Question 1

will this work with corsair water cooling parts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. It does not require EKWB.  You could use any standard water cooling part manufacturer.  However, do not use any parts that are aluminum.  It will leach into your coolant and create a reaction that breaks down the metal.  Be sure to use on Nickel or Nickel Plated Cooper parts and you will be fine.  You ultimately get what you pay for and going cheap can end up being very expensive.

Question 2

Do I need to have a water loop going for this mobo?

Accepted Answer

No, you don't have to do water cooling.  You could start with an air cooler now and move up to water whenever you want.  Water cooling the power delivery is optional as the built in EK water block makes a perfectly fine heat spreader on air only.  This board has it all and will grow with you.

Question 3

Does the built-in CrossChill EK III water block use any metal? If so what copper, nickel, aluminum?

Accepted Answer

Per Asus's website regarding the water block:  "Copper water channel," "Large copper surface area" and "The redesigned cooling channels provide wide copper..."

Question 4

I wasn't able to fit 2x Samsung 970 Pro 1tb m.2 drives on this board.  They are 2280 drives, but the specs say this board can't do 22110 with anything bigger than 2242.  Nothing says this board can't handle 2x 2280 m.2 drives, and yet they don't fit.  Am I missing something?

Accepted Answer

I have two 960 Pro 1tb drives installed - if I recall correctly they both get installed then are screwed down with a single screw in the middle of them - one in the left slot and one in the right slot - the tops touching in the middle.

Question 5

When will this be fully released and is this the price it will be released at?

Accepted Answer

ive spoken to EK and they have confirmed that there is no delay on their end with manufacturing the VRM blocks. They also told me that they have been producing LOTS of the water blocks for it, thus confirming that the product is still in production and not being cancelled. (this was all 'unofficially' confirmed to me, as they cant officially come on the record and say these things.. it was more of a 'wink and a nod' situation/discussion, but i trust the information). So.. as to WHEN this thing will actually be available, who knows. I initially suspected EK was the holdup because we have seen the XI Code in stock several times. The Code is the same board, but without the EK block. So I figured it must be EK that's holding up the show. So, now that I know it isn't EK, I have no clue as to what would cause this delay on ASUS's end. I'm trying to get in touch with the sales and marketing teams or a regional sales rep to see if they can shed any light on the situation. Never thought I would get my 9900k before my motherboard.. but the i9 arrives on Monday so I doubt I'll get the XI Formula before then. At this rate I'd feel lucky to get one before the holidays.

Question 6

I have a question about the interaction between the PCIe and the M.2 storage. It's been a while since I've built a new computer, so I want to make sure the following will work:

If I have a single x16 PCIe card (2080 TI), and I install two M.2 2280 1TB Samsung Gen3 x4 SSDs, will everything work at full speed? Would I be able to install a second 2080 TI hypothetically? What about a THIRD 2080 TI (I joke, but I'm still curious). Will the PCIx1 still function? Etc.

I'm used to x16 PCIe's converting down to x8 or even x1 when you put too many cards in, but I'm having trouble figuring out how the M.2 changes the equation. Anyone able to answer the above hypothetical (or just link me to an article that can put me straight) would be fantastic, thank you!

Accepted Answer

The M.2 slots use different lanes than the GPU. Newer boards have 24 or more PCIE lanes. You would drop to x8 on your GPU only if you installed the M.2 in the 2nd or 3rd PCIE slot or added a 2nd GPU or whatever in the PCIE slots. M.2 has dedicated lanes that do not conflict with the x16, x8, x4 or x1 slots.

Question 7

What are the dimensions?

Accepted Answer

The dimensions are set by standards. This is an ATX board. 305x244mm. Also, dont order through newegg unless you'd like to wait 2 weeks in line to receive this and then have your order cancelled by newegg without any warning.

Question 8

has anyone recieved a code 30 memory detect memory? ive read that it is stating it is coming from sleep. if i reboot the code goes away. just happen when i sleep my pc and wake it up.

Accepted Answer

Constantly.  I haven’t looked too hard for a solution since it doesn’t seem to affect anything but mine has done that since day 1

Question 9

DO YOU HAVE TO water cool the vrms?  YES or NO

Accepted Answer

No. It works for air or water.

Question 10

Do you have to water cool the VRMs or can you just go with a AIO/Heat Sink?

Accepted Answer

It works on air and water. I have the IX Forumla on air and its 100% fine. Its advertised by Asus to work with both.

Brand	ASUS
Series	ROG
Model	Maximus XI Formula

CPU Socket Type	LGA 1151 (300 Series)
CPU Type	Intel Socket 1151 for Intel Core 9000 series, 8th Generation Core i7/i5/i3, Pentium and Celeron processors * Not backward compatible with older generation of LGA 1151 CPUs
Supported CPU Technologies	Supports Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 * Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 depends on the CPU type

Number of Memory Slots	4x288pin (DDR4)
Memory Standard	DDR4 4400+(O.C.)/ 4266(O.C.)/ 4133(O.C.)/ 4000(O.C.)/ 3866(O.C.)/ 3733(O.C.)/ 3600(O.C.)/ 3466(O.C.)/ 3400(O.C.)/ 3333(O.C.)/ 3300(O.C.)/ 3200(O.C.)/ 3000(O.C.)/ 2800(O.C.)/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz * Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs.
Maximum Memory Supported	64GB
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

PCI Express 3.0 x16	Intel Socket 1151 for Intel Core 9000 series, 8th Generation Core i7/i5/i3, Pentium and Celeron processors 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (supports x16, x8/x8, x8/x4+x4) Intel Z390 Chipset 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (max. at x4 mode)* * The PCIe x16_3 slot shares bandwidth with SATA6G_56 ports. PCIe x16_3 slot is set at x2 mode by default.
PCI Express x1	1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slot

Serial ATA (SATA)	6 x SATA 6Gb/s
M.2	1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA modes)* 1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 (PCIe 3.0 x4 mode) * When M.2_1 Socket 3 is operating in SATA mode, SATA port 1 will be disabled. ** When an 22110 M.2 SSD is installed in M.2_1, M.2_2 will be limited to an 2242 M.2 SSD.
SATA RAID	0/1/5/10

ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390 Gaming Motherboard LGA1151 (Intel 8th and 9th Gen) ATX DDR4 HDMI M.2 USB 3.1 Gen2 Onboard 802.11 ac Wi-Fi

Learn more about the ASUS Maximus XI Formula

Customer Reviews of the ASUS Maximus XI Formula

Warranty & Returns

Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

Warranty

Return Policies

Manufacturer Contact Info

Audio Chipset	ROG SupremeFX High Definition Audio S1220 CODEC
Audio Channels	8 Channels * Due to limitations in HDA bandwidth, 32-Bit /192 kHz is not supported for 8-Channel audio.

LAN Chipset	1 x Aquantia AQC111C 5G LAN
Second LAN Chipset	Intel I219V
Max LAN Speed	5Gbps + 1Gbps
Wireless LAN	Intel Wireless-AC 9560 2x2 Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac supports dual frequency band 2.4/5 GHz Supports channel bandwidth: HT20/HT40/HT80/HT160. Up to 1.73 Gbps transfer speed
Bluetooth	Bluetooth v5.0

HDMI	1 x HDMI 1.4b
RJ45	1 x AQC-111C 5G LAN port 1 x Anti-surge LAN (RJ45) port
USB 3.1	6 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports [blue] 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports Type-A [red]
USB Type-C	1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 port Type-C [black]
S/PDIF Out	1 x Optical
Audio Ports	5 x Gold-plated audio jacks
Antenna Connectors	1 x 2x2 Wi-Fi module

Onboard USB	1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 front panel connector 2 x USB 3.1 Gen1 connectors support 4 USB 3.1 Gen1 ports 2 x USB 2.0 connectors support 4 USB 2.0 ports
Other Connectors	1 x NODE connector 1 x 4-Pin CPU_FAN connector 1 x 4-Pin CPU_OPT fan connector 3 x 4-Pin Chassis fan connectors 1 x 5-pin EXT_FAN connector 1 x 4-Pin H_AMP fan connector 1 x 4-pin W_PUMP+ connector 1 x 2-pin W_IN connector 1 x 2-pin W_OUT connector 1 x 3-pin W_FLOW connector 1 x 4-pin AIO_PUMP connector 1 x T_ SENSOR connector 2 x AURA addressable headers 2 x AURA RGB strip headers 1 x Start button 1 x Reset button 1 x ReTry button 1 x MemOK!_II switch 1 x Front panel audio connector (AAFP) 1 x System panel connector

Form Factor	ATX
LED Lighting	RGB
Dimensions (W x L)	12.0" x 9.6"
Power Pin	1 x 24-pin EATX power connector 1 x 8-pin EATX 12V power connector 1 x 4-pin EATX 12V power connector

Item#: N82E16813119155