Intel's LAN has the serious double advantage of reducing CPU overhead and offering exceptionally high TCP and UDP throughput, so there's more power for your game and your gameplay. With shades of the previous Z170 VIII Hero, ASUS have beefed up the specifications greatly which includes 2 x NVMe U. This solution uses Texas Instruments NexFET™ MOSFETs that are up to 90% more efficient, MicroFine alloy chokes that run up to 31% cooler than chokes with a larger granular structure, and Extreme Engine Digi+ PWM controller and 10K black metallic capacitors that have a 5x improved lifespan with a 20% boost in temperature tolerance to offer improved efficiency and voltage control.

The Maximus VIII Hero is one of ASUS’s top of the line gaming motherboards running off the Z170 chipset. In short, 5-Way Optimization ensures that your PC is perfect for gaming, entertainment, productivity or just about anything else! It has minor setbacks with an odd plastic shroud (subjective) but It is incredibly hard to fault this board.Layout, on the whole, is excellent, with plenty of space around the CPU socket despite the huge heatsinks and shroud, plus you get angled SATA ports.

ASUS did a really good job with the audio, and the aesthetics of the motherboard are sure to turn heads.Of course, you could probably achieve some better overclocks by adapting settings yourself but it is great to have a rough guideline.

Play quieter and cooler with advanced fan and water-pump controls for the ultimate in undisturbed gaming. The TurboV Processing Unit (TPU) offers precise voltage control and advanced monitoring for the CPU and the graphics card. ports and perhaps most importantly from a modder/aesthetic-conscious PC enthusiast's point of view - two RGB LED strip headers that can be controlled using included software. With the best overclocking (OC) design, UEFI BIOS and intuitive OC gadget and utility, you'll enjoy unmatched performance — coupled with an exclusive cooling design ensures your system never breaks a sweat. All systems will act differently, so I will look for commonalities, such as how far from the VRM the heat spreads through the PCB and the difference in temperature between the front side and backside of the PCB.Multi GPU solutions from AMD and NVIDIA are supported to give you the best possible gaming solutions, along with the usual laundry list of high end hardware to provide a long lived motherboard. ROG's uniquely-intelligent technology effectively caches an entire storage device so that favorite games and apps launch at breakneck speeds, getting to work the moment it's activated.

The Fan headers are also a nice touch, not because there are a lot of them (although that is a plus) but the motherboard actually detects these fans efficiently in the BIOS and in its software packaged with it.In between this port is the USB BIOS Flashback button that can be used to reflash the BIOS even without a CPU or DRAM installed.