Maximus VI Formula Discussion Thread

[Raja]

Maximus VI Formula Overview and Discussion Thread
The Maximus VI Formula should be available to purchase in a few weeks. A motherboard many have been waiting for, and for good reason. Plenty of cool features on offer, we won't go into them all, but have picked out some of the salient ones for you to check out below:

Board layout and features at a glance:



Gaming Features



SupremeFX






The Maximus VI Formula sports a specialized audio solution called SupremeFX. Based on Realtek’s latest ALC1150 chipset, the Cirrus Logic DAC and the TPA6120 headphone amplifier and an optimized PCB layout - isolating PCB layers and spacing sensitive traces away from other areas of the motherboard. Shielding is also utilized to minimize spurious noise from entering signal lines. High quality capacitors are used for power supply decoupling to minimize ripple and provide a low impedance at audio critical frequencies. The end result is a 120dB SNR, placing the Maximus VI Formula's onboard audio solution on par with the best discrete soundcards available.


On the software side, the latest addition to the package is Sonic Radar:






The Sonic Radar GUI


Sonic Radar is a HUD that is useful in FPS games. It shows a visual representation of where sounds are coming from. The location of footsteps, gunshots, explosions and anything else is shown in the 360 degree HUD while gaming:




BF3 – Sonic Radar showing direction of audio effects



The HUD can be made more transparent and its location on the screen changed. Sonic Radar very useful feature when gaming with stereo headsets, where surround effects are simulated and may not be easy to pinpoint.



On the subject of headsets, Perfect Voice has been added to improve the clarity of VOIP calls. It’s a software based filter that uses digital signal processing to remove noise pickup from your mic while making a call:






DSP helps reduce ambient noise for clearer comms


Perfect Voice works with any plug in microphone/headset to clean up voice transmission during calls.




ROG RAMDISK




With high density memory modules and kits becoming the norm, many of us have an abundance of free memory on our systems that never gets utilized. ROG RAM Disk has been coded to take advantage of that free space to help speed up the system.





ROG RAM Disk GUI


Unlike many free RAM drive tools, ROG RAM DISK has no size limitations – up to 80% of the free memory (not used by the OS) can be configured as a RAM drive.


To get you an idea of how fast a RAM drive is, check the screenshot below:





10000 MB/s sequential write speeds


Applications stored on ROG RAM DISK are written to hard storage (HHD/SSD) when the system is prompted for shutdown.



Of course, re-installing games to the RAM DISK would be a painful experience. That's why ROG RAM DISK has a feature know as Junction Mode.








Setting a junction point to a game folder allows critical game files to be transferred to the RAM DISK without interfering with the original installation. Just point the software at the game folder and it will take care of the rest. This way, critical files such as maps can be accessed directly from the RAM DISK, speeding up load times.



Discussing features is fine, but what really matters for many users in knowing a board can overclock and run stable. How about 24 hour stability testing? Here's a few screenies from JJ, showing the Maximus VI Formula running different memory configs and CPU overclocks:




Over 24 hours AIDA64 passed at 4.7GHz DDR3-2800 16GB 4x4




Over 24 hours AIDA64 passed at 4.6GHz DDR3-2133 32GB 8X4





4.8GHz DDR3-2400 AIDA 1 Hour - right at the limits of the CPU and cooling






Use this thread to discuss/share results when you get your boards folks 🙂

[geogga]

JackNaylorPE wrote:
Havent seen this pic till now:



Can anyone identify anything ?

Ok, well first off the obvious mobo is the formula, there is acrylic tubing (probably E22), and there is some bitspower rotaries and a C47 between the rotary and the tubing. top is a rad, idk which it is, and the CPU block....wierd AF. Theres 3 G1/4" ports on a CPU block which ive never seen before...

[Myk_SilentShado]

geogga wrote:
and the CPU block....wierd AF. Theres 3 G1/4" ports on a CPU block which ive never seen before...

The CPU Block *could* be a CoolerMaster Eisberg Prestige, they do have 3 ports on them....though 1 is supposed to be a fill port lol

[hiusray]

geogga wrote:
Ok, well first off the obvious mobo is the formula, there is acrylic tubing (probably E22), and there is some bitspower rotaries and a C47 between the rotary and the tubing. top is a rad, idk which it is, and the CPU block....wierd AF. Theres 3 G1/4" ports on a CPU block which ive never seen before...

it's this build.
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?33364-Maximus-VI-Formula-Show-Casemod-MbK

[AusRoG]

Dartist wrote:
I must ask how is it that Sandy bridge overclocks so well and Ivy and Haswell struggles in comparison....

The way Intel attaches the integrated heat spreader to the CPU changed with Ivy, previously they soldered the IHS to the die, with Ivy they changed to using thermal paste, not very effectively. To get around the problem people delid their Ivy and Haswell chips, temperature drops between 15 and 25 degrees are achievable. I personally wouldn't bother overclocking Ivy or Haswell without first deliding the chip. But this is going off topic, Google it if you want to know more.

[CorruptedRebel]

AusRoG wrote:
The way Intel attaches the integrated heat spreader to the CPU changed with Ivy, previously they soldered the IHS to the die, with Ivy they changed to using thermal paste, not very effectively. To get around the problem people delid their Ivy and Haswell chips, temperature drops between 15 and 25 degrees are achievable. I personally wouldn't bother overclocking Ivy or Haswell without first deliding the chip. But this is going off topic, Google it if you want to know more.

Nah, you should be fine so long as its within the 4.4ghz barrier and you have good airflow, especially with boards like this one. Just need a half decent cooler like the Noctua nh-d14.

[AusRoG]

CorruptedRebel wrote:
Nah, you should be fine so long as its within the 4.4ghz barrier and you have good airflow, especially with boards like this one. Just need a half decent cooler like the Noctua nh-d14.

Yes, but that's not my point. Personally I want more than 4.4GHz, I want it at low temps, and I want it to be quiet i.e. not having to run the fans on my radiators at high speeds. So 4770K, here comes the hammer.

jpomz wrote:
You're only half right, yes, intel did stop soldering the chips, but the issue isn't with the thermal grease.

I did not say the problem is with the thermal paste per se. 🙂 Removing the large gap between the die and IHS and using some Liquid Ultra metal compound TIM is the way to go.

[jpomz]

AusRoG wrote:
The way Intel attaches the integrated heat spreader to the CPU changed with Ivy, previously they soldered the IHS to the die, with Ivy they changed to using thermal paste, not very effectively. To get around the problem people delid their Ivy and Haswell chips, temperature drops between 15 and 25 degrees are achievable. I personally wouldn't bother overclocking Ivy or Haswell without first deliding the chip. But this is going off topic, Google it if you want to know more.

You're only half right, yes, intel did stop soldering the chips, but the issue isn't with the thermal grease. They actually use a high quality one, if a bit crunchy.

The problem is because of the layer of glue they use connecting the IHS to the rest of the cpu is too thick, causing the TIM on the die to make bad contact with the IHS. This means poor heat dissipation, hence the bad temps.

Amusingly, when most people delidd, they often put worse TIM on then intel threw on there. But they're still solving the issue, so it doesn't matter.

And delidding is pretty easy and safe, if you use a hammer.

[br4sco]

@BravoNyN you mean we have people willing to spend money 😄 kinda annoying though - just lift the NDA and give us some specifics pls :cool:

[Raja]

No idea on that - I work for NA, and those other regions have their own reps and channel distribution. I'd suggest you email them to find out as they are not on the forum.

[sprinter461]

Can you confirm that this board is the standard ATX form factor size? If so, I'll keep waiting. :cool: