- LGA1151 socket
- Dual DDR4 3400 (OC)
- 5-Way Optimization with Auto-Tuning, 2nd-generation T-Topology and OC design
- Reinvented SupremeFX 2015 with intuitive Sonic Studio II
- Intel Gigabit Ethernet, LANGuard and GameFirst technology
- Best gaming audio
Beautiful solid motherboard
04/16/2016
This review is from: ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII RANGER LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard
Pros:
I am an atypical user of this board. I used it in a non-gaming system without discrete graphics and only midrange components as follows:
Asus ROG Maximus VIII Ranger motherboard (of course)
Intel i5-6600 3.3GHz Skylake CPU
G.Skill Ripjaw V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) (on the QVL list)
Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD
Corsair RM850i 850W ATX12V PSU
Win10 Professional
In other words I was not building a gaming system. I was going for low temps and solid, silent operation and I got it with this build.
I do not overclock although this motherboard makes it almost effortless.
The GUI UEFI BIOS was excellent, even without going into the overclocking options. BIOS is so much easier to play with using a mouse.
Asus motherboards can be depended on to deliver quality. The Maximus 8 Ranger is no exception.
Out of the box the board is beautiful. There is plenty of clean black and red metal and plastic, accounting for most of the pleasing aesthetics. This is the best looking board I have owned. Too bad my case has no window. The board just has a solid quality look and feel.
The error code display was a real timesaver for me. I had installed 2 memory sticks in the first and third slots, of the 4 available. This board requires paired memory sticks to be installed in adjacent slots. The error code alerted me that there was a memory problem when the board failed to boot the first time.
The power button right on the motherboard is a handy feature when you are building or debugging.
Hooking up the wires from the front of the case, power, reset, etc. using the q-connector is great. I will not buy a board without this, as my hands are too big and clumsy.
I have had no onboard audio issues (popping, hissing) discussed by others. I had no issues using the original BIOS (version 0401 dated July 2015) or the latest version 1601. Of course the onboard sound is outstanding to me, but I am not exactly an audiophile.
This board comes with a PS2 keyboard/mouse connection and a PATA header, in case you have older devices you want to use.
Windows 10 installed without a hitch.
Asus provided a tool for placing the CPU, but dropping it into place by hand was easy so I did not use it.
Cons:
Boot times are ridiculous – especially in this age of SSDs and Windows 10. I have spent a lot of time in the UEFI BIOS and online, and have not found a solution. By ridiculous I mean 15 – 20 seconds; it takes longer for the system to POST (or whatever the heck it is doing) than for Windows 10 to load off of my fast SSD.
I could not flash the BIOS directly from the BIOS interface. The board never saw my Ethernet Internet connection. The BIOS flash from version 0401 to 1601 was easy using the standard USB flash drive procedure, but doing this always makes me nervous. I’ve noticed this is what Asus recommends, so they must be aware of the issue. Not a big deal since I will probably never flash the BIOS again.
I would have liked a couple more USB 3.0 slots on the back panel. There are several 3.0 headers on the board to support a USB 3.0 card. There is USB 3.1 support, but I had no devices to test.
Overall Review:
If you are building with a Z170 board, this is a great choice. The Z170 board is needed to support an Intel 6th generation, Skylake CPU and DDR4.
Look for this board on sale or as part of a combo to save a few bucks.
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