASUS are stating that Thunderbolt 2 PCIe adaptor cards will be compatible with the next generation of boards including the one shown. A true niche interface, it’s still of great value to those who make use of extremely fast external storage or other external devices which will tax the 20GB/s interface.

ASUS Homecloud is an application which allows you to utilise your system as a personal cloud server, making available audio and video for streaming and file access. It also allows some remote system control from mobile devices, although naturally there will be some limitations on the level of access these devices will have.

ASUS Z97 ROG BIOS Video Tour

Below is a video tour showing the interface of ASUS ROG UEFI BIOS and the options which are available. As you can see, movement is very smooth and the overall look is refined and professional. Advanced tweaking and customisation options are available:

Test Setup, Methodology & Overclocking

Test Setup

CPU Intel Core i7 4790K
Cooling Corsair Hydro Series H105
Motherboard Maximus VII Impact
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2800MHz CL12 DDR3
Graphics XFX R7970 Black Edition
Storage Corsair Neutron GTX 480GB
PSU Corsair HX1050 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU

Benchmarks

Cinebench R15 – CPU/OpenGL Score
x264 HD 4.0 – 1st and 2nd pass encoding
SiSoftware SANDRA 2014 – CPU & Memory benchmarks
AIDA64 – CPU benchmarks
PCMark 8 – Home Suite
3DMark FireStrike – DX11 3D Benchmark
Games – Tomb Raider, THIEF

Other Software

Temperature Analysis: Core Temp
Stress Testing Software: LinX
CPU Specification Monitoring: CPU-Z

Overclocking

Since the introduction of Z87 back in 2013, there has been a return to BCLK overclocking. This type of functionality ensures flexibility for Overclockers compared to previous generations were the BCLK was locked to 100MHz and only the ratio could be adjusted. As many of you will know, Haswell CPUs get very hot with little voltage increase therefore the flexibility and headroom for overclocking can be limited.

Since 4.8GHz is the maximum overclock for 4790K our investigation takes us to trying to achieve this or a reasonably close achievement. Whilst we could boot into Windows with 4.8GHz, we encountered problems even with a substantial amount of CPU core voltage applied. Dropping the chip to 4.7GHz gave us better results and the system remained stable throughout stress testing. Our 4.7GHz milestone required 1.39v, which, as you can see from the screen capture results in reasonably low temperatures for such a significant overclock. This is a great result for such a miniscule motherboard!

Benchmarks: Power Consumption

It’s interesting to note the power consumption across all motherboards. Although they are using Z97 chipsets, energy results can fluctuate between manufacturers due to the features and specifications that are integrated. First of all, for the idle tests the system is cold booted into Windows and no additional applications are executed – the watts are noted on the external energy monitor we use and then the system is loaded with 3DMark FireStrike – watts are again monitored for the duration of the test and the highest rated wattage result is then noted down. Below are the results of this energy test.

Benchmarks: X264 HD

Simply put, this test measures how fast your machine can encode a short, DVD quality MPEG-2 video clip into a high-quality x264 video clip. What’s x264, you ask? It’s more or less the next-generation Xvid/DivX codec. I think it’s ideal for a benchmark because the application (x264.exe) reports fairly accurate compression results (in frames per second) for each pass of the video encoding process, and it uses multi-core processors very efficiently.

Benchmarks: AIDA64

AIDA64 Product Page

This simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic “Queens problem” on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard. At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. For example — with HyperThreading disabled — the Intel Northwood core processors get higher scores than the Intel Prescott core based ones due to the 20-step vs 31-step long pipeline. CPU Queen test uses integer MMX, SSE2 and SSSE3 optimizations.

Benchmarks: Cinebench R15

CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Iron Man 3, Oblivion, Life of Pi or Prometheus and many more.

Benchmarks: SiSoftware SANDRA

SANDRA isn’t always a benchmark that is included in hardware reviews but I believe it shouldn’t be ignored. SANDRA provides a vigorous package that tests your system in a rather large array of benchmarks. There are many aspects of benchmark that can be executed. We will be considering – CPU and memory tests.

Benchmarks: 3DMark

3DMark FireStrike Product Page

Fire Strike is our new showcase DirectX 11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. It is our most ambitious and technical benchmark ever, featuring real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what is found in other benchmarks and games today. Fire Strike will only be available in the Windows editions of 3DMark initially.

Benchmarks: PCMark 8

PCMark 8 combines performance benchmarking with battery life measurement and includes tests based on popular Adobe and Microsoft applications. Whether you are looking for long battery life, or maximum power, PCMark 8 will help you find the devices that offer the perfect combination of efficiency and performance for your needs. It’s the complete PC performance benchmark for home and business.

Benchmarks: Tomb Raider & THIEF

It’s important for us to perform a number of game benchmarks as well as the synthetic tests because gamers will want to know if there are any significant benefits. So here we have two popular and recent gaming titles which feature a dedicated benchmark tool within them to display results.

Conclusion

2014 has been a great year for downsizing the computer system. Case manufacturers in particular are now loading their product ranges with condensed, miniature offerings for enthusiasts who prefer a smaller footprint. The Maximus VII Impact works in conjunction with this by being one of very few Mini-ITX motherboards which uses the Intel Z97 chipset and packs in a multitude of features for the small form factor.

The ROG series is well-known for innovative and performance related features and the Maximus VII Impact retains these qualities too even though It may be significantly smaller than its siblings. ASUS are to be commended for packing in so many features on such a condensed playing field – the layout and design has been carefully thought out and rather than omitting features, ASUS has been creative in delivering them in a slightly different way.

You’d be forgiven for believing that such a small motherboard would lack the high-performance of full-sized ATX counterparts but this isn’t so with Maximus VII Impact. Regardless of the benchmark, this motherboard excelled and demonstrated consistency throughout. We managed to achieve an outstanding overclock of 4.7GHz on this dainty little number – a milestone which even some top-end motherboards have struggled to attain. Impact also achieved this by using much lower voltages which in return gave us some impressive load temperatures too.

Maximus VII Impact is priced at £170 GBP / $239 USD – which is slightly lower than its predecessor at launch. Consumers would be right to point out that this is rather hefty for such a small piece of tech, but it’s important to remember all of the high-end features which are packed in and that there are few motherboards of this calibre touting the Mini-ITX from factor.

The Maximus VII Impact may be the smallest of the ROG motherboards but it doesn’t compromise on features. This motherboard is small and mighty – is packed with innovation as well as class leading performance and should be a top-pick for enthusiasts and gamers wanting to downsize.

Pros
+ Nice aesthetics
+ Decent number of accessories included
+ Excellent performance
+ Advanced overclocking features
+ Innovative features
+ WiFi ready
+ Easy to use and attractive BIOS

Cons
– Just four fan headers (including CPU fan)