This is the MB I bought for my new Skylake system. Always had good luck with ASUS in the past, and it's performed well so far with no issues noted (crosses fingers).
Only complaint (and it's not really a fault) is it feels a little "flimsy/flexible", as if the board itself wasn't as thick as it could be. Couple with a Dark Rock Pro 3 heatsink in a tower case, and suddenly there's a lot of stress on the MB causing it to flex from the weight of the heatsink. Remedied this by making a small custom bracket from the sink to my case to take some of the weight off.
Sadly, that may be a trend for ASUS's lower end stuff---the Z97-E I picked up a while back had a flimsy-feeling PCB, and slightly loose SATA connector housings. Havent had a single problem with it yet, but that cheap feeling is not exactly a great first impression.
By contrast, the similarly-priced Z97X-Gaming 7 from Gigabyte I bought for my other Intel box felt much sturdier.
It isn't a trend of Asus. This is industry-wide. There is no longer a need for 10 layer PCB's. With so much integrated into the CPU and everything being such low power, most reference designs are only 4-6 layers thick anymore. All of these first-out products are heavily based on, if not nearly identical too, the chipset reference. In a few months we may start seeing more "creative" boards of higher caliber.
I used to be a dyed in the wool Asus guy, until around 2007 or so. The last few builds I did for myself and for friends from around 2005-2007, in 6 systems we had 4 Asus boards go bad within 1-6 months of use. By then I switched to Gigabyte and in over 13 MB's I've only had an issue with 1 (the IDE controller started going out), which was RMA'd and replaced.
FYI, as of this post, the 14-1 pin TPM connector has no part that can fit it. So in order to do bitlocker on your system drive, you will need a password or usb drive to access the drive on boot.
I agree with VGA, but I still use DVI. I find HDMI a pain to use, as everything keeps trying to be too clever, assuming some percentage of overscan or understand, using the wrong pixel format (YUV vs RGB) etc. My monitors aren't new enough for DisplayPort, so it's DVI for me.
"Non UEFI POST Time": Could you clarify this a bit - do you mean if not booting using UEFI? If so, then why not? These days, I would have thought UEFI booting would be the more common case.
The major delay I'm seeing booting with this board is between power-on and first text-on-screen. Not sure exactly what it's doing there, but it's a good few seconds of black before getting the info screen (or graphical logo, depending on configuration)
It's amazing what a high-tech assembly of high-tech parts we can buy for $165.
Anyway - please don't forget to credit Asus for their attention to fan control. I haven't checked the competition this time around but in the past Asus has been way, way ahead. This is one mobo function that reviewers *constantly* overlook and thereby undervalue, since they aren't building in a box. So Asus, who goes the extra mile and beyond, is rarely credited for doing so.
Just finished a build with this board. For storage I used a Samsung 850 EVO SSD.for the operating system and a WD 1T hard drive. I loaded Wind 7 back on and updated to Win 10 with no problem. Loaded most of my wifes software and then it crashed. It crashed so hard I couldn't get to the BIOS! I finally found that by unplugging the SSD I could get into the BIOS. I turned the machine off and booted Into the BIOS. I noticed that the SSD was listed on the sata ports but not in the boot list. However if I went to the boot menu, the samsung drive was listed and I could boot to it. I tried a number of fixes including resetting the CMOS, updating the BIOS, reinstalling WIn 10, moving the SSD to another SATA port. No joy. Finally I spent some time on Google and found that others have run into this on previous ASUS MBs. I finally found that one of the people found that if you powered off and disconnected the power for 10-15 minutes the computer boots to the SSD. I have rebooted 3-4 times now with no problem. It's worth noting that the Samsung still doesn't show up in the boot list. Note also that I had a chat with a tech from Asus and while he made some suggestions about what to try, he was not aware of this fix. Maybe this post will get Asus to look into this issue and fix their bios.
Try enabling Sata hot plug in the bios. And when you manage to boot into windows, disable Intel RST link power management. Some SSDs have compatibility issues on certain platforms & configurations if power saving options are enabled.
After loading a new bios, the SSD showed up on the advanced page as one of the drives in the boot list and I could move it to the top. Since then no problems with booting from the SSD.
I spent some time exploring overclocking and found that the latest UEFI is buggy. For example trying to return to default fails under all conditions I have tried, including shorting the CMOS as Asus recommends or removing the battery. Exiting from the UEFI sets Autotune on even when you exit from the "default" and you end up in the "optimized default". A second issue I had with this board is "black screens" when the system is idle which don't respond to the keyboard or mouse. I finally noticed that the keyboard was actually off and realized tha the power option to selectively turn off the USB ports was selected. Turning off this option solved part of the "Black Screen" problem. However I still suffered from occaisonal "black screens". I have now turned off all power options and for about the last 24 hours of constant operation haven't had any "black screens". My recommendation for anyone building this system is to install Win 7 and wait a few months before installing Win 10. In my opinion the UEFI is not ready for prime time.
I have continued to work with the machine and the "black screen" issue has not reappeared. However a new stability problem has appeared. Under some circumstances the USB ports fail to recognize the Apple iPhone. I have not isolated why, but the resulting symptoms are very reproducible. First plugging the iphone into the computer does not result in a connection to the iphone. Second turning the computer off results in the screen and apparently Windows shutting down, but the power light doesn't shut off. There also seems to be intermittent disk action given that the disk light blinks. After a few minutes I shut the computer down by holding the power down. Restarting the computer leads to a long boot time before the Windows logo comes up, but Win 10 boots normally. However the iphone will not connect either through a USB 3.0 port or a 2.0 port. Windows will also not see a memory stick in either port. Turning the machine off results in the same behavior. Power light remains on, until held down for 8-10 seconds. If however you turn the power off at the power supply and leave it off for somewhere between 5 (less than 5 min won't work)) and 15 minutes then turn the power supply back on and reboot the computer will boot normally (relatively short boot time) and again recognizes the iphone. This behavior of requiring a power off is reminiscent of the original boot problem I had in which I had to turn off the power supply for the computer to see my SSD and boot from it. My best guess is that in addition to the problem Asus has with the USB ports that cause this issue there is a problem with the shutdown cycle and things are being saved that shouldn't be.
Note that I'm currently using BIOS 1302 and that the previous BIOS version also exhibited the same issue.
This is a copy of the email I sent Asus today. I am still having difficulty recommending this mb based on the bios issues.
I'm still disappointed by motherboards are lumbered with DVI, VGA and PS/2 ports after so many years. An adapter from Displayport will handle conversion to DVI or VGA just fine for about $15, so why waste space on connectors that most people won't use? Even HDMI is fairly redundant as how many people are really going to use a motherboard like this without adding discrete graphics? One connector is ample as a fallback, anything else is just wasting space.
I'd much rather see more USB ports, as no matter how much I try to prune my usage, I always seem to run out and end up having to add hubs, and I've yet to find a hub that I actually like; they're almost always cheap crap (regardless of price point) and usually require external power even when they claim bus-power is enough. If I were designing my ideal motherboard the I/O section would have the maximum number of USB ports that I can squeeze onto it (without making it hard to use chunkier connectors); sure they'll be sharing bandwidth, but the majority of USB devices don't require that much.
Ehm... Plenty of people still use both DVI/VGA and PS/2 connections.
I just built a system this year, that got hooked up to an older monitor with a VGA cable.
The older ports have some advantages over newer DP/HDMI ports, and as for PS/2 connectors: Maybe if you used one for your kb/mouse you wouldn't run out of USB ports as fast?
There are two USB 2.0 headers ion the MB for adding additional USB ports. I'm not sure how many additional ports they support , but I think you could get four ports off them.
Purchased a high end ROG MOTHBOARD by Asus. Delivered dead. Finally obtained return ticket. Now, supposedly, repaired but has an issue noted on the net and their site that the usb ports shutoff. They have never addressed the problem. When I sued rather than honor the warranty they spent $5000.00 in attorneys fees instead of just sending another board. I promised myself to never be at their mercy again. Google maximus iv extreme z and usb problems before you trust them. Be warned.
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29 Comments
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ciderrules - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
This is the MB I bought for my new Skylake system. Always had good luck with ASUS in the past, and it's performed well so far with no issues noted (crosses fingers).Only complaint (and it's not really a fault) is it feels a little "flimsy/flexible", as if the board itself wasn't as thick as it could be. Couple with a Dark Rock Pro 3 heatsink in a tower case, and suddenly there's a lot of stress on the MB causing it to flex from the weight of the heatsink. Remedied this by making a small custom bracket from the sink to my case to take some of the weight off.
blppt - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
Sadly, that may be a trend for ASUS's lower end stuff---the Z97-E I picked up a while back had a flimsy-feeling PCB, and slightly loose SATA connector housings. Havent had a single problem with it yet, but that cheap feeling is not exactly a great first impression.By contrast, the similarly-priced Z97X-Gaming 7 from Gigabyte I bought for my other Intel box felt much sturdier.
Samus - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
It isn't a trend of Asus. This is industry-wide. There is no longer a need for 10 layer PCB's. With so much integrated into the CPU and everything being such low power, most reference designs are only 4-6 layers thick anymore. All of these first-out products are heavily based on, if not nearly identical too, the chipset reference. In a few months we may start seeing more "creative" boards of higher caliber.Billie Boyd - Friday, November 27, 2015 - link
There are a couple of good MB that I can recommend and some of this are seen on http://www.consumerrunner.com/top-10-best-desktops... too.Kutark - Sunday, November 1, 2015 - link
I used to be a dyed in the wool Asus guy, until around 2007 or so. The last few builds I did for myself and for friends from around 2005-2007, in 6 systems we had 4 Asus boards go bad within 1-6 months of use. By then I switched to Gigabyte and in over 13 MB's I've only had an issue with 1 (the IDE controller started going out), which was RMA'd and replaced.BillyONeal - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
Ooh. I like the "Other AnandTech Reviews for Intel’s 6th Generation CPUs" inset.Oogle - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
FYI, as of this post, the 14-1 pin TPM connector has no part that can fit it. So in order to do bitlocker on your system drive, you will need a password or usb drive to access the drive on boot.PVG - Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - link
My board of reference in this price bracket is the ASRock Z170 Extreme4. It offers a bit more for the same money.jabber - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
Just wish some of them would drop the VGA/DVI sockets. Hate having legacy stuff I'll never use, bad enough with built in audio.Gigaplex - Friday, November 6, 2015 - link
I agree with VGA, but I still use DVI. I find HDMI a pain to use, as everything keeps trying to be too clever, assuming some percentage of overscan or understand, using the wrong pixel format (YUV vs RGB) etc. My monitors aren't new enough for DisplayPort, so it's DVI for me.Le Geek - Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - link
I believe you meant "front" USB 3.1 panel instead of "font" in the conclusion.AlexIsAlex - Thursday, October 22, 2015 - link
"Non UEFI POST Time": Could you clarify this a bit - do you mean if not booting using UEFI? If so, then why not? These days, I would have thought UEFI booting would be the more common case.The major delay I'm seeing booting with this board is between power-on and first text-on-screen. Not sure exactly what it's doing there, but it's a good few seconds of black before getting the info screen (or graphical logo, depending on configuration)
Arbie - Sunday, October 25, 2015 - link
It's amazing what a high-tech assembly of high-tech parts we can buy for $165.Anyway - please don't forget to credit Asus for their attention to fan control. I haven't checked the competition this time around but in the past Asus has been way, way ahead. This is one mobo function that reviewers *constantly* overlook and thereby undervalue, since they aren't building in a box. So Asus, who goes the extra mile and beyond, is rarely credited for doing so.
ymmv__ - Monday, October 26, 2015 - link
I wish Anand Tech would use an editor to streamline Ian Cuttress' convoluted, badly written texts. This stuff is nigh unreadable.gw74 - Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - link
Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1 thoablevy - Tuesday, October 27, 2015 - link
Just finished a build with this board. For storage I used a Samsung 850 EVO SSD.for the operating system and a WD 1T hard drive. I loaded Wind 7 back on and updated to Win 10 with no problem. Loaded most of my wifes software and then it crashed. It crashed so hard I couldn't get to the BIOS! I finally found that by unplugging the SSD I could get into the BIOS. I turned the machine off and booted Into the BIOS. I noticed that the SSD was listed on the sata ports but not in the boot list. However if I went to the boot menu, the samsung drive was listed and I could boot to it. I tried a number of fixes including resetting the CMOS, updating the BIOS, reinstalling WIn 10, moving the SSD to another SATA port. No joy. Finally I spent some time on Google and found that others have run into this on previous ASUS MBs. I finally found that one of the people found that if you powered off and disconnected the power for 10-15 minutes the computer boots to the SSD. I have rebooted 3-4 times now with no problem. It's worth noting that the Samsung still doesn't show up in the boot list. Note also that I had a chat with a tech from Asus and while he made some suggestions about what to try, he was not aware of this fix. Maybe this post will get Asus to look into this issue and fix their bios.ghanz - Saturday, October 31, 2015 - link
Try enabling Sata hot plug in the bios.And when you manage to boot into windows, disable Intel RST link power management.
Some SSDs have compatibility issues on certain platforms & configurations if power saving options are enabled.
ablevy - Monday, November 2, 2015 - link
After loading a new bios, the SSD showed up on the advanced page as one of the drives in the boot list and I could move it to the top. Since then no problems with booting from the SSD.Thanks
ablevy - Saturday, November 7, 2015 - link
I spent some time exploring overclocking and found that the latest UEFI is buggy. For example trying to return to default fails under all conditions I have tried, including shorting the CMOS as Asus recommends or removing the battery. Exiting from the UEFI sets Autotune on even when you exit from the "default" and you end up in the "optimized default". A second issue I had with this board is "black screens" when the system is idle which don't respond to the keyboard or mouse. I finally noticed that the keyboard was actually off and realized tha the power option to selectively turn off the USB ports was selected. Turning off this option solved part of the "Black Screen" problem. However I still suffered from occaisonal "black screens". I have now turned off all power options and for about the last 24 hours of constant operation haven't had any "black screens". My recommendation for anyone building this system is to install Win 7 and wait a few months before installing Win 10. In my opinion the UEFI is not ready for prime time.ablevy - Wednesday, November 18, 2015 - link
I have continued to work with the machine and the "black screen" issue has not reappeared. However a new stability problem has appeared. Under some circumstances the USB ports fail to recognize the Apple iPhone. I have not isolated why, but the resulting symptoms are very reproducible. First plugging the iphone into the computer does not result in a connection to the iphone. Second turning the computer off results in the screen and apparently Windows shutting down, but the power light doesn't shut off. There also seems to be intermittent disk action given that the disk light blinks. After a few minutes I shut the computer down by holding the power down. Restarting the computer leads to a long boot time before the Windows logo comes up, but Win 10 boots normally. However the iphone will not connect either through a USB 3.0 port or a 2.0 port. Windows will also not see a memory stick in either port. Turning the machine off results in the same behavior. Power light remains on, until held down for 8-10 seconds. If however you turn the power off at the power supply and leave it off for somewhere between 5 (less than 5 min won't work)) and 15 minutes then turn the power supply back on and reboot the computer will boot normally (relatively short boot time) and again recognizes the iphone. This behavior of requiring a power off is reminiscent of the original boot problem I had in which I had to turn off the power supply for the computer to see my SSD and boot from it. My best guess is that in addition to the problem Asus has with the USB ports that cause this issue there is a problem with the shutdown cycle and things are being saved that shouldn't be.Note that I'm currently using BIOS 1302 and that the previous BIOS version also exhibited the same issue.
This is a copy of the email I sent Asus today. I am still having difficulty recommending this mb based on the bios issues.
Kutark - Sunday, November 1, 2015 - link
Gigabyte is your friend.Haravikk - Thursday, October 29, 2015 - link
I'm still disappointed by motherboards are lumbered with DVI, VGA and PS/2 ports after so many years. An adapter from Displayport will handle conversion to DVI or VGA just fine for about $15, so why waste space on connectors that most people won't use? Even HDMI is fairly redundant as how many people are really going to use a motherboard like this without adding discrete graphics? One connector is ample as a fallback, anything else is just wasting space.I'd much rather see more USB ports, as no matter how much I try to prune my usage, I always seem to run out and end up having to add hubs, and I've yet to find a hub that I actually like; they're almost always cheap crap (regardless of price point) and usually require external power even when they claim bus-power is enough. If I were designing my ideal motherboard the I/O section would have the maximum number of USB ports that I can squeeze onto it (without making it hard to use chunkier connectors); sure they'll be sharing bandwidth, but the majority of USB devices don't require that much.
V900 - Friday, October 30, 2015 - link
Ehm... Plenty of people still use both DVI/VGA and PS/2 connections.I just built a system this year, that got hooked up to an older monitor with a VGA cable.
The older ports have some advantages over newer DP/HDMI ports, and as for PS/2 connectors: Maybe if you used one for your kb/mouse you wouldn't run out of USB ports as fast?
Kutark - Sunday, November 1, 2015 - link
People seriously run out of USB ports? How?ablevy - Monday, November 2, 2015 - link
There are two USB 2.0 headers ion the MB for adding additional USB ports. I'm not sure how many additional ports they support , but I think you could get four ports off them.Oxford Guy - Sunday, November 1, 2015 - link
"there are two major camps on the issue"The unstable and the stable camps?
Mlr - Tuesday, November 10, 2015 - link
Purchased a high end ROG MOTHBOARD by Asus. Delivered dead. Finally obtained return ticket. Now, supposedly, repaired but has an issue noted on the net and their site that the usb ports shutoff. They have never addressed the problem. When I sued rather than honor the warranty they spent $5000.00 in attorneys fees instead of just sending another board. I promised myself to never be at their mercy again. Google maximus iv extreme z and usb problems before you trust them. Be warned.