Asus Maximus VIII Ranger Motherboard

Review
Specifications/Features

courtesy of Asus

 CPU

Build in Intel® Socket 1151 for 6th Generation Core™ i7/Core™ i5/Core™
i3/Pentium®/Celeron® Processors
Supports Intel® 14 nm CPU

 Chipset

Build in Intel® Z170

 Memory

4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4

3400(O.C.)/3333(O.C.)/3300(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)
/2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

 Front Side Bus

 System Bus
 Thunderbolt
 Graphic

Integrated Graphics Processor- Intel® HD Graphics support

Multi-VGA output support : HDMI/DisplayPort 1.2 ports
– Supports HDMI with max. resolution 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz
Maximum shared memory of 512 MB

 Multi-GPU Support

Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology

Supports NVIDIA® 2-Way SLI™ Technology
Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology
Supports AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™ Technology
Supports AMD 2-Way CrossFireX Technology

 CUDA Core
 Expansion Slots
 2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 or dual x8, gray)
1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (max at x4 mode, black)
3 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x1 (x1 mode, black)

 Storage

1 x M.2 Socket 3, black, with M Key design, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices
support (Supports both SATA & PCIE SSD)
6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray,
2 x SATA Express port
Support Raid 0, 1, 5
Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports
Supports Intel® Smart Response Technology

 LAN

Intel® I219V
Intel® LAN- Dual interconnect between the Integrated LAN controller and Physical Layer
(PHY)
Anti-surge LANGuard

 Wireless Data Network

 Bluetooth
 ThunderBolt LAN/Audio Combo Card
 Audio

– Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking

Audio Feature :
– SupremeFX Shielding™ Technology
– DTS Connect
– Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel
– Sonic SenseAmp
– Sonic Studio
– Sonic Radar II

 ThunderFX
 IEEE 1394
 USB Ports

ASMedia® USB 3.1 controller :

1 x USB 3.1 port(s) (1 at back panel, +black, Type-C)
ASMedia® USB 3.1 controller :
1 x USB 3.1 port(s) (1 at back panel, red, Type-A)
Intel® Z170 chipset :
6 x USB 3.0 port(s)
Intel® Z170 chipset :
8 x USB 2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, +black, 4 at mid-board)
  Workstation Feature

3 x PCIe x 16 slot(s)
USB BIOS Flashback

 OC Panel

– ROG_EXT port：1 x 18-1 pin data connection port

 Overclocking Features

ROG Extreme OC kit :

– Start button
– Reset button
– LN2 Mode

* Additional details available here

First Impressions

First impressions are wow it’s not red ‘n black! And that’s a good thing I feel, the new
gunmetal grey colour scheme is a refreshing change from the vast array of red ‘n black
boards available. The colour scheme and the design seem to lend the board a touch of class in
my opinion, although it looks a busy board when compared to the recently tested MSI Z170A
GAMING M5. But overall it’s a good looking board with what seems to be a pretty good
layout.

Looking at what I would call the right side of the board and working left to right; we have the
single M.2 connector supporting both SATA and PCIe devices followed by all of the SATA
ports (x2 eSATA & x6 SATA 6GB/s). Next to this we have the first of four 4-pin PWM
controlled chassis fan headers (CHA_FAN2), this is then followed by one of two USB 3.0
headers and the main 24-pin power connector. Then we have the second chassis fan headers
(CHA_FAN4) followed by a handful of components and then in the corner we find the
Debug LED, another very useful device! Just beyond this we find (common on Asus boards)
a Mem OK button, this can be used if your system wont boot because of incompatible
DIMMS. Hold the button down to begin automatic memory compatibility tuning. Beyond the
main 24-pin power connector we find the four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 64GB of
up to 3400MHz (OC) RAM. Note that on Z170 these DDR4 slots are NOT quad channel like
they are on Intel’s X99 platform.

Looking at the opposite side of the board (the left) and again working left to right, we first
find the main motherboard IO panel (more on this later) and then not very much. Behind the
rights-hand side of the I/O panel we see the third chassis fan header (CHA_FAN3), looking
along the edge again we eventually come to Asus latest SupremeFX 2015 on-board audio.

Looking at the PCIe 3.0 lanes we see that there’s only six (instead of the usual seven) and
these are wired up in the following way; the first slot is a x1 slot this is then followed (left to
right) by a x16 slot (grey), a gap, another x1 slot, a second x16 slot (grey) and then another
x1 slot and finally another x16 slot (black). If one Graphics Card is used then the first x16
slot runs at x16, if x2 Graphics Cards are used then the first slot AND second runs at x8. If
three Graphics Cards are sued the slots will run at x8, x8 and x4 speeds, meaning that this
board supports Dual SLI and Triple CrossFire setups.
Looking at what is effectively the top of the board we can see that it’s dominated by the CPU
Power phase heatsinks and the LGA1151 Socket, new for Skylake. We find the CPU 8-pin
socket in its normal position, and just below the socket and heatsink, on the very edge of the
board we find two CPU fan headers (CPU_FAN & CPU_OPT). Just beyond this working
right to left we find a dedicated Pump header (PUMP) which is good to see, to be honest you

just cant have too many headers…

Looking at the bottom of the board and again working from left to right, we can see that the
corner is dominated by the SupremeFX audio, next to this we have the HD Audio header, a
Thunderbolt header and then we find the main Start button (cool and purposeful it looks
too!), followed by small Reset and Clear CMOS button. Next we have a TPM header (never
used one!) and an Asus RoG header for connecting additional RoG devices. In between the
RoG and the USB 2.0 headers and inbound of the edge of the board we find a small Jumper
(LN2), this switch is for extreme overclocking and shows this Gamers board overclocking
roots! Carrying on we find a USB 2.0 header followed by the second of two USB 3.0 headers
and then the last of the four chassis fan headers (CHA_FAN3). Finally in the far right corner
we can see the extended Front Panel header, luckily Asus supply a Q-Connector (dead handy
these!) to help with the install of the normally fiddly Front Panel cables.
Flipping the board over allows us to further appreciate the matte black PCB, this is also one
of the cleanest boards we seen, with others showing signs of flux residue (greasy looking
marks!). Note the backplates supporting the main heatsinks at the top of the board, that is

good to see, especially as those heatsinks make such useful handles!

Taking a more detailed look at some of the more interesting features of the Asus Maximus
VIII Ranger; let’s first take a look at Asus’s SupremeFX audio solution. This SupremeFX
Codec based soundcard hidden beneath that silver shroud (it illuminates red also!) sports
Nichicon capacitors, Shielding Technology and a Sonic SenseAmp. In addition tho this, to
further aide in audio quality the setup also features an ESS DAC (ES9023P), a dedicated
clock, a RC4580 2Vrms Driver and a de-pop relay. This relay (that incidentally can be heard
clicking on the board) stop that audio pop in the headset when you power on and or restart.

Next up let’s take a closer look at that Start button, it looks really smart on the board and I
wished that I was using it all the time to start up our Test Rig! But alas this is used
(normally!) when testing/overclocking when you don’t have the Front Panel cables wired up!
Next to this we find a basic system Reset button and then a Clear CMOS button, useful if the
board is having trouble booting.

Finally we have that all important Debug LED, found in a rather unusual position as they’re
normally on the bottom of the board. But I quite like it up here as it’s perfect for tower style
cases with a window. The LED itself will provide vital debug information (by way of a code)
should the Maximus VIII Ranger fail to boot. The code displayed can then be simply looked
up in the User Guide.
Taking a look at what one may call the South Bridge heatsink we see a smart cool looking yet
subtle design, the various finishes/textures really look rather good. All this is rounded off
with the RoG logo and just a little splash of Red!

There’s a little more red (ish) found on the power phase heatsinks that surround one side of
the new LGA1151 socket. These heatsinks look good but the red etching looks a little
lacklustre, it might well be by design, but it does let the board down a little in my mind…

 PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port

 x2 USB 2.0 ports
 BIOS Flashback Button
 x2 USB 2.0 ports
 DisplayPort
 HDMI Port
 USB 3.1 (Type-A) port
 USB 3.1 (Type-C) port
 Intel Anti-surge LAN (RJ45) port
 x2 USB 3.0 ports
 Gold plated Audio Ports with Optical
S/PDIF-Out
The Asus Maximus VIII Ranger also features one of my favourite devices and that’s an M.2
port. This discrete device supports both SATA and PCIe based devices, which is nice to see
as the last Ranger only supports PCIe. The beauty of this device is the RAW speeds available
(especially when using PCIe) and the fact that there’s none of that pesky wiring involved.

In the middle of the board near the battery we see that the BIOS chip has been fitted into a
socket. This suggests that if all should go horribly wrong the BIOS chip could be replaced…

On the right-hand side of the board we have all of the (horizontally mounted) SATA ports,
these are all well placed and I ‘m warming over time to the new horizontal standard as it
prevents those loops of cable that the vertical ports promote. There are eight ports in total x2
eSATA ports and x6 SATA 6GB/s ports.

Hardware Installation

A new build was put together to house the Asus Maximus VIII Ranger motherboard with a
new Intel Core i5-6600K Skylake CPU and new DDR4 memory in the form of G.Skill
RipJaws 2400MHz. The following components were also used:

 Test Rig Setup

Case Cooler Master HAF XB Power Supply Corsair Professional Series AX 760i

Motherboard Asus Maximus VIII Ranger CPU Intel Core I5-6600K Processor

CPU Cooler Noctua NH-U12S RAM G Skill Ripjaws 4 8GB

Graphics Card EVGA GeForce GTX 980Ti Classified SSD HyperX FURY 120GB

Installation of the Asus Maximus VIII Ranger was as easy as one would have hoped for, this
was helped by a well thought out board layout. The motherboard assembly was simple
enough consisting of the board itself, our test Intel Core i5-6600K Skylake CPU, a Noctua
NH-U12S CPU Cooler and 8GB of G.Skill RipJaws 4 2400MHz memory. With the
motherboard assembly complete it was secured to our test Case (Cooler Master HAF XB) by
way of the regular nine screws.

All necessary SATA cables were connected to the motherboard, I used the ports nearer the
24-pin power socket (SATA6G_1 & SATA6g_2). The Seagate 2TB SSHD and HyperX Fury
SSD test drives were then attached to the other ends of the cables. All of the relevant power
cables from the Corsair Professional Series AX760i were then plugged into the Asus
Maximus VIII Ranger along with all of the case fans. Final cables included USB 3.0 and HD
Audio along with the always rather fiddly Front Panel wires, but this time around it was
simple thanks to the Q-Connector Asus provide! That just left the installation of our new test
GPU an EVGA GeForce GTX 980Ti Classified. Now it’s time for some testing…