Asus ROG Maximus VII Impact

Because storage has been the limiting factor (for the power-user/business user) for a while. Now that SSD's have come, the biggest bottlenecks have been diminished but we aren't done yet removing "legacy crap". The step from AHCI to NVMe will allow lower latencies (2.8µs vs 8.5µs), it has a huge queue depth vs AHCI and it is better suited for current modern multi-core hardware.

And the VII Impact + 4690K/4790Khas support for all of this?
 
I see. Will the casual home builder / light gamer notice or should I just save my money and get a z97i-plus? Kind of sick of waiting for this board.
No the casual home builder / light gamer probably won't for the foreseable future, because they rarely hit any of the limits current hardware has. They will also not notice the difference between an H97 and a Z97 chipset, between 8GB and 16GB RAM, between a Core i3 and a Core i7, etc etc.

And the VII Impact + 4690K/4790Khas support for all of this?
As far as I know, the motherboard doesn't even need to "support" NVMe because it is a protocol used between storage devices and OS'es through a driver. It travels over the PCIe bus which just sends and receives data but doesn't know what is it contains. Support for NVMe is built-in from Windows 8.1, Server 2012R2, Linux since 2012 and MacOS X will probably too in the near future.
 
Last edited:
i want to overclock so i think i'll stick with z97 but i'll prob just go with the z97i-plus if this impact doesn't come out in a week or two.
 
No the casual home builder / light gamer probably won't for the foreseable future, because they rarely hit any of the limits current hardware has. They will also not notice the difference between an H97 and a Z97 chipset, between 8GB and 16GB RAM, between a Core i3 and a Core i7, etc etc.


As far as I know, the motherboard doesn't even need to "support" NVMe because it is a protocol used between storage devices and OS'es through a driver. It travels over the PCIe bus which just sends and receives data but doesn't know what is it contains. Support for NVMe is built-in from Windows 8.1, Server 2012R2, Linux since 2012 and MacOS X will probably too in the near future.

No luck for the Windows 7 user then?
 
Not yet known, but I guess when the NVMe consumer SSD's eventually are released, most of us want Windows 9 that seems to include a proper desktop user interface this time.
Don't forget MS wants people to upgrade to (=buy) the newest versions, so we should also not be expecting DX12 (it may happen, but I doubt it) on Windows 7 along with other features.
 
Not yet known, but I guess when the NVMe consumer SSD's eventually are released, most of us want Windows 9 that seems to include a proper desktop user interface this time.
Don't forget MS wants people to upgrade to (=buy) the newest versions, so we should also not be expecting DX12 (it may happen, but I doubt it) on Windows 7 along with other features.

Well, as long as Windows 9 doesn't include any traces of Metro, I'm good.
 
This board finally emerges in stores here in Taiwan with a price tag of NTD$7990 which is roughly USD$268. I guess the board might be priced around USD$215 in the US from an estimation of the price difference on the M7F board. The M7F is NTD$12990 in Taiwan and USD$349 in the US.

I will be heading to the store tomorrow and hoping that it woould be in stock!
 
Same. Yesterday it received the first pricing of €220 in The Netherlands, which is ~10% above the price of the Impact VI. I'll wait a while for a few shops to have stock and then I'll order it.
 
I'll wait a while for a few shops to have stock and then I'll order it.

Forgive me, I've not followed all the discussions in the various Z97 threads. Can I ask what are the top reasons you are getting this board over the other Z97 mini ITX offerings?

I'm looking at the Z97I-Plus for myself at the moment. If anything, for the more neutral colours, the ATX24 socket position and for the true PWM fan headers. I might have my priorities a bit different to others...
 
Mainly because I need my Z87E-ITX for a casemod, that board specifically. Once I get around to testing it if my plan works, I'll explain why.

Anyway, this board seems to be the one that includes EVERYTHING I want:
- Intel NIC
- Intel WiFi + BT
- PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 - Type 2280 supported
- Realtek 1150 with headphone amp on frontpanel audio
- Clean design with power cables on the outside

And I cannot deny the sheer volume of tweakable features and stuff like USB flash without CPU and RAM are very, very convincing *twists mustache*
 
- Realtek 1150 with headphone amp on frontpanel audio

This seems to be the main advantage over the Z97I-Plus, then?

Hmm.

I'm unsure whether the Impact has true PWM, but I don't really need more than one, just saves a cable and makes cooling strategy easier.

I can paint the red parts.

EK M7I block might not be out soon, and does it really help over a regular block and good airflow?

In other news, MDPC-X is closed for a while, so maybe I wait before doing a build with custom colours.

But I don't want to wait! :p
 
Didn't even think to check CC, was just pressing F5 on 'new products' :p
 
It came up on a Google search, I believe it was already mentioned somewhere in this topic or some other one too. But it would be of no use to me inside the Ncase M1, I'm not really going to need better cooling for the chipset and MOSFET's, also getting an extra pump and the block just for kicks seems wasted as long as my H220 keeps on churnin'.
 
I think you've been lucky (or careful and lucky) with your H220.

I might go with OverRated's idea of putting the pump under the GPU, so the reservoir feeds down to it. Problem is that most DDC tops have the intake upwards. A few years ago there was an Italian company that did low profile pump tops made from polycarbonate. I think I will steal their design and get a custom top made so that the pump is as short as possible, with both intake and outlet pointing the same direction.

Maybe it's a pipe-dream (ha ha)...
 
They finally added a product page for their US site today.. so should be coming soon.
 
EK M7I block might not be out soon, and does it really help over a regular block and good airflow?

I've yet to see a review at one of the bigs, but:
http://www.xtremerigs.net/2014/03/03/ek-maximus-vi-impact-full-cover-block-review/3/

They found a 1deg improvement on the CPU (which seems questionable to me; what drives this improvement?), and 15+deg improvement on the VRM and Southbridge (which make more sense, and they note that at least some of that improvement is solely down to a lack of thermal pad in ASUS' default setup). Given that ASUS' stock cooling for the VRM and Southbridge is undoubtedly sufficient for stock operation, the real question is if you should care? I'd think the benefits, if any, would be seen in overclocking (i.e. keeping the power delivery components cool, thereby improving the stability/consistency of the power delivery, and in turn improving the stability of the higher clock), and maybe ever so slightly in longevity.

Other pro: they look badass.

Despite not being able to truly justify them as "better", I still very much want one.
 
The issue with comparing is that this "monoblock" cools CPU + VRM + southbridge, meaning all the heat is added and somewhat distributed (aluminium and copper do that). So this needs to be taken into account.
Also, this block would also mean no direct airflow is needed because the components that could require airflow are watercooled. It's probably not a plus but it's worth mentioning. Considering this board is meant to be the ultimate in mITX overclocking boards, I can see why this would be viable.
 
Here is also a fullcovercooler from bitspower

Its a bit bigger than the ek cooler

I wouldn't say the Bitspower is "bigger": the Bitspower block looks lower/wider to me, while the EK is kind of narrow and tall; I doubt the Bitspower conflicts with the front-panel audio connector on the VI the way the EK did (thankfully ASUS reoriented the connectors on the VII, meaning no conflict for either block this time).

Discussed somewhere else, but briefly: the EK block runs coolant over top of the CPU, the Southbridge, and the VRM (though the VRM channel is pretty short), while the Bitspower variant only runs coolant over the vicinity of the CPU. Cooling of the Southbridge and the VRM relies more upon heat transfer through the block over a greater mass. I'd think both work, but I'd bet the EK approach is more efficient in terms of extracting heat from those secondary sections. Downside to all of that is that, while Bitspower gets away with 2 main pieces (top and bottom) and a single seal, the EK has something like 6-7 independent pieces, with 4 different seals holding it all together. Certainly more potential points of failure!

The EK block also has what is essentially an EK Supremacy CPU block, while the Bitspower has a slightly more GFX-esque big-open-block-with-channels setup. Supremacy approach gets a lot of love.

What I'd really love to see is some legitimate head-to-head results.
 
Captain's log. Stardate 68152.

Still no sign of the Impact VII. I admit that my moral is wavering. I fear it might be another Eee PC 1218.
 
Yeah I'm guessing the "Mid August" release date was the date the first small production run got released from the factory, not taking into account the slow-ass boat that they're on now towards the US and EU.
 
Alternate in the Netherlands has it in stock, but at +20 euro inflated price. I ordered mine here instead, but maybe I have to wait a while.

For Germany, Mindfactory and CaseKing in have it in stock.
 
Shhh, my payment didn't go through yet and I don't want everyone jumping on these so they are out of stock when the wire transfer is successfull ! :p

But indeed, suddenly they are available in the Netherlands :)
 
Got mine yesterday from Overclockers, so I imagine other places in the UK have stock now as well.
 
Mine is at the post office waiting for pick-up, so Netherlands is represented too :D

And the EK block is arriving tomorrow :)
 
Mine is probably going to arrive at the beginning of next week. But I'll be making some nice photos if no one else beats me to it :)
 
Mine is at the post office waiting for pick-up, so Netherlands is represented too :D

And the EK block is arriving tomorrow :)
Nice, looking forward to hearing how it works for you. Is this going in the M1?
 
It's now listed on Amazon, but only 3rd party sellers actually have it in stock. I'd image it'll be like most "Temporarily out of stock" or "2-4 weeks" Amazon things and actually ship much faster once you place your order.

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Motherboard-MAXIMUS-VII-IMPACT/dp/B00NAWCUS0/

I, for one, will be waiting until Microcenter gets it so I can get the $280 4790k + $40 off motherboard bundle. I love living near a Microcenter. Now if we could just get a Fry's...
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top