Asus Rog Maximus Xi Code Z390 Gaming Review
You accept the budget for an attention-grabbing PC, and y'all've already settled on a high-finish, unlocked 9th Generation Intel Core CPU. What you need now is a motherboard, based on the Z390 chipset, that has the mode and chops to do justice to that killer processor. (Take a look at our review of the Intel Core i9-9900K to see why it, for 1, rates a special motherboard.) Several high-end boards from the usual suspects—namely, Asus, Asrock, Gigabyte, and MSI—are candidates. But one that'due south likely to make but about anybody's brusk list? The $364.99 Asus ROG Maximus XI Code. Cracking design, plenty of bling, overclocking hardware and conveniences galore, and a fine accessories packet make this a palatial ATX-form-factor board for your latest dream automobile.
An Armored Motherboard
Hard as it is to believe, the ROG Maximus Xi Code isn't the virtually expensive Z390 board in the Maximus line. The Maximus Xi Formula (with its avant-garde cooling features and extra lighting) goes for more than than $400, for example, and the Extended-ATX Maximus XI Farthermost clocks (and for the money, overclocks) in at well-nigh $600, more than the almost expensive CPU it can accept. However, the Maximus XI Code is a luxury board, and Asus equips it as such.
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Thank you to its Z390 chipset, the ROG Maximus Xi Code supports Intel's eighth Generation and newer 9th Generation processors like the Core i9-9900K, on the long-running Socket 1151. As people following the contempo history of Intel's mainstream CPUs know, 6th and 7th Generation Intel CPUs aren't supported past the Z390 chipset, despite using the aforementioned Socket 1151 physical interface. If you're looking at Z390 motherboards, you lot're looking to house an 8th or 9th Generation CPU, or you're planning to pick one upward at the same time.
Asus separates the ROG Maximus Eleven Lawmaking from other brands in more than than one way, but the most notable deviation is the sheer amount of plastic and metallic covering the motherboard'southward PCB. Shields and heatsinks over the I/O and power-phase areas aren't unusual on any motherboard, but Asus extends those coverings to the side of the board and deep into the PCI Express slot'south territory.
The result? The ROG RGB Armor (equally Asus calls it) is a virtual canvas of bling for Asus. And the motherboard maker doesn't miss the opportunity with this lath, decorating the ROG Maximus XI Code with multiple RGB LEDs, including a backlit logo of its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. The Code has more personality than near boards I've seen of belatedly, and it's tailor-made for a PC with a late-model instance featuring tempered glass on one or more sides.
The LEDs adorning the ROG Maximus Xi Code are part of Asus' Aura lighting system. Aura too controls whatever RGB LED strips that you attach to the board'due south two regular RGB headers and two addressable RGB (ARGB) headers. You can extend the control throughout your PC by picking upward Aura-compatible hardware or peripherals, if yous're and so inclined.
Heatsinks, ROG RGB Armor, and memory slots create a foursquare fortress effectually the LGA 1151 CPU socket and leave few channels for discreetly routing away cables. Simply Asus handles this past keeping four fan and AIO pump headers inside the walled-off CPU socket expanse. It also opts for a low heatsink just above the memory slots, making room for your ARGB strip near the pinnacle of the board.
As for the memory slots themselves, the dual-channel slots max out at 64GB of DDR4 memory. All iv slots have push-tabs at the superlative ends. The RGB Armor plastic lines the memory banks on three sides, but it doesn't interfere with memory installation, in my feel. Fifty-fifty the thick heatsinks of the memory I used for the exam build didn't come into contact with the surrounding plastic.
Asus keeps the PCI Limited slots to a minimum on the ROG Maximus Xi Lawmaking. A single PCI Express x1 slot sits just in a higher place the first PCI Express x16 slot. 2 more PCI Limited x16 slots allow for SLI or CrossFire back up. The ROG RGB Armor surrounds three of the four PCI Express slots, but the covering doesn't interfere with the insertion or removal of add-on cards. One surface area of concern turned out not to be one: I was able to push the tab on the top PCI Express x16 slot easily enough to remove a video card, for example.
Pop ii screws from the ROG RGB Armor at the lower terminate of the ROG Maximus Xi Code, and the surface comes off, giving you lot access to ii Thou.two slots. One slot supports storage devices upward to Type-22110 (110mm long), and the other tops out at Type-2280 (80mm long). Here's the grab with Asus' caput-to-head M.ii positioning, though: You can't max out both slots simultaneously in terms of module length. Install a 110mm-long device in one slot, and y'all're limited to 42mm for the other slot. That said, near mainstream SSDs measure 80mm or shorter, so this should not bear on most folks. (See our picks for the best M.ii SSDs and check out our guide to SSD lingo.)
Ports and Headers
The ROG Maximus 11 Lawmaking'south I/O console sports a built-in I/O plate instead of the usual snap-in panel. That shouldn't exist a trouble in most cases (limp pun intended, of course), then long as the I/O plate fits correctly in the chassis' cutout. I've never encountered a problem with built-in I/O plates, but I've spotted the occasional bluster online when some esoteric combination of case and built-in plate collide.
The I/O panel sports the usual audio suspects, which are backed by the ROG SupremeFX 8-channel S1220 codec. Two Wi-Fi antenna connectors sit past the audio ports, powered past an Intel Wireless-Ac 9560 fleck. The panel likewise has a Gigabit LAN port, naturally for a board of this price and gravitas.
As for the USB ports, Asus put a total of ten here, including a USB iii.1 Gen ii Blazon-C port. Of the other ix USB ports, three are USB 3.one Gen 2 Blazon-A and half-dozen are USB 3.i Gen i Type-A. Asus tucked a lonely HDMI port onto the panel, likewise, though this board volition surely sport at to the lowest degree one hulking video card. The best features on the panel are the ii buttons: one for the BIOS, and the other for clearing the CMOS. Those are features that become the attending of enthusiasts, particularly gamers who overclock and need to reboot and reset in rapid succession as they experiment.
Asus grouped its fan headers into several strategically useful spots. Ii stand up at the lesser edge, with a third on the lower right side. Two more hide near the I/O cover, and the 2 CPU-fan headers sit near the top of the board. An 8th H_AMP fan header stands in the upper-right corner of the lath. Asus likewise included a header for an optional fan extension carte. (If you lot need that actress menu, I'd love to see a flick of your PC build.)
Because the ROG RGB Armor extends right up to the headers on the right side of the board (and fifty-fifty encircles some of them), Asus inscribed the header labels correct on the armor. I like that choice, as it makes the labels like shooting fish in a barrel to spot. Too ofttimes, you need a magnifier and flashlight to make out the labels.
The right side of the ROG Maximus Eleven Code has the usual suspects, including half-dozen SATA ports and a USB 3.1 Gen 1 connector, both of which face off the side of the lath. Asus also added a USB 3.i Gen 2 Type-C connector for your front-console port, provided your case has one. Asus wrapped a debug LED in ROG RGB Armor and even congenital Start and Reset buttons into the Armor.
Despite packing the lower border of the ROG Maximus 11 Code with headers, Asus managed to squeeze in a Retry push. Typical users aren't likely to ever demand it, just overclockers tin can use it to rapidly reboot the system. That'due south the sort of tweaker- and gamer-friendly characteristic you want to see on a motherboard like this one.
An ARGB LED header and RGB LED header sit on 1 side of the Retry button, while 2 of the lath's fan headers are on the other. A Node connector sits at the heart of the bottom border, providing more support for certain fan extension cards.
The Accessories Parcel
The ROG Maximus XI Lawmaking ships with a solid accessories package. The most important component is the external Wi-Fi antenna that attaches to the twin connectors coming out the I/O zone. Cheers to the antenna'south cable, you can move information technology to observe the all-time signal, rather than having to move your whole PC to requite improve positioning to the usual antenna rods.
The SLI Loftier-Bandwidth Bridge is some other worthwhile inclusion. If you're looking to install two late-model GeForce cards, this may save you some bucks. So are the extension cables for your RGB and ARGB strips (one of each kind), which volition let you position your starting bespeak for your RGB strips equally you like. Asus besides tosses in stickers, a coaster, and other ROG-branded paraphernalia.
Asus routinely tucks quality manuals into its motherboard boxes, then I wasn't surprised to encounter that the ROG Maximus Xi Code ships with 1. The booklet features clear instructions for installing important components and has enough of illustrations. It also covers the BIOS, which is useful for new DIY-ers and veteran overclockers, alike.
Edifice Code: How the Maximus XI Kits Out
I congenital a test organization around the Asus ROG Maximus Xi Code to run into whether the lath creates whatever challenges for DIY-ers. I mounted the board into a SilverStone Primera PM01-RGB chassis and paid special attending to the I/O plate, since it's permanently attached to the motherboard. It filled the plate cutout perfectly, and then no complaints there.
I installed an Intel Core i7-8086K Limited Edition CPU into the ROG Maximus Eleven Code's LGA 1551 socket in one case the board was in the chassis. Next, I attached a Corsair Hydro Series H60 CPU libation to the board and mounted the radiator at the back of the organization.
The MSI GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming X video card covered most of the slick LED logo on the chipset portion of the ROG RGB Armor, which was a little disappointing. That's a common consequence for chipset-heatsink LEDs; the location of the chipset means the lights sometimes become blocked past improver cards. Seeing equally Asus had a big spread to work with, thank you to the ROG RGB Armor, I'm surprised it didn't motility the LEDs a little lower. After all, nearly folks will be installing a dedicated video card in a high-end board like this.
Hither's what I'k talking about...
Overall, the build process was quick and painless. I like the location of the debug LED. Information technology's piece of cake to spot in that upper-right corner, provided your case window is big plenty.
The BIOS: A Brief Look
Asus has added a few BIOS updates to its support page for the Asus ROG Maximus Xi Code in the brusque fourth dimension since its release. That'due south not unusual, and the updates have been for standard reasons: calculation overclocking back up for specific processors, fixing occasional bugs, and improving performance. As of this writing, BIOS update 0805 was the most recent, featuring several improvements.
Anyone familiar with Asus ROG motherboards will recognize the BIOS for this motherboard. My exam board arrived with version 0602, so I plugged in a USB drive (with the latest BIOS update on information technology), clicked Tool at the top of the Avant-garde menu, and and so clicked Asus EZ Flash 3 Utility. At that point, it was a matter of selecting the update file and pressing Enter to advance through a few confirmation screens. The utility took intendance of the update and restarted the PC.
I didn't notice whatever aesthetic differences in the updated BIOS. As you'd expect, information technology has both Advanced and EZ modes. The EZ mode targets new users and emphasizes displaying information, rather than providing granular control over the board's options. If y'all want to dig deep, you lot'll stick with the Advanced menu, which has a sub-menu (Farthermost Tweaker) dedicated to overclocking.
Interestingly, the BIOS also has an overclocking guide. If you're new to overclocking, you tin read the instructions here and get started right away. Of course, the EZ way also features some auto-overclocking capabilities for players who want to get a quick performance boost.
A True Gaming Motherboard
The Maximus Eleven Lawmaking is a solid gaming motherboard with excellent LED support on all fronts: built in, on the board'due south shielding, and via the accessories kit. When you're paying northward of $350 for a motherboard, you lot expect a imperial loadout, and this board delivers. The ROG RGB Armor gives the motherboard dual doses of toughness and mental attitude, which is perfect for hardware in a loftier-end gaming PC congenital into a case that exposes the innards.
As you'd expect, Asus does a nice task with the pocket-size, easily disregarded details, such equally the accessories packet and the production box. If you lot're someone who enjoys the unboxing experience, opening the Maximus XI Code will exist a parcel of joy.
Ane downside to the unusual blueprint of the Maximus XI Code is that the two M.2 slots effectively share space. Manufacturers usually avoid that by sandwiching the M.two slots between different PCI Express slots. Even so, I'm guessing that this volition be a not-issue for many gamers.
Although the ROG Maximus Xi Code is a quality motherboard, it's likewise a board that gamers will buy (at least in part) for its killer looks. It would exist a shame to purchase this lath and hide information technology in a sealed, no-windows chassis. And so, assuming a tricked-out, loftier-visibility PC is the goal, many users looking for an ultimate Z390 bling board will shrug at the minor quibbles, and open both their eyes and their wallets wide.
Asus ROG Maximus Eleven Code
Cons
The Bottom Line
Congenital on the Z390 chipset for the very latest Intel CPUs, the Asus ROG Maximus Eleven Code ATX motherboard brings serious gaming attitude and excellent overclocking features to your PC. (And don't get us started on the LEDs.)
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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/asus-rog-maximus-xi-code
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