ASUS introduced the functional mini-ITX motherboard Maximus VIII Impact. Review of ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT: small spool, but expensive SATA ports, SATA Express connectors

Are you aware that ASUS was founded on April 1, 1989? It is now difficult to imagine that once its main activity was the production of motherboards for personal computers. Nowadays, its product range is huge and covers many areas of the consumer electronics market. The manufacturer has not forgotten about motherboards, having been quite successful in this over time.

The slogan “In search of the incredible” is already known to many users. With each new generation of devices, something unusual and sometimes unique appears. The most obvious recognition of this is the fact that competitors are constantly borrowing certain solutions that ASUS uses. The company's engineers are not afraid to experiment and introduce new functions and technologies aimed at ensuring maximum comfort when using a personal computer.

One of the most unusual product lines, where the most advanced solutions are tested and implemented, is the series. As the name suggests, the main audience for this product should be gamers. Of course, the computer gaming industry is the locomotive of development of the entire industry, but now it cannot be said that products with ROG symbols are intended exclusively for players.

As a rule, these are modern devices that are distinguished not only by improved functionality to ensure comfortable gaming, but also by a number of technical solutions that would be useful to many, including professionals and overclocking enthusiasts. The point is not only that new products provide advanced monitoring functions, but also often provide maximum functionality for a given platform. It is due to this that the user audience expands.

This time we will talk about the smallest motherboard for the Intel LGA 1151 platform, based on the Intel Z170 chipset - ASUS Maximus VIII Impact. This is a format solution that is intended for all lovers of compact systems. According to the manufacturer, this model offers the greatest possibilities for such a small performance. It sounds tempting, let's see how it all works in practice.

Packaging and equipment

The length and width of the package turned out to be compact and comparable to the size of the board itself, but its thickness is large. The design is already familiar to us from the ROG product line.

Let's note the red color palette and laconicism, especially on the front side. Key features of the model are shown on the back or under the cover.

In principle, everything is standard on the front - the ROG logo and the full name of the product.

Below it is directly stated that this motherboard is designed for gamers, and there are several icons indicating the system logic set, support for Intel Core processors, 4K resolution with the built-in video adapter and the Windows 10 operating system. And in the lower right corner is the manufacturer’s logo with a familiar slogan: In Search of Incredible.

The front side is a cover that is not fixed in any way.

The usual transparent plastic window is not here, but the main technical solutions used in this model are described in detail.

First of all, the manufacturer touched on the topic of sound. Indeed, many may think that since the board is compact, the manufacturer somehow got out and saved on the built-in sound solution. In fact, ASUS engineers took the modern set of components included in the Supreme FX 2015 as a basis and placed it on a separate Supreme FX Impact III daughterboard. The only drawback is that there are only three mini jack connectors, but they are illuminated from the inside with colored LEDs, which is very convenient in the dark. Overall, the sound is no worse than on the Maximus VIII Hero or Maximus VIII Extreme, due to the fact that similar components are used here, including an operational amplifier and an ESS ES9023P digital-to-analog converter with Hyperstream technology.

What else can potential buyers of such a compact board with the loud name Maximus complain about? Will it be able to overclock anything at this size? Of course, since the engineers decided to repeat their successful experience of placing the power subsystem vertically along the top edge of the board. Of course, each new generation uses the most advanced components to create the most compact, efficient and reliable power subsystem. Here we can see MicroFine inductors, PowIRStage type transistor assemblies and Japanese 10K black metal capacitors. The power subsystem is called Impact Power III.

Another part describes technologies such as KeyBot II, ROG RAMCache, Overwolf, GameFirst, LanGuard and Wi-Fi GO! Now let's pay attention to the back side and see what's there.

Among the interesting things, we note four inserts with key features of the device and a detailed specification with a schematic image of the rear panel with a description of all buttons and connectors.

After opening the box, we see a transparent plastic cover on top covering a black cardboard tray with the motherboard.

Under it you can find a black cardboard insert, which forms a secret compartment where the delivery kit is located.

Among the information media you can find the following:

• User Guide;
• Set of stickers for fans;
• Set of stickers for cables, drives and KeyBot;
• DVD with drivers and software for various operating systems;
• “Hanger” (hanger) on the door;
• Sticker on the case with the ASUS ROG logo.

These are the accessories included in the package.

• Four SATA 6 Gb/s cables;
• One temperature sensor;
• FAN Extension Card;
• Mounting kit for FAN Extension board;
• Connection cable for FAN Extension;
• Connecting cable for connecting buttons and indicators of the case;
• Device for installing processors;
• Antenna for Wi-Fi module;
• Plug for the rear panel.

The kit is interesting because a FAN Extension daughterboard was logically added here, so as not to block a bunch of fan connectors on the motherboard itself.

Externally, the board is unremarkable. It should be noted that it is connected with a special cable to the motherboard and requires external power via a Molex connector.

The BIOS settings menu provides exactly the same control for fans connected via the FAN Extension card.

Why is a small patch cable used here instead of a Q-Connector kit? Again, this is done for convenience, so as not to try to get to the connector in an already mounted system.

This is not the first time that ASUS has pleased its fans with the release of high-performance motherboards in the Mini-ITX format, thereby not bypassing lovers of powerful, but at the same time very compact systems. Such models can please not only those who want to build an HTPC, but also allow their owner to get the most out of a PC with a powerful processor, a powerful video card, and excellent overclocking capabilities. is just such a device that offers an excellent combination of a compact format, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 wireless interfaces, a good set of ports and a flagship chipset.

ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT motherboard specification:

Packaging and equipment

The ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT motherboard comes in a cardboard box with a flip-up lid and good information content. On its sides you can find key characteristics and a detailed description of some of the advantages (for example, GameFirst IV, Impact Power III, SupremeFX Impact III and others). Separately noted is the possibility of activating a gift for fans of the game World of Warships: 15 days of premium access and the premium armored cruiser “Diana”.

The delivery package of the tested motherboard is quite consistent with its high level. In addition to the usual software disc, user manual and interface panel cover, in the box we found:

• four SATA cables;
• ASUS Q-Cable, which greatly simplifies the process of connecting the front panel in a compact HTPC case;
• ASUS CPU Installation Tool for quick and correct processor installation;
• ROG SupremeFX Impact III sound card;
• Fan Extention Card module;
• Impact Control III module;
• combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antenna.

Board design and features

The layout of the ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT is very tight due to its small size. The manufacturer even placed the power elements of the processor power subsystem on a separate printed circuit board. This approach made it possible to use an enhanced power supply circuit with eight phases, as well as cover the power elements with a massive radiator with a large heat dissipation area.

On the back of the board with power elements there is a small low-profile radiator, which is not only responsible for cooling the power elements, but also protects it from damage in case of possible contact with the PC case.

Looking at the back of the ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT model, you can see the traditional support plate of the processor socket, the screws that secure the heatsink on the chipset, as well as a number of chips that do not fit on the front side of the printed circuit board.

The possibilities for organizing the disk subsystem are represented by a U.2 connector, as well as four SATA 6 Gb/s ports. There is support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 arrays.

In the lower right corner there is a connection block for an external panel with USB 3.0 ports, a front panel connection connector and a system fan connector. As for USB 3.0 support, the new chipset supports six ports in total: two internal and four on the interface panel.

The ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT motherboard is equipped with two DIMM slots for installing DDR4 RAM modules, which are equipped with latches on only one side for greater convenience. Modules operating at frequencies up to 4133 MHz overclocked are supported. The maximum memory capacity can reach 32 GB, which will be enough for most tasks.

The cooling system of the new product consists of three aluminum radiators: one removes heat from the Intel Z170 chipset, while the other two are responsible for cooling the elements of the processor power subsystem on both sides of the auxiliary printed circuit board.

During testing, the following temperature indicators were recorded:

• chipset cooling radiator - 40.3°C (with overclocking 40.5°C);
• radiator for cooling elements of the processor power subsystem - 46.1°C (with overclocking 46.5°C);
• low-profile radiator for cooling elements of the processor power subsystem - 45.9°C (with overclocking 50.9°C).

The results obtained clearly indicate the high efficiency of the installed cooling system, which indicates the correct selection of materials and their design.

The processor is powered using an enhanced 8-phase circuit for computing cores and additional nodes. The converter itself is based on an ASP1405I digital PWM controller with a built-in DIGI+ VRM power management subsystem. All components of the processor power supply are highly reliable: solid-state capacitors and chokes with a ferrite core are used.

The possibilities for expanding the functionality of the ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT motherboard are provided by one PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot. When considering options for choosing a video card for such a compact gaming system, you should pay attention to one, which has ideal dimensions and fairly high performance.

If you decide to take advantage of the capabilities of the graphics core integrated into the CPU, then you have at your disposal an HDMI video output, which is serviced by the ASMedia ASM1442K chip.

Correct operation of two USB 3.1 ports on the interface panel is ensured by the Intel DSL6540 chip.

Multi I/O capabilities are assigned to the NUVOTON NCT6793D chip, which controls the fans and provides monitoring.

To support network connections, an Intel WGI219V gigabit LAN controller is used. And GameFirst IV technology will optimize network traffic.

The audio subsystem of the model in question is implemented in the form of a separate ROG SupremeFX Impact III sound card. A more detailed examination of it indicates the use of high-quality components: a top-end Realtek ALC1150 audio codec, an ESS ES9023P DAC, a TI R4580I amplifier (supports headphones with an impedance of up to 600 Ohms), Japanese Nichicon audio capacitors and even a NEC TOKIN UC2 signal relay. All this promises improved audio playback quality.

The connectors themselves for connecting external acoustics are located on the PCB of the sound card and are equipped with backlighting, which simplifies their identification in the dark.

The interface panel of the ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT model includes the following elements:

• 1 x HDMI;
• 1 x RJ45;
• 4 x USB 3.0;
• 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A
• 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C
• 3 x audio ports;
• 2 x connectors for connecting a combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antenna;
• 1 x "Reset CMOS" button;
• 1 x diagnostic LED indicator;
• 1 x Power button;

Undoubtedly, the main advantage of this configuration is its support for dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz) and Bluetooth 4.1. It provides Wi-Fi network speeds up to 867 Mbps. Additionally, we note a large number of USB ports (including two high-speed USB 3.1), as well as the presence of an Impact Control III module with a number of control elements.

The cooling capabilities inside the system case of the ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT are implemented on the basis of five 4-pin connectors for connecting fans. One of them is used for the CPU cooling system, the second is for the system fan, and three additional connectors are located on the Fan Extention Card module.

UEFI BIOS

The new product being tested uses a modern preloader based on the UEFI graphical interface, in which you can make settings using the mouse. It offers two main usage scenarios: “EZ Mode”, in which all the necessary settings are grouped on one screen, or the usual “Advanced Mode”, where all settings are separated into their own tabs. The functionality of the BIOS will allow you not only to optimally configure the system, but also to overclock key components. And for monitoring, you can use the right side panel, which is displayed in all sections, or the special “Monitor” tab.

Overclocking options

Based on the results of manual overclocking of the processor, by increasing the multiplier to “x46” and the “CPU Load Line Calibration” parameter to 6, its stable operating frequency was 4619 MHz at a voltage of 1.323 V.

Using automatic overclocking capabilities using the bundled utility in “TPU I” mode made it possible to increase the processor frequency to 4500 MHz at a voltage of 1.326 V.

After activating the automatic CPU overclocking function in the “TPU II” mode, its frequency was fixed at 4600 MHz at a voltage of 1.327 V. Note that this mode was activated through the BIOS, since the overclocking utility was limited at 4270 MHz.

There is also the usual automatic overclocking mode using the EZ Tuning Wizard, to activate which you need to select the usage scenario for your computer: “Daily Computing” or “Gaming/Video Editing”. Next, you should indicate the type of cooling system installed: a complete box cooler, an improved cooling tower, a liquid cooling system, or an option with a question mark for those who are not sure about the type of cooling used. Depending on the combination of the points mentioned above, the optimal (according to the system) automatic overclocking profile will be selected.

Selecting the most extreme items (“Gaming/Video Editing” and “Water cooler”) offers an overclock of 15% for the processor and 0% for RAM. The CPU frequency reached 4630 MHz at 1.315 V.

Separately, we note the possibility of overclocking in the BIOS using preinstalled profiles.

"Gamers"

As you can see, the “Gamers” profile offers overclocking to 4500 MHz at a voltage of 1.322 V.

Test RAM modules with a maximum nominal operating frequency of 2400 MHz were successfully overclocked to DDR4-3600 MHz.

When testing the highest frequency using strips, it was possible to achieve 3866 MHz at a voltage of 1.4 V.

Testing

Test results

The demonstrated results indicate a high level of performance quality of the new product. Their achievement was accompanied by the use of a good element base, up-to-date functionality and successful optimization of BIOS settings.

Testing the audio path based on the ROG SupremeFX Impact II sound card

Test report in RightMark Audio Analyzer

Operating mode 16-bit, 44.1 kHz

Operating mode 24-bit, 192 kHz

The included ROG SupremeFX Impact III sound card demonstrates very good sound quality, which will be more than enough for everyday use.

conclusions

Motherboard ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT is a very interesting solution for wealthy gamers and overclockers who prefer compact systems. Thanks to the Mini-ITX format and excellent equipment, it will definitely not disappoint the above-mentioned group of users who will find in it good opportunities for organizing a disk subsystem, rich overclocking capabilities, a high-quality sound subsystem, a decent package, stylish design and support for a number of interesting proprietary technologies .

Separately, we highlight the presence of a pre-installed dual-band wireless interface module with support for IEEE 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1 standards, as well as a good set of interface panel ports (including support for two USB 3.1 interfaces and a number of control elements).

As a result, ASUS MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT is a very successful compact model that is perfect for almost all use cases, but of course it is of greatest interest for building a gaming PC or an overclocking system.

Advantages:

• interesting and stylish design;
• integrated dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.1 module;
• U.2 interface support;
• good delivery set;
• ROG SupremeFX Impact III discrete sound card with support for Sonic Studio II technology;
• good capabilities for automatic and manual acceleration;
• good layout of the interface panel;

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Before buying ask about technical specifications and a complete set by the seller

17.02.2016 01:16

How long will the ATX motherboard form factor remain the standard in the tech world? And sooner or later will the innovative Mini-ITX be able to displace the now classic motherboard form from the scene? These questions are unlikely to find an answer right now, because the process of establishing user preferences and developing technology takes more than one decade.

These are exactly the thoughts that come to mind when getting acquainted with the ultra-modern ASUS Maximus VIII Impact motherboard based on the Intel Z170 chipset. The Roman numerals in the name of the modification are growing, generations of chipsets and sockets are changing, there is more useful functionality on the PCB, as well as communication connectors.

External features

The working surface of ASUS Maximus VIII Impact has everything you need, albeit in small quantities, because it is a very miniature standard, but at the same time powerful enough to implement a powerful system.

The accents in ASUS Maximus VIII Impact are right in the name: firstly, it is a product from the overclocking ROG series, and secondly, it is a gaming motherboard with all the attendant software and hardware little things. It is in these aspects that it is necessary to look for the positive features of the device under review.

ASUS Maximus VIII Impact can be called a horizontal-vertical board, because not all working elements fit in the standard position. We are talking about a power board with Japanese capacitors, transistors and mosfets for impressive overclocking; as well as the ROG SupremeFX Impact III sound card, which will be useful for gamers for verbal communication.

Two DIMM slots are capable of working with DDR4 RAM at frequencies up to 4133 MHz, although in the long list of supported RAM kits only modules at a frequency of 4000 MHz with a voltage of 1.4 V were tested for stability (it is very interesting to delve into these variations and notice that the basis the sheets are made up of strips from Corsair and G.Skill; it is the second vendor that produces, perhaps, the best brains in the world).

Real problems can also arise when installing a cooling system on the processor. In our case, we used a completely oversized Cooler Master X Dream P115, so it was limited not only by the RAM, but also by the sound card case. I had to move away by a few millimeters.

ASUS Maximus VIII Impact offers the user several complete bonuses: Fan Extension Card, a board for connecting additional fans (especially important for overclockers and modders), as well as an antenna for receiving a Wi-Fi signal. In our opinion, the second accessory is an absolutely necessary thing. Such a module should be built into boards along with an RJ-45 network port.

Back panel

The functionality of this part of the ASUS Maximus VIII Impact is no less impressive than the horizontal surface. There are luminous connectors for the sound card and modern USB connectors, as well as graphic HDMI.

Moreover, they do not fit on mainly textolite buttons for turning on/rebooting the system, resetting the BIOS and the POST indicator have migrated to this area (after all, a ROG product cannot exist without it) and absolutely rightfully so. The solution is practical, convenient and completely obvious.

Even the battery, which also failed to fit on horizontal, installed vertically, next to the USB 3.0 ports.

Test bench:

UEFI interface

As usual, there are a lot of settings in the graphic BIOS of the ROG series gaming motherboard from ASUS. First of all, this concerns the Extreme Tweaker tab with overclocking options.

I was especially surprised by the tab with timings and RAM settings - there are countless variations and possibilities. Both the current values ​​and the numbers hardwired into the SPD are written down. Sharing memory on the ASUS Maximus VIII Impact is a real pleasure.

There are even ready-made presets and profiles for memory with settings and configurations, if you have a set from the list at your disposal.

Again, we return to the list of officially supported RAM sets by the ASUS Maximus VIII Impact board (of course, this does not mean that the module/modules outside the list will not function with the motherboard).

Otherwise, all parameters repeat the range of options of full-format motherboards based on the Intel Z170 chipset that we have already visited. There are no more and no less.

Automatic TPU in the second format still overclocks the Intel Core i5-6600K to stable and cold 4400 MHz, although our copy can operate at 4900-5000 GHz without problems (with good cooling).

Overclocking

Manual experiments on overclocking an unlocked processor began with setting the parameters of the Digi+ power subsystem to the Extreme position, as well as increasing the voltage on the core.

The formula 4800 MHz at 1.385 V turned out to be successful and stable. At 5 GHz, ASUS Maximus VIII Impact did not start at either 1.395 V or 1.410 V.

Note the ease with which ASUS Maximus VIII Impact restores functionality after overclocking or incorrectly set options in UEFI. To do this, you do not need to press or reset anything, just reboot the system and press the Del or F2 key.

SupremeFX sound and Sonic Studio II interface

The evolution of ASUS motherboards occurs year by year, and even after five-year plans and even more so over the decades, an incredible amount of innovation has been added to the seemingly familiar textolite. Even from the outside of the board it is sometimes unrecognizable.

The next stage of development also affected the standard sound on ASUS motherboards. We have neglected this aspect for quite a long time, but in the case of ASUS Maximus VIII Impact, we became terribly interested in what the default sound in a gaming motherboard is capable of, given that an external chip is used to implement it, as well as original software.

The three audio connectors on the ASUS Maximus VIII Impact are illuminated in green, red and blue. This is not only an aesthetic effect, but also a practical one - many people are familiar with the situation, even the necessity, in which they have to crawl under the table to communicate headphones/acoustics/microphone with the required connector. It's dark under the table and the connector is small. Now the problem is completely resolved.

So, the sound capabilities of the five-channel ROG SupremeFX Impact III did not surprise us (after all, this is good old Realtek, the driver and OS confirm this). Of course, this is not an antediluvian standard codec, as on classic motherboards with a quiet, rustling and booming sound, but also not an external DAC of the ASUS Xonar level.

When listening to FLAC without software markups It’s quite difficult to feel the difference compared to mp3. The sound picture lacks volume. Low frequencies are good, the sound is loud and moderately clear, but this is not enough. The software interface has a good equalizer, a variety of reverb effects, bass boosters, etc.

Voice settings are located in a separate block, and they may be more useful for gamers than for audiophiles with their favorite uncompressed audio and FLAC format. Don't forget that ASUS Maximus VIII Impact is a gaming motherboard.

As a result, the sound of SupremeFX from ASUS is something between the basic version and an external budget-level DAC, from the same ASUS (only the connector for connecting an external zvukukhi ASUS Maximus VIII Impact does not, but there are also USB sound cards).

conclusions

ASUS Maximus VIII Impact deserves flattering words, if only because of the weighty functionality that shoved into a miniature PCB. In fact, the capabilities of the reviewed board even exceed some stuffed ATX solutions.

ASUS Maximus VIII Impact is stable, easy to operate, and useful in overclocking experiments. In any top-level PC, especially in an ITX case, this is a welcome guest, albeit expensive (but now everything is expensive). We recommend.

Impact motherboard models from the Republic of Gamers series have been delighting fans of compact systems for years. The image of the product is unique, it is quite difficult to radically change anything in it, but with the update of the model range, ASUS engineers still introduce new features. The eighth series of the Maximus line was marked by a revision of the cooling functions and a different sound subsystem. This is true for both large-sized products and the participant in this review.

The new board still has four SATA ports, one PCI-E x16 and a removable sound card. The now ubiquitous M.2 slot is provided only for a wireless network adapter, but a new type of interface has appeared - U.2.

The controls are now located exclusively on the rear panel. The number of fans involved has expanded thanks to the already included Fan Extension Card. There is also support for a special LN2 mode, which increases the limits of the set voltages.

Fans of hardware measurements of effective voltage values ​​are provided with a group of contact pads. It is located, as before, under the sound card, that is, either you will have to dismantle it for the duration of the experiments, or you will have to make and solder extension wires yourself. To be honest, there is no need for all this anymore, since software monitoring works correctly.

Packaging and equipment

The box is of unusual size and quite heavy. The design is classic, only the ubiquitous World of Warships advertising can arouse interest.

A description of the board's unique components and features is located under the top cover. The main role went to the sound card and a special power subsystem located on a separate small board. The other half went to software developments, which will be discussed a little later.

The reverse side contains a table with characteristics and a schematic illustration of the rear panel. Here we can also note the emphasis on the existing U.2 port and the very elegantly designed backlighting of the sound card outputs. Once again, we cannot fail to note the dual-band wireless network adapter.

In addition to the product itself, inside the box there was:

• user manual, which illustrates and describes in detail the sub-clauses of UEFI (in English), it also includes a software product manual (in English);
• DIY Guide QR code, leading to the official website page, where detailed instructions for assembling a PC are posted;
• quick multilingual user manual;
• disk with drivers and proprietary software;
• ROG logo sticker;
• a set of stickers consisting of three round ROG logos (for fans), twelve pairs of markers for cables, a pair for drives, four for the keyboard;
• four SATA 6Gb/s cables, two of which have an L-shaped connector at one end;
• branded plastic retainer for processors;
• a remote Wi-Fi antenna with the ability to fix only one position, equipped with a stand with a built-in magnet;
• anodized plug for the housing with one-color symbolic designation of all sockets. The reverse part is covered with noise-absorbing material;
• a set of fasteners (two corners and four screws), an interface cable and a Fan Extension Card;
• one remote thermocouple;
• adapter for convenient connection of ASUS Q-Connector housing connectors.

The Fan Extension Card is equivalent to the one included in the ASUS Maximus VIII Extreme kit. It can be secured using the housing holes designed for installing optical drives or other devices on a 5.25″ wall. ASUS Q-Connector is special this time; it will simplify operations in small cases with a bunch of cables.

The concept of making a sound card is similar to larger products; here, as there, there is: a NEC UD2-4 relay, a separate DAC from ESS Technology labeled ES9023P and the ALC1150 codec itself from Realtek. There is also an RC4580 operational amplifier from Texas Instruments.

Appearance

The socket on the board is located so that you can install regular super coolers, they will not conflict with the video card. Neither a sound card nor a separate board with a power stabilizer will be an obstacle. This model retains the general gloomy design style characteristic of the products of the eighth wave of ROG series boards.

There are a lot of electronic components on the reverse side, but none of them interfered with the placement of the reinforcement plate from our CPU cooling system.

You can find elements of different heights, so you need to be extremely careful when installing them into the case.

The chipset cooler is not as massive as that of older boards, but it coped with its task without any problems. True, it is not equipped with backlighting.

Near it there are four SATA slots, closer to the right edge there is a socket for USB case connectors of the third revision. This is where virtually all traditional possibilities for expanding the system end. Just below the ATX power socket there is a yellow disk subsystem activity indicator, and between it and the DIMM slot there are four more multi-colored LEDs, forming a Q-LED complex.

As I wrote above, the M.2 port is occupied by a wireless network adapter of size 2230. Near it there is a new connector for connecting high-speed drives - U.2. The external clock generator (IDT 6V41538NLG) has not been forgotten.

Removing the sound card exposes the contact pads used for measuring voltages. In the lower left corner are the network adapter and the latest USB controller from Intel. The latter adds two sockets - type A and C - to the rear panel of the board.

The ideological and actual implementation of the CPU voltage stabilizer has remained virtually unchanged. There is also a power stabilizer for the RAM on a separate small board.

They are managed by the relabeled ASP1405I and ASP1103 controllers. The flagship model of the Maximus series used two similar ASP1405Is; they provided twelve independent channels. Most likely, the true model is one of the IR3567 variations, whose capabilities are described by the formula 6+2 channels.

There is only one controller here, and it is responsible for the work of eight power elements of the DrMOS type - IR3553, manufactured by International Rectifier. The two to the right in the picture provide power to the GPU, and the remaining six provide power to the CPU, all this succinctly fits into the proposed theory. For RAM power needs, there are a couple of assemblies from Texas Instruments - CSD87588N.

Everything is cooled by small pads, but tightly fitting ones. Full contact with the elements.

The developers took care of the interests of overclockers in this model as well by making a special hole for the needs of measuring the processor temperature (using a thermocouple).

The rear panel is not replete with an abundance of USB of different calibers. There are six outputs in total, and one of them is not yet very popular type C. There is also only one video output - HDMI. It is complemented by an ASM1442 signal level converter. There are three audio outputs, so the maximum audio system configuration is six-channel. There are a lot of restrictions, in my opinion, for an outstanding multimedia product, but as for an overclocker, the set is quite decent, because a lot of space is occupied by design features placed specifically to facilitate the operation of the board in an open test bench.

What exactly Maximus VIII Impact can boast of in the field of overclocking will become clear a little later. Now let's look at the software.