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As part of Asus' Republic Of Gamers series of products, the Maximus VI Hero sports the ever-attractive red and black colour scheme. Matching hardware with the Maximus VI Hero shouldn't be a problem; manufacturers have been tailoring their components for red and black colour schemes for years.
Measuring 12″ x 9.6″, the Maximus VI Hero motherboard conforms to a standard ATX form factor.
Four alternating red and black DIMM slots are capable of holding up to 32 gigabytes of DDR3 memory with frequencies as high as 3000MHz. We will be putting the high-frequency support claim to the test with a set of 3000MHz Avexir Core Extreme memory.
The Maximus VI Hero motherboard’s DIMM slots feature Asus’ second generation T-Topology which, according to the company, improves the overclocking margin by up to 5% under full load and 10% for a one-DIMM configuration. Put simply, the T-Topology creates paths of equivalent distance between each DIMM slot (more specifically, memory channel) and the CPU. This helps to minimise the performance drops that can be encountered by poor clock synchronisation when unequal path distances are used. More information regarding T-Topology can be found on Asus’ ROG blog here.
A single USB 3.0 internal header is found in an outwards-facing orientation, adjacent to the 24-pin power connector. Given that this gaming motherboard is very likely to be used in a chassis environment, a right-angled USB 3.0 header would have helped to ease cable management efforts.
Start, reset, and MemOK buttons are found alongside a two-digit diagnostic panel in the OC Zone.
While we criticised the Maximus VI Extreme for positioning its OC Zone too close to the vicinity of extreme cooling pots, the Hero isn't primarily designed for LN2 or DICE use, so the location isn't a problem.
Sitting beneath a heavy-duty, eye-catching VRM heatsink are the eight power phases that feed an LGA 1150 processor installed in the Maximus VI Hero. Memory modules are powered by a pair of phases.
The power delivery components form Asus' Extreme Engine Digi+ III which consists of; NexFET MOSFETs, 60 Amp BlackWing chokes, 10K Black Metallic Capacitors, and a digital controller.
According to Asus, the NexFET MOSFETs offer efficiency that is greater than 90% and a smaller size than their standard counterparts. The BlackWing chokes support current levels of up to 60A while maintaining cool operation due to their surface area-enhancing shape. The 10K Black Metallic Capacitors are touted as offering 20% better low temperature endurance and five times longer lifespan than generic solid state capacitors.
An 8-pin CPU power connector is found in its usual location, close to the VRM heatsink. There is no need to worry about the power cable fouling other components, as we mentioned in the Maximus VI Extreme motherboard's review; the Maximus VI Hero doesn't support the mPCIe Combo II card found on other Z87 ROG products.
Two 4-pin fan headers are found in their ideal location. One of the headers looks to posses the ability of adjusting the speed of a 3-pin fan in relation to CPU temperature.
Asus deserves credit for what we would call an ideal layout for a gaming-optimised ATX motherboard. The two x16-length PCI-E slots are allocated enough space between them to allow for cooling, or hassle-free use with triple-slot cards. Both the full-length PCI-E x4 and uppermost PCI-E x1 slots can also be accessed when two dual-slot cards are being used.
When two graphics cards are used, the pair of red x16-length PCI-E slots will run at PCI-E 3.0 x8 bandwidth each. This should still be sufficient bandwidth to not hamper a Quad-SLI or Quad-CrossFire configuration that uses dual-GPU cards.
Front panel headers are found in their usual location, with audio taking position on the left side, and chassis connections sitting on the right. A 4-pin header placed on the board's bottom edge is useful for those with side panel fans.
The Maximus VI Hero features support for the OC Panel via its ROG_EXT connector. In making use of the ROG_EXT header, functionality for one of the two internal USB 2.0 headers is lost. While it may be unlikely that the Maximus VI Hero's target audience is going to purchase the OC Panel, Asus would have been wise to fit the board with at least two USB 2.0 headers that are usable all of the time.
We had to give up functionality of our NZXT Phantom 630's front card reader when using the ROG OC Panel as we ran out of USB 2.0 headers.
A DirectKey button allows the board to boot into its BIOS upon being powered.
Eight right-angled SATA ports are found on the Maximus VI Hero motherboard, a number which should be plenty for most gamers. Two ports on the left operate from an ASMedia ASM1061 controller, while the six on the right are provided by the Z87 chipset.
Some type of marking to indicate the externally-controlled SATA ports would have been a wise move by Asus. Instead, users have to read the ports' names directly from the PCB.
With a gamer target audience in mind, the M6H utilises a SupremeFX audio system that consists of EMI shielding, an isolated PCB path, and high-quality capacitors. Underneath the SupremeFX-branded cover, we will find a Realtek audio chip that is likely to be the ALC1150.
The Sonic Radar gaming overlay that indicates the direction of enemy footsteps, gunfire, and explosions can be used with the Maximus VI Hero motherboard.
Four USB 3.0 ports on the back panel are provided by the Z87 chipset. The Intel I217V controller provides gigabit Ethernet and is compatible with Asus' GameFirst II network control software.
Motherboard rear ports:
- 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 jack(s)
- 1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button
As proven by red circles in the above image, Asus evenly distributes five 4-pin fan headers around the Maximus VI Hero motherboard.
