ASUS Maximus VI Hero - Performance Test



Introduction:

The Maximus VI Hero (M6H) is ASUS' entry-level overclocking motherboard (mobo) based on Intel’s latest Z87 chipset. It is targeted for those who want the Republic of Gamers (ROG) features and decent overclocking potential without breaking the wallet. Today we're going to find out what’s so special about this mobo.

Product Link: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VI_HERO

Suggested Retail Price: RM899

Specifications:



Full specifications of M6H can be found HERE

Overview of M6H:



Unboxing:


As usual, this ROG mobo comes in a red box.


The M6H features a black and red theme. This ATX board has a form factor of (30.5 x 24.4) cm, which is exactly the same size as its eldest brother, the Maximus VI Extreme (M6E).


A close up on the CPU socket area shows that the M6H is powered by 8 + 2 Digital Phase Power Design. The CPU has eight phases and the other two are supplying power to the memory. The Socket LGA1150 supports Intel’s 4th Generation Core i7, i5 & i3/ Pentium/ Celeron processors. There are four DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB of DDR3 Dual Channel & 3000+ MHz of RAM under overclocked.


Let’s take a look at the expansion slot area. The M6H has two PCIe 3.0 16x slots supporting 2-way SLI or Crossfire (CF) @ x8/x8. Despite having just two slots, this PCIe slots supports Quad SLI and Quad CF. There are three PCIe 2.0 x1 slots sharing bandwidth with the PCIe 2.0 x16 slot at the bottom of the board.


The board contains eight SATA3 ports - six from Chipset Z87 and two from ASMedia ASM1061 controller.


The rear I/O panel includes:
1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port
1 x HDMI
1 x LAN (RJ45) port
4 x USB 3.0
4 x USB 2.0
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
6 x Audio jacks
1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button


The board is equipped with ROG SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC which features Sonic Radar technology. Sonic Radar gives a strategic advantage on some very particular or crucial moments in a gaming session.

This post has been edited by owikh84: Sep 29 2013, 08:24 PM

The audio circuitry is highlighted by red LEDs once we switch the system on.


Back side of the board has some backplates to give retention to the CPU socket and VRM heatsinks on the top of the board.


Accessories came with the package is quite standard and a little less than other ROG siblings. Yes, there’s a ROG door hanger provided.

Test Setup:



CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K
MB: ASUS Maximus VI Hero
DRAM: G.Skill TridentX 2800 C11 2 X 4GB, G.Skill TridentX 2600MHz C10 2 X 4GB, Corsair DominatorGT GTX4 2533MHz C9 2 X 2GB and G.Skill RipjawsX 2133MHz C8 2 X 2GB
GPU: Gigabyte HD7970, MSI's special BIOS, Driver Catalyst 13.10 beta
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB
ODD: LiteON DVD-RW
PSU: Corsair AX1200
Cooling: Custom watercooling - EK Supreme HF plate #6 CPU waterblock, 2x XSPC RX360 radiator, Swiftech MCP655 pump, EK FC7970 GPU waterblock, EK Multioption X2 Advanced reservoir, XSPC 1/2" ID 3/4" OD white tubing, 12x Scythe GT AP-15 1850rpm 120mm fan + Aerocool Shark 120mm fan, Coolaboratory Liquid Pro thermalpaste etc.
Casing: DimasTech Easy Dual V2.5 Bench Table
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1

This post has been edited by owikh84: Oct 1 2013, 07:19 AM

The UEFI BIOS:

Main Page of Extreme Tweaker: Multiple CPU straps for selection.


RAM Timing Control:


DIGI + Power control:


Tweaker’s Paradise:


CPU Power Management:


BIOS Flashing via USB drive:


SSD Secure Erase:


EZ-Mode: a simplied version of UEFI


Software & Tools:



1) AI Suite III - OC tweaking utility, is a tool for overclocking in windows environment without the needs to restart your PC.
2) TurboVCore: A simplified version of TurboV.
3) MemTweakIT - lets you view the memory settings and also submit a score for competition. Unfortunately, due to Intel’s lockdown it is unable to adjust timings real-time in the OS for now.

4) ROG GAMEFirst - for network traffic prioritization.
5) ROG RAMDisk - to make RAMDisk.
6) Sonic Radar - to visualize in-game sound.

Stability Tests:

LinX 0.6.4 w/ AVX:


The 4770K was overclocked to 4.5GHz @ 1.28v passed LinX without an error in one hour. One of the cores hit 92C during loading. 4.6GHz would need 1.375v but hit TJmax of 100C and throttled down. Hence, 4.5GHz is the most optimum speed for a watercooled system and should be idle for 24/7.

Benchmark Tests:

Throughout these benchmarks, the 4770K was overclocked to 4.7GHz and the HD7970 was overclocked to 1300MHz core/7000MHz mem @ 1.3v/1.7v.

3DMark 13:


3DMark 11:


3DMark Vantage:


3DMark 06:


3DMark 05:


3DMark 03:


PCMark 7:


Super Pi 32M/ wPrime/ MaxxMEM/ AIDA64 Cache and Memory Benchmark:


Super Pi 1M:

HyperPi 32M & 1M:


Cinebench 11.5:


wPrime 1.55 & Fritz Chess 4.3:


Unigine Heaven 4.0:


Memory Overclocking:

Hynix-CFR IC: G.Skill TridentX 2800C11 2 X 4GB @ 2933MHz 11-14-14-25-1T


Samsung IC: G.Skill TridentX 2600C10 2 X 4GB @ 2800MHz 9-12-12-21-1T


PSC IC: Corsair DominatorGT GTX4 2533C9 2 X 2GB @ 2500MHz 8-12-8-28-1T


BBSE IC: G.Skill RipjawsX 2133C8 2 X 2GB @ 2400MHz 8-11-8-24-1T


Game Benchmarks:

Bioshock Infinite:


Metro Last Light:

Thoughts & Verdicts:

ASUS Maximus VI Hero is a perfect choice for those who are looking for a ROG features at a lower price tag (RM899 SRP). It has a great overclocking potential, nice layout, multi-GPU ready and and comes with SupremeFX audio chip. The UEFI BIOS is working well and fully featured. Overall, the M6H is highly recommended for serious gamers and overclocking enthusiasts.

Before ending this review, I would like to thank ASUS Malaysia especially Sanko for sending this motherboard for a quick review.

Performance: 5/5
Materials: 5/5
Specifications: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Performance/Price Value: 5/5

Pros:
+ Affordable
+ Decent overclocking performance
+ Nice looking
+ Multi-GPU ready
+ Innovative SupremeFX audio chip
+ Included a great software package
+ Intelligent UEFI BIOS
+ Informative user manual

Cons:
- Lack of LucidLogix Virtu MVP software
- BIOS settings lack of x-Talk Cancellation and memory preset profile
- No Wifi and Bluetooth support
- No dual BIOS chips
- Clear CMOS is in the form of jumper instead of push button.
- Can’t adjust memory timings with MemTweakIT in the OS at the time of writing.

Thanks for liking Kapten.

LLC not applicable to haswell?? WHY not bro?
The LLC works perfectly on the Hero and other ROG series including the Extreme.
I always used Level 8 LLC and it shows minimum vdroop during load vs idle.
I have never tried other levels though.

0.016v is still considered as a small vdroop.
But if you said those levels are giving the same vdroop then I smells there's something wrong already.
Maybe it changes too fast between "soft, medium, hard and hardest" loading until our eyes can't really see it?

Pls check out cstkl1's reply below

So, the LLC has no effect on vCore at all but it will change the VCCIN.

This post has been edited by owikh84: Oct 1 2013, 06:40 AM

+1. Great explanation.

Agreed on that bro.

PSC kit, it wont run 2666 8-12-8 like I did on other boards
best is 2500 like I posted above in this review.

Hynix-CFR kit, needed 1.85v for 2933 11-14-14. Other boards just needed 1.68-1.7v.

Samsung kit, worked perfectly like others. 2800 9-12-12 at 2.1v.

BBSE kit, same like other boards too.

Something wrong with the BIOS.

This post has been edited by owikh84: Oct 1 2013, 02:35 PM

Ehh that day I didn't see it online yet. So, it's upped now and ASUS website interface has a slight changes already now.
No chance to try the latest 0804 BIOS anymore as the board will be returned to ASUS tomorrow, unfortunately.

Thank you for coming bro. Yeah this board is sexy especially for those who love red-black theme.

No problem bro. I have uploaded the TurboVCore for you HERE
Enjoy!

No problemo.

Thanks bro. I'm still working on the Formula review right now then followed by the Gene. Stay tuned.

Reset CMOS already?
If the problem still persist then RMA is the solution.